What blades steels are you serious hunter/butchers using?

[Pierrebuiltknives]

I am interested in what knives/ blade steels you big frequent hunters are using? Especially curious if you are near salt water or the coast.
Do you sharpen your knife often?
Do you prefer a knife that does not dull easy but may be more time consumming to sharpen, or would you rather have a easy to sharpen knife that you have to swipe more?

Large knife samll knife combo?
Caping knife in the bag?
Show me your setup. Describe your setup. Please.

 

[Kustom]

Following.

Sent from my LGLS992 using Tapatalk

 

[huntsman22]

A2, D2, S30V, Elmax here.

 

[go4thegusto]

S90v, s110v

 

[Pierrebuiltknives]

A2, D2, S30V, Elmax here.

Ok stainless checkin. What statte? Nevermind just saw CO. Ya elmax is one of my favorite stainless steels.

 

[Pierrebuiltknives]

S90v, s110v

I have never used either of these. So part of the not sharpening often crew. Which knives?
I assume you are quarting with these?

 

[go4thegusto]

I have never used either of these. So part of the not sharpening often crew. Which knives?
I assume you are quarting with these?

Yes, I like a hard steel that can make it through an elk with minimal touch-up. I have a Spyderco in S110V for my lightweight pack. Bark River in CPM-20CV for my regular pack in fixed blade. S90V in a Benchmade pocket carry.

Elmax is great also. Some bark River deals on Amazon & ebay

 

[oldgoat]

The rare occasion I actually get something, my best knives are Knives of Alaska. Really fond of their cleaver and fillet knives when processing the animal at home. Bought a Havalon Piranta after last elk season for carrying on the mountain as part of my overall effort to reduce weight in my pack. Will still carry my KOA fillet knife, it doesn't weigh a lot and it's damn handy boning out meat. I also have a really light weight Buck Folding knife that I might carry just so I have a rugged bladed knife still!

 

[JollyRoger]

I really like the S30V, S35V, CPM154 on my daily use knives. Spyderco always has weird steels that seem to be laser sharp and take a beating also.

As for hunting, this past season I used an Outdoor Edge knife with the replaceable blades. It did really well, but I still kinda want a nice fixed blade in one of the steels I mentioned above. Good edge retention, durable and mostly resistant to corrosion.

I'm in Idaho for what it's worth.

 

[rileybassman]

A2, S35VN, and 3V primarily for me.... sometimes good old 1095.
Have used lots of others - 420HC, Aus-8, Sandvik, etc...

They all cut, and they all will get the job done... some just need a couple re-sharpenings along the way.

Good S35VN and A2 will make it through an elk or two and still be paper slicing sharp in my experience.

With steels you get to pick 2: Corrosion resistance, abrasion resistance, and toughness... always a compromise somewhere.

Steels have really come a long way in even the last 10-15 years...

 

[rileybassman]

I'll add that edge angle and edge profile make a HUGE difference... and steel get's blamed (both good and bad) for those...

 

[aaron600rr]

3V, aebl, A2 and Cpm 154

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[Lawnboi]

I wouldn't consider myself really serious about hunting or butchering but I'll give you my 2 cents on blade steels.

For stainless I really like elmax, all the others to me seem the same, s30, s35, cpm154 they just all seem very similar. I do have a bark river bird and trout, which I use almost daily in elmax, and after fixing bark rivers crap edge the thing gets and stays hair popping sharp. I'd really be interested in a good woods knife in elmax, not a lot of guys are working with it, and I won't buy bark river or other over the counter knives after getting used to a good custom knife.

I have limited experience with super steels but a2 has worked good for me, IMO the best compromise, tough, easy to sharpen and maintains a good, scary sharp edge.

I also really like carbon steel, and if I were to buy another knife tomorrow it would be in one of the common carbon steels. W2 is what I have the most experience in. Carbon steel is great for a strong crazy sharp edge, I can get an edge on carbon steel that I can't with stainless steel. Just need to worry about corrosion which may or may not be a problem for people.

In the kitchen can't beat Japanese carbon steel, chef knives to go can get you into knives that will change what you think about blades in the kitchen for not that much money. Best yet stainless jacketed carbon steel, I forget what they call it, but that's what I like in a Japanese kitchen knife.

