Dozier Knife: Help me Choose....

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bowler1

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Mar 26, 2000
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138
Hi,
I am trying to decide between three different Doziers and want to ask for some feedback from others based on their experience and use of these models. Unfortunately I don't have the opportunity to test them. The knife will be used for deer hunting. I have a Slim Outdoorsman as well so this will be a companion to that knife so I could always use the Slim Outdoorsman for certain tasks. I need to use one or both of the knives to gut, skin, quarter and process a deer. And I may use the knife for general purpose tasks as well, but I guess the Slim Outdoorsman can be used for those if needed.

The three models I am looking at: K-2 General Purpose Hunter, the Yukon Pro Skinner, and a modified Yukon Pro Skinner (which I have but have not used) that has more of a drop point configuration.

I think the most important attributes for the knife will be its ability to skin and quarter a deer. I believe that the K2 has the most belly so might be best for skinning and quartering....the Yukon has decent belly though.

FWIW I did process one deer last year with the Pro-Skinner. For some reason I did not care for the blade shape and profile, but it may have just been that I am completely not used to a skinning type knife with that much belly so this may have been just a learning curve....or maybe a personal preference for a straighter blade, but frankly I can't say since it was only one deer.

I know that I am obsessing a bit over this decision but I am a bit OCD. Intuitively I would think that the blade with more belly would be better for skinning, but the upswept point may be a drawback. I also consider the fact that the drop point design is somewhat similar to the Loveless drop point which is a classic design so it must be an effective blade shape, but perhaps more of a compromise for overall use verses skinning.

Any thoughts you have would be greatly appreciated!

thanks
Matt
 
I used a Dozier K2 (borrowed from Cliff Stamp) a few years ago and it performed beautifully field dressing a couple of caribou my buddy and I took up in the Tombstone Valley in the Yukon. The drop point works great opening up carcass. The D2 works best with a slightly coarse edge, slices nicely through knee joints and cartilage. I sent it back to Cliff with a twinge of regret.
 
Thanks for including the links to my other posts. That is actually helpful because I will go back and look at them too. All three of these posts are slightly different questions by the way and after several months I figured it was okay to ask another similar but slightly different question.

I ask a lot of questions which is why I like forums, and I like to ask my specific question rather than just read other similar but different ones.

Since my previous posts I did find a Dozier EDC I like. I also had a Yukon Skinner but sold it. I never got to use it, but the blade was not that sharp and I could not get it sharp using my preferred method so I sold it.

Since then I have bought and sold a few Doziers and now have three.---I did get the K2 and did get a MODIFIED Yukon Pro Skinner. I am deciding which of those two specifc ones to keep and which one to sell.....and whether to take a chance on another Yukon Pro Skinner.

FWIW, of the Doziers I have bought and sold I have found some fairly easy to obtain a sharp edge on, and others to be quite the opposite. This may be due to slightly different edge geometries, thicknesses, etc and the variance among handmade knives.

Also FWIW, I prefer to use a Spyderco Sharpmaker that I have been using since the 90s. If I can't get a knife sharp with that then I will find one that I can. With the Doziers it's been a mixed bag for me on that.

Any additional info from others who have not responded to my previous posts would be appreciated. After 6 months maybe there will be some other folks on this forum with some advice.

Matt
 
For dressing big game, I strongly prefer a clip point blade. The belly for gently opening brisket to the cut away parts. The main blade to cut away the cut away parts, and point to cut the away parts, well, away. And then the main blade to get rid of all the rest. And again, belly to split the ribcage. Which Dozier? Dunno, would need to look and hande them.
 
Thanks.

FWIW part of my question is just plane blade shape and geometry. Years ago I just liked certain brands of knives and chose the model based on size and aesthetics largely. I guess I generally tended towards clip point blades because it was the shape of the Buck 110 I used as a kid and the shape of my Randalls which I always liked.

Now I am paying more attention to the blade shape and geometry. I find it interesting, but many blades that appear to be much different in shape actually have very similarly shaped edge profiles and the top of the blade it what differs resulting in a much different looking blade but only subtle changes in the point orientation and geomety, and changes in the blade width.

In most cases the blade widthI believe will influence the geomety and how accute the angle of the secondary grind. This affects its performance as well.

I am asking these questions mostly about the differences in the geometry of these blade shapes and designs and what is most effective at specific tasks. Feel in the hand, etc. is obviously going to vary from person to person, but there may be trends
 
bowler1 said:
FWIW, of the Doziers I have bought and sold I have found some fairly easy to obtain a sharp edge on, and others to be quite the opposite. This may be due to slightly different edge geometries, thicknesses, etc and the variance among handmade knives.

Also FWIW, I prefer to use a Spyderco Sharpmaker that I have been using since the 90s. If I can't get a knife sharp with that then I will find one that I can. With the Doziers it's been a mixed bag for me on that.
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I'd say every Dozier I've owned had bevels that were uneven, so a Sharpmaker wouldn't be very useful in that case. This is an issue with lots of makers, not just Dozier. I've owned a Sharpmaker in the past and felt like it was only good for maintaining edges. There are a handful of other affordable "systems" out there that are much better for actual sharpening. Another option would be to send your knives to a person who sharpens knives and have them set the bevel however you would like it, and then maintain the edge with your Sharpmaker.

Out of the 3 models you listed I would pick the K-2....only because I like the handle better.

If you're planning to use the knife only for deer then I find you really don't need a "skinning" knife. If you're going to use it for something that's tougher to skin, like boars or bears, then something designed as a skinning knife may be more helpful. Deer are pretty easy.
 
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