Survival is getting out of the woods. Bushcraft is getting into the woods

"In the survival situation you don't want to look after your knife. The knife looks after you." - Survival Confucius

Interesting to see how much you guys have learnt while making these videos. Mikkie B said he would avoid CPM 3V for survival as it would be hard to sharpen on river stones, in your later video about debunking survival concepts you discuss how that's a ridiculous concept as you won't find a flat river stone. This is my favourite channel on youtube at the moment.

"In a survival situation you would never have DEEZ NUTS" -big muscled hammer guy, 2016

This topic is definitely a controversial one in the knife world. I think yall explained it excellently.

A good challenge option for you guys is to take a carbon steel blade, force a patina on it and see how far you can go with it without having to look after it beyond basic sharpening that you might have to do with any knife in a survival situation. I would be curious to see how far it would go.

Dutch Bushcraft Knives, I love your videos. I've been watching for a few weeks now and I've learned so much. I was into knives before I found your channel, but now I'm REALLY into knives. I'm looking to get the F1D as my first fixed blade, and I'm happy to say I made a fire last night using only feathersticks and a firesteel for the first time because of your guys' inspiration! Thanks again DBK! I'll keep watching. - Mike from New Mexico.

One of the many defining characteristics of an ideal survival knife is its thicker than average (maybe 1/4 of an inch), full tang with handles than can be removed if they crack, and can take abuse and unplanned tasks that border on emergency. A machete does not qualify as its really only good for chopping bamboo and thin trees. It won't do minor tasks well. Folders won't handle as much abuse before breaking so even a big heavy folder usually won't qualify. An ideal bushcraft knife can do fine work, particularly wood carving. It does not need to be as big, can be full length tang but not necessarily an exposed tang, and doesn't need to be able to handle outright abuse. They could be folders if they were sturdy. There's so many fixed knives that will fit both jobs I don't know if we need to overanalyze the subject. If its a better chopper than a carver, that would be one indicator.

survival is trying to stay alive. bushcraft is having fun.

They are rare these days but one of the best all purpose knives you can get your hands on is the old version of Mora 711, the one with the rubber grip and carbon steel. Its nothing fancy but its a proper work horse. I recently found a local store here in sweden that sell a rebranded version (by made by Frosts in Mora all the same) and I could hardly believe it so I bought 3 of them for less than 4€ each.

you guys are great! this is the 3rd video or so i've watched of you guys havin a blast together in the woods talkin about knives knowledgeably, with intelligent commentary on steel performance and handle geometries. you guys do deserve more subscribers!

Good video as always. One point that always seems neglected when "survival knives" are brought up is that the need to survive can happen at any moment. So it would need to be a knife that I have on me all the time. If only I could find a comfortable way to carry my s1 pro concealed away but comfortable/accessible. Of course if I have my pack it's going with me but if I have all my gear it really isn't surviving it's camping.

i would love it if you guys reviewed a classic swiss army knife just for fun :)

