In this episode, Chris breaks down what it really means to trust the knife you carry—and why your skills matter more than your gear. From field-tested blades to biblical truths that cut deeper than steel, this is a raw, faith-grounded talk around the fire at Camp Wut-Da-Heck.
Chris returns to Camp Wut-Da-Heck for a raw, unfiltered discussion about the most essential survival tool in the outdoors: your knife. With the wind blowing and fire smoke in the air, he unpacks not just the gear—but the deeper truth behind what makes a knife worth trusting. From field-tested blades like the Morakniv Garberg to his personal favorite, the BPS Bushcraft II, Chris lays out what separates a flashy showpiece from a real workhorse. He shares stories of gear that’s been abused, sharpened, re-used, and never let him down.
But this isn’t just about steel. As Chris digs into Hebrews 4:12, he draws a powerful parallel between a sharpened edge and the Word of God—both capable of cutting through confusion, fear, and the noise of life. He challenges listeners to not only sharpen their blades, but their faith—to be ready when the real test hits.
Whether you’re a seasoned bushcrafter, a weekend camper, or someone just trying to find clarity in the wilderness of life, this episode brings it all together: real tools, real lessons, and the truth that what works—stays.
(upbeat music)
Welcome to the
Primitive Camping
at Bushcraft
Podcast.
I'm your host,
Chris Speir.
So here we're
going to talk about
gear, grit,
and the kind of
stories you only
get
around a fire.
It's all about
learning,
adapting,
and keeping your
faith strong.
So whether you're
a seasoned
outdoorsman
or just looking
to unplug and
reconnect,
you're in the
right place.
So pull up a
chair by the fire
and let's get
into it.
All right,
welcome back to
Camp What
the Heck.
And today we're
going to be talking
all about knives.
The knife you
carry and, you
know, literally,
when you head out
camping or
practicing your
bushcraft
or your survival
or whatnot,
your knife that
you carry should
be the tool
that carries you.
So before we jump
in, just a quick
reminder,
if you haven't
grabbed my book,
Primitive Camping
in Bushcraft,
head on over to
Amazon,
use the links
in the
description of
this podcast
and head on over
there and
check it out.
And you can also
check out
the gear
and my new eBooks
on my website,
www.spareoutdoors.com.
Everything's
there with
absolutely
zero fluff.
So today we're
out at Camp What
the Heck
and it is a nice
and windy day.
So you might be
hearing some
wind noise.
It hasn't started
raining yet.
It's supposed to
be severe
storms today.
So hopefully
we'll get this
finished
before it starts
storming.
But if not,
guess what?
That's why
we're here.
Out in the real
roll, out in the
real world,
out in the
real camp.
I got smoke from
the fire blowing
me in the face
and that's
helping keep some
of the skitter
bugs away
along with
the wind.
And I'm doing a
couple of live
photographs
and taking some
photos of me
doing the
podcast today.
So let's
get to it.
So today's
question is,
what knife would
you trust with
your life?
And that is a
very deep
question
because not many
people would
actually
trust a tool
with their lives
and people do it
all the time.
But how many of
you would
actually
trust a knife
with your life?
If you head out
into the great
outdoors,
if that's all you
had or the
only tool
that you really
had to carry,
would you be able
to trust that
knife with
your life?
And when we're
talking about
these knives,
we're not talking
about the one
that looks best
in photos.
We're talking
about the one
that gets
the job done,
even when your
hands are cold,
when your
backpack
is soaked,
when all your
gear is soaked
and it's starting
to get dark
outside,
that you know you
could trust
this knife
with everything
that you do.
And I have
several,
I have a few
knives that I've
used over
the years
that these knives
are great
for everything
that I need
them to do.
And most
recently, well,
in the past
five years,
I've used the
Morinive Garber.
It's a full
tang knife
and it is
relatively cheap.
It's economically
feasible.
It's a
cheap knife.
And I have not
broken it yet.
I had, dude, this
knife is
ridiculous
when it comes to
the abuse that
I've put this
knife in.
And the reason
why I've put this
knife through so
much abuse
is because of its
affordability,
how cheap it
really is.
I could buy
a new one.
And matter of
fact, when I
bought
this knife,
it was $90
something
dollars.
And now I could
buy the
same knife
if I break it for
less than
70 bucks.
I think the last
time I
looked was 67.
Now I'm looking
over here
and Ranger has
been rooting
through the woods
and rooting
through all
this stuff.
