Looking for a deer hunting folder

LEE IN VA. said:
Looking for a good folder for deer field dressing and processing. Been considering one of these, and would like opinions on them.
http://www.havalon.com/xt60-edge.html
I would consider other types too also never used a gut hook, wondering if they are needed. I would like to keep it under $75 and would like suggestions on a compact sharpener to carry in the field if I wasn't using the Havalon with replaceable blades.

Thanks
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Neither I nor any of my hunting friends are fans of gut hooks.
I've never tried a replaceable blade knife for hunting. The idea does not appeal to me.
For field sharpening, DMT makes pocket diamond stones.


Alberta Ed said:
A Buck 110 would be all you need. Go traditional with the standard 420HC (option: Bucklite), Cabella's in S30V or BassPro in CPM 154.
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I agree with Ed. A Buck 110 will do just fine. Buck's forte is hunting knives. That's what the family started making in 1902 and they still do a very good job of it. The original name of the 110 was "Folding Hunter". It was designed to be a folding hunting knife.
 
This Kershaw Folding Field 1050 makes an excellent deer hunting, bear hunting, antelope hunting or whatever else hunting, knife you might need. It is a heavy duty knife and the drop point blade is a natural skinner.

kershawfoldingfield1050.jpg


The Buck 110 or Buck 112 folders have shinned many a deer and other game too.

If some of these guys have talked you into a fixed blade knife (totally unnecessary for hunting) then the Buck 119 Special would be a good knife for you.

2003buck119special2.jpg


Actually, a Buck 110 or Buck 112 in combination with a hatchet from Buck, Estwing, or Gerber may be right up your alley.
 
MY hunting knives: Schrade Pro Hunter (folder) and a Kershaw Wade Officer. The Kershaw Wade is a good knife, however does not lock. I've field dressed grouse, used it for utility, skinned out a deer, used it for processing (getting silverskin off) and its been a great knife.
 
Custom Shop 110 all the way,their S30V is superb.A.P.F.,Your oak 110 is outstanding!
 
Leatherman Klamath(comes in s30v,diamond rod,gut hook and leather sheath).....hope you find one tough...
 
There is an avid deer hunter on YouTube from Japan who kills and field-dresses something like 18 deer per season (Japan has rampant deer overpopulation, so hunters are allowed more kills to help control the population).

This guy, VirtuoVice, spends hours and hours testing knives in the field -- on deers. He is extremely meticulous in his evaluations -- looks at the edges under the microscope; buys multiple of the same knife in different handle finishes to see which material is "warmer" or more grippy.

Here is a video of the hunting folders he prefers:

http://www.youtube.com/user/virtuovice#p/u/4/4e6-dP4j6Tg

Skip to 14:00 to bypass his discussion/demonstration on sharpening to see just the knives themselves. His favorites in past videos seem to be the Lone Wolf Longhorn and BladeTech Professional Hunter Magnum, but in this particular video he is trying to suggest the best "popular" folder and thus recommends the Benchmade 551 Griptilian.

EDIT:

Here are some other vids of his where he discusses folders, among other knives, for field dressing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lqf8Q1pPNFg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVDo8zwG2iM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbwXH5nzZ74
 
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I would agree that, for folding hunters, the Buck 110 is pretty much the gold standard.

Buck's new line of EcoLite 110s and 112s are a nice alternative. They're lighter, cost less, and feature the same blade as the standard 110/112.

I occasionally carry a 110 in a horizontal belt pouch as part of EDC rotation. For the last couple of weeks I've been carrying a new EcoLite 110 that I picked up at the factory clearance sale. It's all the blade but without the weight. A guy could carry two of them in place of the standard 110. Like some of the others responders, I don't have a good answer to the "goop" in the slot question.

Variations on the Buck idea would be the Case Mako, Case Hammerhead, or Case XX-Changer. Similar size and profile. Another straight across stand-in for the Buck 110 could also be the Kershaw 3140 Wildcat Ridge. I've always liked the Kershaw classic 31xx series. Good steel, good grind, good edge, however all of my originals in the series were made in Japan. It looks like the newer ones are coming out of China, so I can't yet speak to the product quality of those.

If I were going to substitute a Buck fixed blade for the 110, I'd prefer the 105 Pathfinder. The blade shape is similar to the 110, although longer by an inch and, I believe, a little narrower. I'd have to check mine to be sure. My only reservation on the 105 is the smooth handle. Once things get wet and sticky, that handle isn't going be real grippy. You could rough the handle surface, I suppose, although I have no experience with that.


I have to say, though, that if I were going deer shopping, I'd be looking through the Swedish selection for something like a Mora #11201 Craftline Allround or an EKA #A-10 Allround (I'm kinda sweet on the EKA, but don't have that one yet).

