Lightweight hunting knife

[Alex Genereux]

I am looking at getting a really nice lightweight knife. I have been looking at the Benchmade altitude, argali carbon mainly. Some questions I have are..
I want the knife to be good at quartering and completing deboning the animal. Not sure if these shorter blades are affective at both.
Control of the Benchmade with no “grip”.

Just curious if there is other models I should look at. I am willing to spend up to $250. Not sure if there is big advantages or disadvantages of s90v or other steels.

 

[Mike Islander]

Bugout folder and Hidden Canyon fixed blade are both ideal and ultralight. The scalpel knives are even lighter and work well, some say better.

 

[Alex Genereux]

Bugout folder and Hidden Canyon fixed blade are both ideal and ultralight. The scalpel knives are even lighter and work well, some say better.

Thanks I am not really interested in the scalpel type knives

 

[sndmn11]

@TheBootBowhunting has been speaking higky of this Hogue Extrak https://www.hogueinc.com/knives/hog...te-finish-cpm-m4-frame-solid-black-g10-scales

Spyderco has an M398 mule right now that I think sharpens up better than s90v and reportedly cuts a teeny bit better.

Mule Team - Spyderco, Inc.

www.spyderco.com

Someone just turned me into this Ontario knife in magnacut that looks quite dreamy.

SPL Pack Knife

The SPL (Sport Leisure) Pack knife is a simple drop point design with a thin comfortable contoured handle and full tang construction. It has a thin blade with a full flat grind for good slicing and food prep abilities but still tough enough for light chopping chores. It would be at home as a...

ontarioknife.com

@jfs82 has a Ridge knife listed, which is s90v and a bargain https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/s90v-ridge-knife.299707/#post-2976491

I also have some cork handled mules and a ridge available here, in non-bargain form https://rokslide.com/forums/threads...fe-a-bunch-maxamet-k390-s90v-rex45-76.288323/

The Benchmade Raghorn has my attention too with a longer blade than most and still under 4oz. Cruwear is also the ideal sportsman's steel due to its toughness.

High-Performance & Quality 15600OR Raghorn™ Knife | Benchmade

The knife for the big game hunter because every ounce matters. Meet the all-new 15600OR Raghorn®, an ultralight fixed blade made for large animals and even larger adventures.

www.benchmade.com

I almost forgot! @feanor has some magnacut blades in a good profile that should be coming back from heat treat soon as well.

For me, buying a knife in s35vn is silly. It doesn't do anything well other than make machining easier on the producer.

For deboning I'd shy away from s90v/m398 because it is more prone to small chips and most folks impart a little twist/scrape motion at some point deboning. I do think that those two steels are outstanding for slicing.

If I had $250, I'd buy @jfs82 ridge blade and the Ontario knife or feanor's blade. If I was buying one, I'd probably get the raghorn or Hogue.

Regarding the skinny handles, I don't like them and put cork on to get a full profile and better grip.

 

[Drenalin]

I like the Argali Serac

 

[Wilderlife]

You might reckon it's a pain to get one from Australia but my friend Jason from Seeker Knives has some great models. This one is called a 'Featherblade'. A fantastic lightweight knife.

 

[yycyak]

I will shamelessly plug these every chance I get:




Victorinox paring knife. $9. Processes elk no problem. Save your hard-earned money for fuel and getting to the mountains.

 

[Loper]

I will shamelessly plug these every chance I get:

View attachment 522952


Victorinox paring knife. $9. Processes elk no problem. Save your hard-earned money for fuel and getting to the mountains.

What stealth do you use for this?

EDIT: *sheath

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mike Islander]

I will shamelessly plug these every chance I get:

View attachment 522952


Victorinox paring knife. $9. Processes elk no problem. Save your hard-earned money for fuel and getting to the mountains.

I use those as well, except the curved 5". A little more expensive but works better for me. I had a sheath made by a vendor on BushCraftUSA.com. It uses a belt clip instead of a loop, so I can slide it onto my pack strap or any other convenient strap-shaped object during use.

 

[yycyak]

No joke, a piece of cereal box cardboard, folded over a few times, and duct-taped (bright orange tape.) I wouldn't call it a sheath - more like a protective sleeve.

The rig rides in my kill-kit pouch, buried in my pack. I don't wear it on my belt or anything like that.

What stealth do you use for this?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bigbuckdj]

I use those as well, except the curved 5". A little more expensive but works better for me. I had a sheath made by a vendor on BushCraftUSA.com. It uses a belt clip instead of a loop, so I can slide it onto my pack strap or any other convenient strap-shaped object during use.
View attachment 523036

Though off topic, I feel obligated to share this with my victorinox boning knife family.
https://www.knivesofalaska.com/Sto...g-knife/professional-boning-knife---semi-flex


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BradArnett]

No joke, a piece of cereal box cardboard, folded over a few times, and duct-taped (bright orange tape.) I wouldn't call it a sheath - more like a protective sleeve.

The rig rides in my kill-kit pouch, buried in my pack. I don't wear it on my belt or anything like that.

I have a drawer full of custom knives and still use the vic parer pretty often. A guy in Alaska sent me this kydex sheath quite a few years ago. Looks like it would be easy to make one.