Reading the comments below always cracks me up. Anyway, why do Americans love Carbon steel over Stainless Steel? Well, I think I have an answer. It has to do with a couple of things, the first being tradition. Our entire creation, settlement, founding, frontier, expansion, wars, hunting, outdoors experience has been with carbon steel. Literally EVERYTHING was made of carbon steel. People knew how to use it, sharpen it, and take care of it even in the most severe and harsh conditions. It is an ingrained part of our soul, like a Green River trade knife, a KaBar USMC fighting knife or an Ontario kitchen knife. It's tradition. Secondly, stainless steel for knives is a relatively recent phenomenon. It started showing up everywhere in the last 80 odd years or so, and in huge amounts in the last 50 years or so (my time frame may be a bit off, but I am ball parking it). Where we in America always saw ANY stainless steel was in the kitchen. Pots, pans, steak and butcher knives etc., AND they were universally CHEAP imports and generally crappy. After WW2 Japan and Germany both made millions of tons of cheap stainless knives which flooded the market in the US. Germany made better knives than Japan at that time. Think Chinese stainless steel of today. Would you own one of those knives for serious work? Heck no. Sure there are always exceptions to the rule, but on the whole they are cheap and disposable. Stainless was seen as a convenience in certain applications like again the kitchen or maybe fillet knives. But for serious work, carbon steel was still the way to go. Most of these cheap knives were made of two steels, 420J ("surgical steel") and 440A and C and one thing that seemed to be very common was bad heat treats, they were almost always tempered extremely hard and tended to snap in half at the worst possible time. Broken tips and blades were simply what you could expect from a stainless knife at this time. Needless to say they were avoided like the plague. Carbon was still the way to go. And thirdly, today, we FINALLY have the modern stainless steels, steels so good they approach or even in some cases surpass the legendary capabilities of our beloved carbon steels. These steels are NEW to the scene, something that has been available only recently to most people. I think it will just take time for the idea that stainless steel is actually a good steel, but ONLY if you get it from a very experienced and reputable company who knows what they are doing. Today even some makers swear by 440c and only use it and it does well for them, like Entrek. I for one will try just about any steel I can get my hands on and my current favorites are CPM 3v and O-1. Some experts still rely on a good carbon steel because they can use it as a last ditch fire starter in the flint and steel tradition, you can't do that with stainless steel (Dave Canterbury for example is a huge proponent of that idea). To this day I will ALWAYS without question avoid ANY stainless steel knife with a blade longer than say 8 or so inches, UNLESS it is Swedish steel or equivalent, a good powdered steel, because stainless steel is imply not suitable for longer blade applications like machetes and swords because it is still too brittle (almost without exception). The perfect example of this is something that happened to me YESTERDAY. I was at my fathers home helping him clear some fallen limbs from a storm a few weeks ago and I happened to have a blade for testing. It WAS a Fox Knives Parang XL made of 440C stainless steel. Thin edge geometry (tall hollow grind). I have used it before in limited brush clearing etc. I was trimming some 1/3" diameter limbs off the pine tree and heard a crack. I looked down and a full inch long by 1/2' deep CHUNK of the blade broke off and was stuck in the base of the branch, the SMALL branch. It was a green tree. NO good knife with good steel should EVER fail to cut a green tree. Needless to say, this kind of thing is what we are used to in America and why we still primarily trust carbon steel. I finished the tree off with my trusty Terävä Skrama bush knife from Varusteleka. Yup, you guessed it carbon steel. It easily destroyed the rest of the limb with no issues. It's all about heat treat, quality materials, knowledge and quality craftsmanship. Unfortunately when it comes to stainless steel in America, until recently, we just did not see any. We know we can almost always trust carbon steel so we stick with it. I think that will change as more people experience the newer better stainless steels coming into use but it will take some time. You guys are young so you get the benefit of our experience and get to use all the newest coolest steels, you are lucky, but that is called progress right? Can you imagine what your kids and grand kids will be using? And how they will look at you when you tell them about that ancient stuff stainless steel no one uses anymore? It was an awesome discussion and I look forward to more from the best, funniest channel on KZfaq!

I liked how you guys mentioned what steel you'd prefer in a survival and Bushcraft situation.

In a survival situation ..... YOU WILL NEVER HAVE THESE Nuts !!!

My favorite Bushcraft knife is the Mora Kansbol. I just love the dual edge!

I genuinely laughed when he show that tiny knife....

I like your description of the difference between bushcraft and survival. I've always thought of it this way: Survival means you're in a bad situation with limited resources. Bushcraft is being in the wild by choice and properly prepared. Therefore a survival knife has to do lots of things well, because it may be your only tool. Buchcrafting knives can be far more specialized, as you'll likely have multiple tools available for various tasks. Thanks for the great vid!

You should do a video on knife sharpening with river stones

Wow, that tiny knife joke ACTUALLY made me laugh in real life :D Goodjob yall~!

A fun style presentation once again guys and informative. Here in Alaska as a remote fly-out wilderness river outfitter and guide for whitewater rafting plus sport-fishing... I have to agree when busy working in my real wilderness settings from the standpoint of having knife take care of you vs. always baby-sitting the steel is key to performance. One of the prime reasons to also have stainless firearms here. Nasty weather, splashing whitewater or whitecaps in boats, freeze/thaw-freeze/thaw, snow and ice, on and on... all challenges to deal w/ in not-stainless or not-well-coated knives and guns.

Love these conversations, very high level english guys and I really value your experience :)

Nice overview, guys - your usual fun and informative presentation...

