Old Hickory

J

jpvjr

Joined
Feb 19, 2007
Messages
340
I gotta ask, does anyone use Old hickory knives for fishing (or hunting)? I was teaching my brother in law how to sharpen, & told him to buy a cheapy. Well he got a paring knife which I showed him what to do, & now I want 1. It's super thin & capable of taking a 5 deg edge (10 geg compound). My only concern is if it's strong enough to fish, or hunt with. I would like to get 3: 1 paring,1 butcher, & 1 skinning. Thanks.
 
I would think so. I have read where other users on this forum use them fishing boats. I plan on a butcher - for backwoodsman type stuff and a boner for cleaning, boning deer.
 
They serve both hunters and fishermen well as long as they're maintained properly.
 
They are great knives, I use one of their paring knives as a general purpose work knife. I used a butcher as a field knife for quite a while, it by far outcut the thick bladed SOG Tech II knife I had. The thinner blade made it much better for general survival tasks like cutting bow drill components.
I've heard Old hickory utilizes 1095 high carbon steel in their blades. I've cut a number of them down to make decent hunting and neck knives. Edge retention is okay. I think you'll enjoy them.
 
For, a 10 or 20 dollars more, you could get some professional butchering knives by Dexter Russell or RF Forschner. They don't rust as easily and clean up really good too. The edge is really sharp. I lopped the tip of my finger off once, with nail and all. Didn't even feel it.
 
IMHO Old Hickory is one of those things that just can not be beat for the price. They are not for the people who want a knife that you can use and put up. You must take minimal care of them so they will not rust. 1095 is great stuff. It begs to be used and used hard. Just take a little care of it and it will always serve you well in any circumstance.
 
Old hickory and dexter Russell carbon steel knives are all I use for the most part both in the kitchen and for woods, and garden use. I have never had one break on me. For butchering game and cleaning fish they out preform all of the much more expensive blades I own and have owned in most respects, except for edge retention. If one does break you can easily regrind / modify it in to another useful cutting tool. Joe
 
Camo Kid;

You mention that your old hickory knives don't have the edge retention of more expensive blades. Could you elaborate? I'm looking at picking up a few old hickories and would like to understand this better.

Thanks,

-John
 
John, In my experiences with the old hickory knives I own and use they don't hold and edge as well as D2, or vg10 or higher priced 1095 blades. This dosnt bother me because they are easy to sharpen, respond well to a butcher steel, and all have cost me well under 10$ apiece. That said The old hickory blades do hold an very well for field use, and i have no complaints on their over all performance, as i do feel that they are the best bargain in cutlery today. Joe
 
Thanks, Joe, I appreciate your comments.

I have one more question; on a rough percentage basis, how would you rate the edge retention of old hickories compared to other knives you own? (Like, "my old hickory has about 60% of the edge retention of my RAT D2")

Thanks,

-John
 
Well that is kind of tough. Old hickory knives I own dull out probably twice as fast at least than say my Queen folding hunter in d2, or my Fallkniven f-1, or Marbles woodcraft. Butcher tools seem to be tempered to a lower Rc hardness than hunting and other out door knives. But they field sharpen easily and respond well to a butcher steel. for the price I don't think you can go wrong. Joe
 
It really depends on what you are using the knife for. If only for butchering and cutting up meats, I woud go with a Forschner or D.Russell knife. They cut much better and sharpen up just as quick. But the old hickory are definitely sturdier. This is mostly due to the fact that the old hickory has a sabre grind while the Forschner and D.Russell have a full flat grind
 
John (who's set to deploy) taught us all how to sharpen knives. He got tired of doing it for us, he does his knives "freehand", & ours w/ a "Razor-Edge". The point is if you saw his kitchen/butchering setup, for after the hunt, all he has is Old Hickory stuff. I also got a few (to learn on), & cut through a chicken breast w/ a 3" parer. I have a Henkels set, but now I prefer the OH equipment. It just cuts better, & is easier to maintain.
 
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