Hunting Knife - Recommendations

[tddeangelo]

I use a Havalon Barracuta with fillet blades for skinning and butchering. I love it and wouldn't be without it.

Field dressing I use a Kershaw Lonerock ZipIt. It is super tough, cheap, and I've popped briskets open pretty easily with it. I do the first cut with my pocket carry folder and then the ZipIt does the rest fast and efficiently. And it's a lot easier to sharpen than a "gut hook" and I think does the same thing easier. Don't be fooled by the low price. I consider mine to be indispensable.

 

[gerryaz]

This season I used my Camillus Bushcrafter fixed blade for most of the critters, and a Havalon Piranta for caping. I think a set up with a 3.5-4.5" fixed blade for tougher work and as a camp knife, plus a Havalon for caping is hard to beat.

I like the Battle Horse knives really well. I have used their Blackwater knife quite a bit. It is a bit thinner bladed than the Camillus and not as good a camp knife, but great for game.

The Dunn Knives skinner is darn nice too, I have one of their small skinners I used in place of the Havalon before purchasing it. It is a bit harder to sharpen with it's S30V blade, but holds an edge really well.

The Outdoor Edge Razor Pro is stouter than the Havalon, If I was going to only carry one knife this is a good one. If weight is a huge concern this should probably be the only knife I pack. I just hate being somewhere weight is a huge concern without a decent fixed blade so I don't.

Most of the knives I like are high carbon O1 or 1095 steel. It holds a good edge but not like some of the stainless supersteels now available. I like how easy it is to touch up in the field though. I have a Victorionox 8" steel I use an awful lot around home or camp. I just purchased a Cabelas ceramic steel that only weighs 2.4oz I want to try in my pack best multitool for survival, see if it works as well with it's minimal weight. I carry and use the Camillus Bushcrafter daily on the ranch where I work and continue to be impressed with it's toughness. I can abuse it working and after 10 swipes on the steel that night it takes hair off my arm again. Darn good knife.

Hello. After 14 years as a custom knife maker, I finally took the step into production. I've partnered with White River Knife and Tool out of Fremont, MI to build my hunter design. The knife is 7 3/4" long with a 3 1/4" blade of CPM S35VN with various synthetic handles. This is basically the evolution of what I had in mind as the "perfect" deer hunting knife. Works for me, anyway.

 

[Wolfshead]

I make my own.
This one is a 3.25” blade, and a 4” handle.
Ground blade from 52100, with desert ironwood scales, and red, and white G10 liners.
Make the sheaths too!
I’ll carry this one in the field this season.
I hunt whitetails so I don’t need much, and I’ll be able to do it all, field dressing, skinning, and quartering it up.
When it’s time to break the quarters and such down to package I switch to a Victorinox boning knife.

 

[wvbuckbuster]

Nice.

 

[diverdown]

Up until about 12 years ago my Buck 110 folder worked perfectly for deer. Having a few extra bucks in my pocket I decided to try a custom knife. I knew a dealer that was selling Randall knives (when you could still get them without waiting for 3 years) I ended up with a just under 4 inch blade D2 steel and I have never been more satisfied. No sharpening needed during the gutting process. Still carry the Buck in my fanny pack (just in case) but haven't needed it.

 

[DrMike]

I make my own.
This one is a 3.25” blade, and a 4” handle.
Ground blade from 52100, with desert ironwood scales, and red, and white G10 liners.
Make the sheaths too!
I’ll carry this one in the field this season.
I hunt whitetails so I don’t need much, and I’ll be able to do it all, field dressing, skinning, and quartering it up.
When it’s time to break the quarters and such down to package I switch to a Victorinox boning knife.

View attachment 23151
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Very handsome.

 

[hunter24605]

I love the look and feel of a traditional steel and wood knife, but I was gifted an outdoor edge razor pro and it’s fantastic for all my field care in game animals. Always a scalpel sharp blade ready to go.
https://a.co/d/anIwXyV