I love my K-Bar

[sleek]

Using a section of 2x4 as a baton it splits very thick osage very well. Also with its wide blade body its great as a draw knife and good grip for a scraper. In the cold its leather handle warms u to your hand well. Its got the perfect amount of heft for massive chopping duties. I have used this knife for 8 years of tree chopping and bow making. 90% of all my bows are made with just this knife. Many bows from tree to finish were also made with only it. Its also stout enough to pry with some as well for working out or around knots when splitting. What can I say other than, I love my K-Bar!

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[bambam]

Know how you feel, I love my Cold Steel Recon Scout. Good to have a piece of kit you can totally depend on.

[sleek]

No joke. If I were tossed naked in the woods, this would be my one choice tool.

[BOWMAN53]

ka-bar makes great knives. i want to get the becker bk-9

[mikekeswick]

No joke. If I were tossed naked in the woods, this would be my one choice tool.

An axe is a better 'one off' tool!  

[Pappy]

Yep they are great knives, but I would rather use a wedge unless I was forced to use my knife.

[H Rhodes]

    I have a K-bar and it is one of those tools that I won't be without.  If I were getting dumped out in the woods to root hog or die, I would want it with me.  I treasure mine a little too much to use it for bow building unless it was an emergency. 
    That said, I have an old Glock Field Knife that is one of my favorite bow building tools.  I use it to take belly splits off staves and have beat on it for years with a small sledge.  I use it for chopping and splitting out side profiles on osage.  It is a good scraper as well.  The blade on the Glock knife is one inch wide - some narrower than the K-bar.  I have found that the narrow heavy blade will hunt the flow of the grain on osage really well.  It is almost a quarter inch thick on the back of the blade, so you can baton the heck out of it without a care.  It never held much of an edge and was an odd shape for most of my knifely duties, so I had thrown it in a drawer for years until I started using it on bows.  It found it's niche.  A rough knife is a very useful bowyer tool.  I have built several bows using nothing but the Glock knife, a farrier's rasp, and a round file for the nocks.     

[Comancheria]

I agree with Mikekeswick: for overall survival, give me my Gransfors Bruks Scandinavian Forest Axe.  With that, when the doodoo hits the fan, I can repel the average attack of a K-Bar wielding assailant!😀

Actually, so far, in my admittedly limited experience, I have been more successful usimg a quality knife as a scraper, than I have been using an actual
Scaper.

[sleek]

Mike, have you an axe you prefer?

[bambam]

I have been tempted to buy this as it looks like you can use it in many ways but Lee Valley Tools wants $165 for it.

[Comancheria]

Sleek and Mike,

I have one very much like that among some other GB axes.  It is called the "carving Axe".  I did a survey of who liked what hatchet for bowmaking, and this one led the pack of opinions.  I went against the grain and bought the double bevel--a decision I now regret.  I have not carved out a stave with it, but in playing with it, I can now see how having a flat surface on the left
(For a right hander) would result in greater control and less danger to the stave.

Russ