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Hunting knife

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Wing master View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Wing master Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Hunting knife
    Posted: 08 January 2021 at 18:11
What is the best fixed blade knife for hunting? I'm thinking gutting and skinning antelope deer and elk. 

What's the best steel for a blade?

I prefer a blade that is roughly 4 inches long. 

I usually don't take time to sharpen my knife during hunting season. I need something that I can sharpen before season and gut/skin 2 antelope, 1 deer and 1 elk at least between sharpenings. 

Wing master
I have always considered myself to be quite the bullshitter, But ocasionally it is nice to sit back and listen to a true professional......So, Carry on.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote d4570 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 January 2021 at 19:18


Edited by d4570 - 08 January 2021 at 19:20
Remember: Four boxes keep us free ,the soap box, the ballot box, the jury box, AND the cartridge box
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Wing master Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 January 2021 at 20:28
Thanks D.

I have seen these. I really like the idea of changing the blades. 

Do you sharpen them? Or throw the dull blade away?

How long do they hold an edge?

Wing master
I have always considered myself to be quite the bullshitter, But ocasionally it is nice to sit back and listen to a true professional......So, Carry on.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote d4570 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 January 2021 at 05:43
I throw them away.
It will do a deer or two or several coyotes.
Remember: Four boxes keep us free ,the soap box, the ballot box, the jury box, AND the cartridge box
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BEAR Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 January 2021 at 07:27
I use a Havalon.  you can change to any length blade.  I like the 3".

I have an extra blade taped to my knife case; aalong with a hemastat for blade changeing.  Blades are reasonable.

I usually change after evry 3-4 deer; but blades still seem to be sharp.  an elk guide i know sharpens his after every elk skin/quarter.  He didn't know you can get new blades and has been using that knife for years.  Blades are thin, really medical scalpel blades.

Only down side.....the skeleton tsyle knife handle is difficult to clean after using.  I always carry a plastic zip lok bag for my knife and gloves after using.  Take lots of soaking in detergent and some scrubing, tooth picks to get it clean...guess I could just boil it and forget the dried blood and tissue.






Edited by BEAR - 09 January 2021 at 07:29
“ The IQ and the life expectancy of the average American recently passed each other in opposite directions.”
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Wing master Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 January 2021 at 00:11
Thanks guys. 

Ill look at the Havalon. 

Wing master
I have always considered myself to be quite the bullshitter, But ocasionally it is nice to sit back and listen to a true professional......So, Carry on.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Irish Bird Dog Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 January 2021 at 16:18
I have been using the same Buck 110 lockback folder for decades. It does need to be sharpened but holds edge pretty well. Skinning seems to be hard on the edge. However I do not skin/clean umpteen animals each fall either like the rest of you guys!LOL

Edited by Irish Bird Dog - 11 January 2021 at 16:20
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jsgbearpaws1 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 January 2021 at 02:48
Do you have a price range? Lotsa good stuff out there. Do you do the caping with it as well as the field dress?

I prefer a 3 1/2” drop point or cheap boner as a multi tool but the katana style is very popular and useful. Boy used his K-bar one year...mistake! I asked him he was trying to kill it again! Most work I do is with a fixed utility knife for the dress work but a boner or short drop point do a much better job. The boner is like a paring knife and works slick in tight places. Easy to get a good edge as well. The drop points are a talent to get a perfect edge but make up for it with edge durability and a stout spine/ no flex. The katana styles in a shorty is a cross between the two and gives you a good sharp tip to do detail with.
...oh yeah! thats gonna hurt!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote d4570 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 January 2021 at 07:04
Paws
Have you ever shown Little Debby your cheap boner in the woods?
Ha Ha Ha this keeps getting better and better......LOL
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BEAR Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 January 2021 at 10:43
Sort of have to ask, knife for what?

just gutting?   quartering?   deboning?  skinning?

I use the Havalon for gutting, like a zipper to open.  Very light weight to carry in the field with a pair of gloves in a zip lok bag (all in the bag before gutting and all in the bag after gutting).  I hate to see hunters leave those gutting plastic gloves in the field for years; ruins the 'wilderness image of hunting spots.

