Home Forums Gear Knives and Blades First knife Purchase

I'm looking to purchase my first knife for Deer and Elk hunting.

The only knives I've had were a 2 knife set that the North American Hunting Club sent me. Don't know what brand the were, but the price (free) was right

I'm not looking to spend a fortune, but know quality usually comes with a price.

Suggestions?

Thanks in advance

Mr. CumminsHunter,

Full disclosure: I'm not talking from a lot of experience - but I do have a little.

I've had good experiences with Kershaw knives - specifically, their model they call Antelope Hunter II.

I've now skinned about 11 deer with it - it's functioned just fine for every aspect of that process.

In particular, I like that it has some kind of rubberized/polymer handle, which makes it durable and easy to clean; the blade is AUS8A steel - and it retains an edge very well, through repeated use; the knife fits (my hand, anyway) well - I can do a lot of work without much hand fatigue, and the blade is short enough that I can get my index finger to the tip of it; and most importantly, it's inexpensive - if you look around, you can probably pick one up (or two - one for backup - I did) for about 30 bucks, including the sheath.

There's many more on this forum much more experienced than I, so I'm sure you'll find better advice than this, but FWIW, maybe you can glean something . . .

Hope this helps in some way.

-Brendan

Caveat: I've never hunted or skinned an elk - I can only assume that one is dealing with a thicker and tougher hide than is on most deer - so I can't vouch for the effectiveness of the aforementioned knife in an elk-related situation.

A huntng knife is a very personal decision, nearly on the same level as which girl should I marry. Everyone has an opinion and hardly anyone agrees on the exact same one. Plus, lots of folks here have a BUNCH of knives. I have less than two dozen and suspect I'm in the minority here.

For me and my Idaho hunting I prefer a fixed bladed knive with a 3 - 3 1/2 long drop pointed blade from 1/8 inch thick premium steel, it doesn't have to be stainless. As a beginner, I found I was better off with a shorter blade.

My suggestion is to handle as many 3 inch fixed bladed drop point knives as you can and select the one with a handle that best fits your hand.

That's good advice. I prefer carbon steel, as it seems to take and hold an edge better than stainless. Just an opinion of course. Also, you will need something to split the pelvis, as a knife of those dimensions isn't really up to the task.

Mr. BasicBeer,

This is a little off-topic - I'm curious, though - why split the pelvis?

-Brendan

Because that's the way I was taught, and now I'm too set in my ways to change

I carry a small hatchet and a take-down saw in my pack for heavier cutting chores. I started carrying them after spending the night in the woods with only a small knife as a tool...

Fair enough - thanks for satisfying curiousity.

I too carry a saw (a little Coughlins folding), but more just because - not for field care of game.

-Brendan

Try a Mora clipper or whatever they are called on your side of the water,they do them in stainless and carbon.

Dont knock it till you tried it.

For just gutting out deer I prefer a folding knife these days. They are safer to carry.

For a blade I like one that has some serrations on it or a double bladed knife with a serrated blade. It cuts up through the rib cage and hide much faster. I stared out with a fixed blade in 1953 and have gutted dozens and dozens .....

Just get a regular folder for gutting and don't spend a fortune.

Here is a double bladed folder. When you get the carcass back home you can get out the other knives.

Cumminshunter,

There are so many great knives out there. If I was starting out I would get a Dozier, Crotts, Krein in D2 steel. Doziers will take some searching for since his leadtime is 14 months. But you can find them on various websites for sale. I would take a strong look at the Dozier K2.

Dan Crotts works at Dozier and is Bob's son-in- law.. He can be reached by calling the Dozier shop. His leadtime is less than 30 days.. I would suggest his model one.

Tom Krein makes an incredible knife.. I would look at the TK-3.

You will find the edge holding of these knives incredible..

I have all these and have used them in the field. The performance is outstanding.. You cant go wrong with any of these.. If you want to chat send me a PM and I will call you.

I have done more dead animal processing with my old Randall #11 than any other knife. It is O1 Steel, and performs perfectly year after year.
You don't have to spend a lot of money on a knife, but a better quality blade does perform, well, better.

There are some great makers here, and over on BladeForums. Look at what is available. Don't be afraid to ask questions in the forums, or of a bladesmith.

For a first knife, you could do a lot worse than a good Buck. A 110 folder or a Special, Pathfinder, or Woodsman straight knife. They are in the $50 range and are knives that you tend to keep. Custom knives will probably come later. Good luck.

