Hunting Knife...best steel and edge?

yrs. ago fishing for white bass i met a construction worker on the river & showed him some good spots to fish. when we finished i dropped the tailgate on my truck & started to fillet my catch. he pulled out a cheap german small bowie & filleted his catch. that knife was certainly not a good choice but in his hands he did a wonderful job, even removing the skin. i was amazed at his dexterity with such a clunker. reminded myself some men can do more with a spoon than others with a shovel.
 
I field dress and skinning 15-20 deer a year.. My Doziers/Crotts are my " go to" knives for hunting. I recently forgot my Crotts when I already was at my hunting location. I keep a Krein PSK in my pack, and that evening I end up arrowing an 8 pointer with my bow.. That little PSK worked wonderfully..
My top 2 choices for a hunting knife would be a Crotts model 1 OR a Dozier K-2. I would also check out Tom Krein TK-3.. this is his whitetail knife and I am sure it is a winner.
 
This year I used an S&W Border Patrol in 440C, a $12 liner lock. Just wanted to see what it could do. Before the hunt I put a good edge on it with a 40 degree inclusive secondary bevel. It would shave but still had a little roughness for "grip."

It did beautifully. I shot a nice 130" 10 pointer, about 230 lbs. live weight, and the only job I didn't try to do with it was cut the sternum. I used a bone saw for that. Even on this big deer a 4" blade was plenty big. As long as you have a saw for the sternum, keep the blade between 3-1/2 and 4-1/2 inches. You'll have more control and cut less of what you don't want to.
 
Impressive buck, black mamba!

ChapmanPreferred: I got a Moran for my elk hunting buddy and he really likes it.

DancesWithKnives
 
Here's a picture of the buck and the 440C folder.

10point1.jpg


Sorry for the poor photo quality-- I took it in my garage with a flash, just now. Haven't had time to finish the mount yet. Took it with a .44 mag. at 44 yards: "My 44 buck!"
 
There have still been more deer skinned with a slipjoint trapper than any other.
But same goes with the 30-30, mainly because the have been around so long.

But you asked best steel and edge today. I would say any of the top grade steels will do all you need and more. My favortes for hunting knives...
D2(esp Doziers)
S30V
INFI

I find these have a great combination of edge holding/ease of sharpening.

As far as edge, I usually like a flat grind, but prefer a hollow grind with thin edge on a strictly skinning/cleaning knife. Dozier does edge by hand to a thin 13 to 15 degree per side, and are my favorite hunter's.
 
Last edited:
Ken44, are these Dozier angles specific to his D2 blades? Lesser steels like 440C or AUS-8, etc. need more obtuse angles, don't they?
 
black mamba said:
Ken44, are these Dozier angles specific to his D2 blades? Lesser steels like 440C or AUS-8, etc. need more obtuse angles, don't they?
Click to expand...

Many think 13 to 15 is to thin on any knife, but it all depends on what it will be used for. There's a best angle for about anything. No one angle can be best at most things.

His S30V and D2 is done by hand, and they get it between 13 and 15 per side. If you send it back for re sharpen it will not be done by hand and will be right at 15.

I like a thcker edge(20 per side) on any knife other than a skinner/hunter, but a thinner edge will work on the steels you mentioned. They won't be as tough, but will be better slicers like I feel is best on Deer cleaning.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top