Home Forums Gear Knives and Blades What knives are you taking to the field?

I always have a Case or Opinel folder in my pocket, but they are quite small like a Canoe or a No. 8 and so they just get general pocket knife use. I prefer the Chrome Vanadium or Carbone, but have also the stainless steels in both.



For game, I learned to use kitchen paring knives. They are inexpensive and two or three of them are all that is needed to field dress large game before they dull. I like this Mercer that is X50CroMoV15.

This is a good kitchen steel. It is the same steel Wustof uses, but Mercer makes the knives in Taiwan more affordably. I buy this knife for $22 and the same one with a zytel handle is $18. It is not as luxurious as VG10, but again more affordable. It is very stain resistant. I wash it in the dishwasher. It is NSF certified, so very easy to clean. There is never any gunk under the scales. It is 3.5" and nimble enough for any caping or field dressing task. It is also very easy to sharpen and get a good edge. It does not retain its edge like the super steels, but I can have two or three of them for what is still a fraction of the price of one knife, so in the field I always have a sharp one even halfway through a large job. Once I get home, sharpening is easy compared to the powdered steels.

In my camp bag, I keep a paring knife and a Mora. The Mora is, of course, much tougher for processing wood and stuff like that. I still don't typically baton with it. I keep a Cold Steel Tomahawk and a Sven Saw in the 4x4.





I like all these tools because they are very good at appropriate tasks. They are lightweight, 'minmalist,' and they are quite affordable. I would backpack with these rather than their heavier, costlier alternatives. My small 4x4 often accommodates four people and a large dog so I pack it also efficiently. With four people and a dog in there, there is really no room for more than what each person would take backpacking, so that is how I think.