Hunting knives

[03Shadowbob]

I have handled countless animals with my Buck 110 folder. Tried and true.

[Sierra280]

Schrade old timer skinning knife, and a Wyoming knife are what I carry in my pack. The Schrade has been sharpened more times than I can remember-still works great. The Wyoming knife has replaceable surgical steel blades (but I have yet to replace it).

[Scout]

I have used a Buck 110 for all of my adult life.

[Doyle]

Older (US made) Schrade SharpFinger. Perfect size and shape for cleaning.

[2damnold4this]

I have used a Buck 110 for all of my adult life.

I have handled countless animals with my Buck 110 folder. Tried and true.

The late hogdogs was also a fan of the Buck 110.

[thallub]

i have several hunting knives including a 50s Morseth. My favorite knives are a Buck 102 and a G96 model 910: Either is capable of field dressing and skinn ing three or four hogs without sharpening. The Buck 110 is a good one.

[Buzzcook]

Gerber Gator.

[kraigwy]

I'm a knife junky. I have all sorts, all lengths and shapes. But I do 98% of my dressing and skinning with a little case stockman's knife that's always in my pocket.

In my younger years I did a lot of trapping and found the Case Trapper took care of anything The main blade on the stockman is the same as the two blades on the trapper.

I seem to be able to use small knives better and faster, even dressing elk. Of course you need a saw or ax to split the rib cage so you can get too everything, but after that the little case does the job.

This is the Case new, mine is a bit worn but still works great.

[old roper]

Kraigy, I carry the trapper 2 blade

http://www.casexx.com/DisplayDetailP...e=783&Patid=60

Since elk may be in the mix I carry in my pack one of T.R. Lewis knives also Wyoming saw.

[bamaranger]

I've grown partial to a Buck Mini-Mentor. That's a fixed 3-3/8" stainless blade, sabre pointed, rubber handled number, with a lanyard hole (very handy). I do not think they are produced anymore. The factory sheath is junk.

I also have some older USA Schrade 154OT's, (also no longer made) which are the drop pointed brothers of the swept point "sharp finger". The swept pointed "sharp finger" cut a bit to deep for me when gutting and splitting hide. But it was a good skinner after that. The 154 splits and opens better, and skins nearly as well. Lanyard hole on these little gems too. Carbon blade needs a bit more attention than stainless.

Finally, the Buck 112, the "folding Ranger" was a favorite too, But the two fixed blades above are lighter, yet one piece and stronger, and I've retired the old Ranger.

[jimbob86]

The Buck Mini-Mentor looks like it is distant kith or kin to the Schrade Sharpfinger .... the USA Schrade 154OT even moreso ......

I gutted a deer or two with a Sharpfinger (1980's) ...... good knife.


To those who use folders, how does one clean all the blood out of them? Short of dishwasher on "pots and pans" ....

[wolverine_173]

not saying it cant be done, just a pain

[Unlicensed Dremel]

Depends upon what you mean by "hunting knife" - gutting, just whatever pocket folder I have on me.

Skinning, I use a few with small blades - the KOA muskrat is good in this area.

Small neck knife for the theoretical cutting myself out of harness in the event of falling & hanging.

[wolverine_173]

I like to use one knife for everything from gutting to skinning/quarter out if needed.

[GeauxTide]

I sent a Drop Point to my youngest and he says it's the finest he's ever used. I got a standard last year, but haven't been able to use it. Forever guarantee and they'll sharpen it for you.

[603Country]

Still using my old KBar. Fairly worn 7 inch blade. Holds a good edge and is also good for chopping bones (or small tree limbs) if necessary. I can't even guess how many deer and pigs I've skinned with a KBar. I use a 25 year old 'newer' one and gave the one that my Grandfather gave me (it came back from the Pacific campaign) to my grandson.

Is a KBar the best skinning knife? No, certainly not, but I like the all purpose qualities of the knife. And, being an old Jarhead, a KBar just feels right. I have other knives (Buck 110, for instance) but when I use them it feels like I'm cheating on my old KBar.

[Colt46]

I like a carbon steel Mora or Puukko style knife.

Large, comfortable handles and short, narrow blades without a guard is worthy of serious consideration.

