A good set of tools for general bushcraft

Hi all,

After many years of searching I have finally found a good balance of tools to take out to the woods. This is my personal choice for the reason listed.

General purpose knife for battoning, butchering rough, carving etc - Fallkniven F1. Robust, easy to sharpen, excellent in wet conditions. Great at splitting wood, impossible to break really (although if there is a chance of breaking your blade you are using it incorrectly I say)

Fine detail and carving knife – Mora 106. A splendid little knife which punches well above its weight, very versatile and easy to sharpen and maintain, best of all cheap as chips. I carry it on a piece of paracord around my neck where it is always accessible. Also functions as a back up in case you lose your main knife. I have modified the sheath to keep the handle tighter by heating and stretching it a bit. I also shaved the handle a bit thinner which makes it sit much more securely indeed.

Saw- Bacho Laplander. The bushcraft standard and hard to beat really. You can do all sorts with a saw like this and its use is a skill like everything else. Go out and use it for a day as your sole tool and you will realise how good it is.

Axe- Fiskars camp axe. 23 inch one. A very surprising medium sized axe which can do a lot of work and is comfortable to use. Sharpens easily to a razor finish. An axe is a very useful tool. It is well worth learning how to use one properly. You can do most jobs with your axe from felling a tree to carving the beginning of a spoon before you need your knife. An axe makes processing wood a lot easier. Split wood burns better than rounds and catches faster. You can also make feather sticks. SO a fire from start to finish is easy with an axe and alot less work than a knife.

And that is it.

Of course if you have a base camp a bow saw comes into it own too and is really just a bigger version of the Laplander in terms of utility. I really like the bacho ones for quality.