Knife of choice

[fngTony]

Outdoor Edge razor pro. Has the fold out "zipper" blade which when closed leaves a good area to strike a ferro rod. Nothing against havalon just felt this was more versatile and stronger.

 

[bcimport]

North Arm Knives "Lynx" this year. Ran one of their "coho's" last year and just wanted something with a little different shape. Was content to use my helle until the Lynx showed up and they got some more of my cash.

 

[Bar]

Just for info you might not know. If you like the Outdoor Edge zipper blade, but don't like the rest of the knife. The zipper can be bought by itself for $19.

 

[Cgeb]

Mora knives for me, although I have never done elk with it just deer. I can sharpen these to a razor edge, holds a good edge and are cheap. I'm kinda surprised no one else mentioned them.

 

[6mm Remington]

Benchmade saddle mountain hunter.

Very nice knife!

 

[Trial153]

If I am in the back country then a Doizer Pro Guide is with me.

 

[diesel7]

Getting me a custom field knife from Nathan Carothers, in cpm3v. 4.5 inch blade, thin flat grind. Rc around 62, so it should hold a hell of an edge! Should get all the way through an elk without a touch up, including caping if needed. No clue why people like the razor things, I like traditional knives with new steel and technology.

 

[duchntr]

I carry a spyderco sage3 and a havalon with a couple extra blades. Havalons and the like aren't for everyone as its personal preference, but this setup works well for me without the weight penalty of multiple knives and a sharpener.

 

[blackovis]

I have used the Havalon in the past and it is extremely sharp, almost too sharp for me as I end up nicking myself several times while skinning. The blades are pretty scary to remove as it generally requires pliers or some sort of tool to do so.

My personal favorite has been a combination of the Outdoor Edge Razor-Blaze knife and the Outdoor Edge SwingBlaze knife. The replacement blades on the Razor series are more robust and can be sharpened as many as 5 times thereby increasing the life of each blade. I use one blade until its too dull and put it back in the case to sharpen when I get home. Then I simply pull out another blade and slide it in to keep going. The blade retention system is simple, safe, and user friendly compared to the Havalon requiring only the push of a button and pulling the old blade out and swapping in a new one. The handles are a Rubberized Kraton which ensures a solid grip even when your hands are covered in blood. Most of the Outdoor Edge knives are available with either a black or blaze orange handle, my preference being the latter as it is easy to find if it is dropped or set down in the field.

I use the SwingBlaze knife portion to make my initial incision and then flip it over to the zipper and use that to open the animal up either down the back or along the belly. It also works great to open up the hide around the legs or to start the cape and stays super sharp because it is only cutting hide and not hair.

I'm going to be switching to the new Outdoor Edge Razor Pro this season which has the same razor setup and also has the zipper all in one knife to reduce weight and avoid carrying an extra knife. Outdoor Edge knives are also covered by their Lifetime Guarantee.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I've been using a neon green Esee 3 for a few years. It works pretty well but when in not really backpacking I use a larger custom knife I had made.

 

[Medal Hunting]

Havalon for skinning/deboning.

Maybe it has something to do with watching First Blood/Rambo as a kid, but it took me a long time to accept the fact that I just don't use a knife all that often and so I stopped carrying a sheath knife as it wasn't worth the weight. At times I'll carry a Mora (either Companion or Bushcraft) because they're cheap, but usually I just use the blade on my Leatherman tool for general-purpose stuff and stick with a Havalon for skinning/deboning.

 

[Fullfan]

Cutco and out door edge razor lite. Have several Havalons but the blade change is a pia...

 

[rileybassman]

Bark river Gunny and Rising wolf

 

[theleo91386]

I'm so uncool, I still use a Marbles knife my dad gave me when I was twelve and a Ontario Knife Company buffalo skinner that my grandfather always used before he passed away. I also keep a 2 blade Schrade holder on my belt but it doubles for general use. Guess I'm just to sentimental with some of my stuff.

 

[dadsturntoplay]

1970's vintage Case Trapper pocket knife, given to me by my dad.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[justinspicher]

When I started hunting I just used my EDC spyderco delica. The last couple of years it's been a havalon. However, I'm trying a Kestrel skinner this year.

 

[6mm Remington]

Here's a nice IMO hunting folder.

North Fork

That and the mini-barrage which is almost a mirror image by Benchmade both are fantastic knives, as are the larger ones such as the Saddle Mountain Skinner!

Buck Vanguard - with the dymondwood handles. Very nice knife also, and the seize and shape of the blade is just perfect!

I own and use a Schrade lock-blade folding knife (USA made) that is almost identical to the Buck 110 which I also have and use. Both are excellent.

I also own and carry a Ruana Steelhead model which is a fixed blade knife with about a 3.5" blade that is superb. Shape and size are just right and they are made in Bonner Montana! What's not to like?

David

 

[garrete]

I have a KOA Alphawolf and whatever their caping knife is combo, as well as a havalon.

The KOA is pretty nice, but probably heavier than really necessary for a solo backpack trip. I really like the havalon at home for boning out meat.

I plan on trying out the outdoor edge as my field knife for skinning and quartering. The havalon works fine, but changing blades with messy hands is a bit sketchy. I am pretty good about not breaking blades, but I have seen others snap blades off inside the gut cavity and still need to be reaching around in there.

 

[Kevin Dill]

The answer for me is 100% dependent upon the animal hunted and any limitations of gear weight. I just got back from a successful moose hunt a couple weeks ago. An animal of that size and weight takes a lot of time and effort to butcher. I'm sure it could be done with a Havalon, 3" skeleton blade, or any one of 7 dozen knives. My favorite knife for that job is a Cutco 5718 DD. I did the entire moose from skinning to quartering to boning...absolutely 100% with one knife and no sharpening. The DD blade is beyond any blade I've ever used for ease of cutting tough tissue like tendons, ligaments, thick hide and cartilage. Another thing I like is the large tacky grip with finger grooves. Grip matters when you are cutting and butchering for hours on end. I've come to depend on this knife to the point that I bring one along only for butchering. It gets used for nothing else, and I need nothing but that one knife to do an entire bull. It's an overkill blade for anything smaller than a really big mule deer or bigger bear. Smaller animals call for smaller knives.

 

[garrete]

The answer for me is 100% dependent upon the animal hunted and any limitations of gear weight. I just got back from a successful moose hunt a couple weeks ago. An animal of that size and weight takes a lot of time and effort to butcher. I'm sure it could be done with a Havalon, 3" skeleton blade, or any one of 7 dozen knives. My favorite knife for that job is a Cutco 5718 DD. I did the entire moose from skinning to quartering to boning...absolutely 100% with one knife and no sharpening. The DD blade is beyond any blade I've ever used for ease of cutting tough tissue like tendons, ligaments, thick hide and cartilage. Another thing I like is the large tacky grip with finger grooves. Grip matters when you are cutting and butchering for hours on end. I've come to depend on this knife to the point that I bring one along only for butchering. It gets used for nothing else, and I need nothing but that one knife to do an entire bull. It's an overkill blade for anything smaller than a really big mule deer or bigger bear. Smaller animals call for smaller knives.

How do you sharpen that bad boy. Unless my eyes deceive me it is serrated the entire length of the blade.



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