Hunting Knives for Dummies?

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kc2kth

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May 13, 2007
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So a family member expressed an interest in a few good looking custom fixed blades at a craft show we visited with our wives recently. (How cool is it there was actually something for US to look at at a craft show?) Specifically, he was looking for a new hunting knife. I know nothing about hunting or hunting knives.

Understanding this is a rather personal decision I'm trying to make for him, I'm considering purchasing a knife for him as a gift. I need some help here folks! Budget is a couple hundred bucks, not much more. I'd consider a custom so it would be something a bit more special, however I don't know of many customs in that price range. Since he would be using this knife and not just collecting, I wouldn't want to drop much more than my budget anyhow.

I believe most of his hunting centers around deer. He is an all around outdoors type and would likely carry the knife on all of his excursions, but not as an EDC.

What should I be looking for in a nice hunter? Size? Materials? My first thoughts are stag with a steel that takes and holds an edge well. From there, I'm basically lost.

thanks in advance!
 
in a fixed blade i'd look for Dozier knife i liked. micarta scales, kydex sheath, and some very good user friendly designs. You might want to consider ordering a buck 110 folder from the buck custom shop by doing this you can pick the steel, the scale material and give him something pretty unique. just my .02 i'm sure you'll get plenty of ideas from the more knowledgable members. also you should saunter over to the custom sales area and take a look at what's available there. good luck.
 
Bark River springs to mind. Nice knives. Nice materials. Solid reputation for delivering good stuff. A lot of satisfied customers.
 
I'll second the recco for the Bark River line of knives as they have an excellent assortment of hunting blades and handle materials in your price range.

Here is the link to a Fox River, which is a great all around hunting and outdoor use knife:

http://www.knivesshipfree.com/shopping_cart.php

One caveat if you are not familiar already with BRKT - these are convex ground blades that hold a great edge, but the user may need to use a different technique to sharpen if he is not accustomed to convex.

Good luck in your search.
 
I believe you'll discover that most of the Dozier blades will run you in the $200-$250 or so range. They are great knives. Check out AG Russell's site as they sell some of them. I have two Dozier blades lying on my computer desk. I like them.

Something a bit cheaper is a Spyderco Moran which runs around $100. I am not fond of the sheath for hunting, but it is a nice blade; drop point style similar to Dozier's.
 
Hunting knives are a very personal thing. People tend to have strong preferences. Some really really want a guard. Others insist on a blade of at least 5" or, like me, no more than 3.5". Whatever. So spending a bunch of money on a nice knife is taking quite a risk. What if this person doesn't like it?

I would just suggest that whatever you get, make sure it's somewhat easily returnable.
 
I probably have a 100 good hunting knives in my collection. Maybe four of them cost more than 50.00. I like a 4 inch or less blade that holds a decent edge but can also be touched up in the field with just a few strokes on a steel or stone. Buck makes a ton of good hunting knives and the 10.00 Mora will do it as well as anything.
 
My first recommendation would be the Cold Steel Master hunter with the carbon V steel. I have had one for quite some time and is had served me well. You can find them on the exchange for $40 and up. Bark River seems to be mentioned alot but I have never had the pleasure of holding one, Busse also makes a few models that will fit but might be a little over your budget.
 
I would suggest you do some more digging and find out what his preferences are first.


What does he like:

* Natural(wood, bone, stag) or Synthetic(G-10, micarta) handle materials?

*Stainless or Carbon Steel?

*Short(3"-4") or long(5"-8") blade length?

*Full exposed or Hidden tang?

*Does he have any grind preferences? Most likely not, unless he's a knife guy.

You should try to find out the answers to as many of these questions as possible, before investing in something he doesn't like. Knives, especially hunting knives, are extremely personal.


For example: I like natural handle materials, carbon steel, and a short blade length. So, if someone bought me a synthetic handled, stainless steel knife with a 5" blade, I wouldn't like it. I would be appreciative, but wouldn't use it much.

