Something I find interesting is the hunting knives people use, not so much the knives we treasure or lust after...more the blades we actually use when the need arises, the hunting blades we judge all others by.

For instance I have a bit of a liking for various Randalls...but when I am after meat I resort to this one.







Not sexy or cute by any means...but it is the knife I trust most for working carcases in the paddock.

As an afterthought I am adding pictures of what I carry for sharpening when walking about. I tend to use it as a steel but it works fine when used as a stone.

It is a 12" length of oval ceramic that has shewn itself to be surprisingly tough...I have been using it for some 10 years and in the next few weeks I intend to make up a heavy sheath that will allow me to use the sheath as a handle, and will feature a built in guard.

I agree. I have Winston’s, Marbles, Ingram and others that I like and are prettier but a Cold Steel USA made Carbon V Hunter with rubber scales and a nylon sheets is my no hassle do anything knife that I use most.

Pretty much ditto..

I also have knives I lusted after a few Fallknivens and others. The one I always use is a Swedish Sandvic blade blank handled with an antler cut off at the skull with nickel silver guard and butt décoration. I harvested the buck with a recurve bow and handled the knife myself. I've used it for 30 years. Made one for my son off the other side. Seems like I'd be cheating on it if I used another knife.

Somewhere out there someone is scratching their head trying to figure out how you can possibly get along without a blade made of at least S30V.

These are my working knives I've had over the years and actually use. I have other vintage ones I've picked up here and there in boxes for the grandkids. These are my users.

The Case stockman goes in my pants pocket, the big Case stays in the truck, the Old Timer is the spare or loaner, the sheep skinner I'll throw in the pack elk hunting, it does a bit better boning meat on bigger animals than the little folder, the paring knife is a great skinner...

That leaves the little Buck protege folder, rubber handled, light weight and cheap, it has broken down a chit ton of animals, stays sharp and is just a workhorse. My daughter when she was about 10, picked it out as my christmas present from Kmart, probably 15 bucks. At first I was like... meh... comparing it to the old timer. Used it the next year on a deer and then the year after on a couple elk and deer, I changed my mind.

The cheapest knife is the most valuable to me and it flat out works.

Kent

Dad and I both have Buck Protégés. My first hunting knife. They work.

I've always had very good use with my Schrade, Buck, and Browning knives. No need to go expensive.

Some imports that have also been very good knives include Rough Rider, Boker, Elk Ridge, and Steel Warrior. Chinese steel is not bad compared to Pakistan junk.

Sherwood

My rule is very simple, Only spend enough on a hunting knife that is decent but will allow you to replace it with another in the blink of an eye. Hence why Moras knife are my favorite. I have lost one in the last ten years but replaced it right away. I have given them a x-mas presents twice and both friends use them to this day. A knife is tool, and tools are meant to be used.

Buck 110
Buck 112
Moore Maker mini-trapper lives in my pocket
A cheapie Kershaw that even I can't seem to destroy the edge on!
That one lives in the truck console, and has cut the twine off a jillion round bales when feeding - with minimal sharpening.

My go to knife is an AG Russell One-hand folder in AUS-8 steel. Other steels may hold an edge longer, but some are more finicky to sharpen. Not costly, easy to get a wicked sharp edge, and holds it quite well.

There’s no stink on those Mora knives. Everyone should own a couple. That said I like my Buck 116 and a cheap Western knock off I’ve had for 40 years. That knock off I swear was made by a samurai armorer. I haven’t touched that blade with anything more than a ceramic rod in 20 years and it will still shave hair after 3-4 deer.

I use the Buck 110 that was a birthday present in 1977. Can't even begin to tell you how much game and fish it has seen.

Since I like folders, an Opinel #10. Carbon steel takes a decent edge, not expensive to replace and works. Locking mechanism is simple. Takes a bit more cleanup than fixed blades but all folders do.

These are the field tools I've been using sense the late 90s, before that I was using Russell Green River knives.

Yeah, I'm same way, I collect knives, Gerbers, Pumas, a Randall, old Buck & SpyderCo, but the knives in my hunting pack are a pair of Moras and a Wyoming Knife and a pair of pruning shears and a diamond rod.

