Just returned from elk hunt; are we over thinking this?

Fancy steels do make my toast taste better. That said, I know guys who still use rock, and damn are they fancier than any steel than any steel I've seen.
 
If you think that you need a $200 knife to process an elk, yes, you're overthinking it. That said, if you think you can't buy a knife that will process a whole lot more elk with a whole lot less sharpening and just be overall better suited for the job than the knife your guide used, well, you're just plain wrong.

I have enough knives that I could go through life without ever buying another one. I buy knives because I enjoy them, not because I need better performance, though getting a knife that you find performs better than your others is always great.
 
Back when I hunted and before I started collecting knives, I dressed deer with a Buck 110 and Old Timer fixed blade. Mainly the Old Timer with a blade that was about 3 1/2 to 4 inches? No clue on the steel. Probably dressed or helped dress a couple dozen deer. Never any issue except the 110 was slick. The Old Timer was definitely easier to grip.

That being said, if I get back into hunting, I'd probably use Large CRK 21 or my Mayo TNT. Because I could!
 
If I was a guide I would have a Dozier fix blade in D2 steel. I like field dressing 4-5 deer and not having to sharpen the blade.
 
I field dressed a road kill deer with an original Leatherman and had no problems. I saw it hit ahead of me and called 911 and waited for the Statie and got the permit. It was a clean head shot with the car and it died before he got there. I wanted it for my Labs but the meat was fine. The Labs had to share.
A familiarity with the anatomy of the game you're processing lessens the importance of the knife.
 
Smaug said:
Yep, and it's not just for hunting. All I really need for my day-to-day is a good Swiss army knife, and for the odd times I need to clean a squirrel, I can't do much better than a Buck 102 "Woodsman".

I'm surprised at so many references to folders for hunting. Even for something as small as a squirrel, I don't like the extra work of either taking the care not to get stuff in the mechanics or cleaning out the mechanics. Why not a small fixed blade, purpose-built for hunting?

On a side note, what is involved in field dressing an elk? Seems like they're too big to drag out of the woods whole, and you mentioned using a saw on the pelvis. Are they quartered? Taken out on an ATV trailer?
Click to expand...

Typically, the DIY elk hunter will quarter in the field, and pack in out in their backpack. Might take 3-4 trips if they are by themselves. However, e-bikes are getting more popular where they are allowed. Normally guides will have either horses or llamas to pack out the quarters of the elk.
 
I wonder if two Neolithic persons ever had a similar conversation where one said "You traded 2 goats for your fancy bronze knife!? That's nice and all, but my flake of flint cuts just fine and is literally free."

Sure, plenty of simple and inexpensive tools with simple and inexpensive materials are good enough to get the job done. That doesn't mean that we have to settle for "good enough." Obsidian was good enough for the Aztecs for a long time until they came up against Spanish steel (nevermind for now smallpox and other trifles). Granted, the debate over flint vs. steel is not the same as the debate over a beaten up Gerber Gator vs. a $300 CPK Field Knife.

I do not think we are "overthinking" things when we seek out the latest and greatest designs and materials to make cutting tasks easier and more enjoyable. Heck, if it wasn't for people like us we might not have the absolute glut of high quality knives that we are currently spoiled with. Why make better knives when there's plenty that are good enough?

*Before any of you ask: no, I am totally not trying to rationalize any of my recent knife purchases...:rolleyes:
 
A very good friend of mine and "Knife Enthusiast" went on a safari in South Africa, where all the game he shot was skinned and processed by men working for the Professional Hunter. They all used Okapi folding knives that go for about $2.50, kept a rock close at hand to occasionally sharpen they blades. Old Time Outdoors writer, John Jobson in his book "The Complete Book of Practical Camping" talks about his guide in the Yukon, Johnnie Johns, who used a single bladed folder, which looks to be a Remington Bullet that was used to skin "well over 100 grizzlies plus scores of other animals like All sheep, caribou, moose and beaver". He also describes how John's made a stove out of two 5-gallon oil tins, cutting the ends of each of them, , cutting a draft and stovepipe hole, then using the same knife to cut wood shavings to start a roaring fire. John
 
Insipid Moniker said:
If you think that you need a $200 knife to process an elk, yes, you're overthinking it. That said, if you think you can't buy a knife that will process a whole lot more elk with a whole lot less sharpening and just be overall better suited for the job than the knife your guide used, well, you're just plain wrong.

I have enough knives that I could go through life without ever buying another one. I buy knives because I enjoy them, not because I need better performance, though getting a knife that you find performs better than your others is always great.
Click to expand...
I'm there too and I agree with you. The $200 knife would be a better choice for a guide along with a backup of some kind in case he looses one.

aleforme said:
Back when I hunted and before I started collecting knives, I dressed deer with a Buck 110 and Old Timer fixed blade. Mainly the Old Timer with a blade that was about 3 1/2 to 4 inches? No clue on the steel. Probably dressed or helped dress a couple dozen deer. Never any issue except the 110 was slick. The Old Timer was definitely easier to grip.

That being said, if I get back into hunting, I'd probably use Large CRK 21 or my Mayo TNT. Because I could!
Click to expand...
One year (deer season) I carried a Kershaw boot knife as my hunting knife. I still chuckle about my choice then. (Don't worry. I came to my senses.) Prior to that I used a Schrade 250T (111 size) for deer hunting needs. I always used a slip joint (Case) prior to that. Worked just fine as far as I was concerned. Been known to carry a Gerber Gator as well. Once I had more choices beyond a slip joint, I jumped around with my choices for the day. They had to be sharp however.