Do you know if the sheath for the 110 can be attached to a belt horizontally and/or vertically? I'd like to be able to do it either way depending on what I'm carrying on any given day.

I think the 110 is a great way to go....

I have seen the odd after market sheath that can be worn either way, usually it was a ballistic nylon sheath with very little support so it sagged away from the belt.

I have 2 Benchmade Griptillians in my pack. I've gutted and later skinned out a couple dozen deer with them. I used to use a DH Russel belt knife, but I can get a Benchmade sharp as a razor and they take a couple seconds between deer to touch up. They're 440C by the way, and I think they are just the right size and have the best locking mechanism out there for a knife that price.

Knife on the right.

http://www.benchmade.com/products/model_lgshot.asp?model=551

I for one don't care for using my folder for gutting an animal. They get crude all through them and are a pain to get clean. I use my folders for cutting fruit and don't like the after taste or smell of blood. I have ran my Kershaw Elk Spring through the dishwasher but it distroys the edge but have to admit it cleans up well.

The best solution I've found is using two knives, as I have already stated, an EDC folder and a fixed blade. And I'm using my folder less on game. The last several big game animals have been completed with a fixed blade although I didn't have to complete all of them by myself.

The EDC is in my front right pocket and the fixed blade is in my pack. I never carry a sheath knife on my waste.

This year I used a Dozier in D2 for my deer, because it was in my truck. Last year it was my Ingram's S30V. On both deer the second blade was my Buck 110 folder in S30VBoss. I love fixed blade knives for work, but I like a folder for backup/second helper. A good folder won't eat anything, and doesn't take up much room. I once read an article about an Elk guide that went through custom knives that were so brittle that they would break or so hard that you couldn't sharpen them in the field. He talked about how he now quarters out Elk and carries them down with just a 3 bladed Remington folder and small stone.

FWIW, we just skin and fillet deer now. We don't gut them anymore. And then we just haul the carcass away. Good luck.

What's the best zipper knife for field dressing?

Problem is there are so many good knives and steels out there it is hard to choose. I like a fixed knife for dressing. I hate cleaning out the mystery meat in the middle of the folder blade. Fixed clean up well. I do like a folder to carry. Then the choice comes to stainless and carbon, oh the choices. There are many customs that could be hade for cheap. Here are some of mine. I do have a problem.

My name is djpaintles and I'm a Knifeaholic..............................


I'm sure a lot of us here can start the same way. But more seriously I have spent way too much money on all sorts of different knives from several hundred dollar customs to cheap $12 Mora knives. I'm good enough at sharpening that most of my freinds beg me to sharpen all their knives that they use for hunting and thier high end custom knives.

All that being said I keep coming back to a knife that's simply earned it's way to be my all time favorite hunting knife.

http://www.fallkniven.com/a1f1/f1_en.htm

I like the thermorun handled one because it isn't slippery wet and/or bloody. VG-10 is good solid stainless steel and the laminated version is tough as nails. It comes with a wicked sharp convex edge that's easy to maintain with inexpensive sharpening equipment. It's easy to clean, ESPECIALLY compared to a folder! It's strong enough to baton and split kindling with if you need to. The Tang extends past the grip so you can hammer with the back of it in an emergency.

You can usually find them different places like this:

http://www.oregonknifeshop.com/fallkniven-f1-knife.html

For $110 or so. I have both the black and silver version and MUCH prefer the Silver - it's easier to clean and the black coating chips a bit.


No knife or tool is all things to everyone but the F-1 performs superbly in a bunch of different areas whereas a lot of knives are strong one way and weaker in others. D-2 Doziers cut extremely well but D-2 WILL rust and they are thin bladed and for cutting only - batoning would be a no no for them. Bark River makes some really nice knives but they are usually more expensive than the basic F-1. Chris Reeves makes beautiful knifes but they can cost 3x what the F-1 does and don't necessarily perform any better in the field. Ingrams are lovely svelte knives but cost quite a bit more and now there can be a long wait for them. etc. etc. etc.


If you do much hunting and stuff you'll probably end up with several knives. I think that the best advice I can offer you is to start with a good solid fixed blade hunting knife that's not too expensive (of course I'd choose the F-1 but there are others) use it and then start to refine exactly what you would want different after gaining experience of how you yourself use a knife. You'll buy more later and hopefully make better educated choices after some use in the field................................DJ