Recommend a good hunter

lorise

lorise

Joined
Mar 30, 2007
Messages
205
A very good friend of mine asked me to recommend to him a good hunting knife the other day. Money is not much of an issue, 3-600 dollars is fine, he´s got money to spend. And I would like to hear some comments.

It would be a gentleman's knife, a fixed blade, small about 3-4 inches 80 - 100 mm. He does a lot of expensive salmon fishing and some duck shooting. a little bit of everything in small game, no big game.

I came up with Fallknivens hunting knives with the ivory micarta scales The HK 1 or the F1 for more purpose. But then I ran out of options. I was thinking production because its all I know and I don´t want to recommend something I don´t know or can´t vouch for myself. But then again most my stuff is tactical, Emerson, Benchmade, Ka-Bar. So I need some help.
 
For that price range, I would go custom. Get the blade steel and hardness, blade length, profile, grind, handle material, guard/no guard, and embellishments, pins and sheath that suits the user best. It may take more research, but the results are better.

Sounds like he should look for a good bird & trout knife as well as a fillet knife. He could probably do both without going way over budget.

Just my .02.
 
I agree with the custom. Its a long read, but thumb thru this thread and you'll get a good idea of some of the offerings here.
 
Bark River and Bob Dozier make some of my favorite fixed blades. Any hunter would appreciate the legendary edge holding abilities of a Dozier knife.
 
If you are wanting exceptional quality as well as cool or wow factor I'd suggest you look at a Bill Sanders S1. If you're not familiar Bill worked and built knives for Timberline back in the 80's and he's currently producing knives and taking orders.. He's also very open to customize existing designs a bit here and there.. Take a look and you'll like what you see..
 
www.dozierknives.com

Right in the upper end of his price range, and some of the finest semi-custom hunting knives made.

Bark River knives are very well made as well, and I own several of them, but the A-2 tool steel they use doesn't hold an edge nearly as well, and isn't as corrossion resistant as the D-2 semi-stainless tool steel that Dozier uses. :thumbup:

Still, you can't go wrong with a BR. :)
 
I would suggest you take a look at the custom makers we have here. Karl B. Andersen is one of my very favorite fixed blade makers, as are Sean O'Hare & Bill Buxton.(There are many more fixed blade knife makers that I LOVE. I don't want o list them all, for fear of leaving someone out.) Take a look at Kyle Royer!! Like I said we have some amazing maker here. Here is MY Bill Buxton Hunter. I LOVE this knife!
Buxtonknifeapplesleaf.jpg
 
Just because a person has a lot of money doesn't mean he needs a three thousand dollar knife (or even $300). For hunting and just plain looks, it's hard to beat a Buck Alaskan Vanguard. Rather than me just blather, just read the reviews and see the knife in more detail here.

BuckAlaskan.jpg


It comes with a rubber grip or a beautiful wood grip (get a few of each!). Can't beat the steel or the heat treat. Buck's only been in business since 1902 and hunters are still buying and using its knives in droves, even though its standard steel (420HC) is a bit long in the tooth. Its recent addition of premium S30V stainless blades has made the Alaskan Vanguard a top tier choice for outdoor use.

Product Description: Sporting a 4-1/8" drop-point crafted of strong S30V steel, the Vanguard has a rosewood handle and a polished brass butt and guard. Available in a rubber-handle Vanguard version with Cordura® nylon sheath. Developed by Crucible Steel, S30V is made up of metallic powders fused together under intense pressure and heat. It is tempered under extremely high temperatures then cooled in a cryogenic freezer. The resulting metal delivers a fine combination of edge retention (45% greater than 420HC), flexibility and hardness (59-61 Rockwell) while remaining easy to sharpen with conventional stones. This steel also has a high chromium content for oxidation resistance. For even greater corrosion resistance, each knife is treated with a titanium aluminum nitride coating. Our field testing and independent Cutlery Allied Trade Research Association tests prove these knives outperform those crafted with other blade metals. It also has a leather sheath. Made in USA. Overall length: 8-1/2". Weight: 6.3 oz.
 
+1 on the Buck. The S30V is one good steel and holds edge quite well, its even easy to sharpen it back up. Unless you wanna go custom for the oomph factor, get this.
 
For small game and waterfowl, I would go with something much smaller than the vanguard, which is more a deer hunting knife. Echoing previous posts, Bob Dozier knives are hard to beat for hunting and skinning; if not this then Bark River. The Dozier K-35 (Gentleman's knife) would work quite well. The Bark Rivers will have a convex edge (like Fallkniven) and the Doziers typically a beveled edge.
 
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All very good suggestions. The customs are a jungle and I am a little afraid to tread there.

Kyle Royer is the young kid 18 or so I read about in Blade, isnt he? I read everything in Blade and know a little about customs but more about factory.

Dozier is a very good point. I have always liked the look of his work from blade and his edge retention is legendary. The K-7 slim outdoorsman looks like what i?m looking for.

Also some from the A.G, Russel shop.

But thanks very much for the advice from all of you out there.
 
busse swamp rat custom shop 4in. d2
my nephew makes kydex hort. carry for all my 4 or less blades
easy to set in jeep or truck
 
I recommend a Wayne Goddard edition Diamond Blade Friction Forged blade.....The best....D-2 on steriods....
 
I would get 3-4 Bark Rivers to cover all my knife needs.

Canadian Sportsmen for deboning and cleaning fish
Highland for all around hunting knife
lil caper for skinning and caping
and some small one like Mini Canadian for small game or a light carry knife
 
evbouret said:
I would get 3-4 Bark Rivers to cover all my knife needs.

Canadian Sportsmen for deboning and cleaning fish
Highland for all around hunting knife
lil caper for skinning and caping
and some small one like Mini Canadian for small game or a light carry knife
Click to expand...

:confused:

Didn't you just start this thread:

Tenacious = Killer hunting knife

In which you posted this:
evbouret said:
Its the best skinning/field dressing knife I own, outperforming both the schrade sharpfinger and bark river woodland special. The real thin blade just glides through hides and flesh. I had a small well worn diamond rod to keep it touched up and we ended up putting the rest of the knives away since the Tenacious worked so well.
Click to expand...

Regards,
3G
 
Hmmm... I guess I didn't understand your post, 3G.

The original poster specifically looking for a FIXED blade hunter in the 3 - 600 dollar range for a friend, and he set the parameters of the question.

Do you think evbouret is confused and putting in his suggestions for a FIXED blade knife as requested by lorise, the OP?

While the Tenacious is not in the 3 - 600 dollar range, it isn't even a fixed blade.

I thought evbouret was addressing the specific question asked. What did I miss?

Robert
 
midnight flyer said:
Hmmm... I guess I didn't understand your post, 3G.

The original poster specifically looking for a FIXED blade hunter in the 3 - 600 dollar range for a friend, and he set the parameters of the question.

Do you think evbouret is confused and putting in his suggestions for a FIXED blade knife as requested by lorise, the OP?

While the Tenacious is not in the 3 - 600 dollar range, it isn't even a fixed blade.

I thought evbouret was addressing the specific question asked. What did I miss?

Robert
Click to expand...

You didn't miss anything, but I sure did!:eek: I didn't catch the "fixed blade" part of the OP's request (and it's not in the title). That sure explains why evbouret didn't recommend the Tenacious in this thread!:o

Thank you, midnight flyer, for catching that for me!:thumbup:

Regards,
3G
 
The Dozier Slim Outdoorsman is a fine choice for small game,foul,and fish.I've had mine since 94,or thereabout,and have never regreted buying it.
 
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