Ideal hunting knife?

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BTW, my new Mora hasn't gotten here. It has shipped, just waiting on the mail. It's kinda like Christmas when I was a kid, the anticipation. :rofl:
Where'd you order it from?

Ragweedforge generally has the quickest shipping out of all of them. It's stupid fast. I've had knives show up the next day.
 
53FB5DD6-31F5-492B-A814-8716035727B5.jpeg I have butchered all my own big game for over a decade now. For quite a while I was using a Gerber fixed blade in S30V. It worked well but the blade is kind of thick and the steel can be difficult to sharpen if it gets more than a little dull.

I’ve used this Esee 3 HM for the last several years and really, really like it. It’s not stainless but the powder coat keeps rust off. It feels great in the hand and the blade is thin with a full flat grind and good belly.

This year alone its taken four mule deer from field to freezer. Occasionally giving it a few strokes on ceramic crock sticks keeps it hair popping sharp.

Of course a couple of good kitchen knives are helpful for final cuts on roasts before freezing and removing silver skin.
 
I know you said you don't like folders but I use my EDC knife for just about everything. It's a Buck 112. I just rinse it out at the end of the day and then do my best to dry it. Later on I put a drop of oil on the inside. Holds an edge really well and fits in the hand nicely. Used it this weekend to field dress a deer and it served just fine. I can't justify getting a fancy knife for stuff like that, people overthink it.
 
I am enjoying my benchmade, but it is hard to beat a buck 110/112 for the price. Love mine.
 
I'll add this to my previous post:
Some folks buy really expensive knives thinking they work better. Maybe I'm behind the curve but to a certain point, a knife is a knife. When you buy a high dollar knife, I'm sure fit and finish is much better. You're paying for craftsmanship, and that in and of itself is a respectable reason to get a knife. The things that I have that are well made are nice to own; I'm proud of them. But for utilitarian purposes like that of the OP, something cheap that holds an edge is really all that's needed.

I work at a meat locker, and this time of year we are firing on all cylinders. Yesterday I skinned 20+ deer in the evening shift I worked using a no-name fillet knife. Sharpened it a few times on a belt sander but unless you're bagging 10 or more deer, it doesn't matter. For gutting, it's even less crucial to have a fancy knife. It doesn't even need to hold an edge well as you're using it for maybe 3' of hide and that's about it. if it's 3.25" or longer you're good to go. For skinning you obviously want something thinner and longer. Whatever fits your hand nice is likely good enough to do the trick.
 
Well, got the Mora today in the mail. It looks like a Rapala filet knife, sorta, with a stiffer blade. But it came with a good arm shaving edge. :D I'm betting it'll double as a filet knife. I'll store it in the cheesy little plastic sheath it came with. I have a sheath that fits it, leather, that I put together from a Tandy kit, but it's a carbon steel blade so storing it in leather ain't an option. I'll put a light coat of CLP on it and stash it in the plastic sheath, should keep it from any rust. I won't know how good it is until I kill something and I haven't had a lot of luck at that recently. :D Sooner or later I'll at least get a hog, though. I'll know after one hog if it lives up to everyone's recommendations. Ain't much to look at, all business what I can tell. That suits me fine. :D
 
Well, got the Mora today in the mail. It looks like a Rapala filet knife, sorta, with a stiffer blade. But it came with a good arm shaving edge. :D I'm betting it'll double as a filet knife. I'll store it in the cheesy little plastic sheath it came with. I have a sheath that fits it, leather, that I put together from a Tandy kit, but it's a carbon steel blade so storing it in leather ain't an option. I'll put a light coat of CLP on it and stash it in the plastic sheath, should keep it from any rust. I won't know how good it is until I kill something and I haven't had a lot of luck at that recently. :D Sooner or later I'll at least get a hog, though. I'll know after one hog if it lives up to everyone's recommendations. Ain't much to look at, all business what I can tell. That suits me fine. :D
I think you will be happy with it. Here is the one that lives in my jeep

jeep mora.JPG

And the one that lives in the console of my truck


truck console mora.JPG
 
These are my deer/hog hunting knives

View attachment 810196

I carry the case pocket knife and the one with the stag handle in the woods. Everything else goes in my meat cooler for use after I hopefully kill something. The smaller sheath knife with the brown handle is one of those knives made from a file, and its easy to make razor sharp- I made a mistake a couple years ago with it on a deer I had hanging and ended up crazy gluing my finger shut. That cold steel knife was quite a bargain at $15- also holds an excellent edge but the case is a POS- which is why there is a retainer on it made out of a piece of bicycle tire inner tube. The gerber gut hook is nice because I need all the help I can get not botching that job and making a bigger mess out of what is already a mess. Those folders that use the scalpel blades are nice for dressing critters though- I used a friend's on a huge turkey I killed a couple years ago and I almost bought one. The only reason I didn't is I have these and they are working. Also those scalpel folders are useless for anything except dressing critters, but one sure would save me some time messing with whetstones and diamond files.
Can I ask where you got that knife in the bottom left? I was gifted that exact knife, same guthook and sheath and everything many years ago, and have never seen another like it until now. Great skinner and I carry it hunting often.
 
Can I ask where you got that knife in the bottom left? I was gifted that exact knife, same guthook and sheath and everything many years ago, and have never seen another like it until now. Great skinner and I carry it hunting often.
That was given to me many years ago by my uncle. I believe it is from a company called silver stag.
 