I like knives, and I already have more than I need. I will give a shout out to red rock tool in South Dakota, the guy that owns it makes a heck of a knife, and is very easy to work with on getting what you want. He also has filet knives figured out, which a lot of makers struggle with I think. All for cheaper than bark river.

 

[rileybassman]

I wouldn't consider myself really serious about hunting or butchering but I'll give you my 2 cents on blade steels.

For stainless I really like elmax, all the others to me seem the same, s30, s35, cpm154 they just all seem very similar. I do have a bark river bird and trout, which I use almost daily in elmax, and after fixing bark rivers crap edge the thing gets and stays hair popping sharp. I'd really be interested in a good woods knife in elmax, not a lot of guys are working with it, and I won't buy bark river or other over the counter knives after getting used to a good custom knife.

I have limited experience with super steels but a2 has worked good for me, IMO the best compromise, tough, easy to sharpen and maintains a good, scary sharp edge.

I also really like carbon steel, and if I were to buy another knife tomorrow it would be in one of the common carbon steels. W2 is what I have the most experience in. Carbon steel is great for a strong crazy sharp edge, I can get an edge on carbon steel that I can't with stainless steel. Just need to worry about corrosion which may or may not be a problem for people.

In the kitchen can't beat Japanese carbon steel, chef knives to go can get you into knives that will change what you think about blades in the kitchen for not that much money. Best yet stainless jacketed carbon steel, I forget what they call it, but that's what I like in a Japanese kitchen knife.

I like knives, and I already have more than I need. I will give a shout out to red rock tool in South Dakota, the guy that owns it makes a heck of a knife, and is very easy to work with on getting what you want. He also has filet knives figured out, which a lot of makers struggle with I think. All for cheaper than bark river.

I have a BRKT Gunny (A2), Bravo 1.25 (3v), Rising Wolf (S35VN), and camp and trail (A2) and none of them came with crap edges... I stropped over sandpaper (300-2000) and then on a strop on each of them... but all of them came shaving sharp out of the box...

I have a ZT folder in elmax, and it is a great folder! Good steel.

 

[Akicita]

^^^Good thread^^^

For most in field skinning, caping and quartering task I use Obsidian flakes as traditionally taught to me. I will typically also use my Spyderco Delica which is VG10 for finish work and boning out quarters. The VG10 steel seems to hold up well to my hard use but seems to be difficult for me to sharpen. Processing in the butcher shop I use Victorinox 12" Butcher and various other high carbon cold roll steel knives because they are easy to sharpen and sharpen fast. I was given Shun Premier Chef knife by my wife a few years ago that is hand hammered Damascus steel with a 16 degree edge. It doesn't come out very often but when it does it cuts like a scalpel.

Obsidian Flakes are free and easy to acquire. They don't rust and don't lose an edge during most field dressing. They will flake or break under heavy use but typically will maintain a razor sharp edge. I keep a palm size flake in my kill bag with a palm size piece of rawhide.

Spyderco Delika is light and durable. It's with me 24/7 so it's handy for the more finer processes of removing tenderloins and back-straps gutless and for boning out quarters quickly. It will hold and edge well but for me it is difficult to sharpen back to the very sharp factory edge. I usually carry an Eze-Lap 201 Diamond Wallet Sharpener for it and any other knife I carry out of the house.

Victorinox and all my other high carbon cold roll steel knives do not hold an edge well but are inexpensive and won’t cause a stroke for an impatient, OCD, under skilled knife sharpener like me. I will sneak a 10" with me if I am guiding or horseback.

Hand Forged Damascus steel Shun is simply a beautiful cutting tool that is impractical for any field use or butcher use. I only mention it because the Damascus steel seems like it holds an edge at 16 degrees more than other knives I own at a lesser degree.

 

[Lawnboi]

I have a BRKT Gunny (A2), Bravo 1.25 (3v), Rising Wolf (S35VN), and camp and trail (A2) and none of them came with crap edges... I stropped over sandpaper (300-2000) and then on a strop on each of them... but all of them came shaving sharp out of the box...

I have a ZT folder in elmax, and it is a great folder! Good steel.

I have quite a few bark river knives, a huntsman, bird and trout, some caper, a petty z a fillet and a chef knife. On the thicker knives the edges were okay, but all the skinnier ones needed work. Don't get me wrong the edges were not terrible, but they needed work to not dull quickly and be semi easy to touch up, 2 of them needed complete redo.