Bushcraft- woods skills, survival-staying alive. My picks: best cheapo-bahco 2444- 3,5 EUR in the hardware store, mora companion, robust, 100 EUR-garberg, best surv./bushcraft f1- the basic model. Money to burn-S1 pro. Best big survival blade- a genuine kukri, works in all climates- Nepal goes rrom mountains to jungels. You just have to know how to use it and not have that cold steel thing;) Great vid as always.

just started the video. waiting for mikkie to say "im not high"

Good vid! To me, the ideal survival knife is a simple carbon steel such as 1095 in a flatground blade about 5" long, 4-5mm thick- basically a Lionsteel M5 but in 1095 at about 58HRC would be ideal. The reason being is that it's far easier and quicker to sharpen on make shift sharpeners such as forest /river stones, bits of cement, bricks etc and it can easily be stropped on your belt or pants. Sharpening a convex or scandi takes much longer, and a better and bigger abrasive, than a flat ground and requires much more metal to be removed which wastes energy you don't have. A flat ground can be sharpened on a stone smaller than half a matchbox. Also, in a survival situation I need a knife to be quick and easy to maintain a good edge. The rust potential is not even an issue as it's an emergency survival situation and thus if 1095 won't last you out of it then you're already dead. I don't even really like flat ground knives but I'd take this in a survival situation anytime, they are a jack of all trades and made sharp in minutes. The TBS knives are good, I have a Grizzly in 01 and I put it in he same size/weight category as the Bravo-1. The only issue with it is the bevel could be raised a bit (3/4mm to 1mm) to a sharper angle, no big deal. For bushcraft knives, whatever the individual finds the best is the best. My opinions on this category are similar to your own.

I really found this to be one of the most informative videos in this field you comments were insightful with factual examples and you have saved me from buying an A2 steel knife I was surprised the F1 was not one of your choices for a bushcraft knife, thank you.

Nice video! While watching I realized that I had already "watched" it, I had woken up in the middle of the night one time and it was playing on my phone 😂😂! Glad I can watch it now and actually make good sense of why you are talking about.

what an excellent channel, intelligent, humorous, informative, and this is the only one I know that treats us to a man in camo having a grande mal seizure in the closing moment!

Only ever owned one Enzo knife, a folder with carbon fibre scales; lost it unfortunately but damn that thing was well-built.

well a good Budget Bushcraft knife unde 50 EU is from Real Steel Bushcrafter in D2

This is quickly becoming my favorite bushcraft channel. keep up the good videos, guys!

Your guy's videos are the best on KZfaq, especially​the sharpening vids, my knife is uber sharp now. so thank you guys

Great points! Im looking at a Bravo 2 in S35VN for a survival knife....maybe paired with something smaller in cpm154 that can be resharpened a little easier.

Cool, In Sunny South Africa its summer 33 Degrees Celsius. Winter is a few months away, thanks goodness. Keep up the good videos. Thank you so much for the reply. :-)

y'all deserve more sub's!!

22:05 haha like when the guy gets infected in the movie 28 Days Later

in a survval situation you need a versatile knife I think a 6 inch full tang knife is a great in between knife it can do some good chopping and batoning and also do nice finer work like fire making and hunting

Are you boys are really the best I love your videos I can sit here for hours and watch them

the substantial difference is that real survival is not a planned situation, so you will probably have only your pocket knife with you, or maybe nothing... whereas bushcraft is planned and you can bring any knife with you.

You all are right about the esse rusting but the coating would only let part of the blade rust

Just further insight on 1095 is that it is popular in the United States and rust is less of an issue since it is dryer than Europe. That being said, I come from an area that is not dry and is raining as often as it is dry so I am right there with you guys on stainless steel.

Another great video guys! Just bought the fallkniven a1 pro to pair up with my f1 vg10 thanks to your advice! Awesome knife I absolutely love it! Keep up the good work!

You guys should check out the Ontario Bushcraft Woodsman knife 5160 spring steel, it's large but super strong.

Would love to see a whole video of you guys camping or going out into the deep wilderness and using ur choice of blades and stuff and how you camp. Great video

my favourite part was 0:00 - 22:10

Bark River Bravo 1 Elmax. Heat treatment for every BR is done perfectly, but with Elmax they simply raised the bar.

Here in 2020, enjoying a fire and some food in my backyard, relaxing and watching some DBK.

These videos make me spend too much money, thanks guys.

Bushcraft for me is camping activities and Survival is getting from point a to point b without dying Great video by the way you are the best

So I havent had the great fortune to try a few of the premium knives you guys hail, but I have a DBK knife on the way and I cant wait. That being said my recommended knives for bushcraft/survival/and inbetween would be in that order the Mora Garberg carbon w firesteel and sharpener (or really any carbon steel mora theyre all great), Tops Brother of bushcraft for survival, and great inbetween would be the Gerber Terracraft (love the handle geometry and steel, and spine... and everything else lol) I think a survival knife should be easy to sharpen. I should say Im not shy of sharpening knives tho I love premium steels for edc just havent found the right one that can take a beating, many are brittle.I cary either a swiss AK explorer, or the bradford Guardian 3 in m390. Love you guys. I also have a BK2 but its heavy.

