If you're new to bushcraft, you'll probably want both in the end: a fixed blade for the heavy work in the woods and a small folder for everyday jobs. If you can only have one for the woods, make it the fixed blade. This guide explains why, what to look for when you buy, and how to stay on the right side of UK knife law.
It's a fair thing to be unsure about. You're looking at a rack of knives, or fifty tabs of them, and you can't tell whether a Swedish fixed blade costing less than a takeaway or a £60 folder is the right call. Both look capable, both have people online swearing by them, and underneath it sits the question nobody likes to ask: am I about to waste my money, or buy something I'm not allowed to carry?
It also helps to know what you're buying for. Survival is about getting out. Something hasn't gone to plan and your kit needs to see you through until you're back somewhere safe. Bushcraft is about staying in. It's the deliberate craft of living comfortably outdoors: carving, cooking, building and working with the landscape rather than getting away from it. For most beginners the honest answer is a bit of both.
The Fixed Blade: The Workhorse
A fixed blade is exactly what it sounds like. One continuous piece of steel with no hinge, no lock and no moving parts. It lives in a sheath and comes out ready to work.
Full tang, and why it isn't everything
Full tang means the steel runs the whole length of the handle, with two handle scales riveted or bolted either side. When you grip a full tang knife, you're gripping steel with a covering.
The alternative is a stick or "rat-tail" tang, where a narrower spike of steel runs part of the way into the handle. That isn't a reason to avoid a knife. Plenty of excellent Scandinavian knives use a stick tang, and they've done hard work for generations. For the heaviest jobs, like batoning thick wood day after day, full tang gives you the most margin.
A good example: the Mora Companion isn't full tang, and it's still hard to beat for the money as a first bushcraft knife. If you want a Mora with a full tang, the Mora Garberg is built for exactly that.
What a fixed blade does better
Batoning. You rest the blade across a log and tap the spine with a wooden baton to split it. It's how you get to the dry wood inside a soaking wet British log, which is often the difference between a fire and a cold evening. Don't do this with a folder: the pivot isn't made to take repeated strikes.
Shelter building. Notching poles, shaping pegs and stripping bark all put pressure on the blade at angles a folder doesn't like.
Feathersticks and fire prep. Long, controlled strokes shaving a stick into curls. The rigid join between blade and handle gives you better control.
Levering. You shouldn't really pry with any knife, but sometimes you will. A thick fixed blade forgives it. A folder doesn't.
Speed. Draw it and it's working. No fumbling with a lock when your fingers are cold or wet.
Where fixed blades cost you
They're bulkier. A sheathed fixed blade isn't something you slip into a pocket and forget about, and that has legal implications in the UK, which we cover below.
They also need a good sheath, and a bad sheath spoils a good knife. Look for firm retention, a solid click or a proper strap, and nothing that lets the blade work loose while you walk.
Our knives collection runs from budget Scandi workhorses to heavy-duty fixed blades.
The Folding Knife: The One You Always Have on You
A folder pivots the blade into the handle, so you can carry a sharp tool in your pocket without a sheath.
The pivot is the weak point
Every folding knife has a designed weak point, and it's the pivot. That isn't a criticism; it's what happens when you put a hinge and a lock into what would otherwise be a solid bar of steel. Under normal cutting it's perfectly solid. Under hammering, twisting or heavy sideways force, it's where things give.
Modern locks are strong, but a lock failure with your fingers round the handle means the blade closes on them. That's the most important safety difference between the two types, and it's why we'd never tell a beginner to baton with a folder.
Locks, kept simple
Slip joint (no lock). A spring holds the blade open. This is the classic penknife, and with a blade of 3 inches or less it's the simplest thing to carry legally in the UK. The Opinel No.05 is a good example: a 6cm carbon blade and no lock. The larger Opinels, from No.6 up, have a locking ring, which makes them locking knives in law.
Liner lock and frame lock. A leaf of metal springs across behind the blade to stop it closing. A frame lock uses a thicker slab of the handle itself and is generally the stronger of the two. Both close easily with one hand.
Lockback. A bar along the spine drops into a notch in the blade. Very strong and very proven, and it usually takes two hands to close.
For a beginner, don't overthink it. A liner lock or lockback from a reputable maker handles everything a folder should be asked to do.
What a folder is brilliant at
Food at camp. Opening packaging. Cutting cord. Whittling a tent peg. Trimming a plaster. Slicing cheese on a stump. All the small, constant jobs that make up most of the knife use on a real trip.
And the knife you have on you beats the one at home. A small folder lives in your pocket, which is a real advantage no amount of strength on paper can match.
