I am starting to think of Mors Kochanski's teachings as the outdoor gentlemen's survival method. No macho bluster, just sound ,well thought out skills.
Him and John Wiseman are on the same plane as far as I'm concerned. But wye aye man, those two are about the most knowledged in the subject. It's a damn shame they're on their way out, but at least they have individuals who're willing to take up the torch when they close their eyes for the last time.
SIR, YOU'RE A COMPLETE LIVING encyclopedia on survival and Bushcraft my hat's off to you sir for the dedication and the love that you have put into your life-long work...thank you so much you are a wonderful teacher sir..I just learn so much in one video..I have to watch it again just to get all your information on so may subjects..GOD BLESS YOU ZFOR YOUR LOVE OF THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Great to see the comparison of this and some other videos of batoning the knife. Here its the wedges that take the vast amount of work. if something breaks its a wood wedge and not your expensive knife!! Great stuff Mors.
Honesty, why should it matter to you or anyone else what someone does with their knife. If they break it, would it derail your day or ruin your life? I can take my knife, that I made from a fragment of cross cut saw blade, and throw it off a cliff if I want and the only person it will hurt is me. I never would because It's more special to me than anything some $200 knife made by a fancy name grinder jockey would make, and yes, I also use the wedge technique. It's quicker anyway and can do heavier work than a kinife alone. Really though, anti-batonning fanboys really need to just fuck off with their slander and leave everyone else to their own choices.
Skill is a focus on "finesse", instead of brute force. Reliance on a heavier blade without finesse is a shortcut. This man has finesse. TY for the vid.
People, discussions apart, the old man knows his stuff! I think that is the great message: learn your stuff, be creative, take advantage of what you have when shit happens, and you´ll have much better chances in a survival situation.
+mintyvision really? it's how I split wood in the country because my mom didn't trust me to not chop down the entire forest if we had a hatchet. all I had was a paring knife and a knee high crook in a tree and I had to make the best of it because she refused to buy a new saw after racoons stole the old one. built myself a clubhouse with nothing but scrap and improvised tools.
Jabun The Wanderer Mors is an instructor (retired, but never stop?) and have been so a very long time. You may have had some knowledge, but how much instruction and sharing of understanding have you done on the subject you talk about? Instructing and teaching others is a skill, and what I have seen, heard and read (I have his instruction manual for instructors) he is a master instructor. Heck, I have had instructors that had instructors that had Mors as instructor. He has put a lot into the pool of shared understanding.
I had no idea I was a survival specialist until I seen these guys on UA-cam.. I sure have learned some things just the same.. At 70 years old I doubt I will use it much anymore.. I certainly would have loved to have known this man.
07:55 The biggest take-away for me was his section on the use of wedges for splitting logs! Even with a large log one can still split wood by using wedges cut with your knife. Of course, it is a lot easier if you have a larger knife to cut the various shapes and lengths of wedges, thus my favouring having different size knives at your disposal. Why struggle to complete as task with a little knife when a larger knife would make short work of that task, and use up far fewer calories in the process? You can decide for yourself what is meant by small, medium and large knives, but my choice is: small = up to 4 1/2" blade length; medium = 4 1/2 - 7 1/2"; and large = 7 1/2" or longer blade. I would have an additional category: a Scandi grind knife (much like in the video) or like a Mora Garberg. That is because I see such a knife as a highly specialised tool whose edge needs to be preserved as much as possible, and used for very specific bushcrafting tasks, like intricate cutting, carving, feathersticking and the like. The other three categories take up all the bulk work, and can be used a bit harder. A huge advantage of having numerous blades is that this means much less sharpening needs to be done while in the field. With four blades one can do an enormous amount of work before sharpening is required. This can then be done under better conditions with better tools once back home. It also means that your tools will last much longer and serve you better. One other thing he mentions, but does not really expand upon, is the use of a saw! Notice those lovely logs he was working with? You cannot cut those with an axe! At least not as cleanly anyway. Being out in the wilderness without a good folding saw (like a Silky or Bahco) is not good judgement! They are super light and VERY efficient at cutting wood! They also use up far fewer calories than any other method for the same task. Note; when I say "task" I mean cutting a branch, limb or tree at right angles to the grain (or close to right angles), as in the cutting into logs with flat ends. This is what they are designed for. Although designed primarily for use with green wood, they do have a blade selection for cutting dry wood as well. Pay attention to this difference when purchasing a saw. I invite comment on the above. Cheers everyone.
Mors makes everything look so easy. Then you try to do the same thing and realize how long he has worked to hone craft! I have 2 early Skookums and they are fantastic! Still cant make curls as easy as the master!
Because of you, I made my own "survival knife". The material is 3/32 inch cross cut saw steel; the blade is a 1 1/4 x 4 1/4 inch continuously curved drop point, with a 4 1/4 inch handle, fir scales from the wood pile and some brass pins from that orange bog box diy . The Rc hardness is around 56-58 with a sabre grind and works beautifully. It won't win any beauty pageant like some $200 knife made by a big name custom knife grinder jockey; but it's tough, holds a good edge, slices and carves well and feels good in the hand. It's kind of the knife version of the Millennium Falcon
Mr. Kochanski, After watching your videos, its official now, I own a brand new Skookum 3V Bush Tool. Beautiful knife, Beautiful design, Rod Garcia is the best.
anyone says this is not survival skills that person does not know a thing or two about survival....respect your elders, this man knows a lot about survival and he's doing everything spot on... he has skills as a Native man...you can do so much with just a knife
You are so right. I mean, shite mate, look at the knife Otzi carried. With that and a 14 oz copper celt axe, there wasn't much he couldn't do to keep himself alive.
