Bring sharpener for fixed blade or ditch it for a Havalon?

[hiker270]

I carry a fixed blade and a DMT Diamond sharpener along with a Havalon. Like the Havalon but have snapped blades off while quartering elk out. Have found out changing a blade while your hands and knife are bloody and slippery can be a chore.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Take both, a havalon with extra blades and a fixed iron will or islee izuza and a sharpener. All in maybe just a few extra oz but I like having both. MD I can usually get through a whole buck with 1 havalon blade fixed blade for getting into joints/ cutting the head off

 

[Jethro]

I would have a sharpener at the truck, but not carry it with me. I like 2 knives. Benchmade folder clipped in pocket and Havalon Barracuda in kill kit. Benchmade makes the hide cuts, Havalon the rest.

 

[idelkslayer]

A well sharpened knife will get you through an elk without needing to sharpen the blade. You should get through a deer just fine. As long as you aren't constantly cutting across bone the edge should last. I carry a pocket knife in addition to my fixed blade, I use the pocket knife to pop the knee joints and separate the skull. Doing so keeps the fixed blade from getting dinged up. If for some reason I don't have a pocket knife, I just save all the knee joints and bone work for the end. That way my blade stays sharp for the majority of the work.

I bring a sharpener if there is potential to be working through multiple animals over the course of a week long hunt.

 

[hibernation]

For elk, I like having two fixed blade knives. One for skinning and a second for quartering/boning. Keeps the knife that contacts meat cleaner and sharper, and neither knife weighs very much. The cheapest combo I've found for this is a mora and a small fillet knife. Hunting with a partner, we each just bring one knife and then no one needs to sharpen.

For deer, I've never felt the need to sharpen during, even with a mora. But you could do the same, keep your mora for the skinning and general work and carry a cheap lightweight, maybe even folding, fillet knife for the quartering and detail work. Basically a flexible boning knife, more similar to what you'd use in a butcher shop than a havalon / scalpel type anyway.

 

[Hnthrdr]

That work sharp field sharpener weighs about a oz, not sure why you wouldn’t bring it?

 

[Maverick1]

For deer, I've never felt the need to sharpen during, even with a mora. But you could do the same, keep your mora for the skinning and general work and carry a cheap lightweight, maybe even folding, fillet knife for the quartering and detail work. Basically a flexible boning knife, more similar to what you'd use in a butcher shop than a havalon / scalpel type anyway.

For deer, just shoot a fawn and pull really hard. The hide, hind quarters, and front shoulders just pop right off!

 

[SirFellowShrimp]

For folks who are saying they get through a whole animal without sharpening their fixed blade, are they talking about quartering or boning out? There's gonna be a dozen miles and at least one mountain pass between me the truck. Thanks y'all

 

[Hnthrdr]

Sounds like quite the packout. For MD, you will save a little weight boning out, not like an elk. My biggest MD quartered, with bones in and extra meat were 100&110 lbs hanging, that was minus skull

 

[yak]

Havalon only has worked great for me. I don't have any issues with the blades breaking. My guess is my style of breaking down critters is a little more finesse than others. I can honestly say over the years I've broken down 30+ big game animals with the gutless method and have only broken a couple of blades. I typically change the blade halfway through an elk using a micra leatherman which I carry in my bino harness anyways for other purposes.

Sharp and light. Just make sure to carry out your spent blades and take your time to cut the tendons in the joints rather than using your knife to pry. Havalon gets the job done for me.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Honestly packing that far in, I’m bringing a backup knife. Tyto with replaceable blades in the kill kit and then your fixed blade and you’ll be dialed in.

 

[hibernation]

For folks who are saying they get through a whole animal without sharpening their fixed blade, are they talking about quartering or boning out? There's gonna be a dozen miles and at least one mountain pass between me the truck. Thanks y'all

Just quartering, that's a fair point. In that case, I'd consider either a second knife or a small sharpener. Just a honing rod should be enough to touch it up as you go, same as a butcher would be using.

I've used the mora on a lot of deer, it's really a great all-purpose blade but it can feel a little clumsy doing detail work like boning out. Something with a thinner, more flexible blade will make life a lot easier when you're deboning, and get you a cleaner end result with less meat left on the bone. Personally, I'd rather add the second knife over a sharpener, it won't be much difference in weight.

And damn dude, that's a long pack out.

 

[chasewild]

This is a good question, I actually still go back and forth on bringing my havlon even though I have a sharp hard steel fixed tyto. I never bring a sharpener though.

 

[TaperPin]

I have yet to kill an animal this tiny little 2” blade won’t easily skin without being sharpened. The 5” Forschner boning knife can easily bone an entire elk without needing sharpening.

I did go a number of years packing a sharpening diamond stick, but that’s not needed if the knife is sharp when leaving home.