I have field dressed more than a few with a leatherman becuse that’s what I had on me.

I have a browning 3 blade folding hunting knife that’s better suited for the job that I take if I’m going somewhere to hunt.

At our place I use a set that a friend gave me years ago.

The gut hook uses utility razor blades that makes animals seem like they have a zipper on their belly, the two at the top right are my picks for skinning.

4C0A0585-4CA8-487A-B863-C277DB39DFA5.jpeg
 
Well I haven't decided on anything yet. My buddy just made a skinning knife and that sucker is sharp. I am probably going to have him make me something over the summer with a deer antler handle. In the mean time I found my 15yo old timer 4'' blade with gut hook and it was so dull I couldn't cut cardboard with it. I clamped it into the lansky and ran the course stone over each side about 100 times at 25 degree angle cause that edge was all jacked up and finished up with the extra fine stone about 40min later. Its sharp but has almost a toothy edge to it. I'm not sure i want to make it hair popping sharp cause a friend of mine was field dressing a deer last week and somehow slipped and sliced the top of his finger and hand open and it cut several tendons clean in half and he almost lost use of his fingers. I said dang Brian next time don't sharpen it so good!
 
I think there is a misperception that high dollar knives are bought for aesthetics.

some may be, but I believe most os us with $250 and up knives buy for quality of blade steel. I'll gladly pay extra for a knife that I can sharpen to a hair splitting edge, and I only need to sharpen it every couple of years.
 
Little bit different, here.

The most common critter I’ll break down will be a Sambar. That’s about a 400lb deer with a hide like a cow. A large percentage of them are shot where you can’t get a vehicle to them, so he common method is to take the legs off, he back straps out, and leave the rest. Legs are carried out with the hide on.
Bear in mind that 6-7 deer in a day is not uncommon for our crew, so time spent cutting up deer is time spent not hunting.

The common blades are 5-6” butchers or boning style knives. Wenger, Swibo. F-Dick. Svord if you like a better quality carbon-steel.
Some of us carry more expensive knives, but you take the risk of losing them in the bush.
The molded handles don’t have to be clean and dry to retain a safe grip. Smaller knives are less useful for anything other than skinning out the head when taking the cape for mounting.

Use what you like, but it’s worth remembering that short, drop-points are a relatively modern thing. As pointed out, most of those who botched for a living use bigger blades. So does the average farmer who kills his own meat.

Cheers all..... Peter.
 
The knife I use was made by my uncle out of what he called "blister steel." It is a very high carbon steel and I'm certain that he added a few other elements during the forging process. It will take a razor edge that is easily repaired by two strokes of the steel. The blade itself is only about as long as my index finger an incredibly handy.

But then it is a tool that was made by a tool user. It's ugly as sin and needs constant maintenance to prevent rust but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
 
Most of my deer, rabbit, geese and dove have been dressed with a freebie I got when I shot my first deer.
Buddy's dad made it from a kit, took an edge great, looked rough (he botched the scales). I rebuilt it later.
Have done a deer with a CRKT M21 folder, and a Benchmade 530.
Like a fixed blade for cleanup.
 
Here are another bunch of top quality knives.

http://www.dozierknives.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=77&Itemid=128

Dozier learned knife making from Bob Loveless.

Gorgeous. You are making the mad dash to college funding more difficult.

When I started hunting in my late 30s, dad gave me the knife he bought in 1958 to use on deer. It is market "Solingen" and when I got it the blade had some surface rust and needed sharpening. I cleaned it up, sharpened it, and promptly cut myself testing the blade. I have little doubt I could shave with it. I had to replace the sheath and because it has sentimental value I only carry it in my pack and use it for big game. Most of the time I am in the field, I am hunting small game/birds or fishing, so the 6" blade on dad's knife is a hindrance. I'd love a high quality 3 to 4 inch blade that would serve as a bird/trout knife but would still do a deer in a pinch. The dozier knives in the link look like just the ticket, but $200+ is hard to stomach. Is this what I should expect to pay, or are there alternatives? I am wondering if there is a good choice closer to a C note than two.

BTW, I will vouch for Moras as utility knives. A plastic handled one rides in the door of the truck and has done an awful lot of work without a hitch. If sub $20 is what you have in mind, I don't think you could possibly get better quality/steel for the money.
 
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https://agrussell.com/

Russell's catalog has everything from $20 Chinese "el cheapos" to thousand dollar plus Randalls.

I can personally vouch for Dozier, Bark River, Spyderco, Benchmade and Zero tolerance.

They;re not cheap, but your children can give them to your grandchildren someday.:)
 
This post is premature because I have not yet taken this new knife into the field. I bought it yesterday at a gunshow in Conway, Arkansas. I purchased a knife from the same blade smith, Back Yard Forge in Heber Springs, Arkansas, one year ago and was pleased with its performance as a kitchen chopper. The ergonomics of both knives are wonderful; the grips conform to my hand comfortably and the weight is delightfully substantial. The blade is nearly 1/4 inch thick at the spine-grip junction, very rigid which I like. I will take it to the field during muzzleloader season, and hopefully be able to give a field report!

The blade is shorter than my Randall. I think it will give me a bit more control during field dressing operations.

We shall see.

A bargain at $70 I think.



ArkKnife.JPG
 
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