All Around Hunting Knife for a Knife Luddite Friend

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thallium

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Jan 25, 2011
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I've got a friend who's a hunter. I was curious what knives he uses and it turns out he just has 20+ year old Buck and Schrade pocket knives, in 440 or some carbon steel I'd guess. He says he takes four or five hunting so he can switch out as they dull. I showed him my Spydie PM2 and he said his blades are shaped like it and not the typical hunting blade shape with a big belly. I was amazed at this and told him he should get a modern hunting knife.

Now, I'm not a hunter so I don't know exactly what to recommend. He'd probably be very happy with an ESEE 3 or 4 and the 1095 should be fairly easy to touch up but I'm not sure he'd even need to. Any other recommendations in the neighborhood of $100? I'm not sure S30V or other super steels would be good because of the higher difficulty in sharpening. I'm thinking along the lines of ATS-34, CPM154 or 154CM and carbon.
 
How about a Condor Nessmuk. Great little hunting/skinning knife. Or a Condor Tavian, Lifeland Hunter. Or a BK-15, BK-16, BK-17. All WELL below your budget. :D
 
thallium said:
He'd probably be very happy with an ESEE 3 or 4 ....
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Sounds like the guy is pretty happy with his old pocket knives already. What's wrong with that? Heck, enjoying the woods, I'd take an old Schrade slippy over some black coated thing in a heartbeat.
 
I 2nd the condor nessmuk, Marcinek you are correct in one respect but there's always something good to be said of progress.
 
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marcinek said:
Sounds like the guy is pretty happy with his old pocket knives already. What's wrong with that? Heck, enjoying the woods, I'd take an old Schrade slippy over some black coated thing in a heartbeat.
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I don't know. Besides the fact that he has to take so many knives so he doesn't have to resharpen in the field I just thought he might be happy to find a better performing knife that will hold it's edge even after several dressings. But like I said I'm not a hunter so what do I know?

BTW, has anyone ever watched the videos of virtuovice on youtube? http://www.youtube.com/user/virtuovice He's a Japanese fellow that has many videos on his various hunting knives, sharpening methods and occasionally dressing a deer. Like I said, I'm not a hunter but I find his videos very interesting and informative.

A while back he used a Ritter Grip to dress a deer and I seem to remember that he was impressed with it. Anyone else use a Griptilian this way?
 
Generally I would recommend a Bark River or a Dozier,

...but in that price range I'd look a the Spyderco Moran hunting knives.


(Used Bark River's can be had in the $100 range).




Big Mike
 
I agree on Condor - the Nessmuk, Bushlore, and Bushcraft are all nice choices between 3"-5". The Condor Hudson Bay knife has really been calling to me recently I think I am going to get one. Condor Rodan is a great knife but not as traditional in appearance with the poly handle.

Another brand that you should check out, albeit more expensive, is Helle. The Safari and GT are among my favorites.
 
Since I'm an old hunter myself, I also have an attachment to my older knives. They do what they're intended to do, so who cares whether they're premium steel, micarta or g-10, type of lock, how much they cost, etc. If he like's Buck's and wants something that holds an edge decently, you can get him a custom Buck 110 for around $100 with their S30V blade. It's like old meets new, and I'm sure he'll love it. Or get him a Buck Vanguard if he likes fixed blades. I can't get any of my hunting buddies to stray from their traditional knives, no matter how many times we have to sharpen them in the field and skinning shed.
 
The condor nussmuk is inexpensive enough that I'd give it to him. Even if he doesn't like it, it's no big loss. How does 1075 compare to 1095. Does the nessmuk come with a decent factory edge?
 
thallium said:
The condor nussmuk is inexpensive enough that I'd give it to him. Even if he doesn't like it, it's no big loss. How does 1075 compare to 1095. Does the nessmuk come with a decent factory edge?
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How do you know that the carbon steel used in this old slipjoints isn't 1095 or 1075 already?

And if your buddy is sharpening all those knives after each trip, it sounds like "factory edge" doesn't matter much to him. (And maybe he enjoys sharpening!)

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he'd appreciate a gifted knife (who wouldn't?)...but maybe you are trying to fix something that isn't broken. I bet he'd love a new Case CV slippie.
 
marcinek said:
How do you know that the carbon steel used in this old slipjoints isn't 1095 or 1075 already?

And if your buddy is sharpening all those knives after each trip, it sounds like "factory edge" doesn't matter much to him. (And maybe he enjoys sharpening!)

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he'd appreciate a gifted knife (who wouldn't?)...but maybe you are trying to fix something that isn't broken. I bet he'd love a new Case CV slippie.
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I don't know what steel they are but they certainly could be 1075 or 1095 I guess (I'm not an expert on traditional folders or Schrades and Bucks in general). It just seems likely that a larger fixed blade designed for skinning and dressing would work better than a slip-joint pocket knife. I'm not criticizing slip joints per se, they just don't seem like the ideal tool for the job regardless of steel.
 
thallium said:
I don't know what steel they are but they certainly could be 1075 or 1095 I guess (I'm not an expert on traditional folders or Schrades and Bucks in general). It just seems likely that a larger fixed blade designed for skinning and dressing would work better than a slip-joint pocket knife. I'm not criticizing slip joints per se, they just don't seem like the ideal tool for the job regardless of steel.
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largely depends on the model and era they are from, buck 110 i believe has always been stainless, schrade is a mix just depends on the pattern.
Good for you thinking about him. no offense but are you sure he can adequately sharpen? if not then some of the fancier steels might prove frustrating
either way a very nice gesture to get him a gift.
Buck makes some good stainless least the ones i have had were
gene
 
thallium said:
... I'm not criticizing slip joints per se, they just don't seem like the ideal tool for the job regardless of steel.
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To you. :) I get the feeling your buddy loves them.

And speaking as a fellow slipjoint carrying, carbon steel loving "luddite"...nobody's gonna convince me that a tactical folder or coated fixed blade is "better."

I mean, if you want to give me a tactical folder or a black coated fixed blade I'll take it....
 
marcinek said:
To you. :) I get the feeling your buddy loves them.

And speaking as a fellow slipjoint carrying, carbon steel loving "luddite"...nobody's gonna convince me that a tactical folder or coated fixed blade is "better."

I mean, if you want to give me a tactical folder or a black coated fixed blade I'll take it....
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He might love them but I don't think he knows of any other options. He'd never heard of Spyderco. Also, he barely knows what amazon.com is. The luddite was a bit of a joke but not by much.

I never said I wanted to get him a black coated tactical knife or anything. I think I even said I didn't think a super steel would be the right choice. I think a carbon steel or 154CM or maybe VG-10 or AUS8 would be sufficient. And, he might not be a good sharpener so S30V or anything beyond that might make things worse.

So far, the condor nessmuk sounds pretty good or even a mora. You can't get much cheaper than those. Has anyone skinned with a mora?
 
Read Phil Wilson's articles on steel. I think you will find cpm154 the best combination I know that is my next hunting blade I am looking to have built once my Elmax blade is finished.
 
I've skinned goats with a Mora, but for choice I'd second the suggestion of the Buck Vanguard. It's a great hunting knife, lightweight, Buck's 440HC steel and nothing tactical about it, and it's a brand your buddy is already familiar with. I agree with those who say just coz your buddy doesn't know what he's missing, doesn't mean he's actually missing anything at all.
 
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