Need a selection of choices- Hunting Knife

I've got a Wolf River. I don't go huntin', nothin' against it, I just don't. But the Wolf River is not just a skinning knife. Sort of a Nessmuk design, the old Green River style skinning blade. Great little knife, I like it a lot, used it today out in the back yard trimming some branches.
 
Rat, go with Bark River. A BRK&T convex edge goes through flesh like a hot knife through butter :) .
Also, (and this is why I am so quick to suggest Barkies) there are so many immediately available knives with so many nice handle choices.

Check out this Game's Keeper on DLT's site.
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silenthunterstudios said:
But the Wolf River is not just a skinning knife. Sort of a Nessmuk design, the old Green River style skinning blade.
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I've got the Wolf River, which I used in the kitchen, almost like a side-handle ulu. Then I got an Adirondack Guide, which is even more of a Nessmuk, and with its thinner blade and pointier tip, it replaced the Wolf River for food prep.
 
I don't know if he has the skill to avoid damaging a delicate edge like the Phil Wilson cutters. He intends to get two of the knives, one for his son and one for himself.
 
I would not define my Phil Wilson knives as having delicate edges. I would call them edges that stay sharp with use longer than my other knives. A lot longer. I have two of Phil's in CPM-10V, and one in S30V. His S30V is amazing. Sharpest knives you'll ever get & will hold an edge longer than any others. You have to wait a few months to get them, but they are worth the wait. Phil is a great guy and a gentleman, as well.
 
I only mention the delicacy due to this statement:

I elect to trust the user to exercise enough common sense to not abuse the blade. I can therefore grind to a very thin edge. Fillet knives are finished to about 0.010 inch and hunters about 0.015 to 0.020 inch. This allows for very easy sharpening because only a small amount of metal needs to be removed to renew the cutting edge. In fact they will almost cut before they are sharpened. This thin section does however require some care during use. It will hold up very well when used for filleting fish, field dressing and skinning, and normal kitchen and butcher work but is not intended for chopping or prying around bones.
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Maybe I will suggest them as an option, and show him that information.
 
I would then suggest something by one of the Thomas's in 13C26 (Devin, Larrin, etc.) . It will be much tougher due to the steel and be very eary to sharpen and get very sharp.

-Cliff
 
Check out Rabbit run knives, Hand made, forged from high carbon steal. The one I got , took a razor sharp edge , and holds it real well. Genuine handmade, and the prices are good.
 
Trident seems to generate some loyalty, but there is a big difference between a tough knife and a good hunter.
 
Gameskeeper is on my "to get" list. I like a decent guard on my hunting knives, and the Gameskeeper has more of a guard than a lot of the BRKT offerings. Hands/gloves get bloody and grips can get slick. Last thing you want to do is slice open a hand.

Esav Benyamin said:
Trident seems to generate some loyalty, but there is a big difference between a tough knife and a good hunter.
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I agree wholeheartedly. Design is key, and it's also a matter of personal preference and technique. Some folks use larger blades for dressing. Others much prefer knives in the 3" to 3.5" range.

I do wonder if Cliff skins a lot of game. I've never heard him mention it.
 
Guyon said:
Gameskeeper is on my "to get" list. I like a decent guard on my hunting knives, and the Gameskeeper has more of a guard than a lot of the BRKT offerings.

I do wonder if Cliff skins a lot of game. I've never heard him mention it.
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I like the Gameskeeper as a survival knife better than the Bravo-1, but they are close. I would miss that broad ricasso.

I don't know if Cliff's mentioned any experience of his own, but he seems to understand what kind of a knife works best.
 
Guyon said:
I do wonder if Cliff skins a lot of game.
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Almost no one does that I talked to in NL anymore. Mainly because all processing is done by professionals who turn the animal into steaks, roasts, sausage, etc. . All that is done is to quarter it. There is some skinning on small game like rabits, but that is just pulled off, not actually sliced off. I spent some time years ago with my grandfather who worked as a local butcher (he owned a farm, not everyone can kill animals) and watched and participated in skinning pigs and such. But now with most of the hunting being recreation, people have enough money to pay someone else to do that work. Plus you only get at most one animal ever few years due to issues with availability of permits. Everyone I know who hunts, even the natives (Labrador) do not own actual "hunting" knives. They would just take whatever is in the kitchen drawer or whatever was available, including a Leatherman. Same with the fisherman and what they use to process fish. I can not recall ever seeing a fillet knives aside from the ones I gave them. Similar with hunting knives, I loan them to relatives all the time and they are all impressed, but no way are they paying 1-2 weeks salary for a knife.

-Cliff
 
Wow, Cliff. I'm surprised to read that. Much of the enjoyment I get from hunting and fishing is having, using, and messing with the equipment. I like to tie my flies, build my flyrods, customize my guns, and reload my ammunition. Preparing the game meat is such an integral part of the whole right down to using the feathers and fur to tie more flies. I guess each to his own though, because I still don't understand the seemingly universal attraction of golf. :) Regards, ss.
 
Another vote for anything from Bob Dozier (i've got a Master Skinner and K-2) and Bark River..... :thumbup:
 
Surprised here as well. I might get the occasional deer processed if I'm feeling lazy (or tired from playing so much golf ;) ), but I still have to field dress it. Everything else, from fish to birds, I take care of myself. That seems about par for the course around these parts.
 
A.G. Russell has some durn nice hunting knives from a bevy of good makers.

Check out their site and click on "Knives," "By Purpose," and "Hunting."

Quite a few Doziers offered there.
 
straitshot said:
Wow, Cliff. I'm surprised to read that.
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These are people who now currently hunt more for recreation. Due to problems in actually getting permits it isn't functional anymore so it is basically just an excuse to spend a weekend with the guys, camp out, do some drinking and have a cookout. Turning a large moose into steaks is a fair amount of work and requires some decent equipment to process the bones. The fisherman still do all their own processing but it isn't nearly as demanding. They guys who hunt small game do as well, but similar rules apply. The natives I know who do process the meat they catch don't care about the knives at all.

-Cliff
 
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