Hunting knife

N

Nate Dog

Joined
Dec 29, 2013
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I need help on picking my next hunting knife. I've pick out three a bark river bravo lt, cold steel masterhunter, and cablas buck vanguard. Does anybody have any thoughts this subject?
 
When you say hunting; do you mean cleaning game, or camp knife type of chores? What kind of game will you be cleaning?

For game processing I use a spyderco bushcraft, with either my esee 6 or a small hatchet for busting up the bones and joints. My brother has a buck skinning knife, and it is a nice blade.

Don't waste your time with cold steel. They are inferior chinese made product, made with crappy steel.
 
It would be used for deer, elk some camp chores. I used my paramilitary 2 and endura 4 last year. I was looking for a knife that would be easier to clean and a fixed blade. I look at maybe a spyderco Phil Wilson also.
 
I have a Vanguard, Bravo 1 and Spyderco Phil Wilson.

I have used the Vanguard and Bravo 1 for deer hunting; we don’t have any Elk here. The Bravo is a nice knife but IMHO is a little too wide (edge to spine) for white tail and smaller. The Vanguard is just a little narrower and works very well. I have not tried the Alaska Guide version, but with S30V it should hold its edge longer and the steel is stronger than 420HC. The Phil Wilson has and outstanding feel in hand and should hold and edge the longest of all 3. I just have not done any hunting since I purchased it to give an experienced opinion. With that, IMHO it would be great for Elk. Many times you have to skin and ¼ the Elk to get it out of the woods and the Southfork blade shape and size with the S90V steel should make it about perfect.

And cleaning a fixed blade is much easier than a folder. I changed over about 20 years ago and have never regretted it. You can really appreciate how easy they are to clean when you don’t have hot running water at your camp.
 
CS Master Hunter is a classic. I've used mine on deer, moose, black bear and caribou, for campcraft and food prep. My preference is Carbon V (you can still find them around) but their VG-1 San Mai or AUS8 blades (discontinued) are also excellent.
 
If your budget allows, the spyderco sounds like a good bet. The buck ergo skinner is the one my brother has, it might be a good bet. If you are cleaning elk and other heavy game, a slightly larger fixed blade (4 to 4 1/2 inches) would really speed up the process. Just don't go too big, and don't bother getting the built in gut hook.

You also won't get your pocket edc blade filled with gore and hair...
 
I like the Phil Wilson, but what if it comes down to some chopping or heavy use if needed?
 
k1ssthecook said:
Don't waste your time with cold steel. They are inferior chinese made product, made with crappy steel.
Click to expand...

The Cold Steel Master Hunter is hard to beat for the price. The laminated VG-1 San Mia III is a very good steel from Japan that takes and holds a great edge.
 
I'll put in another vote for the Vanguard. I have the basic rubber handled version and have used it on goats and pigs and it's never missed a beat. A couple of swipes on a sharpening stone midway through an especially large goat and away she went again. If you like the Bark Rivers, the Fox River is a fantastic, although smaller, blade that does a great job on smaller tasks and pretty much always rides as backup to my Vanguard.
 
I too tend to carry a larger than required blade while hunting mainly if I find myself in a survival situation unexpectedly. The Bravo 1 would be my pick out of those you mentioned in matte micarta and no ramp. I too would stay away from CS for no other reason than it is my bias. As some have noted, they are capable knives, but I prefer made in U. S. A hunting knife does not have to be particularly large to field dress the largest game in North America, but if you are going to be breaking it down and packing it out, having something a little larger will be helpful. In addition to the BR Bravo, the ESSE suggestion would be a good one, or the Survive GSO 4.1 or similar. Having 3/16" or more blade thickness will be important if popping shoulder and hip joints to break down the animal.
 
I went with cabelas buck vanguard and a spyderco mule 18. I think that they will work just fine together and will make a good team. All I need now is a handle and a sheath, also a deer and elk tags for the next season!
 
The bravo 1 is good, but another bark river to consider is the fox river. It's an excellent knife.
 
I know you said fixed blade, but I got a buck 110 and had it as a backup to a marbles I use to field dress whitetail.. the marbles was giving me trouble due to a lackluster edge at the time and I grabbed the 110, sucker unzipped the deer like a hot knife threw butter.. the clip point is insanely sharp and just right to slip under the skin and not worry about going any deeper until you wanna
 
Get a handful of Moras until you decide -- Clippers, Craftlines, and Companions are all very useful (and super affordable!).
 
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