What's your favorite hunting knife?

[Olympus]

It's time for me to invest in a good, hunting specific knife or two. I've been using really anything I had available at the moment over the years, but now that my son is hunting I find that I'm gutting, skinning, and processing a lot more whitetail deer than I use to. I'm thinking I probably need two different knives, one for gutting and skinning and another for deboning meat off the quarters. The day of the old Bowie knife to do everything are probably gone. I certainly don't mind to spend money on a quality "buy for life" knife. For gutting, I have used a gut-hook blade about as much as I've used a small, thin traditional style blade. The gut hook is more forgiving, but sometimes it gets clogged with hair or fat and I have to clean out the pocket to keep going. A smaller, thin blade I can usually keep sharper than a gut hook and I will use my left hand and make a "peace sign" under the skin while lifting up and then slice the knife between my two fingers and I can avoid nicking the stomach or intestines. I requires more attention, but I probably prefer this method if I'm being honest.

I'm also not exactly the best knife sharpener even though I have one of those Work Smart Ken Onion belt sharpeners. I find the curved blades of an ulu type knife a lot harder to sharpen than a more traditional straight blade. So I tend to keep those traditional blades a lot sharper than I do a curved blade.

And for deboning, I prefer a longer thinner blade over a thicker more rigid blade.

But anyway, I'd love to hear suggestions, recomendations, and photos of everyone's favorite hunting knife/knives.

 

[American_Fusilier]

I'm curious as well. Does large game and small game require different knives?

It's out of my price range, but the Benchmade Hunt Grizzly Creek AXIS looks nice with a foldable gut hook.

Right now, I've only got my Moraniv Companion knives...

 

[Anchorite]

Over the years I’ve had dozens of knives…a lot of influences and some expensive ones and collectibles.

At the end of the day, it’s hard to find fault with a Mora, for both cost and utility. I keep several around the house, camp, truck.

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[M65Man]

A favorite subject! I've been a gun & knife nut all my life. I bought my first knife of my own grass cutting & paper route money in I believe 1973, and I bought IMO then the best. A Buck 110 Folding Hunter. I've drawn better conclusions since. If I had to settle upon one knife for everything, a Case xx cv Trapper, easy choice!
I've still got the 110 and bunch more, but when i go hunting now, this Gerber (name I forget, Freeman??), is hard to beat, light, scalpel sharp easily, holds edge well enough. It's been drying this morning from dressing a deer yesterday, and no bone cut, but would still shave me! $$, maybe 35 I don't remember? And this Case Trapper lock is on my pocket too. It shines at dressing deer, but too hard clean afterwards. I like a fixed blade in my pack for that! I've held a Buck Vanguard several times at store, but yet to buy. If I hunted wilderness, I'd buy it, but for my hunting this team here is just right. Got a Kershaw Skyline in my pack also, great knife for $ but folders too hard to clean afterwards!
This Gerber is Lotta knife for money!

 

[Gerd33]

Buck 119 for deer, 102 for turkey or smaller.

I am just field dressing the deer with the 119 though and then taking them to a processor.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

I got my Buck 119 maybe 1970. Still have it though it's somewhat the worse for wear.
As am I...

 

[Gerd33]

I got my Buck 119 maybe 1970. Still have it though it's somewhat the worse for wear.
As am I...

I have two of the 119s.
One my father gave me in the late 1980s (date code says it's a 1988) when I started hunting, the other I inherited from my uncle (no date code) so I'm not sure how old that one is.
Between the two of them they've field dressed 6 deer in the last two years and more prior to that.

 

[troy fairweather]

I have a 2 knife set dad gave me when I was 10 or so, it's from buckmasters made by western. There not the hardest stainless steel but don't rust and hold a edge long enough and have rubber handles. One is a Skinner and the other like a short stiff boning knife. I don't usually were a belt so I keep the sheath in my pack.

Been using my mora 2000 for a few years and am happy, but not having a thinner tip for small game is a downside. Carried a buck folder when I was younger but there just so heavy and I hate that much weight in my pocket, don't like folders much more core game use there such a pain to clean Especially if there's fat on them.

