Uncle needs a new hunting knife...please help!

Andrew Lynch

Andrew Lynch

Joined
Feb 6, 2000
Messages
3,021
I will be visiting my uncle in Germany this summer, and asked him if I could bring him a new hunting knife from here (so he could by-pass the huge import taxes). He said he had some small japanese "Moki" knife (folding), but that it didn't have the size or muscle for field-dressing larger animals (they hunt deer and wild pigs in Germany). So, he gave me the following criteria for me to buy him a hunting knife:

"Probably you could give me advice what to have as an additional knife for harder work like cutting wild pigs. It can be a collapsable one or a firm one and it should have a stainless blade, should stay sharp for a long time and have a good wide grip which does not slip when wet. And the price should not exceed US $160. If you can find something like that I'd be interested to hear about it."

His knife lingo cracks me up! LOL!

So, I did some searching, but didn't find as much info as I would have expected. I found the following knives that would fit the bill nicely:

Fixed:

The Spyderco Bill Moran Featherweight

The Uluchet (though I don't know how receptive he would be to its novel design; he is not a knife knut, afterall)

Dozier knives, various models (the problem is, the wait time...too long. I guess I'll look on ebay and the for sale/trade forum)


Folding:

The Spyderco Wegner

I would appreciate any ideas. Remember, production, custom, whatever, just have it cost no more than $160.

Thanks!
 
Absolutely the Spyderco Wegner.

It is one hell of a hunting knife. It is one hell of a knife, period.

If you want to get him a fixed blade the Moran is a good choice. You may also want to look at some of the Marbles lineup.

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Dennis Bible

....Almost here, The Leading Edge....
http://www.theleadingedgeonline.com
 
Go with the Dozier, D-2 may not be stainless, but a heck of a working knife. Comes sharp and stays sharp with little touching up once in awhile. I have a K-7 slim outdoorsman gutted alot of Pa deer. Good Luck Jim
PS Look at AG Russel site you can usually get one in days.

[This message has been edited by sixgun (edited 05-08-2001).]
 
If your uncle's a traditional type guy, consider getting him a custom Buck 110 from Pete's Custom Shop at www.buckknives.com. You can get high-end steel such as ATS-34, plus wood/stag/pearl handles, your choice of bolster metal, finger-grooved or not, even semi-serrated. Your uncle will have a GREAT hunting knife that's one of a kind.
 
http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum60/HTML/000361.html

Here are some I made recently. D2 steel, jigged bone or micarta handle, kydex sheath, $75 for the jigged bone, less for the micarta.

I am a newbie maker, and my delivery time isn't too long. It might take a month or so, depending on how long it takes to get the steel in, get it and a few more ground out to send a bunch to ht, then a few days after I get them back for handle and sheath work, but it will depend on my work schedule and internship hours. Email me if you are interested! I am working on one in ATS presently, I will scan the blank and show it to you if you wish.
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Alberta Ed:
Cold Steel Master Hunter in AUS8 should fit the bill.</font>
Click to expand...

Here is Mike T's thread on some remaining overstock knives from 1SKS. He's got the Master Hunter for $50 if you're interested.

http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum8/HTML/003268.html

Here is the link to it at 1SKS... Never used one but they look respectable and $50 is a great price.

http://onestopknifeshop.com/store/cold-steel-master-hunter.html
 
My suggestion would be a Dozier. He makes knives for hunters - built to perform. He has some great fixed blades. For hard use tasks like skinning and field dressing game I wouldn't recommend a folder. Hunting duties would destroy some folders I've used.
 
Dozier... Slim Outdoorsman or Personal Utility (K-9) L)...
I just realized that is the PU K9...smelly dog?
Any way.... Bladeart carries Doziers too
Or a Gen0 Denning from Les Robertson
smile.gif

Good luck,
Ebbtide
 
In a production knife I recommend the BK&T Campanion or the Syderco Moran. If your taste is more traditional like mine, how about the Remington 855 Conquest, a great bargain. In custom knives, Tom Mayo, and D'Alton Holder are hard to beat! RKBA!
 
If you can talk your uncle into a carbon steel blade, a Marbles Fieldcraft is a great hunting knife.
 
There's a good selection of dozier's at A.G. Russell A.G.Russell Dozier page

The yukon skinner is 149.95, the others slightly higher.

btw, there's a 4 page thread over in the knife reviews and testing forum singing the praises of Dozier blades.

Here's the link.

Thread

James

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My Home Page (writings)

The beast we are, lest the beast we become.

[This message has been edited by James Healy (edited 05-09-2001).]
 
Steel snobs, please forgive me, but the PUMA White Hunter II is worth considering if for design alone.

Also, Depending on whether or not he intends the knife to be hunting only or more general purpose, do not rule out the Busse Basic #3 or #5 or one of the Fallknivens.

Folder, if you can get past the lack of state of the art fibers for handles, the weight, the lack of clip and one handed opening and all those other little things that are of questionable value on a hinting situation, get him a piece of Americana - the Buck 110 is any level of trim your tastes and budget direct.

For your budget, and with some of the choices out there, you could probably get him one of each.

Tell him Nimrod said "Happy Hunting!"
 
