Looking for a new hunting knife. Probably a fixed blade with a gut hook. Any suggestions? I'm partial to Kershaw and Kabar <--- Cutco will sharpen for free for life.
Printable View
Looking for a new hunting knife. Probably a fixed blade with a gut hook. Any suggestions? I'm partial to Kershaw and Kabar <--- Cutco will sharpen for free for life.
Cutco for sure. I have their fillet knife and it is top notch.
get a knife with a nice narrow blade no reason for one with a big wide dundee blade, i think i makes it harder to gut a deer. Also for sharpening pick up a lansky sharpening kit. They are about the best.
I have the bladematic sharpener. I agree, I don't need a dundee blade, but don't really want a filet knife if I have to get into some sternum.
I kind of like this one. Traditional, good sized handle to grip. I don't really like skinny handle knives for gutting, when your hands are covered in blood, I want a good grip.
http://www.kabar.com/images/products.../1234_h_lg.png
Blade thickness is .113 ( Less than an 1/8th )
Check out the Benchmade Griptillian. Great knife, easy to hold onto when it's wet, holds a nice edge for a long time.
I use an old Case XX knife with a thin blade and stacked leather handle, along with a Gerber Razor blade type gut hook, and a larger heavy bladed gerber folder with rubber handle's to clean all my deer.
Case M3 Finn. Classic small fixed blade. Made in Bradford, PA. Design is almost identical to the kabar small Finn knife (which is made in china now).
For gutting/field dressing deer I usually use my Kershaw Elk Skinner II: http://www.knifecenter.com/item/KS10...-with-Gut-Hook
It's not expensive, and the rubber handle is really grippy. Easy to sharpen. Cheap enough that if i lose it, well i'm not gonna cry about it.
I carry this one in case i need to saw limbs off in a pinch, or have to break some bone or just need another knife for skinning/deboning - Kershaw Alaskan Blade Trader. System works well, the blades are held in tightly and the sheath is well made: http://www.cabelas.com/field-care-ke...er=22549717391
Again not super expensive and easy to sharpen. The gut hook is way too big though, so i don't use that blade much for that, but for skinning the shape works good. A decent all-around camping knife too.
I carry this Gerber Profile II a lot - good multi-purpose shape and easy to keep in hand when you have blood on your hands or they are wet. The titanium coating is holding up pretty well. It takes a little longer to sharpen but holds an edge for a good long time. Nice knife when de-boning or butchering meat, nicely balanced for handling, again not very expensive: http://www.cabelas.com/fixed-blade-k...er=22549717391
All 3 of those knives together are less than $100. I have Buck Omni Hunter that i haven't used yet. It's really sharp out of the box - easily shaves hair, and the sheath is really nice. It's a bigger blade. Not sure if i like the grip just yet or not. Good caping knife by the looks of it - again not too expensive, $40 or so. http://www.knifecenter.com/item/BU39...-Black-Handles
I ended up with a Buck 113, not really by choice. It was a birthday present. Made in USA, so I'm content with that. Out of the box it was razor sharp. Not exactly what I was looking for. But it was free.
http://www.buckmasters.com/buck-113-ranger-skinner.aspx
Buddy of mine uses one of these, the saw blade works great on the pelvic bone: http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Swi...ss+army+hunter
I use a fixed blade winchester that was a gift. Its done well, got a 3" straight blade, needs sharpening here and there, as its not the best steel... but it was free and it has gutted at least one deer.