Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="KarinsDad" data-source="post: 6648688" data-attributes="member: 2011">The panga was actually primarily used in East Africa, not the Caribbean. A panga blade is effectively a machete, not an axe.But I was discussing an islander at sea, not inland. Surviving at sea rarely involves chopping thick heavy rope, wood, or other materials; or digging holes (something larger blades are often better at than a knife). A more modest blade is more useful in a survival situation at sea to cut fish, help repair engines or other equipment, and in extreme emergencies, create other tools like spears. Even something simple like screwing in a screw (Phillips or regular slot) is done easier with a knife onboard a ship than an axe. For Caribbean fishermen caught out on the ocean, a panga (or an axe) would have less utility than a knife.Again, the best tool is based on the environment and situation one finds himself in. Something you refuse to acknowledge. How much does one need to lug an axe around in Death Valley? 2 pounds eventually feels like 10 and the utility is minimal.Btw, go try to use an axe for first aid instead of a more precise knife in a survival or emergency situation. You'll often end up doing more harm than good. Try to dig a splinter out from under your fingernail with an axe. Or try getting a burrowing bug out from under your skin (happened to my ex-boss and it wasn't a tick that heat could help with). There is a reason doctors rarely use axes.Try fixing your backpack with an axe.Try using your axe as a stake to hold a rope on your tent (you might not be in an area where wood is plentiful and you can carve one). And if you do have to carve wooden stakes, it's easier to dig smaller holes with a knife if the ground is too hard or rocky to pound the stacks into.I also personally think that it is easier to baton split wood with a knife (or a machete) instead of an axe. Sure, when you have perfectly chain saw or hand saw 90 degree angled wood, an axe can often split a short narrow log fairly easy. I just personally think that a knife works better in less ideal situations and tends to be longer than an axe blade, so it can split thicker logs (or be used to trim split thicker logs into thinner logs). And swinging an axe is not exactly the safest thing a person can do.There are many precise tasks that knives are better at. I totally concede that axes are better at chopping and smashing, and that they can in some cases, be used for cutting. I do think that field dressing an animal is a lot easier with a knife.Experts in a coniferous forest. I already conceded that point, but you are still talking about it.And, just because people who are experts can do something, doesn't mean that most normal people can easily do the same thing. It takes years of practice for those people to use their axes for some of the things they use them for, just like it takes years of practice to be good at gymnastics, golf, or a wide variety of other activities. Just because those people can use their axes well for many things doesn't mean that most people can. Most people at better at using a knife than an axe. That's just a fact because most people use knives more than they use axes.You are deriving a conclusion from an invalid premise. Just because an axe might be better for you in your outdoor environment does not mean that it is better for most people in many other environments.Argumentum ad populum.As to my experience, I only tend to go out in the wilderness once every few years these days. I used to do it for a week or two every year (mostly backpacking and hunting), but that was a couple decades back.But here is a web page that shows you how to break up wood for a fire without an axe or saw. Firewood does not have to be pretty.<a href="http://backpackingmag.com/how-to-backpack/collect-firewood-wo-an-ax-or-saw-2" target="_blank">using a rock</a>Axes are for amateurs. <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/laugh.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":lol:" title="Laughing    :lol:" data-shortname=":lol:" /></blockquote>

Verification