I would suggest one of the Fallknivens, CS Master Hunter in AUS 8, a Grohmann #1S, or the Talon 154CM (a wonderful little hunter) or, if you can do the wait, I would go with a Dozier General Hunter. In general, I would pick a full tang over a hidden tang, and wood or micarta over kraton or similar material.

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Hoodoo

I get some pleasure from finding a relentlessly peaceful use for a combative looking knife.
JKM
 
Why not go with a pair, one fixed and one folding. For $160 you ought to be able to get the Spydie Wegner and the CS Master Hunter.

phantom4

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who dares, wins


 
From my personal experience wild pig hide will dull alot of blades REAL fast. Some "deer knives" are not always the best choice since they are simply too small. For a folder a Spyderco Chinook looks like it has enough belly and blade to do a decent job and the Wegner might be ok too. Nevertheless to field dress a wild pig you need a high quality fixed blade knife with at least a 5" blade with a good wide tip. Skinning these beasts is no joke since they usually have a thin layer of tough fat under the skin and this is where the wide sharp point comes into play. Puma White Hunter w/kraton grips is pretty good and the back edge has an "axe bevel" to chop through bone. I got one at a gunshow for $40.00 but they are usually around $60+. Still a good buy. However, I believe they are made in Germany!

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"In a knife fight you both bleed."
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Jeff Clark:
The hottest $160 knife I can think of right now is the special deal at Knifeoutlet on Schrade DH1 d'Holder Hunters. 3-3/4 inch BG42 blade, stag scales, nickel silver bolsters. $159.95 if they have any left.

http://www.knifeoutlet.com/schrade.htm
</font>
Click to expand...

Great idea on the limited run Shrade d'Holder.

Something custom or semi-custom (like the above) is going to be, well, to me anyway, more "special" if you will. The factory stuff is very practical but not so endearing.

Factory:
========
See also the Fallkniven F1 for around $80 in VG-10. The micarta one is pricier and arguably less secure grip when wet than the hard durometer rubber grip. Heat treat and steel are pretty good (ATS-34 range of performance).

http://www.fallkniven.com/a1f1/f1_en.htm

Similar is the sort of hard to find "Linder Super Edge 1" for around $100:
http://www.linder.de/Deutsch/Infos/SupEdge.htm

A friend has this knife. Heat treat was very good. He digs this knife a bunch, his first "real" hunter.

I'd go with either of the above before the Cold Steel Master Hunter in 4-1/2" AUS-8 personally...that is just a bit too long for a drop point IMHO, and AUS-8 is ok. Overall, very good for $50 but no more. Kraton-ish handle is secure.

If you opt for the Spyderco Moran Featherweight, get the drop point, not the upswept version IMO. VG-10 should be fine.

Semi-Custom:
============
Out of Dozier's shop, there are so many good blades... go check them out. His stock semi-skinner is only 3" long, so I ordered a 3-3/4" version but that took 3-4 months and added $20 or something.

http://www.dozierknives.com/

All of these make fine hunting blades ... just depends on what your uncle's preference is as to blade shape:

* K2 General Purpose: cross between drop point and semi skinner, sort of. Great choice. 3-1/2".
* K4 Straight back hunter
* K7 Slim Outdoorsman: more a bird/trout w/ thin blade, kinda small for what unc said he wanted really.
* Master Skinner doesn't have a sharp point, but has lots of belly and is a drop point w/ lots of belly (see AG's & Knifeart).
* Yukon takes it the other way...pretty pointy, still some belly, very good choice.
* (Skip the Professional Skinner on AG's & Knifeart sites ... the extra guard hump on top side of handle is annoying, I returned mine....looks cool, feels bad, finger grooves are unnecessary).

Someone mentioned wild pigs are tough on blades...true. Dozier's D2 heat treat is a safe bet to be one of the highest performance slicing hunting blades you can buy under $200. Plus Dozier's kydex sheaths are nifty and secure...snappy.

If Bob doesn't have something in stock, try www.knifeart.com. Larry has a K2, Master Skinner, and a jigged bone Slim Outdoorsman in stock it appears.

AG has good stock:
http://www.agrussell.com/dozier/index.html

P.S., your uncle can sandpaper the Dozier micarta grips with say 240 or 320 grit to knock down the quick polished finish Bob puts on them... to give them better grip when wet. Bob's stuff feels good in hand. Very practical, stripped-down, no-frills "all knife" designs (except that damned Pro skinner. Who designed that? ;-)

If Shrade does a great job on BG-42 heat treat, it should be very good also, better than most.

Custom:
=======
And the Geno Denning idea is good! I can vouch for Geno's fit and finish (observation/handling at show)... just really super duper for the money, up there with his mentor Herron! I do not have any experience with his heat treat though. I think he jobs it out... Suncoast? All those NC boys use somebody over there.

Two dealers come to mind on Denning:
www.robertsoncustomcutlery.com
www.bladeart.com

(I like Giraffe bone looks, but not so secure...slick, dense, and hard. Stick to stag, or 2nd choices micarta & wood w/ Denning).

See also the Joel Chamblin hunters at Les Robertson's for $250-$275. I can assure you fit / finish will be excellent. The heat treat I can not vouch for...simply don't know what Joel is doing... mastered himself? Learning? Sending out?

[This message has been edited by rdangerer (edited 05-09-2001).]

[This message has been edited by rdangerer (edited 05-09-2001).]
 
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