Multiple types of knives

[akodo1]

Just like there are various levels of clothing I'd like to see various options for knives.  (Hey, this game gives us 3 types of soda!)

I'm going to try and express how these differ as a percent of the performance of the hunting knife.

 

 

Small pocket knife The idea here is a lightweight knife you could carry at all times and would provide decent utility.

Weight = 0.1kg.  

Time to harvest: meat/hide/gut 200% cloth/crafting 100%

Damage to wolf when fighting: 50%

Durability: 100%

Fun twist: only found on bodies

Kitchen Knife That block of wood with all the knives sticking in it...yea any of those. Idea here is a knife you are more likely to find, but isn't very durable.  Possibly can be used as an item for crafting (a spear?)

Weight = 0.5kg.  

Time to harvest: meat/hide/gut 150%  cloth/crafting 100%

Damage to wolf when fighting: 75%

Durability: 50%.  Cannot be sharpened (at least not with anything found in-game)

High probability it would be found in any kitchen in the game.  Possibly multiple ones.

 

Hunting Knife The classic already in the game.  Including it here because I don't want anyone to think I am suggesting removing it.

Weight = 0.5kg.  

Time to harvest: meat/hide/gut 100%  cloth/crafting 100%

Damage to wolf when fighting: 100%

Durability: 100%.  

 

Combat knife  Something like this Ka Bar knife the US marines use.  I am sure Canada has an equivalent knife.  Designed for general survival use and for combat, it has a longer blade and is generally more durable than the hunting knife, but the longer blade can make some tasks like skinning slightly more difficult.

Weight = 0.7 kg.  

Time to harvest: meat/hide/gut 110%  cloth/crafting 100%

Damage to wolf when fighting: 150%

Durability: 200%.  

High probability it would be found with sharpening stone.

 

I thought about a lot of different knives for inclusion, but I think these 4 cover a lot of ground purpose-wise.

 

Some options I rejected

swiss army knife.: I was thinking it could work as a can-opener (but all knives can) maybe a magnifying glass for fire starting the presence of an awl makes crafting leather clothing easier meaning it takes less time, all in a lightweight package.  But it occurred to me this might be too good to be constantly finding around.  Maybe it can be included someday as a backer gift or special download that you find in one spot or maybe a reward item your future characters can start with if you complete all the challenges, etc, but probably not for everyday use.

Rambo style survival knife, the kind with the compass, hollow stock with line and hooks and matches in it?  Truth is that kind of survival knife was only popular right after the movie then people found that you couldn't really attach the blade well enough to a hollow handle and they didn't stand up to use, even good quality ones, not to mention the 99% of the ones that were sold at flea markets and fairs and were absolute junk.

Gut hook knife - Your basic hunting knife with a hook on the back side of the blade to make opening up the animal easier for field dressing.  Doesn't really help with skinning, nor with butchering.  In the end having a knife that made harvesting guts twice as fast didn't seem to be enough of a difference to justify the inclusion.

Machete - a knife that can chop wood just not as good as the hatchet?  I decided it was redundant, it wouldn't harvest meat as well as the hatchet either, nor skin...so what would it do that the hatchet didn't?  Maybe not as good as the hatchet but lighter? 1 kg?  But then, why include it with the 'knives'?

 

[Dirmagnos]

Most of that balancing dont really make much sense.

Why pocket knife is so ineffective ? What kitchen knife are we talking about(there are over 2 dozen completely different ones) ? Why combat knife is magically far far far more superior to everything else ?

[Boston123]

A knife is a knife is a knife. There is no significant difference between "different types" of knives in real world survival.

Amusingly, the "pocket knife" you rejected is , quite literally, probably the most useful of all the knives on the list. I use my multitool far more often than I do my sheath knife.

[EternityTide]

3 hours ago, Boston123 said:

...I use my multitool far more often than I do my sheath knife.

I'd hesitate to use a multitool for butchering a carcass, for fear of fouling up the hinges. I'd only ever use rigid blades for butchery.

[Boston123]

5 hours ago, EternityTide said:

I'd hesitate to use a multitool for butchering a carcass, for fear of fouling up the hinges. I'd only ever use rigid blades for butchery.

You can rinse them out?

I mean, of all the things to be concerned about....... I've butchered small game with a multitool before, with zero problems.

[Wastelander]

Personally, I like it, but I disagree on the durability on the combat knife - production-wise, it's almost the same as a hunting knife, except that it's probably larger and has a different blade. Personally, I'd make it more similar to the hunting knife in the durability-score. I agree on the rest though.