Havalon knives

[charvey9]

this might be a dumb question but since I cant see spending that much on a havalon why wouldn't this aluminum handled husky $5 knife work? replaceable razor blades.

Because the Havalon is 1/4 the weight, and you'll poke lots of holes in the hide without a curved blade unless you are really careful and take a lot more time. At sub $40, its not like the havalon is breaking the bank.

 

[Hawkeye]

With no belly to the blade, that will be much more difficult to work with.

I have the original and like it pretty well.

Can you expand on that a little bit?

 

[greyghostnw]

i have not yet carved up a critter yet with my havalon either but i can see how it can/will break.....at least if over working its design. my grandpa owned his own butcher shop and kicked ass at it and i have all his old knives and they resemble nothing of a havalon. so with saying that i think it is one of a two knife quiver to take care of buisness on the mountain.? just a guess..... will find out in a few weeks.... hopefully, fall bear season starting aug 1 and a color phase found for the slaughter will show me the truth.

 

[mallacootasmoothie]

No worries with using the havalon as a knife, just don't use it as a pry bar.
I carved up a fallow deer with mine 2 weeks ago and I am thoroughly impressed! So impressed that when it came time to process the meat back at home I reached for the havalon again after trying my wife's Japanese made Global knives. I thought her global knives were good but the havalon was much nicer to use.

 

[greyghostnw]

good to hear, i know others really like them.

 

[MattB]

Can you expand on that a little bit?

Some degree of blade curvature is a key design element for skinning knives because you will get more of the blade doing work at any given time. A flat blade is going to require more effort and potentially be less versatile than a curved blade.

I rarely carry a second knife now. One does have to be somewhat careful with putting side pressure on the Havalon blades, and there are some thing you simply are not going to want to try with a Havalon (i.e. pelvis splitting), but otherwise they can do pretty much anything you neeed to do when parting out an animal. The light weight and replacable blade aspects are nice.

 

[tttoadman]

I have the havalon and the lightweight Buck gut hook. I have not used either yet. I am ditching my folding gerber off the belt and the fixed Buck knife from the bag. I am seeing a huge weight and space savings here. I am adding a small multitool with a knife blade to use as a utility knife and to handle the Havalon blades. I never had the multitool before, so I still think I am getting better performance and still shaving a little weight.

 

[dangerousD]

Leave the utility knife in the tool belt where it belongs...I have the Havalon Bolt with the thicker blades. I have not used any of the other models so can't comment, but really like the Bolt. I've only broken down deer and turkey with it thus far, but trying to put it to use on some elk come September. I always tend to overpack when it comes to knives, but I may cut it back to just the Bolt and my Leatherman Wave for this season and ditch the other two knives I also carried.

 

[JFKinYK]

Never understood the appeal of the Havalon.

Find a quality knife. Learn to sharpen it - a skill that will last you a lifetime. Create memories with that knife, take it everywhere, and pass it on to a youngster and let them do the same one day. I still cherish the hunting knife my father gave me that was his father's, although I'm too scared to carry it in the field.

I use a Helle Wind. A gift from a good friend. It weighs something like 3.x ounces. I can get it to shaving sharp. Last year it broke down two caribou without being re-sharpened. Heck, I didn't even carry a sharpener in my pack. It can function like a pry bar if I need it. Baton wood, cut cord. I even cut through caribou rib joints with it to make dinner one night. It's done heavy work on moose too, and I haven't wanted anything more.

 

[tipsntails7]

Never understood the appeal of the Havalon.

Find a quality knife. Learn to sharpen it - a skill that will last you a lifetime. Create memories with that knife, take it everywhere, and pass it on to a youngster and let them do the same one day. I still cherish the hunting knife my father gave me that was his father's, although I'm too scared to carry it in the field.

I use a Helle Wind. A gift from a good friend. It weighs something like 3.x ounces. I can get it to shaving sharp. Last year it broke down two caribou without being re-sharpened. Heck, I didn't even carry a sharpener in my pack. It can function like a pry bar if I need it. Baton wood, cut cord. I even cut through caribou rib joints with it to make dinner one night. It's done heavy work on moose too, and I haven't wanted anything more.

i would imagine weight savings and price is a big selling point. ease of use is also huge. if i lose it on the Mt. im not nearly as angry as if it were my 200 dollar knife.

 

[JFKinYK]

How much does a havalon, sheath and a few spare blades weigh?

 

[Shrek]

How much does a havalon, sheath and a few spare blades weigh?

My piranta with a blade in it and seven spares in its sheath weighed 2.95 oz on my scale just a minute ago.

BTW , The husky that someone asked about weighed 4.05 oz with a blade in it and no spares or sheath. Heavy as sin for what it is.

 

[robtattoo]

Tried one once, that a friend owns & honestly I couldn't stand the thing.
It felt flimsy, like I had to be extra careful every second. I also found that it was dull as a butterknife after 2 minutes use.
I used it to try skinning a hog & to be honest after the initial skin split, gutting & taking off one ham (I think 3 blades?) I was sick of the thing.
I'll stuck with my carbon steel, 4¾" bladed proper knife thanks!

 

[Shrek]

How much does a havalon, sheath and a few spare blades weigh?

Did some more weighing. The Barrucuta with a hunting blade and two spares in its sheath weighed 4.80 oz.

 

[Styles]

AWESOME knife!! Wish I had one many years ago. Blades are a little flimsy to make it your only knife in your pack in my opinion. So I also carry the Outdoor Edge SwingBlade as well. I think the 2 together will tackle any task thrown your way!!

 

[luke moffat]

Ok thread cleaned up to keep it on track here.

Anyways, I really like the havalon. Been using the Piranta since 2009. Used them on over 75 animals to skin out in that timeframe. The blades usually last a full caribou, deer, mountain goat, sheep, or grizzly or black bear. A moose I usually change halfway through to keep working with a sharp knife. That said just for fun I did a moose and then 2 caribou all on the same blade just to see if I could. Granted by the second caribou is was pretty dull, but I was determined to get 'er done all on the same blade.

I know have the torch and I find it to be a cool little knife.

 

[bowinhand]

The 60A blades are a big improvement over the 60XT. They should come out with a carbon steel 60A blade.

 

[Jimi Nugent]

I love my Havalon Piranta. The pro's are many, light weight, durable, scary sharp, easy to work with, orange handle is easy to see if you set it down while field dressing. The Cons, as others have said, blades can be prone to breaking. It's not a very comforting feeling when you break off a razor blade while reaching way inside to cut a bull's windpipe... the first thought that goes through your mind is "is my thumb still attached to my hand?" No other con that I can find with it so far!

 

[rodney482]

Huge fan of the Piranta (orange)

i run the original blades and the 22's

love love love it

 

[fulldraw1972]

I love my piranta! I can do a whole animal with it. I have done a couple of deer with one blade but I prefer to have a very sharp blade so I change it after done with an animal. I use the original blades and as long as I dont use it as a pry bar and break blades it does its job.
I do carry a pocket knife as well.