Love the knife talk series would be awesome to have a throw back ep where it’s all serious would be cool to watch I reckon

Just as awesome video as last time! Cheers from Sweden.

Very nice conversation. I agree with your thoughts. I just wish there were more good under $30 bushcraft knife options. Keep them coming!

Only issue with Stainless... can’t use it for starting a flint/steel fire. It’s easier to find flint/quartz than it is to find hardened steel.

thank you very much for all your time and information have a merry chirsmass and happy new year

Just got my first LT wright Outback scandi grind. The most comfortable handle on any fixed blade ive seen. I think only DLT Trading has that model. But Other places have other models like the Genesis and they are amazing knives.

Great video guys. Keep up the good work

You guys stick together! Your an awesome duo!!!👌🏽

You should name this video muchies vs knife. Like the videos guys thumbs up for educational an laid back knife talk. Cheers from Sweden

Awesome video guys, during the next one try to add more details on survival knife as you did in this one about bushcrafting knife, thx ;)

Have no interest in knives but love watching these videos! makes me laugh and i actually learn stuff, love the editing as well! been subscribed for about 3 months now and you guys still haven't dissapointed me

I live on the south coast of USA. I lean toward carbon steel. people have used carbon steel cutlery for hundreds of years. I also love cooking in cast iron. a lot of people hate it because they say it rusts.

Your videos are well done 😎👍 Keep up the great work

Thanks for the thought-provoking knife talk! I'm not totally sure if corrosion resistance is really an issue in a survival situation,but I suppose it is if it actually dulls your blade... Otherwise it's just cosmetics and easy enough to fix later - if you survive that is. The other balance, I think, is the one between edge retention and ease of sharpening. You could pack a 3V and hope it takes you through the crisis without the need to re-sharpen. Or you could pack a carbon steel blade and hope that you'll manage to keep it sharp without too much trouble... I think I'd pack (at least) my Enzo-Elmax and my Terävä Skrama. Love your channel, keep it coming!

I’d have a blast spending a week out in woods with yous!

alright, you guys talked me into it, a good stainless is definitely the way to go.....I just traded in my SRK carbon steel for a new SRK San Mai III....thanks for opening my eyes!

when you do knife talks and present new knives, you should put the name of it or them in the notes below or on screen. it would be much better for researching. Love your vids so keep going!

It was very enjoyable to watch you guys chat, also very helpful vid definitely gonna sub.

Another great video. Thanks Dutch bushcraft knives!! You guys are awesome.

i agree with you guys i never understand why so many like carbon steel for survival knives i have a mora carbon that i use to carve wood but i would never go out in the woods with it survival gear means being prepared for the worst

Very informative chaps. U guys crack me up!😂😂😂 pure gold. Love blades too! Thanks lads. Atb Dom.

Hey guys great points! I agree that bushcraft doesnt only have to be primitive skills but it can be a fusion of modern techniques and gear with old world skills. To me its also just about passing the time outdoors, using natural materials, and developing skills to make oneself more comfortable whilst blending in with the natural world. It should, above all else be sustainable, people should learn how to have a low environmental footprint by being conservative with resources. I look forward to your review about the TBS Boar, as I have that very knife in N695 steel. I want to add, the thing a 4" bushcraft knife has over a large survival knife is that you are more likely to have it on you at all times, simply because its lighter. I always have a Mora on my hip because I dont even notice the weight so it just always gets carried. If you find yourself in a survival situation i bet you didnt plan it, so the best knife will be the one you have on you. Peace

Not only educational but so funny

Just subscribed!! You guys have a great channel with really well made videos! Keep it up! I'm sure you guys will hit 500,000 EASY!

Рахмет вам, пацаны.

Let down. The machete image bought me here. You barely mentioned it. Please do a machete vid. I’m putting a Martindale through its paces at the mo, I’d love to know what you think. And the Tops skandi tracker. The way you hold it makes it a completely different experience

since you guys are a fan of scandinavian knives, maybe you should have a look at the Swedish Karesuando knives or the Norwegian Brusletto.

ignore my pic but im interested in learning the difference between steel and all that in general. i was wondering if you guys could make a video about that, but if you already have made one, could you give me a link? Thanks and you guys are the only bushcraft channel that holds my interest. My favorite.

