So my theory of knives is that generally they are a catch all tool sometimes especially bigger knives. They can do all the tasks for the most part you'd do with a pocket knife, and an axe but neither as well as a dedicated tool. But they are lighter if you need both rather than all three. So if you're bringing them with you it's nice to carry less rather than more.
/snip/

Luke

What equipment do you use?

Any particular stone by brand? Do you use a normal whetstone or a puck?

Just curious.

The bigger bushcraft type knives are exactly like Luke states. They are a master-of-none sort of tool. They are much like a general use rifle. It is decent at everything, but not nearly as effective as any specialized tool.

I am in the field most every weekday. I carry a small fixed blade knife and a Gransfors small forest axe. There is no better solution to most problems presented in my area that these two cannot handle almost perfectly. If any self defense is needed the small axe will function just fine. 

The big knives are the most mediocre tool out there. They will work, but they will never excel. The big knives you buy cause they tickle your fancy not because they are the most effective tool for the job.   

From some of the latest comments I get the feeling that some of you feel big knife blades are pretty much just good for poking holes in things that leak (ala John Rambo).  [says the guy whose original hunting knife has a 4" blade and the newer one has a 6" blade.  And my only swords are a cheap Korean knockoff decorative one, and my gg-grandfather's Civil War dress sword, neither of which has an edge.]

Depends on what North is;) Up here its almost entirely hardwood maple etc with very little soft wood thrown in. While a large knife can work it's often a whole lot of work and very tough on a knife;)

I'd say regional variations are so high that it's hard to say always best to look at the environment you're planning on using it in and adapting your tools to it.

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I've heard it referred to as ash wood before? Remember that I live in Texas, so if it's not oak, pine, pecan, or elm, then I probably don't know what it is.

You're our local expert on good wood, so I'll trust your judgement  .

Lots of good stuff here.  From all sides.  If I may be so bold, I would like to weigh in from the historical perspective.  Being an old fart I think it probably falls to me to add this to the discussion. 

Any discussion of knives and their uses has to take into account the amount of time we have been using them in one form or another.  As a tool using species we have used sharp edges to alter the world around us for probably tens of thousands of years.  Everything from bone needles to hardened thorn awls to stone or obsidian knives or axes have been used by our ancestors to make life easier since long before the dawn of recorded history.  The fact that we recognized the utility of the sharp edge is a testament to our ability to adapt not only ourselves but things in our environment to our use. 

The mechanics of a sharp edge and how it works have not changed one iota in all the long years since we first made use of it.  If you have ever used a razor sharp piece of obsidian or flint you will immediately recognize the similarity to the ulu knife still in use in most of the arctic regions by the native people there.  The fact that most ulu knives are now made of steel is simply a testament to the advances of materials science in the last century or so rather than a repudiation of the original design idea.  Once you understand how the sharp edge works, designing a tool is simply an exercise in adapting the basic idea to the task at hand.  Every edged tool in our entire repertoire is simply a variation on the basic theme our ancestors understood and made use of all those ages ago. 

With that in mind, we need look no further than our history for nearly every conceivable variation on the edged tool.  Today we may have the advantage advanced materials that were not available in ages past but the mechanics of the sharp edge have not changed and neither have the ergonomics of how such tools must be designed to work effectively in human hands.  In the world of edged tools and weapons there is nothing new under the sun. 

Everything from the microtome to the chef's knife to the felling axe to the chainsaw to router to the tunnel excavator operates on the same basic principles.  Hand held, human powered tools are a very specialized niche since we generate neither an excess of speed or power when using them.  The edges on these tools need to be precisely ground and very sharp to allow them to work effectively under these limitations.

The interface between the human hand and the tool must be properly designed to allow both complete control and the ability to work comfortably and unhindered to accomplish the task at hand. 

None of these principles are new.  They existed 50 years ago - 100 years ago - 200 years ago - 500 years ago.   Until we fundamentally alter the mechanics of the sharp edge they will not change for the foreseeable future. 

Therefore, tool design - particularly hand tool design - is a matter of understanding how the best historical designs evolved and how to use those designs augmented by modern materials and manufacturing techniques.   You will be fascinated by the parallel yet subtly different designs of tools developed on opposite sides of the world for doing similar jobs.   You will be appalled by a "modern" design that is apparently ignorant of the historic precedents even though it boasts the most modern materials and manufacturing techniques.

The very best designs have been developed over countless generations of people using the same type of tool for the same type of task until there are simply no excess or contradictory design elements left.   Nobody really knows how old the ulu is or the axe or the puuko or the spear or the sword or the adze or the kukri.  It doesn't matter.  They are each the penultimate design for the task at hand.  Variations on the theme will always exist depending on the end user but the design elements remain because the fundamental mechanics remain the same. 

If you are a bit bewildered by all the choices available to you today you can separate the wheat from the chaff by selecting a design that has stood the test of time by people who use it daily and whose lives depend on how well those tools work. 

For a mid sized Schrade I like the SCHF42D the 42 is recurve, the 42D is plain blade. Good knife, decent size and is thick enough and large enough for most stuff.

Luke

...and second, it is hard to sit in a car with a long sheath on the belt.