does anyone know of a cheap knife that weighs under an ounce that can get the job done when its needed?

Edited by brandonhippler on 09/14/2012 03:51:53 MDT.

Depends on what you expect it to do. A single edged razor blade suffices for some. I kind of like the Gerber L.S.T.

+1 to the Gerber LST. Small enough to be light (34 g - there is also a lighter one) but big enough to handle like a real knife.

For lighter look at a DermaSafe (7.5 g). I have one in my car FAK. MUCH preferable to a bare razor blade.

Jim

Edited by bmafg on 09/14/2012 07:18:43 MDT.

Baledeo makes a nice UL knife; mine weighs in at 15 gms. I also like the LST; both are very solid for UL use; a great multi tool is the Gerber Splice, weighs in at about 1.2 oz. and is safe for airport travel.

"that can get the job done when its needed?"

Brandon, it depends on what the job is.

Serious cooking might require something. Just opening sealed packages might require something less. Cutting up wood is something else. Doing emergency surgery on the trail is another story, but that might require a SAK.

--B.G.--

"it depends on what the job is"

That is obvious; I think a core philosophy of light and ultralight backpacking is measuring risk vs benefit or risk vs reward ratio when evaluating what not to carry (or what to carry); ie. if you will be in an area that there is great exposure, prepare accordingly.

But let's face it, you do not need a field machete on most hikes. You need a simple blade for common tasks. In most cases, a pair of scissors performs just as well as a small lightweight knife. If you are talking about chopping firewood or performing field surgery, then you are not an ultralight hiker.

Edited by bvidrine82 on 09/19/2012 17:15:56 MDT.

I never used a knife on a hike.

In several hundred miles of carrying it, I have never even used my derma safe knife on a hike, but at 0.3 oz, I think Ill keep carrying it, just in case I ever need to cut moleskin or ductape or cord.

I used my "22g" Baladeo (it's 23g) every single day of my most recent trek, and I'd say it's about as small as I can go for what I need to do. So, I sliced hunks of thick jerky, cut paracord, cut fishing line, cut fish, cleaned fingernails and slaughtered a fammily of rabid marmo...well, not the last one.

It wouldn't do for batoning much wood, but it's a pretty good size for most other work.

Edited by EBasil on 09/20/2012 00:06:33 MDT.

I like my Ti Kestrel ultralighter. 12 grams of fixed blade blade glory. I love mine.

-Tim

What is the lightest knife that could be used to baton wood?

The lightest folding knife I've battoned wood with is a standard size SAK. Be careful of the joint, and use technique, not brute strength.

I've used an Opinel #8 to baton, but there's not much wedge to that blade. It's the wedge profile that helps so much, when you have it. Strike outboard of the pivot on folders, of course.

1/2 a gram!

Edited by oware on 09/20/2012 12:09:03 MDT.

The prison slash is the best one, of course: it's multi-use!!

I use a Swiss Army Bantam a lot. Full size blade plus a combination tool (can opener,
bottle opener, phillips and straight screw driver, wire stripper). 33 grams.

Spyderco Bug, .35oz
http://www.amazon.com/Spyderco-Slip-Joint-Plain-Knife/dp/B003788U9U
Blade is nice and sturdy, holds a good edge and I find it's a little better overall than a dermasafe or a razor blade and a scraper holder. I can twist the blade and make holes in things, it's not going to snap like a razor blade can.


That said, I still never use it for more than cleanly cutting leukotape and gorillatape. I'm strongly considering switching to scissors, though the knife is handy for removing splinters. Plastic handled suture removal scissors are about .3-.4oz, Swisstool replacement scissors are about .2oz

www.swissarmy.com/us/app/product/Swiss-Army-Knives/Replacement-Scissors-SwissCard/30521

I've found the Swiss Army Clipper to be the most useful for me.



It has a small (1.75") knife, scissors, a nail file/screwdriver, and a nail clipper.

It weighs 37 grams (1.3 ounces).

Edited by KBabione on 09/21/2012 06:23:49 MDT.

