Bladeforums Best Hunter 2017 - winner announced

Which is your favorite for 2017?

  • Total voters
    143
  • Poll closed .
Looks like we've got ourselves a horse race this year! Everyone get your votes in. The poll ends tonight at 8:20 pm PST
 
I'm really honored to be included in the finals with this outstanding group of knives, among peers and friends, world class knifemakers. Let alone to have TWO in the finals. Thanks to everyone that voted for my knives in the nomination round and the finalist round.....really sincerely, Thank You!

Now about the knives....I think 'hunting' knives quite often have the counterpart 'utility' included in the title for good reason. So I think these all fall into the 'field utility' category. That said, I REALLY dislike guards on hunting knives or any small knife in general. I find they just get in the way most of the time. I have cut myself plenty but I can't recall a time when I cut myself that a guard would have prevented.

If a knife IS going to have a guard, I like it as short and compact as possible, not protruding any farther than it needs to past the cutting edge. For me, this rules out a couple right off.

I voted for Ben's knife. The guard is nice and compact and minimal and there are other elements in regards to materials and construction that make this knife highly appealing to me.

The Fowler knife has a short guard but there are other aspects of the guard that don't suit me quite right and the stag on that particular piece I don't care for.

Every knife on the list is VERY nice and all the makers should be proud. The community did a nice job of putting a fine group of knives together for the finals.

Thanks again everyone.
 
Honored to be a part of this:) I voted for John's koa hunter before I realized how close it was going to be...to me it is the best hunter. The blade is nice, though personally I would prefer the blade to be a tight ladder pattern damascus to match that dreamy koa handle...hint, hint, John;) Overall it's the best, imo. I was surprised to see how many votes my little Reflex got. I would still probably pick the Reflex for my personal use, simply because I carry a knife as a weapon more than a hunter and it would still skin the occasional critter, but John's is a class act as a hunter!
 
J. Doyle said:
That said, I REALLY dislike guards on hunting knives or any small knife in general. I find they just get in the way most of the time. I have cut myself plenty but I can't recall a time when I cut myself that a guard would have prevented..
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Conversely, I have never ever had a single guard on a hunter get in the way of anything while dressing out a deer. And while I also have never had my hand accidentally slip forward onto the blade of knife, I can sure see how it can happen - knife gets slick with blood / fat, it's dark, you're tired and your hands are cold, you're moving the knife forward and the tip nicks a bone.... A guard is a failsafe you hope you don't need.
 
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Only having heard conversations about hunting knives and having the opinion of Brian Lyttle who was an avid hunter/outdoorsman as well as a fantastic knifemaker I agree with Roger about a single guard and when Ben said his would be weapon first and hunter second, that was, along with the double guard which one would expect to see on a boot knife, made my final decision to go with James' but I do love Ben's knife and would love to have both in the collection.
 
Wow. Close one!

I voted for John's guardless version. I agree with him on the guard. I'd much rather have no guard on a knife I'm dressing game with. Basically any way I hold a knife while field dressing/skinning deer, the guard really does little. That's a personal thing, but I also grew up using a Buck or Old Timer folder for all of that stuff...no guards.

Regardless of the guard/no guard deal, Ben, Karl, and John made it a hard decision.

Tad
 
RogerP said:
Conversely, I have never ever had a single guard on a hunter get in the way of anything while dressing out a deer. And while I also have never had my hand accidentally slip forward onto the blade of knife, I can sure see how it can happen - knife gets slick with blood / fat, it's dark, you're tired and your hands are cold, you're moving the knife forward and the tip nicks a bone.... A guard is a failsafe you hope you don't need.
Click to expand...

I should clarify....the 'getting in the way' part was more pointed at slicing on a flat surface such as a cutting board during the 'utility' type chores not so much in field dressing an animal. I've never had a guard in the way field dressing.

Well constructed handle contours, deep flutes, thumb grips on the spine etc...are good ways of adding to a sure grip besides looking 'cool' when guards aren't used and I take care to use these features on my guardless models.
 
Interesting thoughts on guards. I'm not firmly against them, but you'd think puukko's would have fallen out of favor long ago if guardless, choiless knives were maiming actual users. For a hunter, I wouldn't want a double guard just for the option of comfortably laying my index finger on the spine while skinning.
 
Very difficult to pick just one (as you would expect) After much thought I had to go with Karl’s knife, the blade shape is perfect imo
Cheers
 
I so wish I'd have purchased one of Karl's knives for my Dad . . . he'd have dearly loved to own one of those masterpieces. My vote goes to Karl--clean lines, elegance, and beautiful symmetry. Yup.
 
Well, this is a really difficult one. I agree with Ben’s thoughts on the hunters. What makes this even more difficult for me, is that Ben’s knife resides with me and I’m completely taken by the design, materials, the craftsmanship, and attention to detail. Love this knife.

James’ knife is an incredible, and functional work of art. The materials, the design, the flow, the finish. It’s as if this one is the completion of a process of evolution - every perfect piece adds to a more perfect whole - the designs, textures, even the colors.

I’d be very happy to own any one of the knives in this final competition, but if I’m going to grab a knife and go play in the field or woods, I think that John’s (#3) hunter most clearly speaks to me - the subtleties of the blade, guard, and handle shapes. The choice of the finely finished materials makes it all the more sweet. Mike
 
J. Doyle said:
I'm really honored to be included in the finals with this outstanding group of knives, among peers and friends, world class knifemakers. Let alone to have TWO in the finals. Thanks to everyone that voted for my knives in the nomination round and the finalist round.....really sincerely, Thank You!

Now about the knives....I think 'hunting' knives quite often have the counterpart 'utility' included in the title for good reason. So I think these all fall into the 'field utility' category. That said, I REALLY dislike guards on hunting knives or any small knife in general. I find they just get in the way most of the time. I have cut myself plenty but I can't recall a time when I cut myself that a guard would have prevented.

If a knife IS going to have a guard, I like it as short and compact as possible, not protruding any farther than it needs to past the cutting edge. For me, this rules out a couple right off.

I voted for Ben's knife. The guard is nice and compact and minimal and there are other elements in regards to materials and construction that make this knife highly appealing to me.

The Fowler knife has a short guard but there are other aspects of the guard that don't suit me quite right and the stag on that particular piece I don't care for.

Every knife on the list is VERY nice and all the makers should be proud. The community did a nice job of putting a fine group of knives together for the finals.

Thanks again everyone.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your fine knives and your observations/comments.

Can't help but note the irony that the winning knife as of right now is your knife . . . with a guard (which IS short and compact, to be sure). Nothing inconsistent between that and your comments. Just ironic to me.
 
Having thought about it today, Ben’s Knife has the most eye appeal to me, it’s kickass for sure. With that being said, I decided on John’s Koa knife. Hunters need to hunt plain and simple and this is the one I’d choose out of the group to use in the field. Threads like this is why I continue to look at BF every day. Congrats to all the knife maker finalists.
 
My vote went to #3. I like guards on hunters.

I have used more slip-joint folders than hunters on big game and when we butcher beef steers. ( we do butcher 4-8 steers every winter) I have never had a ah-shoot moment with a slip joint doing these tasks.

Bing
 
Great to see the interest in this award. I enjoy seeing the guard/hilt comments included. Bing mentioning using slip joints made me think this can be compared to whether or not you like a half-stop on a slip joint. It boils down to your experience one way or the other. All designs will work, but more accidents occur due to improper technique or dull blades. So, my suggestion, if there is a tie, let's have a sharpness test for the run-off. ;-)

- Joe
 
Congrats John Doyle on winning the 2017 Bladeforums Best Hunter! Truly well deserved.


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