And he pulls out
another Eastern
box turtle.
That dog will
chew on a turtle.
He finds every
turtle out here
and he chews on.
Anyway, I'll try
to get a photo of
that here
in a minute.
But he loves
chewing on these
daygum turtles.
But anyway, back
to the knife.
The other knife
that I use
is the BPS,
the BPS
Bushcraft II.
If you haven't
heard of BPS,
they're a pretty
good knife.
It's smaller than
the Garberg as
far as
handle wise.
And the Garberg
is
majority handle.
I'm more than
half of its
handle, the rest
of its blade,
it's full tang.
The BPS is not as
much handle, but
it's more blade.
It's hard to
describe.
I did a full
video on my
Facebook,
not Facebook, but
my YouTube page.
So there are
three blades that
I carry routinely
when I head out
into the woods.
And it's the
Moore
Knife Garber.
Which is a full
tang Scandinavian
grime or
Scandi grind.
It's high
carbon steel.
It's tough, it's
reliable, it's
extremely
dead simple.
And I've used it
to strike
ferro rods.
I've carved all
kinds of traps.
I've carved all
kinds of things
out of it.
You know, I've
prepped so many
mills and I've
never blinked.
I've never, it's
never let
me down.
This knife has
never let me down
to this point.
And I've been
using this knife
since 2018
is when I
bought it.
So going on, you
know, let's see,
seven years,
something to that
effect,
seven years
of using the same
knife and it
works,
it's great.
But then I have
another knife
that I use,
which is the BPS
Bushcraft II.
I use this knife.
Oh, here comes
the ring.
And it is
just as robust.
I have used it
for three years
now, two years,
three years,
something to
that effect.
And it has not
let me
down either.
And I've used it,
now each knife,
you know,
the BPS is a
Scandi
grind as well.
And it has not
let me down.
And I've used it
in the field for
many
applications.
I've split
firewood with it.
I have carved
things with it.
I have, you know,
I've actually
used it to dig.
I've done all
kinds of stuff
with it.
So Ranger's going to
kill this turtle.
Come here,
Ranger,
come here.
Get away from
that turtle, lead
that
turtle along.
(laughing)
He's looking at
me like
I'm an idiot.
He's like, buddy,
this is my
chew toy.
So, but anyway,
the BPS is
this knife,
and I've talked
about it on this
podcast
several times,
is that this
knife is amazing.
Now, what I like
about both of
these knives
is that they're
both made out of
carbon steel.
They're not
stainless steel.
Now I've had some
situations
before,
and I think we'll
be talking about
this a
little bit later
in this little
episode here,
when I get to my
bullet points,
is that the
stainless
steel knives,
I've had people
show up with
stainless
steel knives
and start
to use them.
And they're like,
look at
this knife.
It would cost X
amount of
dollars.
And they use it
one time and the
blades warped.
And it's like,
what in the world
did just happen?
What in the world
just happened?
So, I don't know.
These two knives,
these particular,
I'm sure there's
other
knives out there
that I haven't
used before.
I'm sure that
there's some
specialty knives
that people make
that I haven't
used before.
And wanting to
try out Tony
Powers,
his knives,
dirt bound
outdoors.
I wanted to try
his knives
and I'll probably
give his a go
here next
or soon,
and try that out.
But here's a
question for you
out there.
Do you actually
use a
folding knife?
Do you have a
folding knife
with you?
Do you take a
folding knife
with you in
the woods?
How many
of you do?
How much do you
trust it?
Have you ever
used a folding
knife as your
primary knife
and not a fixed
blade knife?
Not something to
the effect
of the garber.
Have you just
used a Swiss
Army knife?
Have you used a
Leatherman?
And I'm going to get
into that in just
a minute as well.
But the
Leatherman is an
amazing option.
So I don't
typically care.
Well, I do carry
a garber, you
know,
folding knife.
And it typically,
you know, if I'm
going into
the woods,
I usually don't
bring a folding
knife with me.
I usually bring
just a fixed
blade knife
and then my
Leatherman.
I might even
sometimes carry
the BPS and
the garber.
I mean, the
garber, I'll
carry one
or the other
in my backpack
while I carry one
or the other
on my side,
on my belt.
And I don't
typically,
there's other
knives out there.
There's the Moore
knife, the
companion,
the HD,
the companion,
and you know,
there's also
cheap knockoffs
of those same
knives that you
can get at the
big box store
that starts with
a Debian ends
with a T.
