Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire knife recommendations

I think the one I have is a fieldcraft. Might be a trailcraft. Can't remember. Whatever it is, it's One of the most useless blade shapes out there and thick as a prybar. And yes the carbon bladed Mora holds an edge as well as the Marbles. The blade shape of the Mora is much better for everything from feld dressing deer to dresssing, skinning and quartering up small game and birds to skinning furbearers. I don't think I've ever been less impressed with a knife as far as dollar value vs cost vs blade design as I was with the Marbles. If it weren't a treasured gift from my deceased grandmother I'd have sold it years ago.

A lot depends on how you use a knife, which way you field dress, etc.
The Mora is a bargain for how well they work and hold a decent edge. They're cheap and easily replaced. You'll need to touch it up in the field.
There are many good choices. The better the blade steel and geometry the happier you'll be with it.

My favorite is a Bark River Classic Drop point hunter. It's a Loveless design that's remained popular. It stays very sharp much longer than many knives I've tried. The blade geometry is very good for field dressing, and it is about the right size. Have used it for a gutless method field dressing the last few deer.
Another Bark River knife I like is a Bravo Necker. It's short blade is easy to steer when gutting.

I also recommend Knivesshipfree.com or DLT trading. Both have fair pricing and good customer service.

The Mora carbon blades are very hard {60-61 RC} and the cutting edge very thin. They cut ike a razor and need to be used with the very thin and very hard edge kept in mind. Being as thin and hard as it is you do need to keep it off bone as the edge will chip easily.

When I was talking usefulness, I was talking gutting/skinning deer and elk like the OP stated. For that I think the Fieldcraft shape is excellent.

Didn't know you were referring to birds and small game also....

So many good recommendations. I've become a bit of a knife looney so I'm trying out new ones as time and budget allows. For a guy just starting out those inexpensive Mora Knives you can get on Amazon are a great deal. Buy one of those a good sharpening system like deflave suggested and watch YouTube videos in how to field dress deer. For butchering the victorinox knives can't be beat for performance and cost.

Good luck and let us know what you pick.

That big belly on skinners helps, a clip point helps starting places, then it pokes holes all sorts of places, so a drop point works better. Add a saw if you can. BTW elk are really heavy when they die. I carry a bird, skinner, and a folder, with a small saw

Funny, I've dressed and skinned about 200 deer with clip point blades and don't have any problems poking holes in things I don't want to. I have around 60 knives at my disposal, some of them drop points and much prefer a clip point for general, all around hunting duties.

I have all kinds of custom knives .What i use the most is Mora & Spyderco Endura.I would use the Spyderco Delica , but bought Endura first fully flat ground blade.At work I carry a Swiss Army farmer.

You need to simply not abuse it. It's not going to chip like it was a straight razor. I've used them pretty hard and never had a single issue.

This what I have except it has an orange handle and sheath. I mostly use a curved boning knife butchering. You want to have a sharpening steel and a sharpening stone for butchering. The Victorinox brand is good and relatively inexpensive.

Me too. Good tools and not out much if lost or broken.

I have a nice Bark River, but more frequently find myself with a Morakniv and a Havalon.

Thanks guys a lot of good info to look through and help me prepare!

Just in case anyone is interested in a pretty decent knife at a cheap price. Benchmade Lone Wolf

For years I ran a 4" drop point a bud's dad gave me when I popped my first deer. It was his first knife build, blade from a kit (Japanese stainless) and he dorked the handle.
Man that thing will hold an edge! I re did it a few yrs back. It's probably done 75 deer.

I forgot it last yr, so did my 9 pt with a clunker CRKT M21 folder. Worked fine.

Bought an 1800's repro from Jeff White, called a Bush 3. It was only 60 bucks. thought about redoing the handle in stag, but might just leave it as is.

Next knife will be a Behring Old School Sambar Hunter.

The Bush 3 is cool, super sharp, but the handle a little straight.

For what it is worth Hook, I am exceedingly pleased with the Trout and Bird I purchased from Behring the younger...it has a cracking piece of steel in it and the stag is hafted so close to perfect I cannot pick any faults.

HERE

Nevermind on my last post, they sold out pretty fast.