Thank goodness we have these videos to remember just a small taste of the knowledge he gathered over the years. He was teaching outdoors lifestyle for so long he was around when they changed the name. In the old days up to around the late 90s. Everything was thought of as wilderness survival then with internet and UA-cam it changed to bushcarft. I still believe there is a very large group of people that lack common sense survival skills. I did a deep dive into missing hikers, backpackers,even some hunters(not as many). I was looking for rescues and people that were found. It’s very sad reading about people just disappearing but that happens as well. Many people were considered experienced outdoorsmen. Yet when researching mistakes simple things could have helped them. I understand hindsight it’s easy to second guess someone. Yet that is how we learn so they didn’t die without value. One that sticks with me is a mother and daughter go on a hike. They took some water the daughter brought a space blanket and matches. They get lost and have bad weather. They died from exposure! They didn’t know how to make a fire or use the space blanket. I will add the space blanket is a marketing gimmick. But with a small amount of training what they had was enough to survive 72 hours they were found in under 48 I believe. Anyway Mors was a gift
Thank You Mors for identifying the right shape for my knife. A Persian up sweep style really works great in my bushcraft, my Cold Steel Sis has a little of that shape and so is my Swamp Rat Ratmandu, I noticed these knives cut better the edges that are not that shape. Some of my bushcraft knives even tho Scandinavian ground don't slice smooth curls like my Persian up sweep modified saber grinds, Thanx. Mors
Let’s say your doing a Ski Tour in a wet and could area where there’s manly spruce. Everything is either frozen solid or wet almost moldy. Your very limited in weight since your doing a hike on skies threw the forest area. What tool would you choose? A larger knife or would you go for the extra weight of an axe?
Im with out words my friend that is one of the coolest things ive seen thats bushcrafting or should I say bushrafting. Lol from the paddle to you lil boat I am just blown away this is why i sub you. thank you for showing us this. all the best to you and yours Dan aka big pappaw
The wedges he makes, identical to the shingles of old German homes. If you can’t shave a shingle, you can’t make a fire. If you can’t split a log, you can’t make a shelter. In any of those scenarios, you’re dead if you can’t.
I've found that the hardest thing to put a knife through is felling a small (up to forearm thick) tree. I also noticed that Mors didn't touch upon that in this video. He only spoke of tension cutting saplings (which doesn't work with all woods btw). Let be real here for a minute and agree that in a "survival" situation you are probably going to be stuck with just a knife because people don't typically carry axes, hatchets, saws, or machetes around with them on a daily basis. And let's also agree that the ability to fell small trees in a survival situation would be important for a host of things such as shelter, tripods, etc. I also think the ability to fell small trees would serve one better than being able to have a knife that can carve a netting needle in under 5 minutes as Mors describes... I don't know about the rest of you, but if I'm lost in the woods, carving a netting needle won't be high on my priority list! Which is why I believe that these tasks he describes would best fall into the category of "bushcraft" and not "survival". So if you need to have the ability to fell small trees (up to forearm thick), and all you would likely find yourself with is a knife, then you need a knife that can handle felling small trees without breaking. For this, I don't think Mora's (which is basically the style of knife he's describing) are up to that task. I've already had 2 Mora knives break on me due to this. There's a distinct difference between "survival" and "bushcraft", and I almost feel as though this video should have been titled "defining a bushcraft knife" and not "defining a survival knife".
***** "people don't typically carry axes, hatchets, saws, or machetes around with them on a daily basis" People don't typically carry medium-sized sheath knives around with them on a daily basis. Most people EDC folding knives at most. Of course you can do anything with a 9 inch Bowie, but the Bowie will be awkward to use for anything except processing wood, due to the long and heavy blade. The increased mass is likely to fatigue your joints faster, and beyond chopping the added weight and length provide no benefit. If you have some sort of survival kit in your car or backpack, you can carry a 1lb beast of a knife, or a hatchet-knife combo that weights as much and does more. This comes from a guy who actually owns and uses these large knives.
Good points man. They are all very relevant. I too am quickly becoming of the mentality that knives shouldn't be batoned with... If you need the ability to chop wood, then use a tool that was designed to chop wood (a hand axe), likewise if you need to whittle something like a figure 4 deadfall trap then use a tool designed for whittling (a medium or small knife). I think a hand axe and fine carving knife like a Mora would he the best combo to accomplish just about anything while still remaining portable so you can still carry it while hiking. What do you think?
***** "knives shouldn't be batoned with" Unless your knife is ground like an axe and weights like an axe, but in this case it'd also be blunt like an axe ;) "a hand axe" I guess you meant to say "hatchet". Hand axes were sharpened stones used by cavemen, they're called hand axes because they have no haft, I dislike hatchets for their short hafts and relatively low effectiveness. I'd rather use the same axe head on a longer haft. IMHO it'd be good to take example of your predecessors when setting up a kit for a given area. My country is woody with a temperate to cold climate. My ancestors carried small knives and one handed axes. Longer knives were historically reserved as backup weapons in my geographic area.
Actually, a hand axe is a small axe meant to be used with one hand. Technically, a hatchet has a hammer head on the back side. A hand axe, like a normal axe, has a broad flat area on the backside. However, the term "hatchet" has become the term used to describe any variety of small axe designed to be wielded with one hand excluding tomahawks. I see what you're saying though. I also happen to be from a rather temperate area being from upper New England. I also happen to prefer to carry a machete as opposed to a small axe a lot of times because I truly just believe that I can cut faster with the machete than with the axe. a machete is also generally a lot cheaper than an axe, but takes a bit of technique to wield properly before you can experience their true potential of just how efficient they can be. Machetes are also lighter than most small axes and can more easily be carried, whereas an axe can be rather inconvenient to carry on the person. Machetes can also accomplish more tasks than the average hatchet such as trail blazing, clearing paths & campsites, and makes a better defensive weapon against predatory animals and human threats than your average hatchet. That's JMHO though.
***** He explains how to fall larger trees with a knife in his book, and also in the Blades DVD I think. That's why he recommends that the knife have a strong pommel so you can pound on it with a baton or rock. Personally, I think if you were in a situation with just a knife that you'd be better off making stone tools rather than potentially breaking your primary blade. A stone axe should be able to take down a tree faster than baton and knife tip.