I carry two. The tiny micro swiss with the scissors and the Ka-bar ZK Acheron neck knife- it's really light, I forget the weight but it's somewhere around 7 grams with the sheath.

"Ka-bar ZK Acheron neck knife- it's really light, I forget the weight but it's somewhere around 7 grams with the sheath."

Seriously? Is that a typo? 7 grams is about 1/4 ounce and I have seen this knife listed as 0.8 ounces and 1 ounce in a couple other places.

It is really light. I'm not at home where I could tell you for sure. That was a guess. It is one of lightest and still usable knives that I've seen that didn't cost a bunch. It's black stainless steel and it works for me.

knife is 1.2 oz and sheath is 0.3 oz

The smallest knife you could baton safely with would be a small neck knife like the esee izula or the blind horse knives tiger knapp. They are one solid piece of metal. Or the small red handled moras (not as strong, but longer blade).

If you really think that a decent sized knife has absolutely no place in ultralight backpacking except for emergency situations, then your knowledge of wilderness skills must be pretty shallow. I'm not saying that it's necessary, but just because you don't see any uses for it doesn't mean that uses don't exist for someone who carries different gear and camps in a different way than you.

Well, it's certainly odd to be talking about knives large enough to baton wood in the SUL/XUL subforum.

Though I suppose it would be very ultralight to carry an 8oz knife and just forego a shelter, bag and cook system and just huddle up next to a fire?

:) I think that's the interesting part to this thread: for the SUL/XUL packer, what knives are working? By definition (to me, at least) the SUL/XUL afficionado has things pared down to the bare minimums in terms of weight and utility -- the least necessary for the reduced list of tasks they've designed into their gear/personal capacity.

A full-tang, 50-gram-plus knife probably isn't on too many lists, even for those with deep insight to wilderness skills, if they're carrying backpacks made of fairy wings and perforated dental floss. The prison-quality slash blade above seems to me like a pretty darn XUL blade, and I would personally expect that practicioners of the dark art aren't planning to baton wood.

I did just pick up that AG Russell, 2" ti-framed folder, also noted above. Ha ha!! Now this is an XUL knife! I can see how it could be enough knife to open packages, cut fishing line/dental floss, clean nails, carve dead flesh and maybe even gut out a few potato bugs, but the string I'd have to put on it so it won't blow away in the wind will double its weight...

I have the smallest Gerber Bear Grylls (sp?) series folding lockblade knife.

> 3.25 inches (8.5 cm. ) long
> 2.5 inch (8 cm.) half serrated blade.
> 1 oz. (29 g.) with its short, braided Triptease lanyard. (The lanyard is necessary to keep from losing it.)

After going through many knives over the years this is THE lightest useable knife I can find. It is light because its plastic handle has no metal liners.

The Gerber LST is also nice if you want a slightly larger lockblade folder. Also no metal liners.

Checj out the Kabar 13 neck knife, wrap some para cord around the handle and you have a 1.2 ounce useable fixed blade knife for $10. I did research on an UL knife and this was the best quality and lightweight knife I could find per dollar.

I carry this knife daily on keychain. I sell this razor/saw combo on my site. Super light and tough, very similar to the Derma Knife.

http://blackscoutsurvival.bigcartel.com/product/folding-razor-saw

The Doug Ritter RSK Mk 5 is a small fixed blade that weighs 0.9 ounces and is very rugged to be such a small knife. hope this helps

I know things on the east coast and more directly the AT are much different than the West, but for me the Spyderco Ladybug Salt is perfect. It weighs less than an ounce and can remove splinters, cut line, and open tuna pouches. It being rust proof has made life much easier in the hot humid summers here in VA.

While cruising the aisles at my local K Mart I spotted these little gems hanging up in the sewing notions department. They are a miniature version of the multiple bladed, plastic bodied, disposable utility knives you find in hardware stores.



The blade can be retracted to a safe position inside of the plastic body. It has a "felt detent" in that position but does not lock there. Something or someone needs to move the slider button for the blade to extend. Stow it away with this in mind.



