Knives and Rocks and Fire

Knives and Rocks and Fire

In another article I wrote about knives, and the fact that we seem to collect them, even if we didn’t mean to build a collection at all. It is  for some, an accidental collection. For others it is on purpose.

On the Dirttime forum I posted in response to a question,  and I had some thoughts on knives ,  how they seem to “breed”, and we are trapped, tricked, and fall for marketing scams , that we know deep down are BS.  but we buy another knife anyway.  Following that post I was speaking with the, Halcon, about the article. When, in one of my more lucid moments, I said, ” well a knife is really nothing more than a sharp rock”. We both paused… And then laughed for ten minutes.

Point is this. We do not collect , and we are not driven to test out, sleeping bags by the dozens. We do not look at a fork and say, the tines on this fork are crafted to fit the right side of my mouth, how cool is that?. The handle on the spoon could be a tad longer, and the depth of the hollow could stand a slight improvement in depth of the contour starting right at the rim of the spoon. Now dont laugh, recently I have used forks that you could not “stab” into a cooked piece of meat. Spoons that were meant for a baby mouse, however, I digress.

How many tents do you collect in a lifetime? How many lighting device’s? How many, add in your choice of gear , like wool blankets, hats, ( well for some hats are really a sickness, I know I have it). Boots, belts, and so forth. Knives are in a class by themselves. We buy , but  many do not feel they have a collection, and that they are not out of control, riiight…. So they have an accidental herd of knives, a flock of knives,  and you are the master or some such. And tell yourself you will sell a few because you have too many. Okay.

What is it that drives us to add one more knife? We dont really need it do we! I think it is due to a few things.  It is related to fire, genetics, DNA,  ancient “man”. Man in the wild. This could be far fetched, but I think the theory is just as good a reason as anything else.

A sharp instrument is about defending ourselves. Be it a sharp rock or the finest steel man can make. It is still a primal urge that is difficult to deny. The sharp goes back to the first sharp rocks, a discoidal blade if you will, the better to help skin you with my dear…er ahh deer. That urge is hidden in our “genetic” makeup, and is exposed, closer to the surface in some, more than others. Yet we donot collect a “club” to bash a critter with. Oh wait, yes we do, the so called “billy club” a “cosh” , a “Blackjack” and such. However, we do not seem to collect those items like we do a knife. Too harken back to days of old, and be able to make a sharp rock, seems like a no brainer, but it was discovered at some point all over the world, and is one of the reasons that we are “tool” makers  . We progressed to flint knapping and onward.

Side by side was “fire” , I’ am betting that fire came first by accident. But the  two “skills” have been side by side for thousands of years all over the world. We were “born with a knife in our hand” , so to speak, and ready to use it. We were born by the fire and how to make it, and use it to our advantage.

When we teach students to make a fire they go nuts, like in the “Cast Away” movie, ” I , I have made fire” .  We always preach to have three ways to make a fire, and bring a knife, maybe two. We use a knife to prepare the wood for a fire. Or we use a sharp rock, same, same. Fire and knife are tools that live side by side.

My feeling is that the knife is lurking in the   deepest and darkest  parts, roaming around  in our brains, our hearts and running through our   blood , it  runs through us all.  We cannot deny  lost friend, a brother,  welcome to our home.

These tools are basic to man. A sharp knife, a sharp rock, same same.

A fire, partnered with the knife are the ultimate basic survival tools.

By Dude McLean, on May 17th, 2011