Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting skinin knife for elk?

Guy's,
Never bought a knife before. what stell is better 420HC or 154-CM. What holds a better edege?

I have had an old Schrade for years. Time for a new knife, elk season is just one munth away.

Thanks.

take your pick, or it can be done with a Buck 110.
Must be at least several hundred choices, decisions, decisions.

http://www.swissarmy.com/forschner/Pages/SubCategory.aspx?category=forschnerbutcher&

You don't want a knife that holds an edge too well..what you want is one that is easy and quick to sharpen. Figure about twice during your gutting and skinning of an elk...Sitting on a mountain side for about 2 hours shapening a knife is a waste of my time..

I collect some nice knives but I dont' use them..A butcher knife is good, its cheap, and it sharpens quick, butchers have known that for years...

Yeah, I know, somebody is going to put that old load of crap on me about how they gutted and skinned 3 elk with their super $800 custom made knife..I hear that too often..I know that 62 hardness won't get you through one elk very well at all. That is brittle steel anyway and impossible to sharpen correctly aways from home...

Get a good broad bladed knife with a good curve to it. Then get one of these Smith's sharpeners. 4 or 5 stokes every now and again will keep a good edge on anything. $6 at Amazon or Cabelas.

I have only skinned maybe 15 Elk and the knife i carry when Elk Hunting is the Cold Steel Master Hunter. This knife holds it edge quite well. I have never seen anything dull a knife quicker than Elk Hair.

I would suggest this. miles

five inch

or this

sheep skinner

http://www.havalon.com

Can't say enough.

Atkinson: I disagree a bit on holding an edge too well. Stopping to clean and sharpen a blade mid-task at the end of long, cold, wet day is not my idea of satisfactory. The speedy edging tools are fine in dire emergencies, but I find their newly created edges rather coarse and short lived. One also has to carry that tool on the hunt.

Between buying, winnings, and gifts, the wife and I have 20 knives in the safe. Recently, I was just given a Case pocket knife made from softer steel. Yes, it's a snap to sharpen and will rust if it gets wet, but the most trivial of tasks turns it into a useless piece of steel. I will keep it for dissecting apples and oranges at lunch, but that's about it. Schrades are a little harder, but still not quite up to task. Right now I'd tend toward the middle ground in hardness.

My 110 Buck Trappers will get me though an elk with no sharpening if I use both blades. That's gutting, skinning, taking off the feet and head, and going through a back bone joint creating front and back halves. A deer is fine with one blade. The Gerber folding knives are good too, and maybe just a little harder than Bucks.

Most folks, several of my hunting buddies included, don't know how to handle a knife. Mostly they wreck the edge by sawing down on bony surfaces rather than using the tip, or they cut down through hair rather than coming up from beneath.

In the retail world, I find the Buck and Gerber products about right in hardness. They hold an edge, and 3 minutes with my oil stones has one back in shape. I insist on dangerously sharp knives, and a mistake bleeds for a long time due to the clean cut generated.

As a test, I am going to try using an ulu for elk skinning this fall. Hardness on that unit is around 58 - 60, and it may be a mistake. It took about 1 1/2 hrs of carbide time and another 20 minutes on my oil stones to bring its original edge up to snuff. I'm curious on what it will take to recover that edge after it's been worked a bit.

As to a newbie working up an elk.... I'd suggest a lock blade folder with a simple blade no longer than ones index finger. When blindly working elbow deep with longer blades, I don't have a good feel for exactly where the tip might be and sustain the obvious injuries. Cute cutouts, gut hooks, holes, or serrations are unwelcome. The cutouts and holes are always hanging up and slowing ones work, and hooks are a pain to sharpen. Take care and good luck this fall. 1Minute

I think people get far too excited about knives. If you're a knife person, that's cool, but if you're just buying them to cut stuff with, then y' gotta keep your eye on the ball. It's like a guy who collects hammers vs one who just wants to pound nails.

I really like the Gerber LSTs. They're easy enough to sharpen, hold an edge fairly well, and light enough you can pack several, and cheap enough you can afford to. I carry a standard LST in my pocket, another in my pack, and a magnum LST on my belt.

I also really like my Buck Vanguard and my Gerber LMF for cutting stuff but they're a lot heavier ... a net loss.

Tom

I'm partial to a couple of Bucks. The 112 Ranger which is a compact version of the 110 and the 102 which has a 4" fixed blade.

I have been using Knives of Alaska now for about 12 years. They are better quality than Gerber, Buck etc. and they do not cost a lot. They sharpen up great and hold an edge quite well. They currently make a Trekker Series Elk Hunter that will work for what you are looking for. I also have their fixed bone saw which works great on elk or deer.

Knives of Alaska

Plus 1000 on this one... I wouldn't trade my 3 for anything in the world. Have taken a moose apart with one and they are SO easy to "sharpen"

I can skin, gut, dejoint, the only thing it won't do is cut the skull cap off if needed and thats for a saw or axe if need be.

My vote would go to 420C.

I like Gerber Gators, folders and fixed blades. I believe they are 420C. Pretty easy to get an edge on. I have taken to carrying the fixed blades more lately.

I also have two Benchmade folders in 154CM. When you finally get an edge on them, which takes quite a bit of time, they are sharp. It holds ok but not any longer than the 420C as far as I can tell.

I did buy a Gator FB Drop Point in S30V this month to see if the edge would really hold up well. The sharpening job it came with looks like a saw blade though.

Gerber LST is all I need for any elk chores.

Dober

Thanks for the input Guys. gerbers is in my price range.

I had a fellow down in Oregon make me a cable Damascus hunting knife about 20 years ago. I paid $180 bucks for it, a lot of money at the time. It's turned out to be a good investment, though. It gets scary sharp, stays that way for a reasonable time, and it's easy to touch up the blade. As for the original question, I'd choose 154CM if I HAD to have a stainless steel blade.

If your budget for a knife is low, take a look at Cold Steel's roachbelly knife. It's cheap, light, and it's a great design for a using knife.

Buck 103, you're done.

Havalon folding scalpel holder for skinning and caping, victorinox paring knife for boning. Don't bother with a stiff-bladed knife unless you need it for other camping chores, or for chopping through sternums (sterni?) and such. The sharp, flexible blade on the victorinox is a pleasure to deal with. You'll need a field stone to touch it up with, as the steel is pretty soft compared to the hotrod tool steels. Little ceramic cross sticks work fine.

This combo will completely dismantle a moose, happily.

Cold Steel Master Hunter....................I used one on my elk and two others and am impressed.

It held an edge very well but also I like the size and shape of the blade, just right for field dressing and boning out game. I like the size and shape of the handle as well. The rubber grip does not slip and slide when your hands are bloody. A good design.

Also the San Mai steel is basically a glass hard blade with two flexible blades sandwiched on the outside. You can get it very sharp and it holds the edge well.

Buck Vanguard works...