***** LOL Those two sentences are talking about two completely different ideas. Tell all those homeless people in the Cities across America that they 're not surviving in the city.There is water and food in the city. There's dirt and edible plants. Yes, most city folks will be out of luck, but not because the resources aren't; there, it'll be because they don't know how to render them.
***** LOL there's parks and rivers and creeks and trees and yes folks ARE planting on roof tops and have been raising rabbits and birds,etc for 200 yrs. Dandelions grow everywhere, Honey Suckle, kudzu, cattails, Blackberries, etc Squirrels , rats, birds rabbits, dogs,cats, etc., Muscovy Ducks are in about every city. Fish, Turtles, snakes, frogs, etc are in. Like I said the problem is folks won't know how to render it.
The answer is very simple, use what works for you, don't take anyone else's opinion as gospel it's just an opinion. If you spend enough time in the outdoors you'll come to your own conclusion.
I get the value to having a shorter knife for intricate, detail work. But where I am, there are a lot of mountain lions and some other dangerous creatures. So I feel safer with a longer blade. I'd love for Mors or someone else with a lot of outdoor experience to address the "weapon" side of knives, in addition to the "tool" side, and perhaps share some stories. I admit that in my moderate (but regular) exposure to the wilderness, I've never actually used a knife as a weapon-- but I'd like to know if others have, or if I should evolve into a smaller one.
ScottsUtubeWorld You can always use a small knife to carve a pointed stick to use as a spear for defense, make it long enough and you can use it as a walking stick at the same time while having quick access to it if a situation would occur, or carve a club, or better yet, carve a bow and arrows. A small knife is a great tool to make bigger tools and weapons. You can also dig with a small knife (never dig with the knife itself), just carve yourself a digging stick with a chisel looking tip. etc. etc. All the above can easily even be done even with a folding knife (of better quality of course).
a survival knife is the one you have in a survival situation . bushcraft knife is the one you plan to carry for lessons or just for a camp out . survival is not planned so unless you fall into a situation where you have no choice your edc carry may only be the survival knife . a preper would carry a bushcraft knife ,and not necessarily be in a survival situation . so survival knife is the one you are legally allowed to carry at the time you are forced into that scenario. love your videos though . not criticism just a fact . quote me if I'm wrong . we're all just learners lol
Knowledge is more powerful than the tools you carry. " the more I know! The more I realise we all know very little " and we still keep learning till we die xpeacex
Yeh I get that a lot I studied jeet kune do most of my life and studied philosophy and watch and read a lot also spent a lot of time in military then backpacking around Europe etc so I guess I picked up a bit on my travels also I studied logic. But mainly as the years have gone by I have been a world student of observation lol 😁 plus you tube helps alot xpeacex
there is no best knife on the market.. theres only a good tool or a bad tool, an a good tool with the knowledge of a champ (like the sir in this video) an u could do anything! >=D
*To me a survival knife is a knife that allows me to process wood, process food, make things to improve my situation, pry wood in search for food and obtain sparks from a fire steel. If it doesn't allow me to do all of that then it's not a survival knife. I may get seperated from my backpack with other gear in a fall or something, but the knife is always strapped securely to my side. By securely I mean in a sheath along with a cord connecting it to one or more belt loops. So if a knife can't do everything then it won't help me survive and I will not consider it a survival knife.*
Which is the best survival knife? TRC Mille Cuori, Ka-Bar BK7, Terävä Jääkäripuukko 110 , Fallkniven A1 ? If anything else is better then please help. Thanks in advance
@@General_ONeill This comment might be almost since he was alive, however I already knew, he didn't have ANY UA-cam channel. It's others that uploaded the videos, not Mors! That being said, I wasn't asking any creator, but you or anybody else for personal opinions! Eventually I got all this knives except the Fallkniven A1. The Terava is the only I didn't keep, it came with the worst heat treatment, I've ever seen. Chipped with any kind of edge, any kind of edge angle and no matter how much steel I removed, the edge still kept chipping like crazy, with normal light use...
@@General_ONeill After my disappointment, I did a better research and found out, that once in a while, some of their knives, come with that very bad heat treatment. I remember even on their official page, I 'd read the same complaints. That means you're lucky! It still isn't (the 110) a better knife than the Bushcraft Black. No matter the heat treatment, I''d choose the Bushcraft Black over any other knife in it's category. Please, do you have the White River Ursus 45?
Hello, unfortunately, I am not very comfortable with English so I can hardly understand what you say in the video, you may write what you think are the important characteristics for a survival knife so help me with google translator, thank you so much Michele
This guy has a very neutral and easy to understand accent. Just keep up learning English. If you can't understand this man, you don't know English at all.
Skookum is one word he used and is regional slang meaning "very good" Gnarly (pronounced Narley) in this case means "non standard" or "difficult to work with" Aside meaning he got distracted when he was demonstrating how to baton. Google translate will usually make no sense or will cause you to think the speaker means one thing when he really means something different.
Like I said it was my opinion. Of course everyone has a different purpose for a knife. Some do precise and intricate bushcraft(Using a small blade), others do rough-and-ready survival(A hefty blade which is basically a sharpened pry bar)
Clearing a snowshoe stick in 1 minute.. no offence but you were carving away in a rush but only cleared about 20cm in about 30 seconds, so I would say it would take you atleast 2 minutes to remove the bark of the entire stick, same as I highly doubt that you would carve a net needle along with a shuttle that's angled in 5 minutes, I would say 10-15 minutes would be more realistic even for someone who has done it a lot, specially since its a lot of fiddeling to do the top part of the needle. and its not what knife that determine if you get a smooth cut or not, its the way you have sharpened the knife you have, it just have to be razor sharp to give smooth cuts, as if its dull it won't. And personally I would define a survival knife to the knife you are currently wearing when ending up in a survival situation, and for most people I would say its gonna be a folding knife, as most choose to wear that when on a day trip in the woods as they don't expect to end up in a survival situation, and that's usually when you do end up in one. My personal "survival knife" right now would be a Fällkniven PXLim with 3G steel folding knife, of the simple reason that I always carry it, so if I would unexpectedly end up in a survival situation then that is the knife I would have at hand, and therefor that would end up to be my "survival" knife. But with that said, its a amazing folding knife that is so solid it can "almost" be compared to a fixed blade knife, so I wouldn't feel bad having it as my only knife option in a survival situation, as its just to handle a folding knife the right way and then it won't brake and still get the job done. However, a fixed blade knife is always the better option, but in today's day and age few people are wearing a fixed blade at all times, and a survival knife has to be worn at all times so you have it if the situation would ever occur, seen how it is never a planned situation.
