Hunting knife, what do u use??

[snowtoday]

Hi,fellas. What kind of knife do u use when hunting? In badly need of a nice knife. My wife suggest me to go with (spam link deleted by staff). She said the quality is very nice. But I'm not sure it is suitable for hunting. What ya think? Is it nice stuff to go with? Any other tips?

[jimbob86]

Folding knives are difficult to clean the blood out of......

My hunting knife is a 4 1/2"" clip pointed blade I found in a drawer at my grandparents back in 1980-somethin' ...... It says "Utica Sportsman" on the blade. Nothing fancy, but it holds a better edge than the Buck my grandparents gave me for Christmas the year before. .....still using it 30 years later. Sturdy enough to drive through a deer pelvis......

a quick search sez it was made on the 50's (just like my 721!).... and in good conditon would be worth 14 bucks!.

[snowtoday]

30 years ? It might be an amzing knife.

[Tomas]

I use an old K Bar my platoon gave me the day I got out of the Marines in '86. There is a bone saw and gutting/skinning knife in my pack, but for digging my nails, pounding nails, hacking branches and all other things hunting, K Bar gets the call.

[jimbob86]

Part of that 30 years I was in the military, stationed overseas for several years..... but I have probably field dressed 20 deer with that knife.

The back edge of it is pretty banged up from driving it through the pelvises with the back of a hatchet, and it has been sharpened quite a bit...... one of the brass rivets holding the handles on fell out, and I replaced it with a brass wood screw (with a little PL 200 for good measure) and ground off the protruding ends...... it is in pretty rough shape, but it sure does work.

[RyeDaddy]

I use the Kabar large TDI with drop point half serrated blade. It's billed as a tactical type knife which seems a little funky for hunting, but it works.

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/DBA817-1.html

I got it as a gift, and it turned out to be great for deer gutting. My pack has MOLLE webbing so the knife sheath attaches to the outside of my bag, no digging around for my knife. All other uses I use a Benchmade 940, but as was already mentioned, it's tough to get blood out of a folder.

The Kabar has a very thick sturdy blade, an with the serrations I can cut right through a deer's sternum with less effort than other knives. I like the shape of the handle, holding it upside down(point down and away from you) it's easy to cut forward and up, keeping the point away from smelly internal organs. Stainless means when I'm done I just wash it in the sink. Used it on 3 so far this year, and am very happy with it.

ETA: I use a Butt-Out, so haven't had to cut through pelvis. The shape of the TDI might make that task a bit akward but I couldn't say for sure.

[snowtoday]

Your karbar looks nice for sure.

[Hawg]

An old carbon steel Old Timer with a gut hook. I only use the gut hook for skinning.

[hogdogs]

Buck 110.
Brent

[Alden]

Get a Buck fixed blade with a blade at least 3 inches long, but no longer than 4 inches. You don't need a huge long blade unless you're butchering a buffalo or an elk.

Schrade makes some good ones too, if you can find them. I think they went out of business. The Schrade Old Timer Sharpfinger is about as perfect a deer knife as you can find.

Here you go.

[Kreyzhorse]

I use a Buck. Can't remember the name but it's a fixed blade roughly 4" long with a gut hook. I stay away from folding blades because they can be a real pain to clean after you've used them.

[Hawg]

Schrade makes some good ones too, if you can find them.

Yeah, mine's an old Shrade I've had for years. You can find them on ebay and Amazon for not a lot of money

[Doyle]

I also use a Schrade Sharp Finger like Haggen's except that mine don't have guthooks. If you want one, don't buy the new crap made in China. The old ones are readily available on Ebay (although I did buy the new scabbard for one of my old knives).

Many new hunters mistakenly think they need a big knife for hunting. Nothing could be further from the truth. Any blade bigger than about 3" is just not needed until you actually start butchering the meat.

[Archer 9505]

My Idea of the perfect general purpose hunting knife.

[.284]

+1 for Marbles

This one is the field knife and I have several others that are collector editions and worth some bucks. A great Michigan company started in the late 1800's but, unfortunately they have moved their manufacturing to Japan in 2005. That is such a bummer because I have been to the plant in Gladstone MI.

