What do you you all prefer when buying a knife that will hopefully remain with you for the duration of your life and many hunts/backpacking trips? - Size - Weight - Gut hook/Blade profile - Materials (Stainless, High Carbon) - Handle materials - Coating I have been working on my own knives and some for friends for a while now. I have come up with a knife that I have EDC carried and cleaned many animals with. But what I like, definitely isn't what everyone else likes, so it is nice to see what other people who actually use their knives in the field prefer.
In the field being field dressing as the primary purpose: I go with steel that can be reasonably easy to sharpen and hold an edge. Handle with high traction grip, not slip when covered in blood and/or what not. Gut hook is nice but I now carry a zipit. Back when young one of my kids challenged that name ( seeing it in use) saying it should be called unzipit. I passed that gem along to nice folks Kershaw who comped me with it but they only laughed at me.
I use a SOG folding knife for field use and everyday carry. When I’m quartering them I have an outdoor edge 2 blade fixed set they have textured grips. One is a smaller caping style blade and the other has a larger profile with a gut hook. No magic knives they all get dull, invest in a good sharpener. I like the work sharp MK2
Funny thing. I was gutting a nice buck in a near perfect paradise location about 10 years back. Pad of green lush surrounded by cedars. It was his bed. He had wondered off over to me and after the string went thwang, the arrow went thunk! and he went Ooooooooooooooouuugh ... he stumbled all the way back to it and laid down for good. Was perfect to hang my pack, jacket and lantern in the trees while working. But I set the knife down to use the zip and then had the damnedest time finding it again. While searching I had the idea to paint my knives blaze orange to avoid this problem. So I painted a couple 4.5 inch blade folding knife handles with spray paint. Well guess what. Paint solvents eat the handles and they shrunk up like plastic in a fire and fell off. I just measured the blade on this one that sits on my desk as a letter opener. Frost Cutlery 440 Stainless. Nice blade. No handle
I have owned several bucks. All but one have been stolen from me. The one I still have is a folder, but the blade has been worn much shorter than original. So short in fact that when I got flagged at a federal court house they measured the blade and it barely eeeked under the length to cause me trouble. And the guy measured over and over again to try and nail me. Even so they wouldn't let me go testify with it in my pocket. Being a reasonable man I suggested OK fine, lets do the inventory paperwork and you give it back to me when I leave. They said they would keep it. So I instructed them to inform the court I might be late, and walked over quarter mile each way back to the truck to stash it then went in. What an effed up system.
I have a variety of fixed blades and a Havalon. I prefer a fixed blade for gutting and field dressing my go to is a Buck 691 Buck Zipper with a gut hook. But that Havalon is fantastic for butchering and taking care of meat once deboned. I used to use the Havalon for the entire process, which it will do well. However, last year, the knife slipped when the blade bent on a rib and I nearly took off the tip of my finger. An urgent care trip, 5 stitches and a week of antibiotics later, I still to fixed blades for field work.
I am a knife freak. I have many and I carry a few when I’m deer hunting. I’m a fanatic when it comes to sharpness. I have an Alaskan knife that is great as well as a folding buck knife, a ” Outdoors Edge with replaceable blades, and many others… I use whatever I feel like using at the moment… Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
I have those two and the little saw. I have had a few over the years but those three are perfect for me. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
These are my "Hunting" knives - All were gifts from over the years. I've been using that Outdoor Edge replacement blade knife the last couple seasons pretty much exclusively because of the convenience and ease of clean up
I just use one of those Outdoor Edge knives with the replaceable blades for everything except caping a head. I have a little Havolon with replaceable blades for intricate work like that.
I was opposed to the Havalon when it first came out, but after giving it a try I use that knife for everything. I ended up being gifted a hybrid (the Jim Shockey model) which has a regular blade on one side and the havalon on the other. What a tremendous setup! Use it on my elk, antelope, and multiple deer.
For a knife that will last a lifetime, I prefer a balanced size—around 3-4 inches—providing versatility without being bulky. Weight should be light enough for comfort, but substantial enough for tough tasks. A drop point blade profile is ideal for control and versatility. I lean toward high carbon steel for better edge retention, though I’ll use stainless in wetter conditions to avoid rust. Handle materials like micarta or G-10 offer a solid grip and comfort. I don’t usually go for coatings, preferring the natural patina on high carbon blades. Gut hooks are useful but not a must for me.
I have a 112 that my dad gave me back when I was a teenager (early 80s). Bought a 113 skinner last year. Used those two plus a boning knife to break down my first deer last year.
Knife for a lifetime = Buck 112 that my brother and dad bought me as a gift the day before my first official hunting trip when I was 12. Love that thing and the memories. Knife I use for gutting most days = Outdoor Edge. I suck as sharpening a blade and love that I can be razor sharp all the time. Great that it has an added gut hook to boot.
I like a blade that is very manageable length wise, I also like some jimping on the spine, you can't see it in this picture but its there, my thumb is on it. I also like synthetic material handle for easy cleaning. This is my 1 of 1 knife, not fancy but was made exactly to what I want by a former co worker that made knives as a side hustle And if I had $300 laying around for a knife I'd probably grab a benchmade altitude for my pack https://www.benchmade.com/products/15201or
