Find a Good All-purpose Kitchen Knife
Family tent campers will need a good all-purpose kitchen knife to prepare good tasting meals. More specifically, they will need a camp kitchen knife that has
1. A total length of about 10 inches so it can be easily packed with other kitchen utensils.
2. A straight(not serrated) edge that can be easily resharpened,
3. A 5 - 6 inch blade that is long enough to cut larger foods like watermelon & cabbage - but short enough to cut garlic & broccoli florets.
4. A sharp point that can easily pierce tough skinned foods like acorn squash and large foods such as melons and cabbage.
5. A full belly that helps to slice tomatoes, potatoes & carrots.
6. Good tip control to cut onions, broccoli, & debone chicken.
7. Enough weight to easily cut dense foods like turnips, squash & sweet potato.
8. A sharp, thin blade that can easily slice tomatoes, cheese, potatoes & roasts. Whenever I get a new knife, I sharpen it to 18 degrees.
9. A sheath to protect the edge from damage and the user from injury.
10. A price under $75.
Unfortunately. such a knife is hard to find. Chef’s knives and butcher knives are too big. Pairing knives are too small and too thin. Utility knives are usually to lightweight and have serrated blades. Hunting knives and survival knives are too thick and have saber or scandi grinds that don’t slice well. And folding knives are too weak in the folding joint and could close up on your hand. A good kitchen knife should fall between these extremes. The best options are large, straight-edged (non-serrated) steak knives but these knives are hard to find. Here are a few knives on the web that would make good general purpose camp kitchen knives for less than $75.
Best All-Purpose Camp Kitchen Knives - 2026
Dexter Russell Green River Hunting Knife
This knife makes a very good all-purpose camp kitchen knife. It has a thin and wide 5 inch blade that has a flat grind, sharp point, and full belly. Consequently, it can easily slice and pierce almost any food imaginable. And it is available on eBay and the web for a very economical price of about $40. It only has two minor limitations — its handle is a little short for big hands and it does not come with a sheath.
Vintage sabatier small chef knife
This knife also makes a good all-purpose camp kitchen knife. It has a thin 5 3/4 inch flat ground blade that is a good slicer and a sharp point that will easily pierce hard and large foods like squash, melons and crusty bread. And it can be found on eBay and in some estate sales for about $40. Its primary limitations are: : a small handle, a small belly, and no sheath.
River Traders French Ball Knife
This is a very good all-purpose camp kitchen knife. It has a thin, wide, flat ground 4 3/4 inch blade with a sharp point and a nice belly. Furthermore, it has a very comfortable handle and comes with a sheath. It can be purchased with a sheath from Knives of the North for about $60. I can’t list any limitations but buyers should know that it has a carbon steel blade that requires extra care.
Dalstrong Gladiator Non-Serrated Steak Knife
The Dalstrong Gladiator is one of several large steak knives that could be used as an all-purpose camp kitchen knife. It has a thin 5 inch Granton-edge blade with a sharp point and small belly. And it comes with an edge cover for about $25. However, it can only be bought in a set of 4 for $100, and it’s steel feels a little softer than other kitchen knives and must be frequently stropped or honed to keep the edge sharp.
Spiderco Bow River
The Spiderco Bow River knife makes a reasonably good all-purpose camp kitchen knife. It has a wide thin, 4 1/4 inch, flat-ground blade with a sharp point and a full belly for slicing foods. It can be purchased with a nice sheath from several different websites and good knife dealers for about $85. It’s a nice looking knife but it is a little small, especially for users with large hands.
Opinel SS #10 Folding Knife
This Opinel #10 is a very popular kitchen knife for many campers because it packs into a very small space and is an excellent slicing knife. It has a thin, flat ground 4 inch blade that has a sharp point and a small belly. And it sells for an economical price of about $20. But, I would not choose it as my primary food-prep knife because its small pivot pin makes it inherantly weaker than a full tang knife, it can accidentally close on your hand, its folding design is harder to clean, and it’s ultra light weight makes it harder to cut large dense foods.
The vintage Sabatier small chef knife makes a good all-purpose knife. Buy it from a thrift or antique store or from EBay.
The Dalstrong Gladiator non-serrated steak knife makes a good all-purpose kitchen knife. But it must be purchased as a set of 4.
The Dexter Russell Green River knife makes a good all-purpose camp kitchen knife. But the small point makes it hard to pierce millions and cabbage.
The River Traders French Ball knife is a great all-purpose camp kitchen knife but it cost $60.