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Absolute best hunting/skinning knife?

Andrew Lynch

Andrew Lynch

Joined
Feb 6, 2000
Messages
3,021
This deer season I don't want to waste my time with a crappy hunting knife. So what is the best hunting/skinning knife for me to buy? There is one condition though: the knife must cost $100 or less. Thanks for the help.
 
Spyderco Moran.

Uber-sharp VG-10 steel, 4" swept point hunter with highly ergonomic handle. 1/8" blade thickness, flat ground. Multi-carry kydex sheath included for $60!!!
 
Hi Andrew,
You might also want to check out the Marble's line. The Sport 99 might be the perfect design for what you're looking for, but their entire line represents a tremendous value IMHO. Considering you can get a 52100 blade for about $80 US is pretty incredible.

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Semper Fi

-Bill
 
Can anyone who own one of the the 52100 Marbles help me out?

On their website, Marble list their blade stock thickness as .215". That seems very thick for a small blade. How do you feel about yours?
 
I have a Marble's Fieldcraft I intend to try out on an upcoming hunt in northern BC for elk, moose, bear and mule deer (with luck). It is hell-for-stout and undoubtedly one of the sharpest knives I own; the sweeping edge should make it a great skinner. I am also hoping to field test a Fallkniven F-1 against my tried-and-true CS Master Hunter in Carbon V. My preference for a hunting knife is a drop-point; with clip or upswept blades like the Fieldcraft or Fallkniven's H1 'puukko' you have to take a little more care when slitting the hide, to avoid puncturing the paunch and getting a faceful of aromatic green stuff. All of these are less than $100. If you look around, you should be able to find the discontinued line of Red River (division of Cold Steel) blades -- the elk skinner or North American hunter or scalping knife or butcher knife, all in 1/8" thick Carbon V steel are among the world's best bargains, $15 to $20.
 
I second the Red River/Hudson Bay knives. I've been buying a small stock of them, reshaping the handles and sharpening them to give to friends who express an interest in carbon steel knives. The Carbon V is a good fine grained, tough steel that takes a very good edge. Pawn shops and such are fun to browse too, as I found an old 39 series carbon steel Western that was dark but had little wear, for $10. It sharpened up nicely too. Another decent knife that doesn't cost much are the Anza knifes made from files. I have a #4 I think it is, a nice little hollow ground 3in knife that was about $30. Although not the ideal shape for skinning it's also hard to beat the Mora knives for value, either the Frosts or Ericksson. The carbon steel models are usually RC60 and being kind of thin they're real sharp. In one store I saw an old traditional Mora knife for sale that had dried blood and stuff on it, which had evidently been used for breaking joints as the back of the blade was heavily peened from hammering. I'm guessing it was one of the laminated models. I'm looking at the Marbles too, maybe the Plainsman, as they look like a very good knife.
 
Go with the Denning, if a vote from Jerry Hossum didn't convince you already. But order it from GenO quickly, if you plan on using it this season. You may be better off going to www.robertsoncustomcutlery.com and ordering one from Les. He has a nice model T/U for sale.
 
For those prices one can get a D2 knife from Dozier, kydex sheath and all. I have what looks likes a general purpose hunter, it was a gift from my dad, but I'd also like to get the straight hunter, slim outdoorsman, and the more I look at it the more I like the small elk hunter. Others that work well for much less are the CS Master Hunter in Carbon V, and CS also has a new All Terrain Hunter that is less. Although I haven't seen one Colorado Cutlery has a 3 1/4 drop point in 1095 with micarta scales for a decent price at some sites.
 
Andrew- check out this crosslock 3 function hunter from Buck http://www.alansattik.twoffice.com/Crosslock%203%20function%20hunter.html only $69.95 It might fill the bill
smile.gif
 
I'll have to go with the Spyderco Moran as well. Super sharp, great steel, ergonomic, good sheath, Spyderco quality. A bargain to boot.
View


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"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
George Orwell
"Those who hold the thin blue line keep order, and insure that anarchy and chaos will not prevail."
 
For the money, Marbles are hard to beat. They are wonderful knives. I have 6 of them, all razors right out of the box. I almost bought another yesterday when I was visiting a knife shop but I had just ordered a new Busse that morning and I had to show SOME constraint.
smile.gif


The one I almost bought is a new model that is quite a beauty for hunting. More of a skinner than anything but still fairly versatile. I believe the new model is called a Hunter but I can't remember off the top of my head and I can't get into their site right now. It's about the same physical size as the woodcraft but much less distal taper and no swedge. And absolute beaut in design. The one I was looking at had a black micarta handle and was selling for $89.


I checked out the thread above for the GenO knives and was really impressed. However, when I checked Les Robertson's site for the model without the bolsters, it wasn't listed. That's a great looking hunting knife for the price. And the full, open tang, IMO, makes it a pretty robust hunting design. His knives look like they could take the abuse of a long hunting trip. Does anyone know where I can find the model without the bolsters?



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Hoodoo

Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?

The Merchant of Venice, Act IV. Scene I.
 
Originally posted by Nimrod:
Does anyone know if the Marbles knife has a full tang ?
Click to expand...

As far as I know, most all have "through" tangs. They are hidden but pass all the way through and are threaded on the end and the handle pieces held together with a nut. Some models, though, have partial tangs.

Occasionally some of these handles will loosen up and need to be tightened. Marbles has good customer service and will usually do any repair work for free although there may be some S&H charges. I can't remember.

None of my marbles have ever loosened up but I've read in the forums of this happening a couple of times, usually caused by leather or horn drying.


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Hoodoo

Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?

The Merchant of Venice, Act IV. Scene I.

[This message has been edited by Hoodoo (edited 09-02-2000).]
 
Does anyone know if the Marbles knife has a full tang ?
Click to expand...

I thought I saw a Fieldcraft with a full tang at A.G. Russell's once. I didn't inspect it further as they were more expensive somehow. Check out their website, or click here

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Reynaert
 
Andrew--

Depending on what size game you hunt and what processing you perform, any of the above might be good choices.

If you are dressing game of up to a couple hundred pounds in weight, and are field dressing, skinning and boning only (no hard bone cuts, such as splitting the pelvis), check out AG Russell's Deerhunter. Super thin, featherweight 4" ATS-34 drop-point blade with contoured/checkered nylon grips and a dynamite sheath design, all for under $100. This knife is so lightweight and quick in the hand that it feels like an extension of your fingers--truly a joy to use on anything up to deer-size game.

Good hunting--Will
 
Guys, thanks for the info on Marbles being full or "through" tang. If things loosen up and it's full tang, I can life with some S&H to get it back tight.

I have used Buck knives so long for hunting that I never even think to bring one of my Chris Reeves or Fallkniven fixed blades. I will, however, bring a large Wegner plain edge on a Mule Deer and Pronghorn hunt in Montana this Novenmber to keep weight down.

I've done elk with Buck 119s and the discontinued 639, countless deer with the Skinner or Pathfinder. Even though the newer ones don't hold an edge like the older ones of 440c, I still like Buck knives; and who can complain about the price or customer service?

BTW the Puma White Hunter II is also a decent choice for the price.

[This message has been edited by Nimrod (edited 09-02-2000).]
 
Quite a condition you've placed on the "absolute best hunting/skinning knife"... the $100 limit. For a few dollars more ($150) you can get wht I consider the best, regardless of cost or other conditions... the Bob Dozier Yukon Pro Skinner. One awesome field knife!

AJ
 
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