Who makes the best custom hunting knives

<snip>At another time in my life I was a game animal processor and have skinned and processed <snip>

Bruce,
Interesting. It's funny. As I said in another post, I like a B&T knife for hunting, but then again, I don't process the animal with my hunting knife.

I think that THIS makes a BIG difference it what makes "The Perfect Hunting Knife".

I hunt less than an hours drag from "The Road", and the deer gets processed back at "The House". Therefore, all I'm really looking for is a gutting knife. When I do the rest of the processing, I have a full set of butcher knifes and saws at my disposal, along with a skinning knife.

What do YOU think?
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Charles Gallo, I'm not sure what states you hunt. I'm in Idaho/Utah, lots of logging roads for your kind of approach, but also lots of wilderness area where you have to pack in and out, no motorized vehicles. I've done both. The primary purpose of my hunting knife is to gut and skin. The secondary purpose is to do anything else -- open food packages, cut salami/cheese/bread, etc. I don't normally reduce my kill to steaks in the mountains but there are times when you are far enough away from the truck and either alone or with one other person where roping the legs together and slipping a pole through is still too much weight to carry while the sun is setting. Then it's time to muscle bone the animal and pack the meat out. I do carry a Victorinox medium flexible six inch curved boner (quit laughing) with the "fibrox" handle in my daypack to bone with, but if I forgot it, I could get the job done nicely with the knife Matt made for me. I think the knowledge of how to disassemble an animal is as, or more important than the ideal knife, but when you have both, it's a winning combination.

If you want to discover what people who disassemble game size animals all day long use, look in a packing house that kills sheep. The "sheep skinner" is a popular knife and is a sort of drop point/semi-skinner shape.

Well, Charles, good hunting!

Bruce Woodbury
 
Originally posted by bruce:
Charles Gallo, I'm not sure what states you hunt.

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Well, Charles, good hunting!

Bruce Woodbury
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Bruce,
I hunt the Catskills of NY. I can really see the difference! Believe it or not, this just dawned on me today! We spend a lot of time thinking about the difference between firearms, but I've never thought of the fact that different hunting areas need different knifes!

When I said I'm never more than say, 2 miles from a road, I'm talking PAVED road. Most of the time, we are close enough that you can walk out in about 25 minutes. The average wood lot we hunt on is less than 100 acres (and often less than 20) - AKA the kind of place you go back to the house for lunch.

Good luck hunting, and be safe! (Season opens 11/20)

Charlie


 
Charles Gallo, Yes there is a difference. While in the Army in Virginia I had a chance to hunt in a manner similar to what you do in NY. Sorry to say, it didn't interest me much so I didn't hunt for about ten years. Once assigned back out West I got back to it. Here I'm usually two miles from a clear spot where I can see the trail to the dirt road that will take me 25 miles to the hardtop!

But I'm not belittling your style. I would love to be that close to the road when I kill the beast, so you are very lucky. I did enjoy hunting squirrels in the hardwood forests of Virginia though!

Regards,

Bruce
 
Here's a second vote for the Blackwood Small Hunter. The size is perfect, the design thought-out and well executed, workmanship/quality is outstanding. A great working hunter, especially in D2 and micarta. With Neil backing it up, you have a combination hard to pass up. I couldn't!
 
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