I have a early buck 119 that brand new but don't want to use it since its so nice and it's a bit big. If like to pickup a nice fixed blade with a sheath I can attach to my pants without a belt, so something that clips over the waistband and with a bladeshape I like.

 

[Wolfshead]

I make my own.
These are my current knives I have.
A.

 

[dak0ta]

For big game, mostly the Buck 110 and BuckLite Max (Essentially the Vanguard blade shape with rubber handles). For fish and small game, the Grohmann #2 B&T.

 

[red rick]

My favorite is the first one that I bought as a teenager , a Buck 105 . I will have to say that I was copying what my grandpa had . I also like the 110 for a more compact to carry knife , it’s just a little harder to clean a folder . I can skin deer or small game easily with them . It you don’t like sharping knives , the outdoor edge might be worth a look . It has replaceable blades . I have used one and it works good , but if you don’t clean the blood off good , when the blood dries it is very hard to remove the blade .

 

[Coyote3855]

Old green handled Buck 105 does it all for me.

 

[Patocazador]

I don't know the model but it's a Buck folder with a plastic handle that keeps an edge much longer than any other knife I have and that includes 2 custom knives.

 

[curtste]

I've settled on three.

1. Hunting knife = grohmann canadian belt knife
2. For butchering = 6" Victorinox yellow handled boning knife.
3. For butchering = some huge curved, discolored old butcher knife that belonged to my grandfather

 

[Bartojc]

My Buck 105 has been in my pack or on my belt every year I've hunted deer, more than 30 years. My dad gave it to me for Christmas my senior year in high school. He said if I was going to hunt deer I needed a proper knife to field dress.

-Jeff

 

[Thomasss]

Marbles Knives that were made in Glad Stone, Michigan. I still see them at gun shows, etc. There are still people up in that part of the woods
still making a highly similar type of knife. The company sold out 20 years ago and I hear the Chinese were making a cheap imitations at one time.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

It's not expensive, but this is the best skinning knife I've used.
I love it. I was at a WalMart in Dallas that was closing and everything in the store was 75% off. I headed straight to the sporting goods section. It was picked over pretty good but I found this knife and a few other things.

 

[GoldieMI]

This is my new favorite - from Corbett Customs

 

[nettlle]

I bought this Bob Dozier with a D2 steel blade 25+ years ago for $135.00. $135.00 for a knife was a lot of money 25 years ago. I have dressed two deer with it and it was still sharp enough to shave hair off my arm. Never needed another hunting knife after I bought this one.

 

[Skoghund]

I bought a Imperial Double Eagle knife in the US back in the 70s, $9 It cost if I remember correct. I've done hundreds of deer with that little knife. For my 65th birthday I had a knife made by Stuart Mitchell who is a knife smith from Sheffield, England. Its amazingly sharp and I use it mainly on boar. I swear that knife is out to get me as I've cut and stabbed my self more times than any other knife I've owned in 55 years of hunting.

 

[black mamba]

My favorite factory knife for larger game is this Western F66 Black Beauty.

This Camillus #1011 is great for smaller game like ducks and quail.

After hunting for around 50 years I finally had a custom made to my specs in a high hardness stainless steel. It will field dress a half dozen deer before it even needs stropping.

 

[Choctaw]

This is the only picture that I have but this Schrade has been my primary hunting knife since my dad gave it to me in 1980. It has been one heck of a good knife.

 

[Thomasss]

My favorite factory knife for larger game is this Western F66 Black Beauty.

I have one of these!!! Got it on my 16th birthday from my dad. Never knew what it was called or where he got it from. Thanks for the info.

 

[.45Coltguy]

Buck 110 with a drop point blade and Buck Vanguard with a hard rubber type handle. They work.

 

[M65Man]

This is the only picture that I have but this Schrade has been my primary hunting knife since my dad gave it to me in 1980. It has been one heck of a good knife.

View attachment 1179855

No problem believing that, never had that model but i remember them, but had a few Schrade folders in that time frame that I carried daily in coal mines. Was always a Case man but those Schrade where as good as they get. And in mines they got ultimate test, used for screwdrivers, cutting wire, digging tool, they held up, and no problem getting razor sharp! Love the pic and all the equipment in it!