Boning style knife in kill kit?

[eaglemountainman]

Grohmann #1
The Canadian boot knife is a very versatile design. From field dressing, to quartering, to processing back at camp or kitchen.

 

[Thinkingman]

That Iron Will knife looks slick.

Immediate DQ due to the slick, skinny handle.
When you have cold, bloody hands, a practical knife is pretty important.
I would and have added the Victorinox 6" boning knife to my field kit.
Commercial cutters know what they need.

 

[Wildone]

Forschner 40450 and a diamond stick hone works for me .

 

[WyoKid]

4" Repala Fillet knife for field boning - small and light.

 

[Boarmaster]

For your big game kill kit where you have to pack out quarters, does anyone bring a boning style knife to break the animal down after skinning?
I have an Outdoor Edge RazorLite that I really like for general field dressing and field skinning, but I feel it’s just “ok” when attempting to get the quarters off, the back straps off, and especially getting the rear quarters off. I’m thinking of packing in a 5” or so boning style knife for this task , and wondering if anyone has any suggestions?

Here’s what I have currently which ‘might’ fit the bill.
Outdoor Edge foldable boning/fillet ( 5” blade. this one is ok, but the blade isn’t very stiff, pretty soft steel, the blade lockup is just ok and I’d prefer a fixed blade boning knife for big game field work).

FISH & BONE

The perfect folding knife for filleting fish and deboning big game. The flexible 5.0 inch 440A stainless steel blade is hand finished shaving-sharp and double-tempered for superior edge retention and flexibility. The double-molded Zytel® handle features rubberized, non-slip TPR inserts for a...

www.outdooredge.com

Victorinox 4” Boning Rabbit Knife. ( 4” blade, softer steel but easy to touch up, stiffer blade, but not the greatest big game boning knife)

Amazon.com

Victorinox 6” Curved Flexible Boning Knife ( same steel as 4”, and I like this knife for when I’m processing at home, but wondering if blade is too flexible for field work, and blade might be a tad long)

Amazon.com

Some that I was looking at wondering if they are worth it … and if you have any other suggestions let me know

Buck 636 Pac Lite Processor ( light weight and good price for the quality it looks like, 5.75” blade)

Amazon.com

Iron Will K3 Ultralite Boning

K3 Ultralight Boning & Fillet Knife

Hunt with the high-quality K3 Ultralight Boning & Skinning Knife from Iron Will Outfitters. Designed for lightweight reliability for deboning wild game. Upgrade your hunting knife today.

ironwilloutfitters.com

Benchmade MeatCrafter 4” or 6”

Meatcrafter® 6" – Hybrid Hunting Fixed Blade Knife | Benchmade

Trim, debone, and slice game with ease. The 15500-04 Meatcrafter® is engineered as the seasoned hunter’s go-to hybrid fixed-blade knife. Enjoy free shipping, lifetime service & warranty.

www.benchmade.com

I have the victorinox 6 inch curved boning knife you noted. I have about 6 of them and I carry one in my pack as its a bit long for my kill kit. I find a lot of uses for those at home, camp and field and find them to be a great all purpose tool. They are light weight. For years I used a sheath I made out of cardboard and duck tape until I found a suitable sheath.

 

[doc holiday13]

I carry an OE in my western kill kit. They're a good backup. I carry a sharp fixed edge, so if its going out on me, I'm probably 90% done. I can suffer through 10% with a factory edge that isn't super.

 

[Citrus]

Victorinox 6" Boning Knife. Their 4" Rabbit Knife also comes in handy.

 

[WyoKid]

Yes, I agree 4" rabbit Victorinox is ideal!

 

[mtwarden]

Gene Ingram small boner, 9.25" overall, 4.5" blade 3/32" Magnacut in please don't lose another knife orange

knife is 4.1 oz, sheath 1.5 oz

 

[huntsman22]

my fave Ingram pattern.

 

[Muley Bill]

Lightweight fixed blade knife for me with a Havalon for a backup

 

[NRA4LIFE]

I always carry 2. A custom made skinner by a guy here in WA and an OE replaceable for boning.

 

[taskswap]

...
I used to have a havalon piranta and ended up giving it to a buddy as I just never really liked the thin blade, and I would never trust myself to change a blade in the field without using a pair of pliers, which to me defeats the purpose of the light weight of the knife.
...

For folks that don't like the Piranta because the thinness of scalpel blades makes them brittle, take a look at the Havalon Talon. It has a much thicker blade that's almost impossible to snap, as well as a bigger/nicer (IMO) replacement mechanism that's easier to manipulate with gloves on.

Finally, you can get some pretty useful blades for it, not just for field dressing (blade-with-guthook and blade-with-serrated-portion being my go-tos) but also a fillet knife (great if you're going fishing, too), a saw, a "backcountry" (just longer) blade, etc.

Blade photo stolen without shame from somewhere:



This knife has been my go-to for a few years and I like it so much I got another for my truck. I have no illusions of cutting up a tree fallen across a USFS road with the saw, but it's nice to have for antler/skull work and/or small (4" and under) firewood processing while packing in, eliminating one carry item. The serrated portion on the regular blade is nice even if you aren't cutting tendons, because you can use it for paracord and other knife-dulling tasks. The fillet knife is... ok... but better than not having one or carrying a dedicated knife "because I just might catch a fish."

All in all it's been a perfect system for me. The one drawback is the lack of a decent sheath/blade organizer. I mean, they do have them... But I said decent and they are not. They're heavy, bulky, and not very pleasant to use. Lately, I just carry the handle as-is in my field dressing kit (with no blade attached) and carry the blades separately. I used to just electrical-tape them together, but I found this clamshell case that holds them really well. I wrap them in one layer of paper towel to keep them from clinking and it's been great so far. If you want a diy option, I found that thin cardboard (like the kind for shirt gift boxes) cut and folded in half works well as a sleeve. Just fold it around a blade and put a strip of tape on it to hold it closed.

Collecting Warehouse Clear Plastic Clamshell Package / Storage Container, 6.1875" H x 1.3125" W x 1.25" D

DetailsCollecting Warehouse Clear Plastic Clamshell Package / Storage Container, 6.1875" H x 1.3125" W x 1.25" DOverall Dimensions: 7.75 x 1.875 x 1.25 inches (height x width x depth) Cavity Dimensions: 6.1875 x 1.3125 x 1.25 inches (height x width x depth)Material: Made from 75% or more of...

www.collectingwarehouse.com