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Hog hunting knife
- Thread starter jdm61
- Start date
Phillip Patton
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2005
- Messages
- 5,382
W2, double edge fighter, flat or hollow grind with hamon. Nice desert ironwood handle with aluminum bronze guard and a mosaic pin. 
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2003
- Messages
- 2,092
W-2 if your gonna do clay and a nice finish. 1084 field grade fin. 5160 if you just don't care.:jerkit: 10-12" blade Dagger...spear point....or curved clip fighter. Never killed a hog with a knife but I think I would want something along these lines.
Please post pics if you can.
Mace
Please post pics if you can.
Mace
jdm61
itinerant metal pounder
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2005
- Messages
- 47,357
Hogs are a MAJOR nuisance animal in Florida and there is no closed season or license requirement to hunt them on private land, so a lot of the big farming operations let guides run hog hunts year round on their sugar cane and grazing land just to thin the herd. A hog hunt for a smaller eating hog can be had for $200-250 and a trophy hog hunt will run you about $400 tops. we are going to have 4 hunters and two of us are going to use knives. My brother opted out of that and is going to use a .44 Magnum and the other hunter is a bit older and slightly infirm, so he is using a 30-30. I may just finish up this big 11 1/2 inch W2 and stag bowie that I am working on and give it a field test
Matthew Gregory
Chief Executive in charge of Entertainment
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2005
- Messages
- 6,693
Larry Harley's Battle Bowie is a nice start... and just like you love 'em, Mace:
STOCK REMOVAL!
Anyhow, any of the steel would hold up dandy for the application, but it the knife is used as a skinner rather than a killer, I'd opt for W2. I'd probably try for a gorgeous hamon, and then never use it because it's too pretty - but that's just me! I'm so lame...
Good luck on your hunt!
jdm61
itinerant metal pounder
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2005
- Messages
- 47,357
I have see pics of some of these crazy rednecks hunting them with a hunter that didn't look much bigger than a Cold Steel Master Hunter. Probably a Wal-Mart Gerber special. The other knife hunter that I am going with took one last year with one of the newer large KaBars, but he is a former University of Lousville offensive lineman who is 6'5" and weighs around 300, so he could probably just talkle this little oinker and stangle him
Joe , my nephew lives a little North of you in Citrus County. He traps hogs for them and also hunts with a knife and dogs. Good luck and be safe.Dave
This is one I made him and he loves it. A 10" O-1 blade with Ebony handle.
This is one he got.
The business end of the hog
This is one I made him and he loves it. A 10" O-1 blade with Ebony handle.
This is one he got.
The business end of the hog
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2005
- Messages
- 9,574
You'll have a blast! I'm assuming that you're using catch dogs, so you'll have to be careful with a HUGE knife. I've hunted with a 9" blade, and it's fine on a bigger hog, but on the little ones (say 75-100 lbs) you can easily stick through the hog and endanger the dog on the other side...
A 7"-8" blade would be plenty big enough for anything you may encounter, but not so big that it would be dangerous for the dogs.
The Guard is very important, it often takes more than one stab, and things get wet and bloody quick. Most guys get hurt by allowing there hand to slip onto the blade, not from the hogs tusks. So do something with a substantial guard.
Then, it just need to have enough point to penetrate, and be stout enough to encounter bone and such. Any of the steals in 3/16 or even 1/4 would be awesome.
Finally, spend some time thinking about sheath retention --- you'll likely be RUNNING through the woods / marsh, it's very easy to lose a good knife that way.
I'm envious that yo get to design your own blade! Good luck.
A 7"-8" blade would be plenty big enough for anything you may encounter, but not so big that it would be dangerous for the dogs.
The Guard is very important, it often takes more than one stab, and things get wet and bloody quick. Most guys get hurt by allowing there hand to slip onto the blade, not from the hogs tusks. So do something with a substantial guard.
Then, it just need to have enough point to penetrate, and be stout enough to encounter bone and such. Any of the steals in 3/16 or even 1/4 would be awesome.
Finally, spend some time thinking about sheath retention --- you'll likely be RUNNING through the woods / marsh, it's very easy to lose a good knife that way.
I'm envious that yo get to design your own blade! Good luck.
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2007
- Messages
- 1,389
I have done this and it really isn't as difficult as it might sound. I used a 10" long, 2" wide, 1/4" thick ATS34 blade with a sharpened back edge of about 6 1/2" if I remember correctlyl. I had a large double guard on it and a lanyard for retention. The handle was stag.
It's a large knife and was really overkill. The hog I got was about 350 lbs. (according the the guy who owned the land we were on, we had no scales) and this was more than enough knife.
I would recommend something with deep finger grooves like the Battle Bowie has or a large cross guard so your hand won't slip up on the blade. I like a lanyard so that if something happens I still have the knife. I don't put my hand through the lanyard though. I just hook my thumb through it and let the knife hang off the back of my hand, then roll my hand down and grip the handle. This way if I need to get rid of the knife I am tied to it.
I would also suggest a sharpened back edge or double edged knife so that when you stab the hog you can "pump" the knife up and down severing the heart and lungs. A single edge will obviously do the job, but cutting on the up as well as the down stroke just seemed to make sense to me.
From the time I stuck my hog until he fell probably wasn't 6-8 seconds. I learned a lot about knives and what they are capable of.
I wasn't overly impressed with the whole affair but I'm glad I got the chance to do it. I had read some about Larry Harley and his battle bowie and that gave me the bug.
It's a large knife and was really overkill. The hog I got was about 350 lbs. (according the the guy who owned the land we were on, we had no scales) and this was more than enough knife.
I would recommend something with deep finger grooves like the Battle Bowie has or a large cross guard so your hand won't slip up on the blade. I like a lanyard so that if something happens I still have the knife. I don't put my hand through the lanyard though. I just hook my thumb through it and let the knife hang off the back of my hand, then roll my hand down and grip the handle. This way if I need to get rid of the knife I am tied to it.
I would also suggest a sharpened back edge or double edged knife so that when you stab the hog you can "pump" the knife up and down severing the heart and lungs. A single edge will obviously do the job, but cutting on the up as well as the down stroke just seemed to make sense to me.
From the time I stuck my hog until he fell probably wasn't 6-8 seconds. I learned a lot about knives and what they are capable of.
I wasn't overly impressed with the whole affair but I'm glad I got the chance to do it. I had read some about Larry Harley and his battle bowie and that gave me the bug.
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- Jun 17, 2001
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- 5,705
Joe, Don't forget the 6' to 8' long range handle.......
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2000
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- 806
Here is the bowie that I used when I went on a hog hunting trip. I believe that it had about a 9" blade. You don't want to punch through the other side of the hog and stick the dogs. You will have a blast using the knife. It is very up close and personal. Make freinds with the dogs beforehand because when you get in there with the hog you will realize they are your best freinds .