My favorite deer skinner is an Opinel My First Knife. I now have a handmade sort of copy fixed blade version. I've been using that and a Sawk handmade lately. So, yes I actually do use custom knives on game, at least currently.

If the maker had copied the Opinel more closely it would work better. It seems difficult to get a "custom" maker to produce as thin a blade as factory.

That's cleaning one at the rack. Much less often when I do field dress it's a Swiss army Hunter or Spyderco Bill Moran. The Swiss army hunter lives in a pack. The Spyderco is almost always on my belt every day. So, factory knives in the field, then.

I have Bark Rivers, Benchmades, ZTs, etc, but my most used EDC is my Spyderco Delica. I know this thread is about hunting knives, but...

People vary in their needs and wants.

Examples of a using knife, deer club where you are skinning and butchering multiple deer where you need for the knife to stay extremely sharp for not only the skinning but the butchering also 4 or more deer.

Elk is on the ground, you have one, and your buddy also...the party is over, you need an incredible knife to not only skin but quarter with no hatchet or saw.


McCrosky Custom Knives in Stillwater, Ok

Mccroskeyknives.com

Guys, you just have to see it to believe it.

I told a good friend in Mn about these knives, he is a trapper. He bought the trapper set and he skinned 300 beaver with the two knives before they needed sharpening.

I sold a boat load of knives I had collected over the years and now have every knife that McCrosky makes. Obviously, I used the knives, and my knives stay in the gun safe till I need them! There are a lot of really Schitt knives out there when it comes to a guy that uses knives for a big job.

My uncle was a taxidermist, and I grew up skinning deer heads, fish, and birds....I know what a good knife is, and when you start using a really good knife, you just shake your head at the thought of all the crap you have had your hands on in your life. I don't give a crap how the knife looks, bragg'en rights, name brand....I need the knife to perform ...sharp as a surgeon's knife and stay sharp.

McCrosky's Elk Skinner will just blow your mind in cutting....not many knives do this.

My grandmother bought me a 6” Buck 119 back around ‘92. It’s entirely too huge for a hunting knife, but it stays in my pack out of sentimental value and because it’s crazy sharp. Usually gets touched up on a set of ceramic sticks and a leather belt every 2-3 deer. Which is a while for me.

I’ll also usually keep a Wyoming knife and bone saw of some sort in my overstuffed pack.

In my pocket, usually a cheap Gerber (I like the small, smooth edge, thin profile lock blades they still make in Oregon). I’ve a 70’s Case Stockman for a Sunday-go-to-meetin’ knife.

Would it be gauche to bastardize a quote.......

Life's too short to use an ugly knife!

LOL






















ya!

GWB

Have one but just too heavy for my liking, I like the Western w Keaton/rubber whatever it is, lots of em sold under the Rem name.

But I’m a cheap bastid, the Cold Steel I have are my more expensive knives which CS used to make my fave but discontinued the Canadian belt knife type blade.

I love that blade design but the handles on original CBK are too slick when bloody. But if need arises an Opinel lock blade in the pocket will suffice

Those are some nice knives.

I really like the damascus pig sticker.

Big meat needs a Gerber 950.

OMCHamlin doesn’t have one in his Gerber pic.

Like most here, I've got lots of knives. Folders and fixed blades. Many were purchased as durable tools for "down range" use. The one I'm in love with for deer duty is a cold steel Pendleton Lite Hunter. <$20, easy to sharpen and pretty tough. Like my Ruger American 308, it's almost disappointing how much utility you can get for your money these days.

Yeah, waaay too new, I try to collect older, classic Gerbers. There are a few newer ones in there, but more by accident then intent. That 950 is a nice looking knife though, probably be a "nice, older classic" someday!

For 90 percent of everything I need to cut outside the kitchen it’s a jumbo trapper pocketknife of one stripe or another.

This one is a SS Camillus that has taken apart squirrels, rabbits, many species of birds up to turkeys, mule and whitetail deer, elk, caribou, moose, bears both black and grizzly, skinned coons, foxes, and other furbearers, plus scores of pigs and served as a stopgap in the event I forgot my bait knife on catfishing trips.

I have a Mora Heavy Duty that I like.

Basic and functional.

What is that Puma Package set in the middle of your Puma display? I've never seen that before.Looks like a White Hunter with accessories.
Thanks for those knife Pics.

