i love my kershaw blade trader kits i have the hunter and alaskan kits and both are still very sharp after gutting/cutting up 10+deer. the blade trader system is great and holds very tight without wiggle or give under alot of pressure and force.
I use a pair of them, about like this ( http://www.knife-depot.com/knife-302112.html ), one is this one, the other has about a 4.5" blade, same style knife, only bigger. They were CHEAP originally $15 and $20, and I think I paid $5 and $9 respectively for them. I also have a couple of little pocket knives that will do the job, but I think it comes down to personal opinion. These are pretty nice for the price, and do the job, but the pocket knives I have, which have 2.5" and 3" blades will both do the job of gutting easily. For butchering, I have another group of 4 "cheap" but very sharp knives I picked up at Sam's Club.... ( http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=107470&navAction= ) I kid you not, the sharpest knives I've ever used short of using a utility knife!!! I'm cheap, but they are also effective.
I am very picky about the style knife I carry with me, of course there has been and will be times I'll work with other knives but I must have a knife that looks like this. This is a cheap buck knife but this style is made by other companies. It has been hard for me to find in stores, The last one I had was an old timer and I had it for 6 years until my brother borrowed it (without asking) and lost it.
The harder the metal is the better it keeps an edge. Put the "right" edge on it and it will maintain it quite well. The "right" edge depends on use, at least for me. Different edges (angles) are good for different uses. Cutting wood, like an axe or something, and I like somewhere around 30 degrees. Hunting knives, kitchen knives, knives that cut meat and vegetables, I like somewhere around 20-22 degrees (same as BH's). I have a couple Japanese kitchen knives that are at 15 degrees. They are good for really thin slices of things. I would not use my hunting knives for cutting wood as they would lose the edge I want pretty quickly, regardless of how hard the metal was. I would not use a wood cutting edge for cutting meat, skinning, stuff like that because it would not be as sharp as I like for those tasks. I like to be able to touch the meat lightly with the edge and have it cut. It makes skinning, deboning, de-jointing, etc. really easy. If you were to use a "softer" metal and put a 15 degree edge on it you would be sharpening it a lot. That is where the harder metals come into play. The knives I have been using this year has been the Kinives of Alaska Alpha Wolf (s30v), Cub Bear(d2) and a Spyderco Bill Moran(vg10). The Alpha Wolf and Spyderco can skin a deer, butcher it (quarters and backstraps, etc) and still shave hair when done. Very good metal and they hold an edge like crazy. I touch up my knives after each use but there is no doubt in my mind that I could skin and butcher 3-4 deer before having to resharpen either one and, remember, I like my knives very sharp. So, the key, at least for me, is to get a good quality, hard metal with a good grip. You don't have to pay a lot but, as with most things, you can pay a little more and get a little more. I use my kitchen knives to process the deer down from quarters, to get facia and silver skin off but they are good knives too and hold an edge extremely well.
I have the Kershaw Pakrat and love it. I believe they are discounted but you should be able to find them. I paid l $35 for mine. Use it for gutting, quattering, and deboning. It's the same knife as the Kershaw Field (fix blade) knife in a folder. Sandvik 14C28N I think Kewshaw knives are every bit as good as Benchmades, some times better. Made in the USA and great quality!
I kind of gotten away from sharpening myself! I have a Havalon and love it! Just change the blade and go!
I've looked at these several times. I always hesitated becuase I was uncertain about the blade strength. Do you use it to quater? I would be concerned about working around the socket on the hind quater mostly.
I have one and would not hesitate to quarter a deer with it. While the blade strength is very good I don't need much force around the joints as I just cut the connective tissues and they come apart.
Going to start by saying I really don't know the first thing about knives but no one has thrown this out yet. Always just used what dad had. This year they bought me Outdoor Edge Switchblaze. Have to say its the best knife of the dozen or so I have used. Field dressed 2 deer with it so far. Has kept the edge, feels very good in my hand and the orange handle is nice because it stands out against the leaves if you need to lay it down. Love it so far. Bruce you seem to be the knife buff around here. What do you think about this knife? http://www.outdooredge.com/SwingBlaze-p/swingblaze.htm
I have used Schrade or Old Timer for years, high carbon steel blades, easy to sharpen, Now they are made in China and are P.O.S. The one made in Walden NY are becoming desirable now.
Great concept and it seems to be performing very well for you. To me, that is the great thing about knives (guns, bows, etc.). There are many good ones, with many different styles. All a person needs to do is find one that works well for them and go with it. I am not really a knife collector but I buy knives that look good to me and have the features I want in a knife. Some are expensive, some are not but, they all will get the job done exceedingly well. That's all you can ask for, will it get the job done to your satisfaction. A great many will.
Great thread.i do collect a few knives mainly pocket knives but i have the buck omni hunter folding blade with gut hook and for 60.00 dollars it is a nice knive.good quality,nice sheath,and stays sharp.
To be honest, I bought one of the Gerber Bear Grylls survival knifes. It is extremely sharp, I've never had to sharpen it and it's still as sharp as a razor. It's very durable and feels great in my hand. I used it Sunday to field dress my buck and it was the easiest field dress I have ever done. Just be careful, I literally only touched my hand with it and it cut me pretty good. I think I spent around $30 for it also!!
154 cm is the material of choice for many knife makers right now. 440 c is also a good choice. Both are stainless and will not rust and are heat treated in the upper 50's on the rc. Scale. D-2 ia a good material but will rust..My stepdad is making his out of 154 cm and I dressed and quartered several deer before needing resharpened.Here are a couple he made for my kids.I heat treated the last knife he made and it rockwelled 57 when finished.
I love knives and have three of about every stly and size ever made....I will never have just one blade because I like knives.....BUT if I had to have one knife for outdoor activity fron hunting to camping to cutting my steak...it would have to be the PUMA Hunters Pal II. Not big, but solid and a great blade design for skinning and cleaning. Check it out. SB
I actually started looking at that today after seeing it on TV.... It is a great concept and looks like a quality knife
