How do you keep from losing your knife when hunting?

I am like wackafew with an answer ~~ I have never lost a Knife and I really don't see how you could.! It would be like -- how did you lose your Gun.? Duhhhhhh
 
mikescooling said:
Thanks for the input guys, keep it coming. as some of you know, doing things like cutting out the anus of a deer (coring the apple); you have to put the knife down tie off the bung, then from the inside pull it all. Gutting seems to be cutting things free, then pulling the rest of the way, until you have to cut again. i don't see a way around putting the knife down on the ground that is covered in leaves, snow or both. I don't think I could tie the knife to me, I need more movement/freedom.
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As RedDevil said - bright colored tape on the handle. If you can't see it, make an appointment with the optometrist....

When you unsheath to start gutting, slip one end of a long para cord lanyard through the lanyard hole on the knife. Tie the ends. Loop it over your neck. Just make it long enough to reach from your neck to the ground. when looped.

Or - para cord to a stick with colored tape on it. Jab stick into ground. Now you have two brightly colored objects.
 
I've never tried to have any kind of cord attached to the knife. I know their are many ways to gut a deer, but what I do is disconnect everything inside, then take the entire mass of guts and roll them out. I would think a cord attached to me would get in the way. If someone else is there to help I may want to hand the knife off to them. I usually use a 3" folder, last year I used the Manix 2 (worked great). I will try the flagging tape. To those of you that are like how could you lose your gun. I have lost my gun, I leaned it against a tree (didn't go too far) for the life of me I couldn't find that thing for 1/2hr. A black and brown rifle blends leaning up against a tree. Where I hunt it gets cold and after a long day of hunting, tracking, gutting, falling, crawling, dragging, and dropping everything your could think of out of the tree stand; it's easy to lose a knife. I know each situation is different. I know a guy that shot a deer off the toilet, he may have not lost his knife.
 
I would suggest you get some bright colored 550 cord and make a lanyard for visibility. Then... NEVER stick you knife in the ground during or following field chores. NEVER. It is way too easy to walk off and if say you're gutting a squirrel or something, the exact location may not be possible or convenient to remember when you search for you knife.

Otherwise, try to keep your knife in its sheath and occasionally reach down a make sure it's there.
 
mikescooling said:
... I have lost my gun, I leaned it against a tree (didn't go too far) for the life of me I couldn't find that thing for 1/2hr. A black and brown rifle blends leaning up against a tree. Where I hunt it gets cold and after a long day of hunting, tracking, gutting, falling, crawling, dragging, and dropping everything your could think of out of the tree stand; it's easy to lose a knife.
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Out of curiosity, what special technique do you now use to keep from losing your gun again? Brightly-colored cord or tape? 0_o Does this happen with your car-keys as well? Or your phone? Wallet?
I am with you not wanting it tied around your neck or swinging free, etc. I'd hate that and worry about the uncovered blade cutting what i don't want it to cut... which is why I always put the blade back in its sheath (which I am wearing) when not in use. It sounds like you may have a problem with losing/dropping things. If I were you, I'd start practicing putting away my knife in its sheath now - get a feel for it, train yourself to not lose things.

It may sound silly or condescending, but as humans we have certain abilities that give us an edge over squirrels - if you cannot trust yourself to remember or maintain awareness of items of interest, devise a means of easing the burden on your mind, be it the use of brightly colored cord or habitual action. An uncle of mine had a stroke. When he recovered (Thanks be to God), he seemed more irritable than before, which turned out to be that he kept having blanks in his short-term memory and was angry about losing things. He said he felt "like a squirrel, always forgetting where my nuts are buried". The next time I visited him, he was a lot less irritable but was very particular about where things went around his house and was always worried about visitors because they might move something and he wouldn't remember how it got moved and where it had gone to.

Anyway, like 22-rimfire typed, "NEVER stick your knife in the ground during or following field chores". Don't do anything that makes it easy to lose your knife... or your gun. ;)
 
With all the suggestions so far, I really find it next to impossible to lose a knife. Unless you are cleaning the dear blindfolded, from the back of a moving pickup truck while driving through the brush with the headlights off around midnight on a moonless night (driver blindfolded as well) at 50+ miles an hour. I mean, seriously.
 
RevDevil said:
With all the suggestions so far, I really find it next to impossible to lose a knife. Unless you are cleaning the dear blindfolded, from the back of a moving pickup truck while driving through the brush with the headlights off around midnight on a moonless night (driver blindfolded as well) at 50+ miles an hour. I mean, seriously.
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Somebody write Mythbusters I want to see this now!
 
magnumb said:
Pick up one of these really cheap, blaze orange, plastic hunting vests, cut out the back, store it with your knives, saw, skinning tool (whatever you use to process your deer afield) in a large enough ziplok bag, then when you get your deer down, lay all of your tools on that approx. 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 ft. blaze orange plastic.......no more lost 'tools' at a cost of $1.99.
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^^ For the win!! ^^

I carry my kit in a fanny pack.

Mine is noisy nylon. Wool fanny packs are not uncommon in Vermont. Carries easily. Still allows slithering around in the tight firs.

Going over the deer gun tonight, as a matter of fact.
 
camoninja said:
If its that bad, take a piece of 550 cord approx. 3ft long and tie it to the knife, the attach it to your belt or belt loop.
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Yup. What he said.
It works really good, but that can get annoying (Having to stuff 3 feet of paracord in your pocket). Sometimes I put it in my chest pocket, which has a zipper.
 
When I was in my teens, I was gutting a rabbit and was just about finished and looked down.... dang if there wasn't somebody's knife stuck in the ground right where I was working. Trust me..., don't stick your knife in the ground. You will walk off without it. As a kid, I'd walk miles trying to find it. But I wouldn't as an adult.
 
pinnah said:
^^ For the win!! ^^

I carry my kit in a fanny pack.

Mine is noisy nylon. Wool fanny packs are not uncommon in Vermont. Carries easily. Still allows slithering around in the tight firs.

Going over the deer gun tonight, as a matter of fact.
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Exactly the same thing going on around here. Good luck this weekend!
 
I have an original CS Master Hunter and the sheath has TWO straps with snaps !
 
Don't tie your knife to yourself.
If the cord catches on something and your hands are cold and not holding on tight, you'll pull the knife thru your fingers.
That's just asking for trouble.

Use the sheath like chiral says.
Wipe the knife and re-sheath it.
If you have to lay it down, lay it on top of your blaze orange hat.
But please, don't tie it to yourself.
 
I switch to the orange scales:

SurviveGSO41ODgreenorangescales_zpsdc789bb2.jpg
 
I carry mine in my day pack, mostly. When I've got game down, only then do I put it on my belt. On rare occasions when I'm belt-carrying, I secure the knife with a leather thong knotted around the middle of the handle, in addition to whatever snap or elastic fastener holds the top of the handle.
 
I keep my game processing knives in my pack, orange handle/scales definitely help to not to loose it.
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I also like to pocket carry a large sturdy folder for any other hunting/outdoor tasks. (usually cold steel spartan)
 
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