But in my Explorer is a pack with 3 other knives and a small butchering hatchet.  use what is needed.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jsgbearpaws1 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 January 2021 at 02:18
...yes.....yes I have...Wink
...oh yeah! thats gonna hurt!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote MapleHill Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 January 2021 at 08:59
I have a selection of Kershaw knives that have served me well. My Snap-On guy sold Kershaws for several years off his truck, this made it easy for me to claim them on my tool allowance for work and my tax returns. I have used a Black Colt folding knife for years for gutting deer. I bought a couple extras and kept them stashed and gave my oldest son one this year and he gutted his first deer with it. I have 1 more for son #2. They now, of course, are discontinued. I have a fixed blade I use for skinning, also a Kershaw, it has the rounded blade tip, can't remember what they call it, at about 4-4.5". The Colt is 3.5", perfect for gutting deer IMO. I also have an Alaskan Blade Trader. This is a tool with 1 handle and a clip point blade, like the colt, WY skinner/gut hook blade and a small bone saw. I gave one to my FIL for X-mas years ago and he used the heck out of it at home and on his trips to moose camp. I have a couple folding Black Horse knives. They are just bigger than the colt, maybe a 5" blade. I have always liked the simple rugged design of the Kershaw, hold an edge and sharpen well. Now the Snap-On guy has Columbia River knives, nothing in there catalog blows my skirt up for hunting uses, certainly not like the Kershaws. It seems the knife world has gone "tactical" like everything else in the hunting industry. Like my scopes and rifles, I just want something simple, light and easy to use. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BEAR Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 January 2021 at 09:07
When I turned 16, I bought a Puma White Hunter, with stag handle, made in Germany.  local hardware store had it for $15.  Today it list for $570.  Ruining the re-sale I got my initials and date of my first whitetale, along with the same for my son...then gave him the knife.  It really isn't a good hunting knife, but looks great.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 788Fan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 January 2021 at 07:50
I used a Puma Game Warden folder for years until the lock stopped locking.  I bought it in 1972.  Puma said it couldn't be fixed as it was the last run of that version of the Game Warden and the tooling was gone.  I've been using the Cold Steel knock off of a Grohmann's #1 for a while now, I think they call it the Canadian Belt Knife.  It holds a good edge.  I also have a Sagen Field Saw in my pack for opening up the rib cage and pelvis.

Stay safe.  788
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BEAR Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 January 2021 at 10:44
Also have a Sagen for pelvis and ribs.  light weight and never cuts into guts/bladder.  must have tool.  But the blades are not replaceable; but buying a cheap one again isn't bad when dull.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Wing master Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 January 2021 at 19:50
I am looking for it to mostly gut deer and antelope and quarter elk. Then use it to cut supper back at camp. 

 For the last several years I have used a buck 102. It's been a good knife but their has been quite a few new blade materials that have came out in the last few years. 

My every day carry pocket knife is made of S30V steel. It's the best pocket knife I've ever had. I'm thinking their might be a better hunting knife out there. 

Wing master
I have always considered myself to be quite the bullshitter, But ocasionally it is nice to sit back and listen to a true professional......So, Carry on.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BEAR Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 January 2021 at 10:40
The Havalon works good for gttng and skninning.  But to quarter an elk, a thicker blade would be best.  Maybe keep the Buck and add a Havalon, taped to the 102's sheath.  best of both.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Wing master Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 January 2021 at 01:11
That's a good idea Bear. I'm not really that much into these new fangled hunting or camping accessories, but I think it would be good to have a backup. And that's sorta several backups in one. 

Wing master
I have always considered myself to be quite the bullshitter, But ocasionally it is nice to sit back and listen to a true professional......So, Carry on.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BEAR Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 January 2021 at 08:15
I get blades in a dozen pack.  But only put two new blades in the Havalon knife case should I need a new one in the field.  this year I forgot where I put the other 10 blades after using one in the field on antielope.  Old brain..found then in my desk drawer, just as I was ordering anothe 12 on Amazon.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jsgbearpaws1 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 January 2021 at 07:41
Arno Bernard knives. African Sporting Creations has a nice selection.
...oh yeah! thats gonna hurt!
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