my only limitation is most often cash. I make due with what knifes I have. and all of them have been reprofiled by hand which is a depressing and long process. I'm not spending what I could probably buy a shotgun with on a damn knife. I blame the industry, as with all popular topics bushcraft got riddled with them parasites. but fact remains I can't afford a "proper bushcraft knife".I still get by just fine.
Just read your comment. Think you will appreciate this comment from the SAS legend 'Lofty' Wiseman. When asked , "what is the best survival knife"? His reply . . ." the one you have with you" ! Stay safe in these covid-19 times.
you mean a bushy knife .European bushcraft tiny all but useless knife. a survival knife. american woodsmans knife is usually a bowie style .that can do larger jobs without carrying an axe too .and making short work of larger fire wood pieces
If a knife has to withstand abuse, the user has no idea what he's doing, and didn't take the proper tools with him into the woods. If you so lazy or so weak that you didn't bring a hatchet along, you should have stayed home. I've seen more damned fools get in serious trouble because they depending on a knife to do the job of a hatchet that I've lost count. The moment we saw anyone hit a knife with a club, he was gone. There is no such thing as a knife that won't break, or an edge that won't chip or curl. Being weight conscious is fine, but when you get as weight conscious as Mors is in so many of his videos, you aren't a woodsman, you're just a pretender, however long you've been doing it. You take the right tool for the job, or you stay home. Using a knife as a hatchet gets people killed.
+James Ritchie I would tend to agree with you. I prefer to carry a smaller knife and a suitably sized axe into the bush especially when I'm out for extended periods of time. If I'm out for an afternoon or overnight I sometimes just bring a knife and folding saw. It is definitely good to learn how to use a knife in the place of an axe though, and how to do it with minimal stress on your knife. When it comes down to it if I had to choose one tool, it would always be an axe.
+James Ritchie Forest axe part of your EDC is it James? I didn't think so... Mors is clearly talking about a one knife only situation and is one of the very few people on UA-cam who have ever shown the correct technique for making wooden wedges instead of mindlessly batoning a large log with a knife.
James RIchie "lazt or so weak"? "stay home"? James Richie I wonder if you understand what the underlaying idea here is. Are you a lazy person not caring to watch the video or read the title (notice "Survival" in the video title and "survival situation" mentioned in the video)? Are you yet another ignorant person that simply refuse to accept that an unplanned, less ideal situation, may occur to you? That bad things outside of your control may happen? That you may end up loosing a tool you actually brought? That you may be forced to make do with what you have at hand even if it is less ideal? As it seems you seem totally unware of the background and skill set of the person in the video here. Calling him a "pretender" just shows your total laziness and ignorance of concepts outside of your own sand box. Shame on you. When seasoned outdoors persons and professional instructors in their talk mention "undestructable" tool or "unbreakable", they mean it in the context at hand and not litterary. They know very well that any knife may break. As I see it, what they mean is that you made improve your odds by preparing, train, bringing equipment (will, skill, understanding and gear) with certain properties. Any knife or cutting edge is better than nothing, but including a robust knife with certain properties may increase your odds. Knowing how to use it in varied ways and knowing materials increase the odds. Increasing the odds make sense when it comes to survival situations. What you going to do if you lost other gear and just happening to have that knife attached to you and the situation demands something that must be done but the knife may be less ideal for? Melt like a snow flake in the sun? Cry for mum? Wait for "others" to find you and sort out your situation? These people and what they train doesn't "depend" on the knife! They don't plan to improvise and they don't look down on varied tools and skill of using varied tools (or no tools) and they don't lack experience and understanding of each tool, how to make them, find them and maintain them. You make it sound that you are unable to make mistakes, that getting into and unplanned survival situation with less ideal parameters is simply impossible to happen you and that you will always have everything you wished for or brought at the start. Total reality check fail.
R I P SIR YOU ARE MISSED
I am starting to think of Mors Kochanski's teachings as the
outdoor gentlemen's survival method.
No macho bluster, just sound ,well thought out skills.
Man the skill level of this guy is crazy
un vieux de la vieille école
Mors "Freaking" Kochanski..The very best there ever was, is and ever will be!
Him and John Wiseman are on the same plane as far as I'm concerned. But wye aye man, those two are about the most knowledged in the subject. It's a damn shame they're on their way out, but at least they have individuals who're willing to take up the torch when they close their eyes for the last time.
Thank you Mors.
...for everything...
SIR, YOU'RE A COMPLETE LIVING encyclopedia on survival and Bushcraft my hat's off to you sir for the dedication and the love that you have put into your life-long work...thank you so much you are a wonderful teacher sir..I just learn so much in one video..I have to watch it again just to get all your information on so may subjects..GOD BLESS YOU ZFOR YOUR LOVE OF THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Great to see the comparison of this and some other videos of batoning the knife. Here its the wedges that take the vast amount of work. if something breaks its a wood wedge and not your expensive knife!! Great stuff Mors.
Honesty, why should it matter to you or anyone else what someone does with their knife. If they break it, would it derail your day or ruin your life? I can take my knife, that I made from a fragment of cross cut saw blade, and throw it off a cliff if I want and the only person it will hurt is me. I never would because It's more special to me than anything some $200 knife made by a fancy name grinder jockey would make, and yes, I also use the wedge technique. It's quicker anyway and can do heavier work than a kinife alone. Really though, anti-batonning fanboys really need to just fuck off with their slander and leave everyone else to their own choices.