Honest? Okay.

I never found anything over forty years that could not be handled by the Schrade LB 7 folder on my belt and the Gerber in my pocket.

A local drug store was running the LB 7 at buy one, get one free. I walked out with four for the princely sum of $40 total. Kept one and gifted the others.

Buck 118

Thanks for the art photos, GWB. You never disappoint.

Winner winner

Truth be told I use an Outdoor Edge with the disposable blades alot...but the Randall Model 7 has to go along, and dress at least one critter a year-plus photo ops like this one- for old time's sake. We have been together for 49 years now...

This is usually in the pack. I don’t really use the gut hook but usually do everything else.

I have a few "nice" knives.

I use a Havelon now. In the field and processing in my shop.

The Buck is the same one i have mostly used for a long time.
Had it in my pocket at work and got Toluene or MEK on it, and
the rubber peeled off. There is a nice plastic liner inside, grooved to give a good trip even. I like it much better now!
It's thinner, feels better, more lively in the hand.

I skin with an old KaBar and debone with a thin bladed folder. I really have to resist buying more knives.

Today

Buck 102 has done me good for 46 years, sliced up a few tons of game with it.

Hard to beat. I really like the Havelons.

I’ve used my old Spyderco Police Model with the Half serrated blade on a lot of my deer and hogs in the past.

And a Cold Steel Mini Pendleton Hunter quite a bit too.

https://ads.midwayusa.com/product/1023439899?pid=668006&utm_medium=shopping&utm_source=bing&utm_campaign=Knives+%26+Tools+-+Hunting+Knives+%26+Tools&utm_content=668006&cm_mmc=pf_ci_bing-_-Knives+%26+Tools+-+Hunting+Knives+%26+Tools-_-Cold+Steel-_-668006&msclkid=7af941df7b5b1b55c1b4204f3b0157ed&utm_term=1101100736047

My “nice” knifes usually stay in the safe.

I use 2 Ruana's one is a 10 and the other is a custom I had them make. The ones I never used I gave to my son. I just had a my fishing partner give me an old buck 105 that's going to get some work this month.

These also work very well for a “cheap” knife:

https://www.bladehq.com/item--Cold-Steel-Roach-Belly-Fixed-Blade--10139

What make are those identical guthooks? They look like Buck.

they look like a Buck 691. I've come close to owning one several times. Dam Ebay.

Buck Ergo-hunter Folder, picked up three in the PdC Cabelas bargain cave for like $15 a piece about a decade back. Still on the first. Custom knives aren't my thing - just sharp and packable works for me.

I can cape, skin, gut, bone or dress anything with 4 legs with a $25 knife.
Call me frugal, cheap or whatever you want.
I ain't paying hundreds of dollars for a status symbol.

I picked that up at Smokey Mountain Knife Works many years ago, and it was "pre-owned" then. It's a Puma Auto Messer, basically a White Hunter with a Jacaronda wood handle in rare kit form. it also comes with an alternate plastic sheath designed to be attached by screws to a SUVs front foot well. Little fishing kit, Bic lighter marked Puma, little AAA pen light, Puma marked compass, etc...

Like a lot of us, I have lots of knives, but the two which get by far the most work for hunting, and for fishing come to that, are a Victorinox Hunter SAK and a Victorinox curved boning knife. The former rides in my pocket, and does an excellent job for gutting, as well as various other uses which SAKs are so good for. The later rides in a knife roll with a matching skinner, a steel, and a folding gambrel.

Am I the only one that still starts things off with a Wyoming Knife?

I was given a CRKT Signature Skinner with a 3-1/4 inch blade and I find myself using it for the lions share. Love the size and feel and shape - Great knife for me. Not made any more I guess. Shame.

I bought a fellow Fire member and my son smallish Moore Maker skinners. I have a hankering for but can't get them now. Kind of thin and agile and fits my hand.

The most extravagant knife I have is a Bark River Canadian Belt knife semi customized in that I picked my handle material and added mosaic pins. A much fuller knife for when needed.

Does anyone here know about the Katz knife? The one with a gut hook. Very heavy knife with upturned blade. Dad and brother have one. Good steel and does a great job on deer.