Have a look at our knives and tools if you're choosing one.
Side by Side
| Fixed blade | Folding knife | |
|---|---|---|
| Strength | Highest: no moving parts | Good: the pivot and lock are the limit |
| Batoning | Yes, with a suitably thick blade | No |
| Carrying | Bulkier, needs a sheath | Fits a pocket, no sheath |
| Maintenance | Easy: wipe, dry, oil | A little more: grit gets into the pivot |
| Cold or gloved hands | Easy | Fiddly |
| UK law | Needs a good reason to carry in public | Non-locking with a blade of 3 inches or less: no reason needed. Otherwise the same as a fixed blade |
| Cost for a good first one | Excellent value at the budget end | Similar, but quality varies more |
| Best for | Woodwork, fire prep, shelter building | Everyday jobs, food, cord, backup |
These aren't really competitors. They're different tools that both happen to be knives, and the experienced answer is usually to carry both.
What to Look For When You Buy
Steel: carbon or stainless?
Carbon steel (1095, or Mora's carbon models) takes a very sharp edge, is easy to sharpen with a simple stone, and is tough. The trade-off is that it rusts if you leave it wet, and it develops a grey patina over time, which is harmless and helps protect it. It's also what you need for traditional flint-and-steel fire lighting.
Stainless steel (Sandvik 12C27 or 14C28N, or 440C) resists rust, which matters more than you'd think in British weather. It's a touch harder to sharpen to the same edge, but modern stainless is excellent, and for most beginners it's the lower-maintenance choice.
Our suggestion for a first knife: stainless if you're forgetful, carbon if you enjoy looking after your kit. Neither is wrong.
Grind: why Scandi suits beginners
The grind is the shape of the bevel that forms the edge.
A Scandi grind has a single wide, flat bevel from the edge up to the blade's full thickness. To sharpen it you lay the whole bevel flat on the stone and it sets the angle for you: no guides, no guesswork. It also bites into wood well for carving and feathersticks.
Flat and hollow grinds slice better and suit food and general use. Convex grinds are very tough and are what you'll find on choppers and axes.
For a first bushcraft knife, Scandi. For a pocket folder, a flat grind is more useful.
Handle: grip when it's wet
British woods are wet more often than not, so the handle matters.
Micarta is canvas or linen set in resin. It's hard-wearing and grips well when wet.
G10 is a fibreglass laminate: very tough, stable, and usually textured for grip.
Rubber and plastic handles, like the Mora Companion's, are comfortable, durable and cheap. Don't dismiss them for not being fancy.
Wood is warm, traditional and lovely to look at, though polished wood can get slippery in the rain.
Whatever you choose, hold it if you can. Comfort over a long carving session counts for more than any spec on paper.
Blade length and thickness
For a general bushcraft fixed blade, 3.5 to 5 inches of blade is about right. Shorter and batoning gets hard; longer and fine carving gets clumsy, and you're into chopping territory where an axe or a machete does a better job.
A thickness of around 3 to 4mm handles batoning while still slicing well. Much over 6mm and it's more pry bar than knife: useful, but not as your only one.
Keep it sharp
A blunt knife is more dangerous than a sharp one, because you push harder and it slips. Whatever you buy, buy something to look after it. A small stone and a strop will keep a Scandi grind sharp for a very long time, and our knife maintenance range covers the basics.
Staying Legal in the UK
This is the part that stops a lot of beginners buying anything at all, so here it is plainly. We're not solicitors and this isn't legal advice, but the rules are straightforward once you know them. What follows is the law in England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own versions that work in much the same way.
The baseline
Under Section 139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, it's an offence to have anything with a blade or sharp point in a public place without good reason or lawful authority.
There's one exception: a folding pocketknife with a cutting edge of 3 inches (7.62cm) or less. The courts have ruled that a knife which locks open doesn't count as a folding pocketknife, even if the blade is under 3 inches. So in law, a lock knife is treated like a fixed blade.
That gives you two groups:
No reason needed: a non-locking folder with a cutting edge of 3 inches or less, like a small penknife.
Needs a good reason: everything else. Every fixed blade, every lock knife, and every folder over 3 inches.
What counts as a good reason?
The law gives some examples, such as needing it for work, and everything else is judged case by case. Going to do bushcraft, camping or fishing are the kind of reasons generally accepted, especially when your kit backs them up. An officer decides on the spot whether to accept your reason, and if it goes further, a court decides.
The practical points:
Context matters. A 4-inch Scandi knife in your rucksack on a woodland walk, alongside a stove, tarp and sleeping bag, tells an obvious and honest story. The same knife on your belt in a supermarket car park does not.
