With the arrival of summer we look forward to our usual activities. Some of us go hiking, the others prefer water activities. Would you believe that up to seven out of ten Czechs go mushroom hunting ? That is a quite high number. All of us who likes this hobby are waiting for the rainy summer and warm nights, because those are the best conditions for mushrooms to grow. The best time to go is early morning. For mushroom hunting we need several things – appropriate shoes and clothes, basket, and of course a knife. It is obvious that not every knife is suitable for such activity and therefore we should answer some questions.
What size ?
When making a selection we need to decide about the size. Some might say that we can use any knife. That is only partly true. However, if we want to devote ourselves to something, we should have the appropriate equipment. People go mushroom hunting with different types of knives. The best option, however, will be some smaller knife. Why is that ? We won´t be cutting trees but rather do precise work which involves cleaning of the mushrooms, etc. Therefore the blade should be shorter, we are talking 5-7 centimetres. If it´s longer, the manipulation will not be as smooth. Other criteria will be design and blade shape.
Curved or straight
There is always a question what shape of the blade to choose. Mushroom knives have curved blades. Why? because it allows easy cleaning of the mushrooms. The method when we rip the mushroom from the undergrowth and cut off the root is not correct. We should cut the mushroom at the very bottom when the rest of the mushroom leg still staying in the ground with its roots. Can we imagine doing that with 15 cm long blade ? Probably not. The blade will be thin and curved. It is up to us whether we choose fixed blade or folding knife. Folding knife doesn´t take that much of a space but fixed blade is going to be more durable. But what about material ?
There are plenty of options
It is always about how much do we want to invest into our knife. To be honest, mushroom knife isn´t something where we should invest thousands. The manufacturers realize that too and that is why good mushroom knife is a matter of few hundred Czech crowns. There are of course more expensive models for real enthusiasts or collectors. The rest of us will be fine with stainless steel knife that has the right shape and size for our hobby. Remember that grip must be comfortable too. Some of the mushroom knives feature small brush on the tail which helps with the cleaning of the mushrooms. We can go to the forest with any knife, but why not get the one that is intended for it, especially when you can find it in this subcategory.