I suggest, that since you guys were looking at the knives together at the show, that you get together with him, and say "Hey, remember those nice knives we were looking at, well look at what I found." And, take him to the knife makers for sale area here at BFs, as well as to Bark River's website, and some of the others that are mentioned here, then take note of which ones he seems interested in, and what features he has preferences for.
 
kc2kth said:
So a family member expressed an interest in a few good looking custom fixed blades at a craft show we visited with our wives recently. (How cool is it there was actually something for US to look at at a craft show?) Specifically, he was looking for a new hunting knife. I know nothing about hunting or hunting knives.

Understanding this is a rather personal decision I'm trying to make for him, I'm considering purchasing a knife for him as a gift. I need some help here folks! Budget is a couple hundred bucks, not much more. I'd consider a custom so it would be something a bit more special, however I don't know of many customs in that price range. Since he would be using this knife and not just collecting, I wouldn't want to drop much more than my budget anyhow.

I believe most of his hunting centers around deer. He is an all around outdoors type and would likely carry the knife on all of his excursions, but not as an EDC.

What should I be looking for in a nice hunter? Size? Materials? My first thoughts are stag with a steel that takes and holds an edge well. From there, I'm basically lost.

thanks in advance!
Click to expand...


For that price range, Charles May's knife come in mind. I got his Big Hand Scandi for $260 (it's about $180 with custom options). But one thing is, Charles May has a long backlog (about a year), so you may want to look to see if anyone carries them. I know that www.michiganknives.com has some, so you may want to consider.
 
You can get a Bob Dozier knife for about that. You could also chech the exchange. Good prices on great knives abound.
 
There are custom hunting knives available in your price range over in the Makers -> For Sale: Fixed Blades, new ones every day.
Browse around, and good luck!
Mike
 
Your friend is a deer hunter, so of course he has a hunting knife aready, probably factory made. When you saw him looking at customs it may have been the hundredth time he did that, trying to figure out what he wanted next. On the other hand, he may have a collection of customs he doesn't take afield. You are unaware of his circumstances and he may not like anything you pick out. I know I'm that fussy.
 
Two hunting knives i like to use are a schrade golden spike and my puma white hunter. For my smaller knives i like a 110 and i might try a larger opinel!
 
What was he admiring at the craft show? That may give you a clue as to the design and materials that he likes. Deer are not all that big, so one way to get him an elegant knife for a reasonable price is to get one that is a little on the small size. In this case it means a knife with around a 3.5-inch blade. The Bark River knives are elegant and offer a choice of handle materials. Their blade steel takes a real fine edge and is pretty tough. The only issue is that it is not stainless. Try and figure out whether he likes a finger guard on his handles. If he has a knife try and get a look at it.
 
All of the above are fine and so would be a CASE but it wouldn't be custom, nor would most of the above.
Like someone said above the Bark River's are real nice and the Buck 110 more then adequate. Want something special? Buy a CASE 54 Trapper with Mother of Pearl handles. Might cost you $160.00. Its what I carry. It works and makes a statement too.
Not easy to buy someone's knife but I DO COMMEND YOU FOR DOING SO.
One thing to keep in mind is 'length of blade' you don't need a short sword or bowie to dress out game animals. I gutted and skinned dozens of animals [deer, black bear, farm hogs and sheep] with two knives I carried in an enlarged watch pocket!
 
Thanks for the pointers folks. Some asked about what specifically we were looking at. In general these were fixed blade, natural handle (there were stag and wood scaled models), and D2 in mostly drop point. Generally around 8" as a recall overall length. Based on suggestions here I've been checking out the Makers forum (thought that was FOR makers, I always look in the Exchange instead). Very impressive knives there, unfortunately they all sell immediately! Unfortunately for me anyhow. Couldn't even get an estimate of what one of the nice looking maple or ironwood handled hunters went for there.
 
You might also try looking at the knifemakers custom sale area here on the forum too! I would say a high percentage of the knives I see being offered on there are under a couple hundred and I bet that you could get one even customed to your satisfaction for along the same price. Lately there have been some great deals by some of the knifemakers on there too!!
 
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