Ok, so I don't feel like carrying a shortsword or leafblade hiking/camping... what are some of the best 'big knives' available? Even if there is one you like just for whatever reason... Quality, looks, function....

Can't go wrong with a machete, or is that too large?

M.

I guess it really depends on the intended use but for a "big" knife, the khukri fits the bill in terms of quality, looks and function in my opinion. It is also quite adaptable to a number of purposes. I have quite an old one which doesn't look like it'll ever give up.

Try and have a look at the laminated knives from Fällkniven.

www.fallkniven.com

Depends on how big you're looking for, but for bigger then the average pocketknife, I'd personally go for a leuku. Depending on which brand/maker, they can be really pretty. And you can't go wrong with a swedish/finish blade. They do know how to make their knives sharp and durable:)

Here's a few examples:
http://www.ragweedforge.com/FinnishKnifeCatalog.html

There's another much larger distributor, but I can't find the link at the moment.

Nothing wrong with a Bauernwehr, is there? That's what I'd choose, but I'm mediaeval-fixated.

www.graymanknives.com

I know the owner, and two of his Suenamis are currently downrange thanks to me.

His knives aren't "pretty" but they're well made and tough.

If you're on a budget, the Cold Steel SRK does a fine job.

I have to agree with everyone else here: how big and what purpose? If I'm going fishing I carry a Bud Nealy or Bob Dozier, small enough fixed blades to fit in the pocket (and really lightweight) but big enough to be "tactical" if things go wrong. If I'm out deer hunting I carry something bigger (though no real reason too). If I am at a re-enactment meeting I try to keep something "period" for the daily chores. And finally, how much are you willing to spend?! There are dozens of excellent custom and semi-custom makers out there with all kinds of price ranges. One thing you may want to consider on price is how bad are you going to feel if you lose the knife in the field? Can you shrug off a $400 dollar loss? Also check out a knife show and feel the knife in your hand before buying it. (can't stress that enough, doesn't matter how well the knife was made it you just can't stand how it feels in your hand)

Here's some of my favorite links:

http://www.highcountryknives.com/index2.html

http://www.alanwarrenknives.com/index.html

http://www.customknife.com/cbSearch2.asp?Category=Gallery


And, like everyone else has already said, it's whatever you are going to be using it for. I wouldn't want to clean a fish with a bowie knife (even though that works very nicely) any more than I'd want to clean and skin a deer with a pocket knife (I'm sure this would work, too)

I suppose I was more interested in a large, well-made tactical knife, something you'd fight a mountain lion, grizzly bear, or stalker with... just like I do every weekend ;)

I too agree that it depends on what you want to do with it. One of the best knives I've found for field use is a Ka-bar. You can pound, pry, cut, thrust, chop and do just about anything with it. They are simple and rugged. Check it out here.

http://www.bestglide.com/kabar_knife.html

The other knife I'd look at is a Kukri. You can get the real McCoy here!

http://www.ima-usa.com/product_info.php/cPath...ts_id/1497

You can step back and find some others here as well. These are a piece of history!

When carrying a big knife I always carry a smaller knife for detail work.

Some pretty good suggestions so far, just a few things I'd like to add...
Go for carbon steel over a stainless, if possible, for a big knife that will be subjected to impact/heavy chopping. Adding enough chromium to steel to make it stainless really reduces the impact resistance.
Almost any big knife can be used as a weapon in a pinch, but you may want to consider a big stick, the reach advantage is worth it.
There seem to be two schools of thought concerning big knives, thick or thin. Thick packs a punch in a more compact package, thin makes for less fatigue and faster swings, both have their advantages and disadvantages. Thick is better for heavy chopping, thin is better for general brush removal. The kukri is a good example of a thick blade, the shorter machetes are good examples of thin.
Convex is your strongest grind, scandi/sabre is almost as tough, flat is fairly strong, and hollow grinds belong on skinners, not choppers...(IMO, hollow grinds tend to offer more resistance to cutting hard materials {wood} and only offer advantage in the cut if the material being cut if soft/pliable...if the hollow grind is made strong enough for chopping, it tends to not cut anything very well)

I've always wanted to try a good barong...
http://www.oriental-arms.co.il/item.php?id=280

This is the knife i would go with, the Jefferson Spivey sabertooth

www.spiveysabertoothknife.com

This knife has been on my list for a very VERY long time :D

Form the reviews I've read it sound like it would never fail you in the field
Hope that helps :\

Just to echo the previous questions, what are you really using it for?

For hiking or backpacking the Swiss Army knives make a lot of sense when trying to minimize weight in a pack along with food, tent, etc. You can actually get a lot done with a compact knife. A four inch long fixed trailing or clipped point blade in a sheath is not that obtrusive either. That is what I have my son carry when he expresses a desire for a "big knife" in typical modern situations where a small sword is not likely to be warranted. You can roll over in your sleep while wearing one, or take massive steps over rough rocky terrain without the sheath seeming to be obtrusive. This is actually big enough to improvise as a chef's "all in one" knife in camp.

Hunting, the question may be dependent on how much you intend to do in terms of field dressing and saving the hide. Drop points tend to be my favorite for scraping a hide. At least for me, the handle needs to slope up and away from the blade edge for my knuckles to stay comfortably away while working on it.

Angus Trim has some of his tactical knives availible on Christian Fletcher's site. They are pretty simplistic looking but knowing Gus they ought to perform well.

I'm leaning toward the Chris Reeve knives... They have a few 9 inch blades that seems nice. the 7.5 inch project 1 and 2 seem nice also... for what I'm looking for a fixed blade in that size range seems about right...

The Spivey knive looks nice also, but not sure how the finger/thumb hole will feel...

Anyway, something with a fixed blade in the 7.5-9" blade range seems right....

After years of using knives in the outdoors, being an archeologist, a hunter and a trailguide, I found out that basic designs make the best for me. Oh, I do have two Chris Reeve knives, several custom-made knives and our local pride, the tough as a tank Dustar Arad-1. I strongly disregard the Spivey Sabertooth because of the finger ring and the saw back. For me, a knife and a saw should be two separate items - there are wonderful super-light folding saws out there, and they are usualy cheap, too.
My recent big knife for the outdoors is surprizingly a low cost one, but in the long term test it well worth its weight by gold - the Kabar Heavy Bowie https://www.kabar.com/product_detail.jsp?productNumber=1277&mode=category&categoryId=1,2,3,7&categoryName=Military/Tactical
First, it's not so heavy. Blade is 1085 carbon steel, precisely heat treated, flat ground from the spine - that makes it a super cutter, reduces weight while still heavy enough (at the 9" version) for heavy duty chopping tasks, keeps a good edge and easy to sharpen. The handle fills the hand comfortably and its construction prevents the hand from slipping forward (this cannot be seen in a profile photo). I always use a wrist lanyard. The sheath is also well designed - the point or the razor-sharp edge will not pop out all of a sudden under stress, and there are double keepers.

p.s. I also use occasionaly a custom-made knife-size dussak, as part of a long term experimant.