BEST, MOST INFORMATIVE, MOST CONCISE BUSHCRAFT SKILL PRESENTATION EVER. THANK YOU.
This man is an encyclopedia of information on bushcraft amazing
Mors, you never cease to amaze me with your knowledge! Thanks for sharing!!!
Skill is a focus on "finesse", instead of brute force. Reliance on a heavier blade without finesse is a shortcut. This man has finesse. TY for the vid.
Amen. I never thought of what he coverd and now I will be definitely adding a fixed blade to my pack. I may even practice this in my backyard.
Thanks Mors! I plan to go through the entire Karamat video series. Looking forward to it!
Most excellent! I’m glade we have these videos to look back upon!
Rest in peace Mr. Kochanski
People, discussions apart, the old man knows his stuff! I think that is the great message: learn your stuff, be creative, take advantage of what you have when shit happens, and you´ll have much better chances in a survival situation.
Mors as always is very studious! Thanks !
He'll be missed
I've never seen that wedge technique before. This guy really is a master.
no, he is THE master other masters look up to.
+mintyvision really? it's how I split wood in the country because my mom didn't trust me to not chop down the entire forest if we had a hatchet. all I had was a paring knife and a knee high crook in a tree and I had to make the best of it because she refused to buy a new saw after racoons stole the old one. built myself a clubhouse with nothing but scrap and improvised tools.
Jabun The Wanderer Mors is an instructor (retired, but never stop?) and have been so a very long time. You may have had some knowledge, but how much instruction and sharing of understanding have you done on the subject you talk about? Instructing and teaching others is a skill, and what I have seen, heard and read (I have his instruction manual for instructors) he is a master instructor. Heck, I have had instructors that had instructors that had Mors as instructor. He has put a lot into the pool of shared understanding.
This guy knows his stuff..
I had no idea I was a survival specialist until I seen these guys on UA-cam..
I sure have learned some things just the same..
At 70 years old I doubt I will use it much anymore..
I certainly would have loved to have known this man.
Great video and demonstration! Thank you!
Awesome vid lots of useful hints. Cay you do a vid on the notch stick?
its not the size of the knife thats important(with in reason) but the skill of the user,and that knife seemed to work quite well for Mr. Kochanski.
07:55 The biggest take-away for me was his section on the use of wedges for splitting logs! Even with a large log one can still split wood by using wedges cut with your knife. Of course, it is a lot easier if you have a larger knife to cut the various shapes and lengths of wedges, thus my favouring having different size knives at your disposal. Why struggle to complete as task with a little knife when a larger knife would make short work of that task, and use up far fewer calories in the process?
You can decide for yourself what is meant by small, medium and large knives, but my choice is:
small = up to 4 1/2" blade length;
medium = 4 1/2 - 7 1/2"; and
large = 7 1/2" or longer blade.
I would have an additional category: a Scandi grind knife (much like in the video) or like a Mora Garberg. That is because I see such a knife as a highly specialised tool whose edge needs to be preserved as much as possible, and used for very specific bushcrafting tasks, like intricate cutting, carving, feathersticking and the like. The other three categories take up all the bulk work, and can be used a bit harder. A huge advantage of having numerous blades is that this means much less sharpening needs to be done while in the field. With four blades one can do an enormous amount of work before sharpening is required. This can then be done under better conditions with better tools once back home. It also means that your tools will last much longer and serve you better.
One other thing he mentions, but does not really expand upon, is the use of a saw! Notice those lovely logs he was working with? You cannot cut those with an axe! At least not as cleanly anyway. Being out in the wilderness without a good folding saw (like a Silky or Bahco) is not good judgement! They are super light and VERY efficient at cutting wood! They also use up far fewer calories than any other method for the same task. Note; when I say "task" I mean cutting a branch, limb or tree at right angles to the grain (or close to right angles), as in the cutting into logs with flat ends. This is what they are designed for. Although designed primarily for use with green wood, they do have a blade selection for cutting dry wood as well. Pay attention to this difference when purchasing a saw.
I invite comment on the above.
Cheers everyone.
Very enjoyable! Thank you for sharing and teaching.
Mors makes everything look so easy. Then you try to do the same thing and realize how long he has worked to hone craft! I have 2 early Skookums and they are fantastic! Still cant make curls as easy as the master!
lots of cool information, thank you.
Because of you, I made my own "survival knife". The material is 3/32 inch cross cut saw steel; the blade is a 1 1/4 x 4 1/4 inch continuously curved drop point, with a 4 1/4 inch handle, fir scales from the wood pile and some brass pins from that orange bog box diy . The Rc hardness is around 56-58 with a sabre grind and works beautifully. It won't win any beauty pageant like some $200 knife made by a big name custom knife grinder jockey; but it's tough, holds a good edge, slices and carves well and feels good in the hand. It's kind of the knife version of the Millennium Falcon
Wish I could have met Mors. Thanks Mors!
Now THAT is skill
Mr. Kochanski,
After watching your videos, its official now, I own a brand new Skookum 3V Bush Tool. Beautiful knife, Beautiful design, Rod Garcia is the best.
anyone says this is not survival skills that person does not know a thing or two about survival....respect your elders, this man knows a lot about survival and he's doing everything spot on... he has skills as a Native man...you can do so much with just a knife
You are so right. I mean, shite mate, look at the knife Otzi carried. With that and a 14 oz copper celt axe, there wasn't much he couldn't do to keep himself alive.
Thank goodness we have these videos to remember just a small taste of the knowledge he gathered over the years. He was teaching outdoors lifestyle for so long he was around when they changed the name. In the old days up to around the late 90s. Everything was thought of as wilderness survival then with internet and UA-cam it changed to bushcarft.
I still believe there is a very large group of people that lack common sense survival skills. I did a deep dive into missing hikers, backpackers,even some hunters(not as many). I was looking for rescues and people that were found. It’s very sad reading about people just disappearing but that happens as well.
