Hunting/Skinning Knife

E

Ebby

Joined
Nov 17, 2000
Messages
2
I am looking for a general purpose hunting/skinning knife for field dressing, skinning, and quartering wild hogs and deer. Stainless is not a must, I am willing to care for the blade. I have considered the Marble Sport 99 (52100), Knives of Alaska Light Hunter(D-2),Fallkniven H1 (VG-10), Cold Steel Master Hunter Plus (Carbon V), or the Sypderco Wegner or Chinook (ATS-34, CPM 440V). I would appreciate any feedback that anyone might have. I am looking for a knife with great edge holding ability and sharpness. I would like to keep the cost below $150. Any help on the knives listed or any new recommendations would be great. Thanks
 
Check out the "K" series knives by Bob Dozier. He has several great models in your price range. These are full tang blades of great D2 steel with micarta handles ... absolutely awesome knives for the price and mission, plus, they come with a great custom kydex sheath. Good luck!
 
Welcome to the forum, Ebby. Even if this is your first post, it's obvious that you've been doing your homework, as all the options you've listed look like good ones to me. I don't think you could go wrong with any of them. My only personal recommendation would be to stick with a fixed blade over a folder because of the added strength and ease of maintenance. If I had to choose one, I'd say that the Marbles Sport 99 represents an outstanding value for around $70. The attention to detail in the grind lines sometimes leaves something to be desired, but for a user the performance is tough to beat. Good luck.

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Semper Fi

-Bill
 
Thanks Bronco, I was kind of leaning toward the Marble but I just didn't have any experience with the 52100 steel and wasn't sure how it would perform. I like the blade design though. Will the 52100 be a pain to sharpen? I have heard that it might be. Thanks
 
52100 is a fan favorite around here, and for good reason. As is explained with greater eloquence in Joe Talmadge's Steel FAQ article, 52100 is a high carbon, bearing steel that strikes an enviable balance between high levels of toughness and wear resistance.

Many folks around here have had to seriously revise their list of "steels that are hard to sharpen" since the somewhat recent introduction of the CPM steels (such as S60V, S90V, CPM-3V etc.) which feature a high vanadium carbide content. 52100 is certainly not in this league, and by following the well established rules of sharpening you should be getting those razor edges with just a little more effort than is required of 1095, for example.

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Semper Fi

-Bill
 
Skinning and quartering wild hogs is more work than deer. Rather than the Marbles, I would look for a knife with a bigger handle designed for safety. The Cold Steel Master Hunter is a very good design. If you get Carbon V alloy for the blade you are also getting a tough alloy that takes a great edge. If you buy it on the net you can save some serious money on the Master Hunter.

 
Any of those would be good. You might also want to consider Roselli (www.roselli.fi), who makes very good working knives in forged high carbon, ultra high carbon (RC 62-63) and wootz. The blade profile of their errapuukko (hunter) is very similar to the Fallkniven F1.
 
Throw me a slow pitch and I'll swing at it. Here is another opportunity for me to extol the virtures of the Chris Reeve One Piece Range. Sounds to me like you would want the Skinner or perhaps the Sable. A-2 the way CRK does it is very tough, razor sharp and the knives are pretty near bulletproof - certainly enough so for your applications. CRK Customer Service, IMO is the best.

I have a Marbles that I really like but would not put it in the league w/CRK. Although, it doesn't cost nearly as much either.

In Stainless: For lesser steel but great bladeshape and handle, the Puma White Hunter and WH II are great values and perform well. Take a look at the Fallkniven line also.

Happy hunting!

[This message has been edited by Nimrod (edited 12-11-2000).]
 
Dozier Master Skinner. Its a little more ($185) than your stated price, but not by much, and I've never seen a pure skinner to match it. A specialized knife like no other I've ever encountered. The hollow grind is so fine that the blade virtually melts its way through hide, but its so thin (not narrow, its a pretty wide blade with a very high grind) that I don't use mine for *any* task other than skinning.

Also a very light knife, so I carry it for skinning, and another general purpose knife (like a Livesay Air Assault, or a sturdy folder) for general field work.
 
Either of the Spyderco Morans, or the Schrade Sharpfinger. And you'll have money left over.

Paul

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Trust no one...
 
Nimrod says it..
CRK Skinner or Sable IV..
A2 holds a fantastic edge..

Next choice would be the Fallkniven H1..
 
I have been told by a lot of hunters that the Benchmade Mel Pardue 720 is a very good hunting and skinning knive. I ordered one last week, but I haven't got it yet.
 
Anything in the size you want from Bob Dozier or Newt Livesay. You can't go wrong.
 
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