Hunting Knife Type Preference?

[sunnyd]

I prefer 3.75 to 4.5 inch blade for elk and on deer, antelope ,bears and furs etc. i like something around 3 inches. I love fixed blades but most are to big and thick . Slender and thinner is way better , and makes way faster work. The steel needs to be either high carbon or high end stainless with lots of vanadium. The rest dont cut flesh and hide well and take alot of touch up. my favorites all seem to be folders but occasionally i find a fixed blade style i like and after a busy week of say a dozen or so elk i decide if it rates up there with my best folders. I also carry a pen knife ussually to cape with. Incidently you can cut through even an elks pelvic bone without beating on your knife if it is thin enough by lining up on the pelvic seam dead center and just use a see saw motion with steady pressure , it takes a little practice but once you do it , its not hard. Never pry.

Lots of good wise practical hands on advice in this post. :thumbup:

I am the first one to admit that I can gut, field dress, and butcher up medium to large game with pretty much the best of them, but I just do not have the expertise and patience to be able to cape game properly as do some of my partners. Small traditional slip joints like Pen knives and Peanut patterns must be the secret. My cousin can cape a Bear, Caribou, Elk or Moose with an old 1940's Case Peanut pattern and never leave a stitch of hide on the carcass. It always amazes me how well such a small knife can perform on capeing chores while being wielded in the proper hands!


Anthony

 

[338375]

Lots of good wise practical hands on advice in this post. :thumbup:

I am the first one to admit that I can gut, field dress, and butcher up medium to large game with pretty much the best of them, but I just do not have the expertise and patience to be able to cape game properly as do some of my partners. Small traditional slip joints like Pen knives and Peanut patterns must be the secret. My cousin can cape a Bear, Caribou, Elk or Moose with an old 1940's Case Peanut pattern and never leave a stitch of hide on the carcass. It always amazes me how well such a small knife can perform on capeing chores while being wielded in the proper hands!


Anthony

Absolutely ... The small knives work great for caping. It is a little time consuming, but if your going to have something mounted, its well worth the effort ..
I have never understood why people work game with a big bladed knife.
Some of the knives marketed as skinners are actually better suited to chopping down saplings.
I like the control and feel I get using smaller knives.

 

[okbohn]

It really depends on the size of the game I'm a hunting at the time. From Wild Turkey on down to smaller critters like Pheasant, Quail, Dove, Rabbit, Squirrel and such it'll be an old faithful folding slip joint. Typically a Trapper and she's gotta have good hi-carbon steel..

If its larger game like Wild Boar, Whitetails and on up, it'll be a good drop point fixed blade Hunter--Skinner again with good carbon steel. Especially if its an extended hunt over the period of several days or more.. In camp there is always a helluva lot more hard use cutting chores at hand not to mention cooking chores for several times per day as well. Personally I like my blades between 3 3/4 - 4 1/2 inches. Anything over that doesn't work as well for me..

That Treeman knife is BEAUTIFUL!!!

 

[desmobob]

Fixed blade, drop-point of 3"-4". I've used folders, too, but they're harder to clean afterwards and they make me worry a little when I'm pulling hard with both hands to split the breastbone on a whitetail....

Stay sharp,
desmobob

 

[t-k-c]

I prefer smaller knives as well. I think a common perception, especially with beginning big game hunters, is that they need a large knife. But like you desmobob, I have found that a good quality 3" - 4" blade is very adequate. A blade of that size is very versatile too since it can be used on smaller game as well.

Lots of good posts in this thread!:thumbup: Thanks!

 

[*snowflake*]

Absolutely ... The small knives work great for caping. It is a little time consuming, but if your going to have something mounted, its well worth the effort ..
I have never understood why people work game with a big bladed knife.
Some of the knives marketed as skinners are actually better suited to chopping down saplings.
I like the control and feel I get using smaller knives.

i always wondered how you guys who caped your game for the hyde did so with a good result. thank you very much for passing on your tipps. i use an older buck model 112 folding lock blade knife. this knife has 2 3/4 inches of working cutting edge and works well for my deer hunts and any other medium to large game feild dressing jobs. i don`t think i`d be very comfortable with anything larger. i think i will try a slip joint next time i go hunting for larger game. maybe my case stock knife and see if i like it better.

 

[badlander]

Here in North Dakota folks seem pretty evenly split between folders and fixed blades. I use a 6" Cold Steel Voyager for all game from antelope to moose. I prefer the 6" voyager for the extra reach when it comes to field dressing larger game like elk and moose. Opened the knife is 13" long and when cutting out the diaphragm, heart and lungs the extra length helps a lot. One of my friends in Montana that guides by Kalispel uses a bowie with a 10" blade and I have never seen anyone break an elk down for packing as fast as he does with his bowie.
badlander

 

[desmobob]

One of my friends in Montana that guides by Kalispel uses a bowie with a 10" blade and I have never seen anyone break an elk down for packing as fast as he does with his bowie.
badlander

I had a guide on a moose hunt in Quebec who quartered my moose with a big butcher knife. He actually split the spine length-ways by using the poll of his hatchet to baton the butcher knife through it!

Maybe I'll bring my Battle Mistress on the next moose hunt (if I ever get another chance to go on one).

Stay sharp,
desmobob

 

[*snowflake*]

Here in North Dakota folks seem pretty evenly split between folders and fixed blades. I use a 6" Cold Steel Voyager for all game from antelope to moose. I prefer the 6" voyager for the extra reach when it comes to field dressing larger game like elk and moose. Opened the knife is 13" long and when cutting out the diaphragm, heart and lungs the extra length helps a lot. One of my friends in Montana that guides by Kalispel uses a bowie with a 10" blade and I have never seen anyone break an elk down for packing as fast as he does with his bowie.
badlander

are you actually claiming a friend of yours in a real life situation used a 10 inch bowie blade in montana for an elk hunt and that it was witnessed by you? ok you are joking right?