I clean 15-20 big game animals a year. That said, my requirements in a knife are: light weight, good steel that holds an edge, textured grip, a blade that's not too blunt, must fold for compact carry, and a descent price. The reason I say a descent price is that I can't tell you how many knives I've lost in the field or around camp(Always have a spare in the pack).
The answer to all of those requirements is BUCK. Bucks hold an edge, they come out of the box razor sharp, and they don't break the bank when you loose one.
I've used Boker, Kershaw, Gerber, S&W, Old Timer, Schrade, and a few others and none have held edges like the Bucks.
And no, you only need a knife to clean a deer. I can clean a deer in mere minutes with only a knife. All you have to do is hang them by the neck, ring each leg & the neck, slide a sharp knife up each leg to the center of the belly, slide knife under the hide from the rear quarters up to the neck ring along the center of the belly, pull off the hide, cut off the shoulders, cut out the back straps, cut off the neck meat, remove each ham(going to the socket with only a knife), and then gut(if you didn't field dress) and remove the sweet meat.
Good Luck
Reloader7RM