And right there
in the fishing
section,
they call them
bait knives,
and they are 100%
identical clones
to Moore knife.
Now, with that
being said, the
steel that it's
made out of
is probably not
the same,
but the knives,
they look almost
identical and
they're
only like three
or four bucks and
they're called
bait knives.
And I've used
those before.
I got several of
those in my
fishing boat.
But, you know,
the backup blade
is typically
what I use as my
Leatherman.
And I use a
Leatherman P4
multi-tool.
And this thing is
extremely
expensive.
It was 150 bucks,
I believe,
whenever I
bought it
or 140
something bucks.
And I bought the
multi-tool
because I was
going somewhere
and I needed a
reliable, good
warranty on a
multi-tool.
And I was doing
some project
that I still
can't even really
talk about.
But this
multi-tool is
amazing.
And I've used
Leatherman, when
I was in the
military,
we had Leatherman
issued to us
and these
Leatherman were
amazing.
And I used them,
you know, when we
was on our
ambulance
because we'd had
to have these
oxygen bottles
would turn them
on or off or
whatever.
You know, we had
to have
Leathermans
to cut people out
of stuff.
And boy, that
wind is picking
up right now.
But we used
Leatherman
for years
and it was a
different
version,
but I upgraded to
the P4 or
the free P4
or the P3, P4 or
whatever
it's called.
And dude, this
thing is amazing.
The saw is great.
All the, all the
accoutrements to
this thing,
all the different
blade attachments
or blade
accessories and
stuff like that
for it is
amazing.
This is a good,
it's a
real robust,
real good
robust tool.
And this thing is
amazing.
So it stays
clipped in my
sheath on
the pocket.
It stays there
and it doesn't go
anywhere.
And a lot of
times I'll carry
it in my
backpack.
I have a pocket
on the side of my
backpack
that is for
cutting tools.
And then I got a
pocket on the
other side,
which I know has
like cordages
and stuff to that
effect in it.
Now, let
me give you,
let me give you a
real, a real,
real story.
I use the
BPS and like,
I've told y'all
about this
BPS knife.
I've used it
before and I've
really, I really
liked it.
Ever since it
came, I've been
running it
through trees.
I've cut down
saplings.
I've cut down
larger trees.
I've split
firewood with it.
I've
re-sharpened it.
It still cuts.
I mean, I'm
telling you this
thing is amazing.
And it's
just as good.
Now what I found
with this BPS
knife is
that the blade
is not as thick
as the Garberg.
And it's a little
bit easier
to sharpen
and it
holds a blade,
it is just a tad
longer than the
Garberg does.
But, you know, I
use this knife to
clean a hog
this past
hunting season.
And I typically
have like some
different
kind of knives
that I've always
used to skin my
animals,
but this time I
just use the BPS
Bushcraft
II, you know.
And hands down,
this was the best
knife I ever used
to skin a hog or,
you know, a wild
animal with.
And hogs are not
the easiest
critters to skin.
No, their skin is
kind of tough.
And, you know,
this was a big
old hog.
It was about
120 pounds.
It was a decent
size pig.
And this knife,
man, I'm telling
you right now,
it didn't
miss a lick.
I was able to
make all
the cuts.
I made all my
cuts around
the joints.
I was able to
make my cuts
through the skin.
And then I was
able to
just go ahead
and slice this
thing up
and dice it up
and do everything
that I needed to
do with the hog.
Everything was,
it was clean.
It was,
everything was
well controlled.
It was extremely
comfortable
in my hand.
And that bleed
absolutely
worked.
It reminded me
that
performance matters
way more than a
price tag.
And you could
pick up one of
these knives
for 50
bucks or less.
And, you know,
when it comes to
stuff like that,
price really
does matter.
And, you know,
you don't,
you don't have to
have the
expensive stuff.
You know, I've
watched
people baton
through small
logs, like I was
talking about
earlier,
using stainless
steel knives.
And I've watched,
I've watched
people baton
through these
things and the
sharp edge
on these
knives warped.
And, you know,
right there,
you're talking
about a
$200 blade
that was ruined
in a couple
of seconds
because the
material was
not as par,
up to par, you
know, it was
cheaper material,
but you get
suckered into it
because you spent
$200 on this,
$180, $200.
