Best knife for game

[roosiebull]

Victorinox paring knife.

Seriously. Inexpensive. Holds a great edge. Nimble.

Haha, my very favorite knife (and I own a bunch of expensive knives) is my Dalstrong shogun series paring knife. It holds an edge almost as well as my benchmade altitude and comes back really easy field sharpening. It’s the best knife steel I have ever handled, and it’s a really nice looking knife as well.

my wife got me one of their fillet knives a few years ago for our anniversary I think, and that steel impressed me. I use that fillet knife for almost all of my home processing, and fish of course.

never have heard the name mentioned in the hunting space, but it’s a better steel for the job than any others I have tried, which is a bunch.

I still use a tyto a lot, I have used replaceable blade knives a lot in the past 10 years, but that dalstrong has me using a real knife again

 

[mcseal2]

I’ve always liked a bigger knife. My favorite has become the Dozier Pro Guide.

I have always wanted a little tougher knife for some hunts. Something I’d abuse a little more than the hollow ground Dozier for fire making. I recently sold several knives and got a Battle Horse Buckeye with a saber grind. So far it seems to be exactly what I was wanting. It slices and skins very well for a blade tough enough for any task.

 

[will ferrell]

Very nice.

 

[tnbillyearl]

I never knew there were so many options... I have a few more Havlon blades to go through first.

 

[Kobuk]

Like a lot of others, I have used a lot of different style knives and all got the job done. The one knife that I didn't like was the havalan, mainly because of blade breakage. Having to locate the broken piece before continuing was a PITA. They seem fine on deer and sheep but not on moose. It just felt cheap in my hand. Sharp but not for me. Once I finally learned to sharpen my super steel pocket knives I bought me a beautiful knife several years ago made locally with M390 steel. It has quartered a lot of animals over the years and two years ago I skinned and quartered 2 moose and two caribou, along with my buddy, without touching up my blade. I like being able to go a season without having to touch up my knife in the field. I do keep a diamond plate at camp in case something happens. My buddy is still using an old buck and he would have to touch up multiple times and it never did get that sharp. Moose hide is thick and tough. Caribou is more like elk. It would also be hard to order a custom knife unless I was able to hold one in my hand first because some I have looked out didn't feel right. You guys know what I'm talking about. Not a big deal with a cheap knife but I'd hate to drop some good money on something that I wasn't totally happy with. All knives are cool in their own way and we all have different prefferences, hand sizes and applications. Good luck!

 

[JonS]

The steep country is the ticket, whatever it’s specs are are worth it. Bought one for my daughter, then recently one with a gut hook I haven’t been able to try yet. But I bet it’ll be perfect. Seems a little funky removing from the sheath as the gut hook catches on the leather strap that goes around the handle, but some memory work for my daughter and it’ll be great.

 

[LOC4L]

My vote is a carpet hooked razor for gutting and a Havalon for everything else. Just don't cut yourself, they are SHARP.

 

[TheGDog]

Havalon scalpel for processing most of it. Backed-up by a regular bladed knife for some of the cuts where the blade might scrape along bone. (I happen to carry one of their dual-bladed folders, scalpel on one side, regular folding blade on other end.) You don't need a guthook. BUT... the guthook "zippers" where it's holding essentially a standard utility dual-pointed blade within a plastic housing. Those things do perform the job very quick though. But it's super easy to just insert two-fingers inside the initial cut... pull them up and away from its body.. insert the Havalon blade side out away from the body... then work the cut along in-between your two fingers you've got inserted into that space under the hide as you move it along the gut-sack. It's quick enough I don't bother bringing the zipper device any more. In the grand scheme of things, the zipper isn't saving some ginormous amount of time, if you're being honest about it.

 

[URE_G]

Havalon. Very light and razor sharp

 

[Datchew]

I've got, had or used a lot of hunting knives....but when something hits the deck that needs to get in a freezer, then this is what I use almost exclusively. The sheath is heat shaped 1" ag pipe and the cheap carabiner means it's easy to clip to a belt loop, no need to un-belt to wear. The knife is always clipped to the exterior of my pack. The sheath is easy to use one handed so the knife is always stowed safe and clean when not needed during processing.