(Oh, and while we're at it, EKA does a couple of very competent hunting class folders, the Swede 92 (or, with Bunbinga wood, the Swede 82), and the Nordic T8. The thing with the Swede and Nordic folders is that EKA has designed them with no-tool screws so you can disassemble them for cleaning. (No-tool = use a coin to do the screws.) Trouble is, I'm not sure where you'd get them. Ragnar used to carry them on ragweedforge.com, but it's beginning to look like they're being phased out. Which sux, 'cuz that means I have to get all my future ones on eBay.)​

 
I picked up a cheap Wal-Mart Remington 3 blade folder for $16. It has a guthook blade a saw type blade & a knife blade. Once i sharpened it up to a 25* angle (50* inclusive), it was wicked sharp. I liked it so much, i got 2 more for my kids. This past season I let a seasoned old hunter use it to field drss a couple deer & he said it was by far the sharpest he has used. He was amazed that it would still shave hair after 2 deer field dressings. For cheap, it's hard to beat. Would'nt be as upset if it got lost either.
 
I vote for a small fixed blade like the ESEE Izula. It's just about the perfect Whitetail deer knife for me. I can really choke up on the blade (for reasons already mentioned), it's nice and sharp and stays that way a long time, cleans up really easily, and it's affordable. Plus, if it breaks, you have the best warranty in the business backing it up.
 
I have been using a Buck 110 the last couple seasons and it is still sharp after two deer. I found this thread using the search engine because I wanted more info on Havalon knives. I only heard of the knife for the first time when it was shown to me last Wednesday. The young man who showed it to me also had one that was just a solid plastic handle, the part the blade fits on was the only thing protruding from one end.

He is a full time guide who recently returned from a season in New Zealand. This is his favorite knife for field dressing and skinning large game animals. The man has had two dozen+ animal days. He doesn't use it to cut through bones but claims he just severs at the joints. The ability to continue working animal after animal without having to sharpen was paramount. One blade was used for more than one goat and one blade was enough for a large Stag (elk type animal).
 
Gut hooks are a gimmick, and anything with a blade over 4 inches is too much for skinning out a deer. I hunt in 4 states every year and probably participate in skinning about 20 to 25 deer annually. Been to lots of camps, clubs and outfitters the only thing a big fixed blade is good for among most serious hunters is a laugh. I use a buck mayo TNT r a custom made steve rice he-man titanium frame lock. Both have 4 inch handles and 3 inch blades. I find that 2.5 to 4 inch blades r best.

To this day I've never seen anyone clean a deer faster Joel Cobb who owns and operates Cobb farms in pineapple, al just south if Monroeville. All he uses is an old case 3 blade stockman. Trust me a big fixed blade is going to get you laughed at in most southern deer camps. If u go fixed keep it small like the isula or something similar don't go bigger than that spyderco Moran suggested by ankerson
 
You sure you want a folder for hunting deer? I doubt you'll be able to sneak up close enough to use it for the kill. I'd go with a nice throwing knife that you are accurate with up to 50 yards...


:P
 
I havent killed a deer yet
I have done more goats and roos than I can count tho.
I intend to get me a deer in the not to distant future tho... well hopefully

anyway , I use an Opinel #10 , or a self made fixed blade skinner .
The Havalon knife ... Id respectfully ask you reconsider , its more a art and craft knife I suspect than a skinning / hunting type knife .

For a folder that fits in as far as the current generation of folk , Id recommend the RAT1 .. its pretty good . I have one , itll skin and clean a goat without a problem , the feral deer running around here are roughly the same size as the feral goats , so Id expect it to be somewhere near the same .
 
I mostly use a full sized Trapper (two-blade). Use a Camillus made Remington bullet knife as my main field dressing blade, but would choose a Case, Queen, GEC, and so forth in that pattern. I also carry a small fixed blade which varies from a Queen in D2 http://www.queencutlery.com/prhunters.htm (Just about all the major manufacturers make something similar.) to the Spyderco Moran in VG-10. The Moran is small enough to give you the dexterity you need inside the chest area as I am usually working from "feel" versus sight which means a big blade gets in the way and you can slice or poke yourself pretty easily. I used a larger knife for de-boning or slicing for the freezer when I did that, but mostly take them to a butcher now.

I have used the Gerber folding Gator, Buck 110's, and the large Schrade in years past. The most important thing is that the knife be very sharp.

I have not had a great deal of problem cleaning folders after field dressing... rinse in a creek or even puddle.
 
If you like orange you should have gotten a 422 or 426 from Buck on the Web Specials page when they had them. You can find them on ebay. Buck does still have the black handles available.

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