There are two kinds of survivalist in this world. Ones that use big survival knives and ones that uses axes. You may have them both but generally prefer one. I am a big survival knife guy. I’ve never cared much for axes. I’ve used a few and will use one often in the future. In fact I just bought my first axe. It will not be going out camping with me ever. I prefer to use big survival knives to process wood. Let me share some of the reasons why with you.

Big Survival Knives

To me eight inches long is the shortest a big survival knife can be. My prefered knife, the Buck Hoodlum, is 15 1/2 inches long. I have split some big pieces of wood with it. Where most knives would nothing hanging out of the wood to baton the hoodlum is long enough. Batoning wood is my prefered method in the woods. I feel it is more accurate and safe. Big survival knives can do so much more than baton though. You can use is for chopping tasks. You can prepare food with it. Process game. Carving tasks can be done easily. To me in a camping and bug out situation a big knife wins every time

Safety

I’m accident prone. In the extreme. Maybe it’s my disregard for most safety precautions or my left handedness. We lefties are more accident prone than you righties. Luckily axes are ambidextrous. They are still pretty dangerous. When I was young I had a neighbor bury his axe in his knee. Being either tough as nails or drunk as shit he drove himself to the hospital. Batoning wood is much more controlled. I’ve never felt like I was in danger from my knife. I feel like a sense of danger ever time I swing an axe. I never want to lose that feeling either. The axe deserves respect.

Weight

My knife weighs less than a pound. 14.6 ounces. When you are packing in your gear ounces matter. Axes weigh in at many pounds. The weight to usefulness ratio on them is great. Even when I paid my big survival knives with a smaller companion one the weight is still small. For any condition where I’m on foot I choose a knife. An axe is best left at home for splitting wood.