[Buzzcook]

I've used a Gerber Gator folding knife for many years.

Lately I've read about using box cutters as skinning knives and that sounds interesting.

Knowing how to keep your knife sharp is as important as what knife you choose.

[Doyle]

Buzzcook, I use box cutters when skinning. I don't actually skin with the boxcutter. I use a hooked roofing blade to unzip the skin, then use a rounded blade knife to separate the skin from the meat. This is particulary useful on hogs because the tough skin on a hog will dull a knife. By using the disposable roofing blade, I can just turn it around for the next hog, then toss that blade away after doing two pigs.

[natman]

The Baby Boa is the proper shape, but I prefer a fixed blade because folders are such a pain to clean.

You want a drop point knife like the Baby Boa. As much as I like clip points for general use, the point tends to drag when opening an animal.

I use one of these:



Note how the point is configured.

[sc928porsche]

I use a Buck General. Purchaced in 1964.

[egor20]

Buck 112 folder, been carrying it since I was a BM3, kinda like it.

[jimbob86]

As much as I like clip points for general use, the point tends to drag when opening an animal.

Never had that problem, Natman..... I slice a small hole just forward of theither the penis or udder and put 2 fingers and the blade inside, edge up, tip between the tips of the fingers...... leading with the fingertips, slide the knife forward ..... cutting from the inside avoids cutting hair......

My opinion-

For skinning, opening the skin (around the legs- it is already open from the underside of the tail to at least the sternum from field dressing) is best done with a clip point blade, clipped part of the blade pressed to the leg, edge up. Let the edge do the cutting from the bottom side, so the hair does not dull the edge....... I use a home-made skinning knife with a lot of "belly" - it has a short, wide, curved blade- to do the actual skinning.

.....I think gut hooks are a marketing feature*, designed to get peple to buy a different knife. I have never seen them work well for the purported intended purpose...... and you'd need something round to sharpen them, I'd think....

....my dad had one of those Shrade Old Timer Sharpfingers (no guthook) ...... it worked really well, too. Just the right size and shape to fit in your hand to open the animal liken I explained above. Enough of a curve for skinning ,too.

*For that, they work, as when all the knives started coming out with them as a featrure, they sure sold a lot of them- hell, I even put one a couple of my home-made knives.

[jimbob86]

Knowing how to keep your knife sharp is as important as what knife you choose.

+1.... provided the steel is hard enough to hold an edge.

...... or you can just not bother to learn how and either use dispoable box-cutter blades (Wyoming Knife) or pay somebody at the county fair to sharpen your knife once a year (bad plan if you need it more than once a year ).

[Rifleman1776]

I have so many knives I can't keep track.
I use some custom made and homemade skinners.
I had a Western Cutlery skinner with blaze orange handle so it would't get lost. It got lost.
Probably the most used is the reliable Old Timer Sharp Finger.
BTW, someone suggest not using folders. Many who ride horses will not use a fixed blade because falls can jam a blade right through the sheath into the rider. Same with ATV riding. Folders are safer.

[DiscoRacing]

The kershaw you have listed has an awful short blade...2"...small for a whitetail I would think..

Get a Buck 119 fixed blade...Excellent quality...years of proof. I have several...tho I use a Buck 120(no longer made).

I use a Buck General. Purchaced in 1964.

Thats what I use... but since I wasnt born until 1966 mine isnt as old as yours.

[Doyle]

2"...small for a whitetail I would think..

Not at all too small. There are 3 separate functions to cleaning an animal. First is gutting (if you even bother to do that - I generally skip this step). Nothing in the gutting step requires a big knife.

Second is skinning. This is where a very short blade really shines. If you ever watch a taxidermist skin an animal for a mount, you'll notice he uses a short rounded scapel.

Third is the actual butchering. This is where the longer blade comes in handy. Since the butchering process is done either at camp or at home, why bother taking a long bladed knife into the field? That's just more weight to carry without any added benefit.