New hunting knife recommendations

[Studd muffin]

My Dad has a Benchmade Hidden Canyon. He cleaned a deer and a pig the other day, and it will still shave some hair. It is slightly shorter than what you were asking for though. I have the Benchmade Grizzly Creek. It is a folder with a skinning blade (i guess that is what it is), and a separate gut hook. The blades are crazy sharp. I have cleaned a couple elk, few deer, and lots of pigs with them. I also have an outdoor edge razor pro with the disposable blades. I use this when I don't want to ding up the benchmades on bones and what not.

 

[Macegl]

After seeing the nice knives on this thread I almost didn’t comment on my preferred hunting knife, but it has been a good little knife and impresses me each time I use it. It’s a victorinox paring knife with a 3.25 inch blade, they also make a 4 inch knife. It takes a good edge and is easy to touch up, usually I can skin and debone a deer without sharpening and it’s still fairly sharp. The blade has a good amount of flex, which I like. The handle has a tacky rubber feel. The last one I got has an orange handle that is a little bigger than the black version and it fits my hand better, plus it’s harder to lose.

The best part about it is the last one I bought was around 8 dollars. I love a nice knife, and a really nice custom is a work of art. However I have also lost some nice knives and that is a painful experience. The little victorinox has held up with the nicer knives I own. It isn’t near as nice to look at, but when I lose one it doesn’t hurt near as bad either.

 

[AGPank]

After seeing the nice knives on this thread I almost didn’t comment on my preferred hunting knife, but it has been a good little knife and impresses me each time I use it. It’s a victorinox paring knife with a 3.25 inch blade, they also make a 4 inch knife. It takes a good edge and is easy to touch up, usually I can skin and debone a deer without sharpening and it’s still fairly sharp. The blade has a good amount of flex, which I like. The handle has a tacky rubber feel. The last one I got has an orange handle that is a little bigger than the black version and it fits my hand better, plus it’s harder to lose.

The best part about it is the last one I bought was around 8 dollars. I love a nice knife, and a really nice custom is a work of art. However I have also lost some nice knives and that is a painful experience. The little victorinox has held up with the nicer knives I own. It isn’t near as nice to look at, but when I lose one it doesn’t hurt near as bad either.

I’m not surprised by this. When I was shopping for kitchen knives Vitcorinox knives are highly rated for performance. I would bet you could find some in the fibrox line that would make good butchering knives.


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[EastMT]

After seeing the nice knives on this thread I almost didn’t comment on my preferred hunting knife, but it has been a good little knife and impresses me each time I use it. It’s a victorinox paring knife with a 3.25 inch blade, they also make a 4 inch knife. It takes a good edge and is easy to touch up, usually I can skin and debone a deer without sharpening and it’s still fairly sharp. The blade has a good amount of flex, which I like. The handle has a tacky rubber feel. The last one I got has an orange handle that is a little bigger than the black version and it fits my hand better, plus it’s harder to lose.

The best part about it is the last one I bought was around 8 dollars. I love a nice knife, and a really nice custom is a work of art. However I have also lost some nice knives and that is a painful experience. The little victorinox has held up with the nicer knives I own. It isn’t near as nice to look at, but when I lose one it doesn’t hurt near as bad either.

I've been involved in the butcher industry most of my life, the victorinox, or Vicky as the commercial fisherman call them are pretty hard to beat. The 6" boning knife, skinner, birds beak are unbelievable. The paring knife is carried by almost all the commercial fisherman I know.

This little birds beak weighs an oz, and for tuning ears, removing skull is amazing, and $5. A taxidermist introduced this to me, the blade shape is perfect for getting around horns and the fine work.

 

[gsp]

I’ve had a few Gene Ingram’s. Very nice knives and can be made to your specs.
This one is d2.

 

[Shraggs]

I too have moved solely to bark river. I'm pretty sure I own every Hunting model they have made, I think I have 120 of them in total and Used them all.

Some really great customs and other production's listed here too, what compelled me years ago towards bark river - was a true convex edge profile. Take the same knife, in the same steel one with a typical machined "V" edge and the other in a convex edge finished at the same angle - convex maintains sharp longer and takes less micro damage. In my experience.

They have really great steels to choose from and blade shapes and handle ergonomics that really work for hunting. Many models are historical and I have found they work so much better if you favor the gutless method in the back country vs drop point designs.

Someone mentioned 3v, one of my favorites. Another is cpm154 (a powdered version of 154 cm) similar performance but a touch better rust resistance and a touch easier to sharpen. For a true stainless s35vn is awesome and performs similar to a2 (a favorite of mine for sure) in terms of edge retention and rolls and does not chip like many stainless or d2 can.

A2 isn't a super steel and is easily touched up in the field with a leather strop. I make mine with leather and paint stir stick, a few sheets of wet dry sand paper and weighs less than 2 oz. with a super steel I take a white spyerdco flat ceramic stone weighs an oz, in case I need to do more than touch up -- they are hard steels.

If I'm gutting deer like we do here in mid west I use a drop point - love them all but if had to pick the one that works best for me - the highland special, 4 oz.

For back country elk, gutless method I use a pair of knives - the classic trailing point hunter 4.5" and under 4 oz in a wood handle. This handles all my skinning and meat removal except the lower legs. It's like the bill Moran skinner in that even though it's a trailing point, the point does not raise above the handle line meaning you have tip control for working around bone. The other knife I take is a pro scaple II. 2.5" knife weighs 1.5 oz in a wood. This handles initial skin incisions, skinning the lower legs out and caping the head if I got lucky with a wall hanger, and any camp chores. Total weight for the two is under 6 oz and I make my own sheaths cause the heavy duty leather they use is anywhere from 2-4 oz each.