And they are some
quote unquote
survival,
quote unquote
bushcraft,
quote unquote
camping knives
out there
that I'm telling
you right now.
These things have
no business
being sold
as a bushcraft
survival or
camping.
And so when it
comes down to it,
you know,
test your
equipment before
you get
out there,
run it through
the paces.
When you get out
there, you know,
have a couple
backups.
If you live in
the city and you
are not able
to get out there
and test your
stuff all
the time
or test your
stuff at home,
you know,
get out there
with the stuff
when you get into
the woods
and practice with
it heavily and
practice hard
because if you
don't practice
with it,
you don't know
how it's going to
perform.
And if you really
get to the point
where you
really need it
when you get out
on camping trip
or hiking trip
or something to
that effect, and
it fails,
guess what?
You should,
you're going to wish
you had something
that was
more robust.
So, you know, a
$40 knife is, or
a 40 or something,
or 60 or $80
knife is compared
to some of these
$200 knives
that don't work.
Let me tell you,
dude,
it's, it can,
excuse my old
French, but it'll
piss you off on a
heartbeat.
(laughs) You know, it'll
really make
you upset.
So, you know,
being able to use your gear
and make sure
you're skilled at
using your gear,
you know,
there's a huge
trap in this.
And I see it all
the time in the
Bushcraft
Survival
Community
online, I see it
all the
time in videos,
and I see it all
the time in
Reddit posts
and stuff like
that where, you
know,
there's a trap
thinking that gear makes you skilled. It absolutely
doesn't.
Now, skill
matters more
than steel.
You know, a $40
knife in the
hands of someone
whose practice
will outperform a
$300 wall hanger
every time.
A $40 knife that
is cheap right
off the shelf of
Walmart,
or, you know,
let's say, Smokey Mountain Knife Works
or whatever the, you know, the, Smokey Mountain
Knife Works or
whatever the,
the store you
purchased it
from, you
know, these,
a $40 knife in
somebody's hands
that have
practiced
all the time,
that know what
they're doing,
that have done it
before, is going
to outperform
a $300 knife in
the hands of
somebody
that's never done
a skill before.
You know, and a
lot of times,
like I, like I've
said before,
that these
expense, you
don't
have to spend
the most money on
equipment.
You really don't.
The truth is, a
knife is
just a tool.
You're the
craftsman.
And here's the
hard truth.
You don't need
the most
expensive blade.
You just need the
one that works.
And you need to
know how to use
your tool.
I've owned some
beautiful knives
in the past and,
some of these
knives have just
sat on the shelf,
sat on the
countertop,
because I didn't
want to scratch
them all
up, you know,
and that's not a
field tool.
Some of these
knives were given
to me as a ward.
Some of these
knives were given
to me for
different things.
And I didn't want
to take them out
and beat
them all up
because it's got
the nice logo
printed on them
or, you know,
stuff like that.
So these probably
could be used out
in the field,
but I'm not, I'm
not going to
bring them
out there
to be used
for that.
So the blades
that I
trust, you know,
they are
scratched up.
They're
dinged up.
They have been
run through logs.
They've been
rung, are sent
through trees.
You know, the
spines are all
chewed up from
ferro rods
and other things
I've got on my
BPS knife.
I have a strong
90 or sharp 90
degree
spine on it
that I have used
to get fat wood
shavings from,
and I've
used it so much
that I think some
of the residue on
that knife,
it wouldn't come
off with a
steel brush,
you know, with a
wire brush.
You know, these
knives are worn
down, you know,
I've sharpened
them so many
times, but
they're proven.
I've used them
over and over and
over again.
You know, a good
knife needs
three things.
It needs
to be sharp.
It needs to have
a sharp 90
degree spine,
and it needs to
feel like it's an
extension
of your hand.
So sharpen it,
get outside,
practice with it,
get it dirty,
don't worry about
messing
it all up.
And you want that
muscle
memory to kick in
for whenever
you're using
your knife,
not just your
muscles.
So here's the
hard truth about
this whole thing.
The knife you
carry is
only as useful
as the skill you
have with it.
And that is,
that's a hard
statement
right there.
You know, the
knife you carry
is only as useful
as the skill that
you have with it
or using it.
You know, knives
are tools, plain
and simple.
They carve, they
cut, they slice,
they dice,
they dig,
they baton, you
beaver chew
with them,
you even take
down saplings.
If you have to.
And that's not
always the norm,
but it
can happen.