With the blade(s) fully extended the knife measures 2 7/16" or 62 millimeters. There are three blade sections that can be broken off one at a time and disposed of as they dull.



The thickness of the body including the slider button works out to .250" or 6 millimeters.



Best of all on my digital scale one of these little gems weighs 0.10 oz or 2.83495231 grams. ;-)

As you open the blade you feel something of a detent at two points along the slider button's travel. There is no locking mechanism as found on their larger cousins.

I paid $2.99 for a blister pack of four. In round numbers they cost $0.75 each.

No I won't be chopping firewood with one of these. Still, for those who carry single edge razor blades as their super ultra light cutting implement this may be a cheap and easily made safer alternative.

I'll admit that on past hikes I carried a CRKT M16-10KZ folding knife with a 3 inch blade. The most use that I have gotten out of my folding knife is cutting open those hard to open foil packages of my Micropur tablets. One of these little miniature utility knives could have well handled that duty and saved me some ounces.

For the really hard core XUL hiker you can remove all but the last section of cutting blade and there is room to drill lightening holes in the plastic body to get below the ridiculously heavy 2.84 gram weight. ;-)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Party On,

Newton

The Leatherman Style at 23g is what I carry.

1.6" blade, scissors, file, tweezers.

I've never used the file, but everything else has proved very handy, and often so.

I've vacillated over this a fair bit, I've come to the conclusion that if I need a knife at all, I need a real knife, with a full size handle and a very tough blade. The trails I take are sometimes not trails at all, a knife is one of the most fundamental tools you need in the backcountry, so it's worth taking a real one.
I carry a Swedish fireknife it has much more utility per gram carried than some silly thing like the Baladeo 22 gram. I haveone, I hate it. I have a Leatherman style, if I was going to go truly minimal I'd probably get by with that.

I think sometimes lighter is not always better.
My $0.02

I've found a happy spot between weight and function with a 2" blade. I can easily make shavings/small kindling to start a fire and then do all the other random tasks that any smaller knife/razor could do. I had the Gerber LST but after using the Spyderco Ladybug 3 have found it to be a much more refined and enjoyable knife to use with some bigger knife features. 18g with lanyard.

I just got a ladybug salt, yellow. It weighs .6oz.

Does anyone by chance have the Buck Hartsook Ultralight....or Boker Grasshopper knife?

Hoping to get an accurate weight on either knife including sheath?

Re the Buck Hartsook Ultralight, I'm interested in the authentic version and not the Chinese made knock-off being sold on Ebay.

Found at picnic site. Imperial Stainless paring knife. Took an edge well with an old farmer's stone. Won't fold up on you, easy
to clean, reaches to the bottom of the peanut butter jar, kinda retro. Probably dozens of these at the goodwill. Great for loaners.

21 grams, 3" fixed blade (long enough to be illegal to conceal in many cities).

Great affordable find! Thanks :-)




BTW - Thrift stores have good paring knife selections. Wood handles definitely have that cool retro vibe, but ones with the cheap black plastic handles have (so far) been the "lightest" YMMV

Edited by tr-browsing on 02/24/2013 09:28:05 MST.

If you don't actually need a blade but would like to cut cord, moleskin etc.

2.5" sewing scissors.. 7.5g with a little carboard sheath so they don't stab a hole in anything.
http://www.amazon.com/Westcott-Sewing-Titanium-Bonded-Scissors/dp/B000YZARO0

I really like this knife. I think its the most attractive UL option and the lockout is rock solid. I got it because not only is it the lightest one they make, but it has a hole for a lanyard and a lethally sharp point for splinter picking or stabbing into a trout with ease. I have fairly large hands so i put a really hard knot around the end through the lanyard hole. A tight enough knot becomes an extension of the knife body and a good firm place to grip with pinky or ring finger.



I should note that the knife was incredibly dull when i bought it. I kept the chisel grind, lessened the angle, and worked on the tip a little bit.