Many people were considered experienced outdoorsmen. Yet when researching mistakes simple things could have helped them. I understand hindsight it’s easy to second guess someone. Yet that is how we learn so they didn’t die without value.
One that sticks with me is a mother and daughter go on a hike. They took some water the daughter brought a space blanket and matches. They get lost and have bad weather. They died from exposure! They didn’t know how to make a fire or use the space blanket. I will add the space blanket is a marketing gimmick. But with a small amount of training what they had was enough to survive 72 hours they were found in under 48 I believe.
Anyway Mors was a gift
Great info! So, I really do not have to haul a ton of equipment in order to survive! Just a simple well built knife a a bit of know how! Thank you
That was a good video, nice tips and you have some nice skills too!
Thank You Mors for identifying the right shape for my knife. A Persian up sweep style really works great in my bushcraft, my Cold Steel Sis has a little of that shape and so is my Swamp Rat Ratmandu, I noticed these knives cut better the edges that are not that shape. Some of my bushcraft knives even tho Scandinavian ground don't slice smooth curls like my Persian up sweep modified saber grinds, Thanx. Mors
i still want to see the saw belt
Znakomite! Dzięki!
Awesome...
The MASTER!
Let’s say your doing a Ski Tour in a wet and could area where there’s manly spruce. Everything is either frozen solid or wet almost moldy. Your very limited in weight since your doing a hike on skies threw the forest area. What tool would you choose? A larger knife or would you go for the extra weight of an axe?
I did a big ski tour expedition style and I just brought a small Puukko but it’s been not sufficient. We needed a small axe and a saw
I want a bonnet like that
Yes, very fine Hat.
Musical wedges. Nice.
Cool video
mors, have you tested an Abe Elias nbs knife, as your both from Canada
Dat featherstick doe.
Im with out words my friend that is one of the coolest things ive seen thats bushcrafting or should I say bushrafting. Lol from the paddle to you lil boat I am just blown away this is why i sub you. thank you for showing us this. all the best to you and yours Dan aka big pappaw
The wedges he makes, identical to the shingles of old German homes. If you can’t shave a shingle, you can’t make a fire. If you can’t split a log, you can’t make a shelter. In any of those scenarios, you’re dead if you can’t.
I've found that the hardest thing to put a knife through is felling a small (up to forearm thick) tree. I also noticed that Mors didn't touch upon that in this video. He only spoke of tension cutting saplings (which doesn't work with all woods btw).
Let be real here for a minute and agree that in a "survival" situation you are probably going to be stuck with just a knife because people don't typically carry axes, hatchets, saws, or machetes around with them on a daily basis. And let's also agree that the ability to fell small trees in a survival situation would be important for a host of things such as shelter, tripods, etc. I also think the ability to fell small trees would serve one better than being able to have a knife that can carve a netting needle in under 5 minutes as Mors describes... I don't know about the rest of you, but if I'm lost in the woods, carving a netting needle won't be high on my priority list! Which is why I believe that these tasks he describes would best fall into the category of "bushcraft" and not "survival".
So if you need to have the ability to fell small trees (up to forearm thick), and all you would likely find yourself with is a knife, then you need a knife that can handle felling small trees without breaking. For this, I don't think Mora's (which is basically the style of knife he's describing) are up to that task. I've already had 2 Mora knives break on me due to this.
There's a distinct difference between "survival" and "bushcraft", and I almost feel as though this video should have been titled "defining a bushcraft knife" and not "defining a survival knife".
*****
"people don't typically carry axes, hatchets, saws, or machetes around with them on a daily basis"
People don't typically carry medium-sized sheath knives around with them on a daily basis.
Most people EDC folding knives at most.
Of course you can do anything with a 9 inch Bowie, but the Bowie will be awkward to use for anything except processing wood, due to the long and heavy blade.
The increased mass is likely to fatigue your joints faster, and beyond chopping the added weight and length provide no benefit.
If you have some sort of survival kit in your car or backpack, you can carry a 1lb beast of a knife, or a hatchet-knife combo that weights as much and does more.
This comes from a guy who actually owns and uses these large knives.
Good points man. They are all very relevant. I too am quickly becoming of the mentality that knives shouldn't be batoned with... If you need the ability to chop wood, then use a tool that was designed to chop wood (a hand axe), likewise if you need to whittle something like a figure 4 deadfall trap then use a tool designed for whittling (a medium or small knife). I think a hand axe and fine carving knife like a Mora would he the best combo to accomplish just about anything while still remaining portable so you can still carry it while hiking. What do you think?
*****
"knives shouldn't be batoned with"
Unless your knife is ground like an axe and weights like an axe, but in this case it'd also be blunt like an axe ;)
"a hand axe"
I guess you meant to say "hatchet".
Hand axes were sharpened stones used by cavemen, they're called hand axes because they have no haft,
I dislike hatchets for their short hafts and relatively low effectiveness.
I'd rather use the same axe head on a longer haft.
IMHO it'd be good to take example of your predecessors when setting up a kit for a given area.
My country is woody with a temperate to cold climate.
My ancestors carried small knives and one handed axes.
Longer knives were historically reserved as backup weapons in my geographic area.
Actually, a hand axe is a small axe meant to be used with one hand. Technically, a hatchet has a hammer head on the back side. A hand axe, like a normal axe, has a broad flat area on the backside. However, the term "hatchet" has become the term used to describe any variety of small axe designed to be wielded with one hand excluding tomahawks.
I see what you're saying though. I also happen to be from a rather temperate area being from upper New England. I also happen to prefer to carry a machete as opposed to a small axe a lot of times because I truly just believe that I can cut faster with the machete than with the axe. a machete is also generally a lot cheaper than an axe, but takes a bit of technique to wield properly before you can experience their true potential of just how efficient they can be. Machetes are also lighter than most small axes and can more easily be carried, whereas an axe can be rather inconvenient to carry on the person. Machetes can also accomplish more tasks than the average hatchet such as trail blazing, clearing paths & campsites, and makes a better defensive weapon against predatory animals and human threats than your average hatchet. That's JMHO though.