Razor said:
If I was a guide I would have a Dozier fix blade in D2 steel. I like field dressing 4-5 deer and not having to sharpen the blade.
Click to expand...
That would be a good modestly priced choice. I have a couple Doziers that would work perfectly. Sadly, I have not been hunting for the last 5 years. It got to be just too much of a pain in the butt. But if I went back, it would be big bore handgun only hunts for me and I have more than enough really good choices for knives including the Doziers.
 
SALTY said:
I myself prefer a fixed blade for this work and anything between 3 - 6" will do with 4" - ish being the sweet spot for most large game.
Click to expand...
I agree completely with using a decent & dependable fixed blade for this type of task,
along with one's trusted folder of choice and I see no reason not to have back ups for both, field stone, etc in the pack.
With that said, obviously the knife choices do not have to break the bank in order to function well.
As has been said, we 'knife knuts' , collectors, etc
do not buy a p.o.s. knife to 'do it all' whatever the task may be, i.e. damage the blade, cut materials that it's not intended for, use & abuse it to destruction and then get a new one of similar value b/c 'we' know better. Not that we likely don't All have our 'beaters' that we would not use our nicer knives for, however, I've seen plenty of photos of fellow forumulites that use their expensive knives for most everything, that would likely make many of us cringe
:D
-I once gifted a smaller traditional Ram's horn handled folder to a friend of mine, (not expensive) and when I had asked about it later, he says 'I used the blade as a screwdriver and f'd it up'...
so much for sentiment of the gift, & appreciation of the piece.
-I would suspect that these guys that do it all with their low end folders & machetes have been doing it for so long that they are very used to, and comfortable with them...
And the difference is that 'we' know better, and some of us can afford to buy whatever we want,
at any pricepoint.
Unfort., I'm not one of them :(...but that's ok.
BTB:cool:
 
Billy The Blade said:
.... I once gifted a smaller traditional Ram's horn handled folder to a friend of mine, (not expensive) and when I had asked about it later, he says 'I used the blade as a screwdriver and f'd it up'...
so much for sentiment of the gift, & appreciation of the piece.
Click to expand...
I'd say this is fairly typical as they attached zero value to your gift. If you don't bleed to buy a knife, you often do not appreciate it and apt to use it for a "screw driver". For gawd's sake, that is what a SAK is for.
 
JParanee said:
I’ve spent a lifetime cutting up and packing critters out of difficult places

I prefer a small carbon steel fixed blade that’s easy to sharpen and a bone saw
<snip>
Click to expand...
Awesome picture! I envy you.

A small carbon steel blade works just fine. The saw speeds things up a bit.
 
22-rimfire said:
I'd say this is fairly typical as they attached zero value to your gift. If you don't bleed to buy a knife, you often do not appreciate it and apt to use it for a "screw driver". For gawd's sake, that is what a SAK is for.
Click to expand...
Agreed!

JParanee said:
I’ve spent a lifetime cutting up and packing critters out of difficult places
Click to expand...
WOW!!
-Now that's a Big game hunter...
& the knife of choice is, ofcourse, a fixed blade :thumbsup::thumbsup:
BTB :cool:
 
CarsonWayne said:
We don't need anything more than this. And it'll never get lock stick!

1iHAhLd.jpg
Click to expand...

Have you spine walked it yet???o_O
 
It isn't just hunting and outdoor activities where we buy more than we need... I think all of us (especially here) that love our cutlery purchase well past our needs. Myself included.

I like to hunt, but my grandfather spent a ton of time and money go after elk, large deer, etc., as well as deep sea and gulf fishing. He spent a fortune on guns, but owned about 6 - 8 knives. His favorite I still have, his XL sized (5"?) CASE rancher. He used that one knife to dismantle animals to pack parts out from remote locations, and split the pelvis with a small hatchet when he got to it. He even used it from time to time for his fishing knife when he was out in the Texas Gulf. He lived about 2 miles from his favorite boat launch and fished about 3 days a week and there were no fussy dedicated fishing knives for him as he didn't keep any small or medium fish he considered bait. Me? I don't go to the grocery store without two knives on my person.

I have all manner of work knives that I use on my construction sites, and I am embarrassed to tell my guys what some of my knives cost. For years, I was limited to carrying out on the job a knife that was also used as an EDC as well as my hunting/camping/fishing knife. For many years that was just fine. Then as I made more money I bought nicer knives.

My large stockman was replaced with a Schrade made Buck 110 somwhere in the late 70s. Had that for a couple of years and heard of a new Browning knife that was made of a new "super steel" called 440c. Bought one, love and still have it. But... it didn't so job site or camp site chores better than the Schrade. Stayed sharp longer, but overall wasn't a huge improvement.

Fast forward to now, and I "rotate" through my selection of work knives. I buy the ones I like for work since I enjoy using a nice knife. That being said, none of them run away in increased performance from the old Browning purchased around 1980 as far as practical, job site and utility performance is concerned.

I buy "better" knives because I can, but can't seem to bring myself to break $200, which around here is barely a base line price for some. I can buy plenty of knives at prices all over the charts, and finding a good worker at a good price is part of the fun for me. I have come a long way; the wear and tear my 1976 purchased large CASE copperlock has more wear on it than any other knife I own will ever have. If I lived to 200, my rotation would keep all my work knives from ever wearing out.

So I have to face it. I buy nice knives simply because I like them and I can afford it. When I am working with a crew of my guys I always put something inexpensive clipped to my pocket like my RAT 1 or its cousins so if I have to lend it to one of them, I don't worry about it. But when I am working alone or with one helper, I usually take my ZT0909 or my Spyderco Valloton. When I use either of those, they make me smile.

Robert
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top