Since I got into knives and steels Iv come to the conclusion that a custom made by a reputable and professional maker is better than the semi custom knives bark river produces... Not to mention costs similar. Not saying at all that bark rivers are bad, I have multiple and use them often. Just my opinion.

If you like bark river you need an elmax bird and trout. Perfect little knife for processing whitetail once the quarters and skin are off. Great in the kitchen and perfect for its intended use, birds and trout. I think elmax is a great steel.

 

[rileybassman]

I have quite a few bark river knives, a huntsman, bird and trout, some caper, a petty z a fillet and a chef knife. On the thicker knives the edges were okay, but all the skinnier ones needed work. Don't get me wrong the edges were not terrible, but they needed work to not dull quickly and be semi easy to touch up, 2 of them needed complete redo.

Since I got into knives and steels Iv come to the conclusion that a custom made by a reputable and professional maker is better than the semi custom knives bark river produces... Not to mention costs similar. Not saying at all that bark rivers are bad, I have multiple and use them often. Just my opinion.

If you like bark river you need an elmax bird and trout. Perfect little knife for processing whitetail once the quarters and skin are off. Great in the kitchen and perfect for its intended use, birds and trout. I think elmax is a great steel.

Gotcha... yea I hear ya. I had a custom from JK knives built in 01, and it was a great knife... I ended up selling it because it was a jack of all, master of none... and I seem to have quite a few of those lol...

Yea, I think that would be a perfect compliment... always looking for a small caper/skinner


Barkies are pricey for sure... I love ESEE as well, and you can usually buy 2-3 of them for 1 similar sized BRKT...

it's an addiction

 

[Superkodiak38]

^^^Good thread^^^

For most in field skinning, caping and quartering task I use Obsidian flakes as traditionally taught to me. I will typically also use my Spyderco Delica which is VG10 for finish work and boning out quarters. The VG10 steel seems to hold up well to my hard use but seems to be difficult for me to sharpen. Processing in the butcher shop I use Victorinox 12" Butcher and various other high carbon cold roll steel knives because they are easy to sharpen and sharpen fast. I was given Shun Premier Chef knife by my wife a few years ago that is hand hammered Damascus steel with a 16 degree edge. It doesn't come out very often but when it does it cuts like a scalpel.

Obsidian Flakes are free and easy to acquire. They don't rust and don't lose an edge during most field dressing. They will flake or break under heavy use but typically will maintain a razor sharp edge. I keep a palm size flake in my kill bag with a palm size piece of rawhide.

Spyderco Delika is light and durable. It's with me 24/7 so it's handy for the more finer processes of removing tenderloins and back-straps gutless and for boning out quarters quickly. It will hold and edge well but for me it is difficult to sharpen back to the very sharp factory edge. I usually carry an Eze-Lap 201 Diamond Wallet Sharpener for it and any other knife I carry out of the house.

Victorinox and all my other high carbon cold roll steel knives do not hold an edge well but are inexpensive and won’t cause a stroke for an impatient, OCD, under skilled knife sharpener like me. I will sneak a 10" with me if I am guiding or horseback.

Hand Forged Damascus steel Shun is simply a beautiful cutting tool that is impractical for any field use or butcher use. I only mention it because the Damascus steel seems like it holds an edge at 16 degrees more than other knives I own at a lesser degree.

Awesome ! I Knapp a little, but not for a while. I am headed to Colorado in September 2018 was going to keep an eye out for any chert, obsidian or flint. Are you aware of any rules regarding picking it up ? I would like to bring home a few spalls . Be nice to make a point to remember the trip by.

 

[Superkodiak38]

Apologizes to the OP, not trying to Hi-jack the thread. I like KOA D2 and I have used it in fresh/ brackishwater areas. I keep it clean and spray it with oil afterwards. No problems with rust, has a nice patina though.

 

[Akicita]

Awesome ! I Knapp a little, but not for a while. I am headed to Colorado in September 2018 was going to keep an eye out for any chert, obsidian or flint. Are you aware of any rules regarding picking it up ? I would like to bring home a few spalls . Be nice to make a point to remember the trip by.

It's legal on all National Forest Service and BLM land. Best place to find it is in Talus and Scree fields near or above treeline. Obsidian holds an edge best, flakes better and is more durable than quartz.