***** He explains how to fall larger trees with a knife in his book, and also in the Blades DVD I think. That's why he recommends that the knife have a strong pommel so you can pound on it with a baton or rock.
Personally, I think if you were in a situation with just a knife that you'd be better off making stone tools rather than potentially breaking your primary blade. A stone axe should be able to take down a tree faster than baton and knife tip.
Is there any other use for shavings, other than making fire?
Bush craft and surviving are two different things. Survival can be in the city. Most folks live in the city
***** LOL Those two sentences are talking about two completely different ideas.
Tell all those homeless people in the Cities across America that they 're not surviving in the city.There is water and food in the city. There's dirt and edible plants.
Yes, most city folks will be out of luck, but not because the resources aren't; there, it'll be because they don't know how to render them.
***** LOL there's parks and rivers and creeks and trees and yes folks ARE planting on roof tops and have been raising rabbits and birds,etc for 200 yrs.
Dandelions grow everywhere, Honey Suckle, kudzu, cattails, Blackberries, etc Squirrels , rats, birds rabbits, dogs,cats, etc., Muscovy Ducks are in about every city. Fish, Turtles, snakes, frogs, etc are in.
Like I said the problem is folks won't know how to render it.
i like his hat :)
Where can you find a knife that covers every application? I use an axe as it’s easier.
The answer is very simple, use what works for you, don't take anyone else's opinion as gospel it's just an opinion. If you spend enough time in the outdoors you'll come to your own conclusion.
mmmmmmmmm wedges are good with sour cream and chives
Sooo you mean I don't NEED an esee Junglas??
In what year was this taped? :O
hommage a lui de france qui regarde encore et de quel pays les compétences que cet homme des bois avait
I get the value to having a shorter knife for intricate, detail work. But where I am, there are a lot of mountain lions and some other dangerous creatures. So I feel safer with a longer blade. I'd love for Mors or someone else with a lot of outdoor experience to address the "weapon" side of knives, in addition to the "tool" side, and perhaps share some stories. I admit that in my moderate (but regular) exposure to the wilderness, I've never actually used a knife as a weapon-- but I'd like to know if others have, or if I should evolve into a smaller one.
ScottsUtubeWorld You can always use a small knife to carve a pointed stick to use as a spear for defense, make it long enough and you can use it as a walking stick at the same time while having quick access to it if a situation would occur, or carve a club, or better yet, carve a bow and arrows.
A small knife is a great tool to make bigger tools and weapons.
You can also dig with a small knife (never dig with the knife itself), just carve yourself a digging stick with a chisel looking tip. etc. etc.
All the above can easily even be done even with a folding knife (of better quality of course).
Notice no chopping? Large heavy knives not needed. Brilliant.
If you are considering the BK2 just get it.
You will need a smaller knife for fine tasks too though, try the BK24.
a survival knife is the one you have in a survival situation . bushcraft knife is the one you plan to carry for lessons or just for a camp out . survival is not planned so unless you fall into a situation where you have no choice your edc carry may only be the survival knife . a preper would carry a bushcraft knife ,and not necessarily be in a survival situation . so survival knife is the one you are legally allowed to carry at the time you are forced into that scenario. love your videos though . not criticism just a fact . quote me if I'm wrong . we're all just learners lol
Thanks 😂
I stick to the rule of the 5 ps. "Proper preparation prevents poor performance"!
Knowledge is more powerful than the tools you carry. " the more I know! The more I realise we all know very little " and we still keep learning till we die xpeacex
Yeh I get that a lot I studied jeet kune do most of my life and studied philosophy and watch and read a lot also spent a lot of time in military then backpacking around Europe etc so I guess I picked up a bit on my travels also I studied logic. But mainly as the years have gone by I have been a world student of observation lol 😁 plus you tube helps alot xpeacex
Everyone to their own.
Master of Masters!! wooo wee !!
there is no best knife on the market.. theres only a good tool or a bad tool, an a good tool with the knowledge of a champ (like the sir in this video) an u could do anything! >=D
*To me a survival knife is a knife that allows me to process wood, process food, make things to improve my situation, pry wood in search for food and obtain sparks from a fire steel. If it doesn't allow me to do all of that then it's not a survival knife. I may get seperated from my backpack with other gear in a fall or something, but the knife is always strapped securely to my side. By securely I mean in a sheath along with a cord connecting it to one or more belt loops. So if a knife can't do everything then it won't help me survive and I will not consider it a survival knife.*
Which is the best survival knife? TRC Mille Cuori, Ka-Bar BK7, Terävä Jääkäripuukko 110 , Fallkniven A1 ? If anything else is better then please help. Thanks in advance
@@General_ONeill This comment might be almost since he was alive, however I already knew, he didn't have ANY UA-cam channel. It's others that uploaded the videos, not Mors! That being said, I wasn't asking any creator, but you or anybody else for personal opinions! Eventually I got all this knives except the Fallkniven A1. The Terava is the only I didn't keep, it came with the worst heat treatment, I've ever seen. Chipped with any kind of edge, any kind of edge angle and no matter how much steel I removed, the edge still kept chipping like crazy, with normal light use...
@@General_ONeill After my disappointment, I did a better research and found out, that once in a while, some of their knives, come with that very bad heat treatment. I remember even on their official page, I 'd read the same complaints. That means you're lucky! It still isn't (the 110) a better knife than the Bushcraft Black. No matter the heat treatment, I''d choose the Bushcraft Black over any other knife in it's category.
Please, do you have the White River Ursus 45?
Hello, unfortunately, I am not very comfortable with English so I can hardly understand what you say in the video, you may write what you think are the important characteristics for a survival knife so help me with google translator, thank you so much Michele
This guy has a very neutral and easy to understand accent. Just keep up learning English. If you can't understand this man, you don't know English at all.