More than was necessary to the OP, but I love knives!

John

 

[Scoony]

Been using either Cold Steel folders or the Pendelton Lite, cheap version ($14) and they work great. Nice steel that takes a very sharp edge and is easy to resharpen.

Currently using a Spyderco folder and love the shape of the blade and the quality of it's construction. It lets me get up under the hide and make nice long cuts from the inside out. Now if they would make a disposable knife with a drop point shape that I like. It also takes a wicked sharp edge and is a breeze to resharpen.
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[juan trueno]

A2 is my favorite steel, followed by D2 and then 154cm. This one is 154 cm with handle done in moose antler from my first “bull” which wasn’t a “wall hanger”

I’m hopeful I’ll end up with one more before it’s all done, but in A2 which I’ve decided is the cake Sharpens well, doesn’t chip, and takes a little patina like d2 maybe a little more so.

This one has done 2 black bears 1 goat, 1 hog, 2 bucks and 2 does And I’ll get Tim to dress that edge back up this year. I use this knife to skin, part joints, and cut meat. That’s like 32 lower knees and 16 hips. it’s just a nice effcient knife that’s really ergonomic and tough. 7mm-08 shell for size reference.

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[Shraggs]

Tim makes great knives, he's 20 miles from me. Nice semi-skinner pattern, great for a one knife do all skin, bone out and gut.

 

[juan trueno]

Tim is a great guy, and always has a handful of neat stuff ready to go. If you do joints with your knife A2 is at the top of the pile, 154cm and cpm154 are the only stainless that are tough enough to do joints consistently all the s30v etc hold an edge slightly better at any given hardness- but are also more difficult to touch up, and more prone to chip at any given hardness. 440c aus8 steels do ok- but only at a lower hardness than the others I’ve mentioned and with a penalty in overall toughness and edge retention.

The only additions to my kit on any given occasion would be a hatchet if I’m moose hunting but I pack it in on the last trip back to the carcasss.


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[Lawnboi]

I concur on A2. The hand forged A2 knife I had made is without a doubt the nicest all around steel iv used, and is simple to get crazy sharp. Makes my bark river A2 knives feel dull almost.

 

[boom]

jaun Trenos knife is NICE!!

i like O1. for me it is great in ease of sharpening and edge retention. i have an expensive Adventure Sworn knife in O1. it is a Scandi grind, 1/8th thick..not ideal for an animal carcass. it works, but i find it more work.

i had a "bushbaby" built for me by BattleHorse knives. i think they heattreated it harder. it feels and sounds different on a waterstone. takes more effort to sharpen. it is also O1 steel. the real achilles. i should have had them made the handle longer..it was afterall my custom. damnit!! a bigger handle would have knocked it out of the park.

 

[juan trueno]

Thanks man. I love that knife. It’s probably the most satisfying tool/ piece of gear I own, tremendously functional as well as being a personal trophy in which I have much pride. I moved to Ak in summer 2008 to deploy to Afghanistan again in February 09. Got my hunting license and fishing license bought a black bear and moose tag which was all I could afford and almost all I was allowed as a nonresident and punched both tickets. Without knowing anyone or anything. Just bought the regs and started hunting.

Anyway lest anyone call bullshit on those numbers on the knife- I’ve touched it up a couple times through that and it’ll slice paper but, if you zoom in on the photo you can see that it’s time to get a little rehab done and that’s why it’s going home my point was that the knife has remained serviceable doing that kind of work skinning quartering and boning as opposed to simply gutting. Not that it remains impossibly sharp in the most challenging of internet conditions.


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[boom]

Thanks man. I love that knife. It’s probably the most satisfying tool/ piece of gear I own, tremendously functional as well as being a personal trophy in which I have much pride. I moved to Ak in summer 2008 to deploy to Afghanistan again in February 09. Got my hunting license and fishing license bought a black bear and moose tag which was all I could afford and almost all I was allowed as a nonresident and punched both tickets. Without knowing anyone or anything. Just bought the regs and started hunting.

Anyway lest anyone call bullshit on those numbers on the knife- I’ve touched it up a couple times through that and it’ll slice paper but, if you zoom in on the photo you can see that it’s time to get a little rehab done and that’s why it’s going home my point was that the knife has remained serviceable doing that kind of work skinning quartering and boning as opposed to simply gutting. Not that it remains impossibly sharp in the most challenging of internet conditions.


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you dont touch it up? you send it back?

 

[juan trueno]

I do touch it up as needed but he’s going to take the nicks back up out of that edge so it’s like new again. I keep a 2 sided diamond stone in my Pack. Nothing fancy but if I need to touch up I can. I haven’t had to mess with it in the field yet though. For routine maintenance- I just use this...

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[boom]

roger..got it.

nice knife man!! you almost had me shopping again..almost.

 

[boom]

here is my Bushbaby clone.
if i could do it over; i would get a white linen handle, something easy to see in dim light while bloody..and like i said, make the handle an inch longer.

i use this tiny $1.99 stone for the most part. but recently i got really good at a waterstone. i am gonna take the edge to the next level.

 

[juan trueno]

I hear you man- you like me- and don’t need anything else either. I’ve got a few others that sometimes get dropped into a pack or a pocket but not “on a hunt” that’s more like if I’m headed to the wma for a couple hours with a rifle to dick around.


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[diesel7]

I’m a custom knife maker, just getting to where I can start pushing some of my blades!! I’m looking into selling some on the classifieds!


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[diesel7]

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