Carry it packed, not worn. Keep it sheathed and stowed in your pack on the way to and from your site. Wear it when you're working in the woods, then pack it away for the trip home.
Only take what you need. One bushcraft knife is easy to explain. Five knives, a machete and a hatchet on a day walk is harder, however innocent you are.
Be able to explain yourself calmly. "I'm going camping, the knife's packed in my bag with the rest of my kit" is a complete answer.
Get the landowner's permission. It strengthens your position, and it's the right thing to do anyway.
Never carry a knife for self-defence. It isn't a lawful reason in the UK.
Knives are 18+. It's an offence to sell one to anyone under 18, so every knife we sell is age-restricted and we check ID on delivery. Some types, such as flick knives, gravity knives and zombie-style knives, are banned outright.
What that means for your kit
A common setup among UK bushcrafters: a non-locking folder of 3 inches or less that lives in your pocket and needs no reason, plus a proper fixed blade that stays in the bushcraft bag and only comes out when there's woodwork to do. It's legally simple, practical, and covers both ends of the job.
What We'd Suggest
A grab bag
A fixed blade. A grab bag is kit you may rarely open, so it's no place for a mechanism that can seize or clog. Choose a 4 to 5 inch fixed blade, stainless if the bag lives somewhere damp, with a sheath that holds the knife firmly.
In order of importance: sheath retention, blade toughness, grip, rust resistance. Fancy steel doesn't matter here.
Pair it with a ferro rod. Any knife with a sharp, square spine will throw sparks from one, so you don't need to use the edge. If you're still putting a bag together, our survival kits and bundles are a sensible starting point.
Weekend bushcraft
A Scandi-grind fixed blade plus a small folder. It's the classic setup because it works. The fixed blade does fire prep, carving, batoning and shelter work; the folder does food, cord and everything small, so the big knife stays sheathed for small jobs.
You can get an excellent Scandi fixed blade for under £30, so there's no beginner tax. Spend what you save on a sharpening stone and a good tarp.
Everyday carry
A non-locking folder of 3 inches or less, and stop worrying about it. If your knife use is parcels, apples and the odd bit of string, a small slip joint is all you need. A traditional penknife or a non-locking multi-tool covers it, and our multi-tools add pliers and a screwdriver.
Serious green wood and camp building
A fixed blade plus a chopping tool. At some point, asking a knife to do an axe's job stops making sense. If you regularly process bigger timber, a small forest axe or a machete does in a few swings what a knife does in minutes, and saves your knife for the precise work it's good at.
Common Beginner Mistakes
Buying the biggest knife you can find. Big "survival" knives look impressive and are miserable for the fine work that makes up most of bushcraft. A 4-inch blade will beat an 11-inch one at most jobs.
Buying a hollow-handle "survival" knife. The ones with a compass in the pommel and matches in the grip. A hollow handle means there's no real tang, and the join between blade and handle becomes the weak point.
Ignoring the sheath. A knife you can't carry securely is one you'll leave at home or lose in a bog.
Never sharpening it. Learn to strop. A few passes on a leather strop after each session keeps an edge going far longer before it needs the stone.
Batoning with a folder. Don't.
Buying on looks. Black coatings, aggressive serrations and spiky pommels are marketing. A plain Swedish knife with an orange plastic handle will out-work most of them.
Building Out From Your First Knife
A knife on its own isn't a kit. Once you've got one you trust, the things that make the biggest difference are a way to make fire, a way to stay dry, and a way to get clean water, for which our water filters and purification range is the place to start.
For fire, a ferro rod and a knife with a sharp square spine work even when your lighter has got wet. And if you're right at the start, our beginner's guide covers the wider picture.
The Short Answer
Fixed blade for the woods. Folder for the pocket. Both if you can.
If you can only have one for bushcraft, make it the fixed blade. It does everything a folder does, plus the heavy work a folder can't, and it has no mechanism to fail. All it gives up is pocket convenience.
If you mostly want something sensible in your pocket and only get out now and then, start with a non-locking folder and add a fixed blade when you book your first trip.
Either way, buy something reputable, learn to sharpen it, and use it. A Mora Companion you've put a hundred hours into will serve you better than a £250 custom knife still in its box.
Browse our Morakniv collection for Scandi grinds that do far more than their price suggests, or the full survival tools range if you're building a kit. Not sure which suits you? Ask us. We reply within 24 hours, every time, and you have 30 days from delivery to return anything unused. We'd rather help you buy the right thing once than the wrong thing twice.