Skookum is one word he used and is regional slang meaning "very good"
Gnarly (pronounced Narley) in this case means "non standard" or "difficult to work with"
Aside meaning he got distracted when he was demonstrating how to baton.
Google translate will usually make no sense or will cause you to think the speaker means one thing when he really means something different.
Like I said it was my opinion. Of course everyone has a different purpose for a knife. Some do precise and intricate bushcraft(Using a small blade), others do rough-and-ready survival(A hefty blade which is basically a sharpened pry bar)
Clearing a snowshoe stick in 1 minute.. no offence but you were carving away in a rush but only cleared about 20cm in about 30 seconds, so I would say it would take you atleast 2 minutes to remove the bark of the entire stick, same as I highly doubt that you would carve a net needle along with a shuttle that's angled in 5 minutes, I would say 10-15 minutes would be more realistic even for someone who has done it a lot, specially since its a lot of fiddeling to do the top part of the needle.
and its not what knife that determine if you get a smooth cut or not, its the way you have sharpened the knife you have, it just have to be razor sharp to give smooth cuts, as if its dull it won't.
And personally I would define a survival knife to the knife you are currently wearing when ending up in a survival situation, and for most people I would say its gonna be a folding knife, as most choose to wear that when on a day trip in the woods as they don't expect to end up in a survival situation, and that's usually when you do end up in one.
My personal "survival knife" right now would be a Fällkniven PXLim with 3G steel folding knife, of the simple reason that I always carry it, so if I would unexpectedly end up in a survival situation then that is the knife I would have at hand, and therefor that would end up to be my "survival" knife.
But with that said, its a amazing folding knife that is so solid it can "almost" be compared to a fixed blade knife, so I wouldn't feel bad having it as my only knife option in a survival situation, as its just to handle a folding knife the right way and then it won't brake and still get the job done.
However, a fixed blade knife is always the better option, but in today's day and age few people are wearing a fixed blade at all times, and a survival knife has to be worn at all times so you have it if the situation would ever occur, seen how it is never a planned situation.
my only limitation is most often cash. I make due with what knifes I have. and all of them have been reprofiled by hand which is a depressing and long process. I'm not spending what I could probably buy a shotgun with on a damn knife. I blame the industry, as with all popular topics bushcraft got riddled with them parasites. but fact remains I can't afford a "proper bushcraft knife".I still get by just fine.
Just read your comment. Think you will appreciate this comment from the SAS legend 'Lofty' Wiseman. When asked , "what is the best survival knife"? His reply . . ." the one you have with you" ! Stay safe in these covid-19 times.
That knife is way too small to function as a pry bar for anything more than a pepsi can. IMO the MOD Knife is the best survival knife on the market
you mean a bushy knife .European bushcraft tiny all but useless knife. a survival knife. american woodsmans knife is usually a bowie style .that can do larger jobs without carrying an axe too .and making short work of larger fire wood pieces
I've been watching a few videos of Mors lately and he does know his stuff, but does he ever shut up?
If a knife has to withstand abuse, the user has no idea what he's doing, and didn't take the proper tools with him into the woods. If you so lazy or so weak that you didn't bring a hatchet along, you should have stayed home. I've seen more damned fools get in serious trouble because they depending on a knife to do the job of a hatchet that I've lost count. The moment we saw anyone hit a knife with a club, he was gone. There is no such thing as a knife that won't break, or an edge that won't chip or curl. Being weight conscious is fine, but when you get as weight conscious as Mors is in so many of his videos, you aren't a woodsman, you're just a pretender, however long you've been doing it. You take the right tool for the job, or you stay home. Using a knife as a hatchet gets people killed.
+James Ritchie I would tend to agree with you. I prefer to carry a smaller knife and a suitably sized axe into the bush especially when I'm out for extended periods of time. If I'm out for an afternoon or overnight I sometimes just bring a knife and folding saw. It is definitely good to learn how to use a knife in the place of an axe though, and how to do it with minimal stress on your knife. When it comes down to it if I had to choose one tool, it would always be an axe.
+James Ritchie Forest axe part of your EDC is it James? I didn't think so... Mors is clearly talking about a one knife only situation and is one of the very few people on UA-cam who have ever shown the correct technique for making wooden wedges instead of mindlessly batoning a large log with a knife.
Typical keyboard warrior
James RIchie "lazt or so weak"? "stay home"?
James Richie I wonder if you understand what the underlaying idea here is. Are you a lazy person not caring to watch the video or read the title (notice "Survival" in the video title and "survival situation" mentioned in the video)? Are you yet another ignorant person that simply refuse to accept that an unplanned, less ideal situation, may occur to you? That bad things outside of your control may happen? That you may end up loosing a tool you actually brought? That you may be forced to make do with what you have at hand even if it is less ideal?
As it seems you seem totally unware of the background and skill set of the person in the video here.
Calling him a "pretender" just shows your total laziness and ignorance of concepts outside of your own sand box. Shame on you.
When seasoned outdoors persons and professional instructors in their talk mention "undestructable" tool or "unbreakable", they mean it in the context at hand and not litterary. They know very well that any knife may break. As I see it, what they mean is that you made improve your odds by preparing, train, bringing equipment (will, skill, understanding and gear) with certain properties. Any knife or cutting edge is better than nothing, but including a robust knife with certain properties may increase your odds. Knowing how to use it in varied ways and knowing materials increase the odds. Increasing the odds make sense when it comes to survival situations.
What you going to do if you lost other gear and just happening to have that knife attached to you and the situation demands something that must be done but the knife may be less ideal for? Melt like a snow flake in the sun? Cry for mum? Wait for "others" to find you and sort out your situation?
These people and what they train doesn't "depend" on the knife! They don't plan to improvise and they don't look down on varied tools and skill of using varied tools (or no tools) and they don't lack experience and understanding of each tool, how to make them, find them and maintain them.
You make it sound that you are unable to make mistakes, that getting into and unplanned survival situation with less ideal parameters is simply impossible to happen you and that you will always have everything you wished for or brought at the start. Total reality check fail.