A Good Hunting Knife or Axe???

G

gizbb

Joined
Aug 27, 2002
Messages
3
I do not know anything about knives and want to get my hubby a good knife for christmas. What is/are the best and sturdy hunting knives and axes. Would like it to have a good blade and sharp......not tooo expensive. Also how about the best machete. What steel is best for a knife? I have read about steel, but not quite sure which is best. Thanks in advance!!
 
gizbb-- welcome to Bladeforums. Are you looking for a fixed blade or a folder? Do you want a knife that is more specialized for skinning, or one that can do a variety of camp chores--food prep, cutting rope, light chopping, etc? If you can be more specific about how you husband intends to use the knife you will get better recommendations. One maker that you should check out is Bob Dozier. If you do a search here for Dozier, you will come up with quite a bit of info. Another good place to look is A.G. Russell's website He sells a wide variety of knives, and his site is a great place to browse if you are not really sure what's out there. He also sells some Dozier knives. Good luck, I hope you find something nice for your husband.
--Josh
 
Welcome to the forums..... lots of good questions, expect lots of good answers!!!
You might want to give us idea of what your price range is, there are good knives in every price "bracket", obviously there are better knives at higher prices, however their benefits may not be worth price increase.
If your husband is hunter, then Dozier makes EXCELLENT fix blade knives which also are excellent general use. These run in mid to high $100 range.
But also there are good chaper price fix blade hunters below $100, two well-regarded knives on this forum are Cold Steel Master Hunter (in non-stainless carbon steel) and Fallkniven F1 (in VG-10 steel, a very good "stainless" steel).
Of course, stainless vs. non-stainless depends on your husband's preference, if he looks after his tools carefully then carbon steel would be fine (usually slightly cheaper, also usually better edge holding and toughness but not always), otherwise stainless is way to go.
Axes are different story, if you know your husband likes axes then post a separate question in the Axes forum here. They are exccellent tools but require even more skill, safety and care than knives. I would keep away from axes unless you know your husband is skilled in using one.
Machetes- many varieties available, very good ones can be found for cheap. Others with more experience will chime in.
Welcome again, and happy "hunting" for a good knife, axe, machete..........!
Martin
 
I do not know the difference between fix or ??? It will be used for hunting..chopping and stuff like that....or just to walk around the house and show me and his friends how macho he is with his new knife.:D I was looking around $125 or less. Thanks
 
While I have no idea what your husband might prefer, if I were seeking a hatchet/axe, machete or hunting knife I'd probably start with these:

Axes and hatchets - Marbles (can be tough to find) Safety Axe or Estwing Camp Axe. Gerber makes a nice camp/hunting hatchet also.

Machete - Becker Knife & Tool Patrol Machete - tough and cheap.

Hunting knife - much tougher, since this category is pretty wide open and depends a lot on the intended use. Start with Marbles, Fallkniven, and AG Russell for quality, high performance knives that don't cost a fortune. If you think you might want something fancier, you may want to quiz your husband a bit to find out what he likes and get some suggestions before you spend a lot.

JMO!
 
Originally posted by gizbb
I do not know the difference between fix or ??? It will be used for hunting..chopping and stuff like that....or just to walk around the house and show me and his friends how macho he is with his new knife.:D I was looking around $125 or less. Thanks
Click to expand...

Oh sorry, FIXED BLADE means a knife with blade secured to the handle with no join, the blade is enclosed in a sheath which can be made of synthetic (non corroding, high impact and tear resistant) materials like kydex or concealex, or natural materials like leather which traditionalists prefer. There are also more complex sheathes which use hard plastic inslip usually made of kydex to secure the blade, housed within a flexible nylon (cordura) sheath.
FOLDING knife is a knife with a blade which is housed in its own handle when closed and folds out into "open" position, most today have pocket clips for pocket carry although some can bee carried in a belt sheath. Most foldsing knives have a locking mechanism - definitely recommended for a hunting or "hard use " knife.
In general there is trade off between HUNTING and CHOPPING knife, hunters tend to be smaller and lighter (4" blade or less) while choppers are necessarily bigger and heavier (at least 7"- 9" blade length). Of course you can skin with a big knife and split wood with a smaller knife, but either way every knife is a compromise- no such thing as a "do-everything" knife regardless of some company's advertising. If you can be specific about what your husband will PRIMARILY us it for, that would help in narrowing down choices............
Martin
 
It will be used mostly for chopping wood (not big timber wood) but like bushes and things like that while camping. My hubby is 5'11 and am not sure about weight of a knife. I truly appricate all your help!
 
A few choices from AG Russell-


<A HREF="http://www.agrussell.com/agrussell/ru-d500cq.html">Drop Point Hunter</A>

<A HREF="http://www.agrussell.com/agrussell/ru-43e.html">6.5in Camp Knife</A>

<A HREF="http://www.agrussell.com/marbles/index.html">Marbles Axes & Knives</A>
 
a Dozier Pro Skinner. I have one myself. Email me!

After reading a previous post, I can see that a Pro Skinner WOULD NOT be a good choice as it would be way too small. Sounds like your hubby wants something more along the lines of what is known as a "camp knife", or a bowie.

(Edited for overlooking a previous post by gizbb):rolleyes:
 
The Swamp Rat Camp Tramp is another fantastic choice, I didn't realize they were so affordable. $130 is impressive for that much knife.
 
You might want to check out the BK&T line from Camillus:

http://www.camillusknives.com/1mainframe.htm?bkt/index.shtml~main

For a heavy duty camp knife, I would choose either the BK7 combat utility or the recently discontinued (but still avalible from many dealers) BK5 Jerry Fisk Magnum Camp, myself.
The BK&T Patrol machete is about the nicest production machete, although there are others that are much cheaper, which will perform well, after they are sharpened. Both Barteaux and Ontario make decent heavy duty machetes (if you get the Ontario make sure it is the new version with the molded on handle not the old riveted type). Barteaux also makes cheaper lighter weight Economy machetes that are also very good.
I will leave the axe comments to others.


- Frank
 
The "best steel" discussion is a neverending debate:)
Here are some fine cutting tools at reasonable prices that would seem to fit the uses you describe, IMO...
The Deerhunter from AG Russell:
http://www.agrknives.com/agrussell/agdh-8a.html
I haven't used this knife, but it is a great design, and AG Russell has excellent service.

...and the Gransfors Bruks Wildlife Hatchet:
http://www.cutsforthknives.com/cutsforth_knife_machete_and_axe_001.htm
Daren has good prices, great service, and also has a selection of machetes.
 
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