You guys ever got your hands on a TOPS BOB knife? I love mine, I alternate between it and a Falkniven S1. It's a nice in between survival/bushcraft, which makes it(and the S1) the perfect backpacking blades. It's nice to be able to process some fire wood and maybe sit down and do light carving to pass the time with the same knife. Keep up the great work, love the videos!

Keep in mind that the native people of the Amazon use carbon steel machettes, knives and axes. And they work great. I see your point about stainles steels but i think you make it a bigger issue than it is. It also ofcourse depends on what carbon steel you use. You should try out 80crv2 steel. Try out the Varustelekas "Skrama knife" and the "Jääkäri puukko" also called "Jaeger knife". Its a "good bang for the buck" knife.

Survival is about providing yourself: Food, Fire, Water, Shelter. Bushcrafting is using nature to make tools to use in the wilderness. Bushcraft is not really about processing wood for a fire. Firewood is not a tool, it is a resource for survival. Making firewood is what a survival knife is for. Making a cup or bowl is bushcrafting, cups and plates are tools. Chairs and tables are tools, while a Leanto is a shelter.

Great channel guys! One word of constructive criticism from an old Texan fart. Loose the food when recording. You both have awesome dialog flow and the crunching is mierenneuken irritating. Watch this video again and see how the crunch of the snacks gets in the quality of the recording. The little things will make the difference in your You Tube explosion. Keep up the great work guys...ever consider attending SxSW?

5:57 look at the grind of this mora dude wtf I love it

Why do you guys prefer the stainless Mora over the carbon steel one. Carbon steel was better in any way in my experience. To prevent rust you can force a black vinegar patina

i use SP1 combat and Kobalt box cutter, thick, choppy and stabby and thin, razor sharp and slicy, best both worlds

Man what kind of nuts are those? The crunch sound is so addictive lol

Mikkie B, brought to you by Fred Perry. No but for real, awesome video on a controversial topic.

you guys are the best.

so, if i go for bushcraft i take my bushcraft-knife, and if i go survival i take my survival-kni... hold on....moment. i don't want a survival situation, so i avoid it, and if a bushcraft-situation becomes a survival-situation i only have my bushcraft-knive with me anyway. sounds logic for me, so i save money by not buying a survival knife. btw, nice done vids for the kid in us :-) i like it.

Could you please repeat what steels you said were good for survival? You spoke a bit too fast to hear properly. Also could you please mention a couple of knives with those steels that you would recommend for survival purposes? Thank you.

Say Heah M&M, I started gravitating towards a Survival Bushcraft Knife. A blade of around 5"+-6"+. I do have a couple. Like one of them my Modified B H Modde Attitude. Infact I just bought a Cold Steel Flak Jack in a Satin Finish and in the INFI Steel with Black G-10 Handle. It sort of reminds me of my S. O. G. Pillar Fix Blade, but a little larger and in the INFI Steel.,,.p

Lots of great information guys.

For me a survival knife and a bushcraft knife are the same. 1 is none 2 is one is something I do follow so basically a small pocket knife and a somewhat larger knife. Breaking a knife if you use it properly is hard to do but loosing a knife can happen any time. My pocket knife is a SAK model soldier. The one we did get in the Dutch Army long time ago. For the one I use as bushcraft/survival knife I look at toughness and also inside the handle. A lot of knives that are sold as full tang have a skeletonized full tang like Enzo. Enzo has still a lot of metal under the handle but some other brands are skeletonized to the max to reduce weight and they are not stronger than a stick tang. They can break inside the handle making it useless. I also don't care about stainless or carbon. If the knife feels good in your hand, use it. I'm perfectly comfortable with a 10 dollar Hultafors GK for any bushcraft/survival situation.

On the Mora Buschcraft Black. Why would you prefer Stainless over High Carbon? Edit: oh and by they way. I subscribed a few days ago and I love your guy's videos. Can't stop watching them! Keep up the great work!

this is a very varying subject. i mean for example cody lundins favorite bushcraft and survival knife is a very simple carbon steel puukko type knife (mora knife). i think its most just whos talking, some are very minimalist and some like to have more of the frills ect

The BK2 may not be stainless but it does have the rust proof finish on the blade, wouldn't that help at all?

In a Survival Situation i would prefer a carbon-steel knife. Obviously it will become rusty, but i can put a fire with it by using it with the flint

Also some folding knife talks would be interesting