Switching knives havalon to fixed??

[sndmn11]

No I totally agree, I definitely have better control with full knives though over the havalons.

I think they still have their place, I use them for skinning in trapping season and often have one in base camp if I’m mountain hunting. But as my main knives for diving into a whole animal, I don’t have any regrets about moving from the havalons.

Yes, I think the popsicle thick handles like on some havalon style and even the skeleton knives like an altitude are the biggest cause for concern.

I'll snap some pics of my knife family when I get home. There's a theme.


I carry a few. The cork handled piranta sized is being replaced with a hydra so I can have both sizes. The altitude style small drop point is new this year. I'll basically have 5 knives and a sharpening steel in my kill kit.

 

[mtnwrunner]

Love the cork on the havalon.

Randy

 

[Sccritterkiller]

After loosing 2 blades 2 different times on deer I only use my havalon for birds, small game, and fish works perfect. Snapped one blade taking a rear quarter off and a blade came completely off while removing guts. Large animals now I only use a fixed blade, MKC speedgoat, an old Gerber for capes and as a backup, and always have a bug out in my back pocket.

 

[WeiserBucks]

Are you guys getting really aggressive with your Havalon blades or what? We've probably done a dozen elk and twice as many deer since we started using them and broke one blade removing a bull skull.

 

[dlee56]

I ditched my tyto replaceable for a fixed last year and it went really well. I'll be leaving the replaceable at home from here on out unless I have some sort of major hiccup. Pocket knife for whittling etc and a fixed blade with nice steel for field butchering. Did a whole bull with my Bradford 3V knife last year.

 

[Decker9]

Yes, I think the popsicle thick handles like on some havalon style and even the skeleton knives like an altitude are the biggest cause for concern.

I'll snap some pics of my knife family when I get home. There's a theme.


I carry a few. The cork handled piranta sized is being replaced with a hydra so I can have both sizes. The altitude style small drop point is new this year. I'll basically have 5 knives and a sharpening steel in my kill kit.
View attachment 421708

Those are some very sweet blades!! I like the idea of cork handles, I would think it would add a whole new level of grip, especially when covered in blood.

These are the two I pack, a gift from my old dad, another big reason I switched to full knives. Kinda like a rifle, just something feels good about a fancy one lol.

I won a couple others this past year, one through the goat alliance and another through the sheep society. I’m not sure if they will get used or put on the display shelf yet.

 

[justin davis]

I prefer to use a real knife to a havalon. I use Bark River knives quite a bit

 

[Elkhntr82]

I carry both. Either a benchmade steep country or altitude and a Tyto finisher ti. With 3 blades the Tyto doesn’t weight more than an ounce and also doesn’t take up space in my kill kit. I’m opposite from you where I use the Benchmades most of the time, but I use the tyto enough to keep both in my pack.

And yeah the new argali black/orange carbon and serac looks pretty nice.

Agreed

 

[Elkhntr82]

Another vote for both. I like a havalon or replacable for 95% of game prep and a bigger blade for 95% of everything else I do in the woods. Vavalon stays in my kill kit and to me it is worth the extra weight.

Agree

Agreed

 

[Deerfield]

Both for me. Havalon and an Argali Serac. Plus I always have my Benchmade Griptilian in my pocket.

 

[Wilderlife]

I used to carry a replaceable blade knife at all times in the field but never used it so I stopped doing it. Depending on the situation I either take two lightweight knives and a Fallkniven DC4, or maybe a lighter knife and a heavier knife with the DC4 and a small butcher steel. I do plenty of backpack hunts but also hunts where I am in a vehicle based camp.
Sometimes I'll need to take apart multiple animals over a hunt and I would much rather use a fixed blade and touch it up on a smooth steel. I don't have to baby it so much compared to a scalpel knife and if you know how to cut properly and maintain an edge, you can get away with not having to use a stone on a knife for at least a few animals.This is true for your basic 1095 carbon butcher knives, all the way up to more specific hunting knives made from premium steel such as s35vn.

Bottom line for me is I just carry what I enjoy and feels good to me.

 

[sndmn11]

Love the cork on the havalon.

Randy

Randy, do you want to keep it from hanging out in my drawer all season?

 

[505Wapiti]

Anyone use the saddle mountain skinner?

 

[TomJoad]

Only fixed for me with a folder backup and a tiny Arkansas stone for touch-up. I tune my knives before each hunt and don’t do anything stupid like batoning.

Carried allot of fixed but my current favorite is a white river backpacker. Just the skeletonized version. I unwrap the paracord and tie a small section for a leash. It weighs nothing and holds an edge amazingly well.

Current favorite folder is the old school Mercator black cat. I’m partial to carbon steel and it’s a great locking platform.

 

[PA Hunter]

I never used a Havalon but carried a Outdoor Edge replaceable blade knife I really liked it until I tried a Bark River Gunny Hunter. Especially for deboning moose. I will never be without it didn’t know what I was missing. For the big deboning jobs on multiple moose I carry both of them plus a cheap 6 in boning knife with rounded tip that flexes easy like a fillet knife.

 

[Theringworm]

Argali and thats it. Ditched the worthless Havalon a long time ago.

 

[austinrdavis7]

Has anyone made the switch from havalon or any other replaceable blade system to a fixed blade and regretted it?

I've been pretty happy with my havalon for the past 8+ years. Put a benchmade altitude in my pack as an extra just in case knife. And never have used it.

I see for argali carbon is pretty sweet and the new black one looks cooler.

Would I regret ditching the havalon?
I really like not ever having to sharpen a blade

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

I carry 2 fixed. One light weight like argali and then something more robust

 

[SDHNTR]

Give me a skinny bladed folder. Don’t like big fat swept blades. A skinny blade runs up under the hide so much easier. I own dozens of knives but prefer nothing over a good sharp Case pocket knife. Love that TruSharp steel. Super easy to sharpen and keep sharp.

 

[Tingrao]

Though I don’t have a lot of experience breaking down elk, this year we managed to down one and I got to try the gutless method which seemed easier for the precision work with my Havalon. As we were packing out I switched to Benchmade Hidden Canyon for joints and neck work, but the replaceable blade was a real nice option to have available.