[WIN1886]

My brother gave me a wood handled folding knife with a short but broad drop point blade he bought in Sweden that I've field dressed at least a half dozen deer with....nothing fancy just holds a great edge and is easy to use ! The brand is Eka made in Sweden...use it for cleaning stream trout and small game as well ! Another Knife I like is the Alpha Wolf by knives of Alaska.....ultra sharp blade right out the box and made of D2 tool steel !

[wolverine_173]

i want to try knives of alaska

[Art Eatman]

Along about junior high, I had a Camillus like Kraigwy's of Post #33.

"A sharp knife is the sign of a lazy man." Well, I kept mine razor-sharp. Bare spots on my arm, to prove it.

[Picher]

I realize that fixed blade knives are better for use and easier to clean, but we didn't have as good sheaths in the old days and I've seen several car seats punctured by belted hunting knives and worried about falling on mine and having it go through a kidney, etc.

I've used both the Buck folder with brass bolsters and the Buck Lite folder. I prefer the lightness of the latter and have used it to gut many deer over 30 years or so.

[Sea Buck]

I use a short wide blade knife with a hook on it from LLBean in combination with a Western 4 in blade knife given to me by my Dad in 1954,great steel.

[6.5swedeforelk]

I refuse to concede that a fixed blade is "better", unless perhaps you're working in an abbatoir.

The cleaning is handled with a cold water soak & a couple toothpicks.

Safety issues-you can hurt yourself with either.

I strike out from the tent for a full days hunt loaded with just a large fanny pack, no carrying saws, axes etc.

The knife that I've settled on is a $49 Cabellas folding blade, blunt point and saw blade of 440C steel.

I don't like whacking a moose or elk pelvis with an axe to split it-the bladder is close. Sure, the saw blade is slow but I split the elk all the way up the ribcage. This makes for easy removal of the complete esopagus & larynx (cut a small slit for traction).
You can do a much cleaner job with the sternum split. When done, prop open for cooling & lightly cover with brush. Drag the gutpile off a ways.

[Panfisher]

I am not even sure how many different knives I own, from fixed to folders, cheap to Benchmades, different steel to good steel. Each and every one has their strong points and weak points. I have cleaned more than one deer sort of impromtu with a case or uncle henry pocket knife because that is what I had at the time. Some of my favorites are my Cold Steel Master Hunter in Carbon V for a fixed blade, Cold Steel Ultimate Hunter VG-1 Steel in a drop point folder, Old Timer Buzz Saw (if only one knife I generally carry it, but who wants to carry only one knife), the most recent addition is a Outdoor Edge Swing Blade, haven't used it yet but like the feel and design of it, blade quality seems to be on par with AUS-8A. Sometimes just for luck I will rotate knives, but there always seems to be the Beretta bright orange handle folder in my fanny pack, easy to not lose, and does the job, also like to have a cheap folding utility blade knife with either a carpet hook or regular blade. Those thin carbon steel blades sharpen like you wouldn't believe. And I am a sharp knife snob, regardless of design or steel sharper is better.

[Slamfire]

I have a shooting bud, who over lunch, calculated based on the number of decades he has been hunting, and the limit for deer, that he has taken over 200 deer.

This is his 1964 Case Canoe, a knife he bought new, in 1964. When I asked him what knife he had been carrying, he pulled this out, said he had field dressed a deer with it the weekend before, and he had not cleaned it! While this is a small knife, it sort of proves you don’t need a scimitar to field dress a deer.





Later I gave him a couple of knives to try out, I gave him a high carbon steel version of the bottom knife, a Grohmann “Survival” knife. This by the standards of 1970 was a big, thick, knife. I also gave him the Cold Steel version of the top knife, the original Grohmann belt knife. The Grohmann belt knife is not much thicker or heavier than a paring knife, which was perfectly fine when it came out in the 1950’s.



Anyway my bud preferred the smaller belt knife over the big survival knife, for field dressing deer.

I think either of the top two Grohmann knives would be excellent choices for a deer knife. I prefer fixed blade knives over folding as blood and fur get inside knife joints and it takes time and effort to clear the stuff out. I field dressed one deer with a Camillus trapper, an uncommon model as it had a locking mechanism. Next one, I went back to a 4” sheath knife.