Different Tools for Different Jobs

(my tomahawk, kukri knife, and my belt knife. all different tools for different tasks)

Like many others in the outdoor community I too have been lead to believe in the possibility of a “One Tool Option”. I have been fascinated by this Holy Grail item that will be able to perform any and all of my crafting tasks. I am here to say in this article that this notion is a fallacy. There is no one tool option, or OTO. So now that I’ve ruffled some feathers, let’s get into this and let me explain why I believe the OTO doesn’t exist.

Let me start off by backing up and just saying that I truly wish there was a true one tool option. Some knife with a new design or a hatchet with a load of gadgets would surely be welcome and I’m sure would be the best selling outdoor piece of gear to date. Sadly the wish that I share with many of you is impossibility.  The OTO can’t happen because we require the correct tool for the correct task. Yes, we can have a knife that we can chop with, skin, carve, and has a 90 degree spine for striking a ferro-rod with, but couldn’t we carry tools that can do each of those more efficiently with?

(my belt knife. A six inch full tang blade. Note that my sheath has a pocket for other tools as well as a ferro-rod)

I’ve posted on this blog about practicing with minimal gear and doing more with less, and I’m not negating that notion. I fully think we should learn to do more with less and I don’t want anyone to be taking a full hardware store with you out into the woods. The point I’m driving at is being able to take with you the tools for the job.  If you need a chopping tool, by all means carry a chopping tool. But carry a chopper that is designed to do what you’re asking of it. Don’t take a bowie knife to chop down wood three or more inches in diameter to make good lasting fire wood. On the flip side of that coin, don’t take a full forest axe if you only need to process small kindling for a Ranger fire for the night, a small folding saw will serve you much better.

(everything that I take in my usual Scout Kit. there's many more tools than just one)

If we look to the past, the frontiersmen and explorers took with them tools that were multi-functional but also tools that were specific to the jobs they were designed for. A typical American beaver trapper for instance might carry with them three basic blades: a tomahawk for the majority of their chopping and scraping work, a jack knife for their carving tasks, and a butcher knife for processing game and self defense. Although a mountain trapper could in theory use his tomahawk to defend himself and his jack knife to process game, and I’m sure many men had to resort to this from time to time, it wasn’t the tasks he originally meant for the items. The trapper carried his specific items for their specific jobs. He had good need for each of these items and went without when a specialized task called for a special tool.

(my beloved tomahawk)

We need to understand to what it is we need to accomplish on each trip we go out on. An ultra light backpacker for instance doesn’t require a big chopping knife such as a kukri blade. Their tasks mainly are cutting small pieces or cordage, cutting up fruit, and maybe carving a bit, so for their needs a small folding knife will usually suffice. For a traditional style woodsman going out to make a deer camp for a week of hunting he will most likely need an axe and/or saw to process frames for his camp and enough firewood for his evenings. By understanding this we can see that one tool simply will not work for everything.

(note the tools just on my belt alone. multiple blades meant for different tasks)

As outdoor enthusiasts with all different styles to how we enjoy our time in nature we should be conscious of choosing tools that can do multiple tasks well. This way we can keep our weight down and how much we have to take out with us. But we should not be so attached to a supposed one tool option, that we forgo the appropriate tool for the tasks we need them for.  I believe we should choose a good Multi-job tool and learn how to use that tool to the best of our ability. That way we can reduce the amount of specialized tools that we need to take out with us. This way we are still being conscious of doing more with less, while also being smart about what tasks we feel we need to perform. I see so many woodsrunners taking out machetes into great pine-forests because they want to have a Bush-Sword with them just in case. Look, that's fine to take something with you simply because you want to, but do not try and convince me that the machete you took out will do more tasks or as well as my combination of a hatchet, saw, and belt knife. My small grouping of tools will out perform your one tool any day of the week and will do each task to a better end. I find so many times folks are trying to justify what they want to take into the woods by calling it their OTO when really they just think it's cool. That's fine, but isn't it more cool to take with you the tools for the tasks you're wanting to do out there? To me it's cooler to have accomplished the tasks efficiently and be relaxing in nature rather then trying hack through a tree with a knife.

Take what you need, and take what you need to do it with, and be mindful of what you don’t need to be able to do. Plan ahead and you will better enjoy your trip into the great outdoors.