 

[Loper]

No joke, a piece of cereal box cardboard, folded over a few times, and duct-taped (bright orange tape.) I wouldn't call it a sheath - more like a protective sleeve.

The rig rides in my kill-kit pouch, buried in my pack. I don't wear it on my belt or anything like that.

That’s awesome! Any pictures?

 

[S-3 ranch]

I have a drawer full of custom knives and still use the vic parer pretty often. A guy in Alaska sent me this kydex sheath quite a few years ago. Looks like it would be easy to make one.

View attachment 523181

Same here , dexter , Victornox , pairing or filet knife is my absolut favorite
a small steel with make them razor sharp

 

[Drenalin]

No joke, a piece of cereal box cardboard, folded over a few times, and duct-taped (bright orange tape.) I wouldn't call it a sheath - more like a protective sleeve.

The rig rides in my kill-kit pouch, buried in my pack. I don't wear it on my belt or anything like that.

I do the same thing for sawz-all blades in my kill kit.

 

[yycyak]

Oh man, of all the things I could post pictures of, the last thing I figured I would be sharing would be my ghetto meat knife. Prepare to be underwhelmed...






Where it usually lives:


With the cardboard, I've never had issues with it coming off or the blade poking through the stuff sack.

This whole thing came about because one day I got smart and decided to ask a trapper what he used for skinning the hundreds of furs those dudes process each year. And he pulled out a Vic paring knife. At that point I kinda lost all romance associated with all those super sexy fancy knives. In a way, I'm jealous of the guys who can nerd out on knives. But that trapper ruined it for me.

That’s awesome! Any pictures?

 

[DawnPatrol]

Oh man, of all the things I could post pictures of, the last thing I figured I would be sharing would be my ghetto meat knife. Prepare to be underwhelmed...

View attachment 523246


View attachment 523247

Where it usually lives:
View attachment 523248

With the cardboard, I've never had issues with it coming off or the blade poking through the stuff sack.

This whole thing came about because one day I got smart and decided to ask a trapper what he used for skinning the hundreds of furs those dudes process each year. And he pulled out a Vic paring knife. At that point I kinda lost all romance associated with all those super sexy fancy knives. In a way, I'm jealous of the guys who can nerd out on knives. But that trapper ruined it for me.

I’m intrigued. Will that Victorinox pairing knife do a whole elk? How does that grip feel in your hand by the end?

 

[Loper]

Oh man, of all the things I could post pictures of, the last thing I figured I would be sharing would be my ghetto meat knife. Prepare to be underwhelmed...

View attachment 523246


View attachment 523247

Where it usually lives:
View attachment 523248

With the cardboard, I've never had issues with it coming off or the blade poking through the stuff sack.

This whole thing came about because one day I got smart and decided to ask a trapper what he used for skinning the hundreds of furs those dudes process each year. And he pulled out a Vic paring knife. At that point I kinda lost all romance associated with all those super sexy fancy knives. In a way, I'm jealous of the guys who can nerd out on knives. But that trapper ruined it for me.

I really like your “ghetto meat knife”. I just ordered one last night for $6.50 on Amazon. I’m going to give it and your cardboard sheath a go. I think you (and the trapper) might just ruin fancy knives for me as well.

The last game processing shop I was at I asked then what knives they used and he said they all use Victorinox.

 

[yycyak]

Let me preface this by saying I'm the furthest thing from an expert on this stuff. Compared to the crowd on this site, I'm not an accomplished hunter at all. So the usual "Your mileage may vary" etc.

But yes, when I punched my elk tag, I Gutless-Method'd (is that a word?) a whole 4x5 elk with the Vic. I had to touch the knife up with my sharpener once or twice during the process, but because the steel is generic whatever-ium steel, it sharpens up super fast. I'm talking like 15 seconds and you're good to go.

It feels better in my hand than the Havalon I used to run. Way easier to clean too. I wear latex gloves when field dressing, and the knife doesn't feel to slippery or anything like that with the gloves on.

It's intentionally bright-orange, so that you can see it when you put it down in the grass. There's a hot-pink option out there too.

BUT (Cause I know this will come up) I use this strictly as a meat/skinning knife. It sits in my pack until something needs processed. I don't pry with it, or baton it, or whatever bushcraft stuff people do these days. It's just for cutting up meat.

(I've used it on deer too, but that's much less glamourous. It'll do a deer start to finish without sharpening.)

I’m intrigued. Will that Victorinox pairing knife do a whole elk? How does that grip feel in your hand by the end?

 

[UncleBone]

I paid $125 for mine on sale at scheels last year, but this thing is pretty sweet. Not as heavy duty as some of their knives, but its lightweight and makes quick work of an animal. The vic is a solid deal though, and i dont know that 170 bucks more for a sheath and benchmade name is worth it.

Hybrid Hunting Fixed Blade Knife - 15500 MEATCRAFTER® | Benchmade

The hunting knife you'll want to buy. Shop the 15500 Meatcrafter® Knife and receive the Limited Lifetime Warranty & LifeSharp service. Personalize your hunting knives online.

www.benchmade.com