But they've built
fires for me.
You know, I've
cleaned
game with them.
I've made traps
with them.
I've cut cordage,
I've made
cordage,
you know,
and knives have
even
defended lives.
And you know, one
thing
about knives
is that they're
the longest
running
manmade weapon
in history
because they
work simply.
And in the woods,
what works is
what stays.
You've never
heard of somebody
getting home
from a backpack
trip or a
camping trip
or some kind of
long trip and
they're cold,
they're tired and
they're hungry.
And they're
reflecting about
everything on
that trip,
what they bring
with them
and what they'd
leave home the
next time.
You've never
heard anybody
say, hmm,
next time
I think I'm going to
leave my
knife at home.
I mean, that
never happens,
that ain't
going to happen.
And once you
relied on it in
the field,
you realize this
ain't optional.
This is an
essential tool.
Now, there's been
instances like I
have in my hand
right now.
Let's see, I'll
take a picture of
this thing.
And I have this
in my hand,
which is one of
those Russian
soldier shovels
with the
sharpened edges
all the way
around it,
the Special
Forces shovels.
And on the TV
show alone,
what's his name?
Well, Zach Fowler
or whatever.
He used one of
these shovels as
his knife
while he was out
in the field.
That's brave.
I wouldn't do it.
I would
not do it.
I don't know, he
used this as
chopping tool,
he used this as
his knife.
I don't
think I'd do it.
So let's shift
gears for
just a second.
There's a verse
that I lean on
often,
Hebrews 4.12.
Says, "For the
word of God is
living and
powerful,
"and it's sharper
than any
two-edged sword,
"piercing even to
the division of
soul and spirit
"and of the
joints
and marrow,
"and is a
discerner of the
thoughts
"and intents of
the heart."
So that's not a
metaphor.
That is
precision.
God's word isn't
just inspiring.
It cuts, it
slices through
confusion,
it shaves down
fear, it exposes
pride and
distraction,
and it lays bare
what is really
going on
inside the
human heart.
I've had moments
where I
didn't know
what direction I
was going to take.
I was exhausted,
spiritually dry,
and I just don't.
And in
that moment,
God's word cut
straight through
the fog.
No fluff.
That was a food
for thought,
a little devotion
of the day on
this podcast
that the Bible
really does
sharpen us,
it really does
help us.
But as we close
out on this one,
I want to give you
a challenge.
Don't just carry
your knife,
practice with it.
Sharpen it.
And that's
another thing,
and that's a
whole nother
episode
right there
is about
sharpening
your knife.
Just as the word
sharpens us,
you know, just
around hanging
other believers
and people that
trust us,
it sharpens us,
it makes us
better people.
You know, get out
there with your
knife,
sharpen it.
Learn how to
sharpen it, learn
how to use it,
learn its
strengths, learn
its limits.
And do the same
thing with
your Bible.
Open it, read it,
let it cut
through what
needs cutting.
So if this
episode hit home,
let me know.
Message me,
comment or email.
I want to hear
about the knife
that you trust
the most.
I wanna, you
know, if you're
listening to this
or you're
listening to it
on the
Facebook page
or whatever, you
know, leave me a
comment,
let me know.
Let me know if
you're using a
fixed blade.
Let me know if
you're using a
folding knife
or high carbon
steel or
stainless,
or just let me
know what's in
your kit.
And get ready,
because next
episode we're
going to dive into
the water.
I did a trip this
past week,
and I used a
water filter.
Everybody loves a
grill, GeoPress.
I do, I use it
all the time,
trust it
with my life.
I've been there
where that was
the only water
filter I had,
but even the
grills, their
filter
starts to clog up
or slow down and
you need
something else.
So I did a muddy
river test,
I purified some
water with a
membrane solution
straw filter
and you know,
that's
what next week
we're going to talk
all about.
So until then,
keep your boots
dirty, keep your
knife sharp,
and in all your
ways,
acknowledge him.
Thanks for
sitting around
the fire
with me today.
If this episode
gave you
something to
think about,
if it helped you
feel a little bit
more prepared
or it even
stirred your
faith a tiny bit,
go ahead and
share it with
someone else
who might need it
as well.
We don't go
camping to run
away from life.
We come out here
to slow down and
to recharge.
So grab
another log,
throw it on the
fire and
remember this,
in all your ways,
acknowledge him
and he will
direct your path.
I'll see you next
time, God
bless you.