Too many knives, too few deer

D

Don Powell

Joined
Sep 21, 2001
Messages
265
What is the ideal knife for field dressing deer? This is a subject that is dear to my heart. I tried for a long time to design a BEST KNIFE for field dressing deer. THERE IS NO BEST DESIGN! the one my son uses is a amall D2 blade, 2 3/4 " with a modified Wharncliffe (one of my attempts at best designs). This knife is great when you get in the chest cavity to cut the windpipe and esophogus without cutting your hand. It is not a knife to cut much meat, however. Yesterday I got to use another knife. Yes, I actually got a deer, a small buck. I used a CPM 3V knife with a 4" trailing point blade and flat ground. The knife opened the deer like a zipper, but wasn't nearly as safe inside the chest cavity. This knife would have been very good for skinning, but the freezer is not working, and I had to drop it off to the butcher. I know, from experience, these knives will do several deer before needing sharpening. We need more deer to test our knives, what do you guys use?
 
I used a new one this year, a 3 1/8" Helle blade with custom straight handle , slight drop point, worked fine.The biggest I've used is a CS Master Hunter, 4 1/2" drop point .I like to split the sternum and pelvis and that can be done with a heavy duty knife like the Master Hunter but I use a folding saw. Skinning a deer is no problem since it's mostly pulling with some cutting of membranes. Butchering is best done with 18" butcher's saw, 5" boning knife and 10" butchers knife but I've done it with others.
 
Don
I live in Maryland also,and this is the worse year I have ever seen
I have not seen hardly any bucks,and the bear are moving in on our deer wood,I got charged by a Sal,at the start of Bow season
I kill 2 deer with the bow every year,none this year,Killed on with the muzzloader,big doe for meat.Maryland better do somthing
I would rather shoot big deer one time a year verses 6 total
My favorite knife for skinning, gutting and quarting would have to be a drop point with a slight clip.:)
 
Don the super chubby is the best design I've ever used. You can see the drawing here: I make them from industrial hacksaw blades!
http://www.engnath.com/public/drwframe.htm

Nathan, sorry to hear about the season. We are down a little too but I still have three so far and have passed a half dozen shots. Still have a month to go.
 
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