Doesn't have the cool factor of my other hunting knives but a 5" or 6" boning knife is a workhorse at getting skin off and meat into game bags. The only cheaper knives I have than these are my Mora's.



Similar here. Gone through tons. I've found this Dexter and zip blade combo is excellent and cheap. Dad made me a sheath. Poke a hole with the dexter, unzip the whole thing with the zip blade, and the Dexter long edge and flex let's me take the skin off quickly. More edge length doesn't dull as quickly and the pointy flexible blade is great for joints and working to de-bone. A buddy in Texas that guides uses a 4" Dexter paring knife and can skin and quarter a deer into a cooler on ice in under 15 mins.

 

[Datchew]

Crap. Stuck that inside quite box.
Trying again:


Similar here. Gone through tons. I've found this Dexter and zip blade combo is excellent and cheap. Dad made me a sheath. Poke a hole with the dexter, unzip the whole thing with the zip blade, and the Dexter long edge and flex let's me take the skin off quickly. More edge length doesn't dull as quickly and the pointy flexible blade is great for joints and working to de-bone. A buddy in Texas that guides uses a 4" Dexter paring knife and can skin and quarter a deer into a cooler on ice in under 15 mins.

 

[MallardSX2]

Knives of Alaska in my opinion suck. I have 2 of them…. I have a hell of a time keeping them sharp. The best knife I use is a Havalon knife…

I use one blade to do one side of the animal and another blade to do the other side of the animal. Doesn’t matter if it’s a deer or an elk. I take a break and I change the blade..

 

[hunterjmj]

Knives of Alaska in my opinion suck. I have 2 of them…. I have a hell of a time keeping them sharp. The best knife I use is a Havalon knife…

I use one blade to do one side of the animal and another blade to do the other side of the animal. Doesn’t matter if it’s a deer or an elk. I take a break and I change the blade..

I have a couple knives of Alaska I bought years ago. They stay in my garage for the most part. They are hard to sharpen.

I always keep a case medium trapper in my pocket. It's easy to sharpen and I've skinned lots of critters with it. Plus, I just like Case knives. I have some other Case Trappers that I keep around the house.

I just bought an Argali Carbon which I'm anxious to use.

I also keep an Outdoor Edge replaceable blade knife in my pack. It works great for caping out the head.

 

[Cousin Eddy]

I've got a few:
Knives of AK, Alpha Wolf, very hard steel, hard to sharpen in the field
Swiss Army Hunter, saw, blade, folder so messy to clean, love the saw to cut ribs to help with tenderloins and show new hunters where they are.
A little Mike Miller made knife, works great, dulls a little faster than I'd like.
Gerber razor/scalpel Havalon copy- too damn sharp and scares me in the backcountry a little bit, blade seems secure until you wiggle and depress the release button
Wyoming knife- gut hook, easy to sharpen/replace blades, light and functional, like a little bigger for deboning and skinning/quartering.
I'm thinking/trying to get one blade and played with a buddy's Benchmade Steep Country. Nice and light, good blade he says stays sharp through an elk.

Is there something else I should be looking at for the one that does it all?
What's the favorite to keep in a kill kit?

My current go to is the argali carbon. Ill use something bigger (bradford guarding) for joints once i get home. Hunting is a bit different for me as i walk out my front door and just drive a utv up the hill. So much easier hunting where you live

 

[BHanson]

Outdoor edge with replaceable blades. They’re easy to change even with bloody hands.

 

[sndmn11]

Knives of Alaska in my opinion suck. I have 2 of them…. I have a hell of a time keeping them sharp. The best knife I use is a Havalon knife…

I have a couple knives of Alaska I bought years ago. They stay in my garage for the most part. They are hard to sharpen.

If you guys send them to me I will sharpen. D2 and I get a long very well.

 

[Shraggs]

I’ve accumulated couple hundred knives, my field use is driven my my bias towards steels (a2, cpm 154/d2,3v, and s35vn), a second bias I only use full convex and prefer skinning or semi skinnier patterns. That leaves two companies for me, bark river and falkniven. I choose models that are hunting designs thinner and lighter in weight and an under sized handle. I usually pair it with a smaller companion capable of finer caping or detail work and camp needs.