Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game What qualities are important to you in a hunting/outdoor/skinning knife?

My buddy and I are going to be building a couple coustom knives and we are wanting to hear opinions from hunters and outdoorsman (and women) what qualities and other aspects you want and expect in a knife that could be used for anything you could throw at it. If you could have the ULTIMATE knife to everything, whether it be the extreme hunter that backpacks miles in to his favorite high country elk spot or whether you are a tree stand hunter that shoots and dress the game on his/her own property close to your house, and everything in between. Lets hear what you got to say!

Thanks!

I'm not being smart or sarcastic.

How is this different from the RAR Knife thread. ? IMO the folks posted the knives AND why they like/prefer them.

Jerry

carbin steel if it goes gunnibag.

Good steel.

Good steel to me is very rust resistant, decently holding an edge unless abused and not to difficult to resharpen.

My favorite is CPM 154 followed by ATS34 and 420C (Buck) or even AUS 8 (CRKT).

Blade shape:

I like a slim blade about 3,5 " length, moderate strength, with an inline point.

Handle:

G10 orange. Good shape.

Sheath:

Secure - either leather or kydex.

My perfect knife:



More info:

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/6214173/1

Cheap version:

Victorinox Fibrox



Have and use both.

I prefer a folder because the straight blades are clumsy and not as safe to carry.

I like a serrated blade to saw through stuff and a low price, good steel and it be good looking.

While I think I still have the old straight blade I got as a kid I don't even care if it's around.

Who keeps letting this moron speak?

That looks about perfect to me...

General purpose knives are usually my less expensive knives.
I guess with the ones I'm willing to spend more on it is for a reason. I like the confidence I have with a KOA that I can pry apart joints and know I won't break a tip. I love the balance of a Helle and the control I feel with it. It's also a great looking knife. Most of my skinning blades are not real expensive ones and I mostly only use them for skinning.

? Never had a problem with any of the 30 or so I own.

I got my original hunting knife out that I used in 1953. It may have been made in my old home town where making tools is a primary job.

It has a steel blade 5" long with it's leather sheath. I recall the blades tip cutting into the end of the sheath some and it's still like that. A snap is broken and lost that held the handle.

It's handles are ok being stag or something with brass rivets but overall it's an obsolete design to carry over a folder.

Here is a fine folder in my collection. It's a Coleman Western double blade with a good sheath.

Grippy handle when wet, a drop point for gutting, and some belly to the blade for skinning.

I'm right along those same lines of thinking:










FC

Good question, though one knife does not do all things well. When I get back to vehicle/home I use more specialized blade shapes that I do not carry while hunting.

What I want in a big game knife that I carry:

- Very hard steel that is capable of a shaving edge and holds an edge well through processing at least one moose. Through multiple moose etc. is better.

- Non-rusting or minimal rusting steel.

- Bright orange handle that shows up on leaves or snow.

- Long continuous curve from mid-belly to tip for good skinning characteristics.

- Folder with firm blade lock, no wobble.

- 3 1/2 inch blade length is enough, somewhere in the 3-4 inch range.

- Less critical preferences:

- I prefer a slight drop point.

- Grippy handle rather than slick.

Think...Phil Wilson, Seamount Knives

They don't come much better!
Steel quality, heat treat, edge retention, and ergonomics.

It should have a hilt and stay sharp. A gut hook is nice. The blade doesn't need to be any longer than 3 1/2-4".

For general hunting I prefer a thin-bladed knife of good steel. I don't want steel that is 1/4 inch thick. My favorite is ATS 34, which has other names as well. It is not exotic. Some prefer tool steel or other steels which are not stainless. I am not among them. I like a 17 to 20 degree bevel on the edge of my knives. I also like them hard, but not so hard they are impossible to sharpen. Hence ATS34.

If I'm going to make a knife, it has to be appealing, which for me means stabilized wood with some figure or ironwood. Usually ironwood, since I cut it myself. I think a hidden tang is prettier but a full tang is easier to build. Black water buffalo horn is also very nice looking when it has white flecks, as well as cheap. I also like knives that almost disappear in the sheath, no doubt to mitigate my ability to loose them.

Generally, I like smaller knives with class like Gene Ingram's or Larry (I think) Page's. Ulu wannabes, "survival" and most "bushcraft" knives need not apply. I like knives for hunting, not camp-building or car repair. For self defense or zombies, my favorite knife is a gun.

Honestly, serviceable knives are cheap nowadays, and 440 Stainless,which used to be sexy, and still is good, is common. But this has nothing to do with your question.

Post a pic of the final product!

What is important to me is a very refined small grained carbon steel so it will take a quick edge at a decent hardness that will hold an edge. Refined 5160 and 52100 grain will take a quick edge and keep it.

I like deferential hardened steel tempered to a point the steel will deflect or roll before it will chip.
Convex ground and a blade profile that will sing while following a hone.
As mentioned, some belly that flows and cuts with my wrist, and a good working tip that can get into the work.

A handle that shakes my hand like a long lost friend, that won't pinch, bind or slip. I like a thought out guard that compliments not hinders the job 'at hand' and allows a finger forward the guard for work that requires more control.

Overall something 'Gut-pile-friendly' an ease to work with.

Why? Cause we can't eat them whole.



I could get along with this one rather well.
My $0.02 cents worth.

This is the knife I have been using for the past six months.



Month after I received it.





As it looks at six months.




The 21 has worked out well.

I have a bunch of very nice knives I usually carry some sort of pocket knife also a mora fixed blade i think i paid 12 bucks for awesome knife .