When all is said and done, I will take either a KOA Alpha Wolf or my Randall Pathfinder.

Dean

To each his own Sal.


Some of the knives I see on this site are really nice. Until I look up the price.


Yowsa!

JSTUART;
Good morning to you sir, I see it's 2:45AM tomorrow, so I hope you're reading this much later, that you had a fine rest and that your family are well.

Thanks for the thread and the photos it's producing, knives of all sorts are a lifelong passion with me so I can't help but enjoy it all.

While I've made a few custom handled knives on Mora blades and have at least one left stashed somewhere in a vehicle, they're not my "go to" blades.

If something gets taken apart in the field during season, usually it's going to be an early production Buck Vantage Pro with it's Paul Bos heat treated S30V blade.



I was so happy with the performance that I ordered a second one as a spare and did up a set of blaze orange scales for the primary one.

Usually I'll have some sort of fixed blade belt knife on me too and then during hunting season there's a few more fixed blade knives in the door of the pickup ready to go if something big has hit the ground.

Thanks again for the thread, thanks to all who've participated and all the best to one and all.

Dwayne

Anyone know how to contact JSTAURT? Site says that he does not accept private email. GW

Most of my deer skinning is done with a Puma Hunter's Friend, circa 1966. Leather sheath is still intact. Blade holds an edge well, still fairly pristine despite year's of use and abuse.

Been gutting deer for decades with a SS Sharp 3" folder, leather belt "holster". keeps an edge, works fine. Think it cost around $10 at Kmart, 30 years ago? Have other knives, none very expensive.

Two pockets knives that get carried most days. One "work knife" NRA freebie 440 SS folder made in China. Still have two more in the boxes. One Kershaw 3115 SS made in Japan, for dress up days (clean jeans), both 2-1/2 blades. Carried Schrade pocket knives for many years, before I started accumulating free knives.

So can anyone. Why not use a savage axis instead of a nice rifle?

I have a few custom blades,but I use my Buck 692 most often for disassembly of a deer.
I've had it since the early-mid 90's and it's my go to blade.
Also have a cheap ass Mora that sees plenty of action too.

My son and I both use a Buck 691. Bought them @ Bass Pro around 04/05 ? I think they had them on sale @ 29.99 . I also have a Buck 121 with the original sheath, it's in great shape, My Dad gave it to me years ago.

That 691 is a great knife . It has dis-assembled quite a few critters.

simply amazing how many animals are successfully processed with POS junk quality knives. Heck, men used flint and obsidian knives to clean a lot of animals. Using a POS knife does not make you a better person, neither does using a prized and expensive custom knife. I never understood threads like this.

Slow day........

Back when I was a yonker, one would hear the epitaph..... "Support Live Music, hire live musicians".

ya!

GWB




Rocky Menefee "Sweet Sixteen"








"Loveless lambs" repros by TK Steingass





Dale Howe (Howe Mountain Knives) "Brisket Breaker"





Tim Olt(Michiganroadkill) , Buffalo Skinner




Brett Dowell Semi-Skinner




Ken Honeycutt set!





Gene Ingram B&T





Menefee Made Knives (Rick Menefee)

Top: Semi-Skinner,
Bottom: Loveless Hunter
Both knives etched A-2 steel

I have a few custom knives, and rarely use them. When I need a deer processing knife, I grab a Cold Steel Pendleton Hunter, or Gerber Magnum Folding Hunter.

Come on Sam,show us some of your Randalls.

I own Randalls as well as hundreds of other knives.

I've had one of those Gerbers since 1983.

I just rehabbed it and now it looks new again.

One of my hobbies is collecting,reconditioning and modifying knives.

I have seen a LOT of skinning knives fail at the skinning pole.

These knives are the best working knives I have ever had my hands on...bar none...

http://mccroskeyknives.com/

I have several knives I carry in my cleaning bag. Mora is the cheapest and gets used more than most of them. My son used it today to finish cleaning his deer.

Geedubya, You sir, have some very nice tools!
Goes along with those really nice rifles.

This has been a good knife for skinning and quartering mule deer:



Notice the full-size handle. I have big hands and this is big enough to go all the way through my hand. It has good steel, but it is not a thick knife for batoning wood. It is light enough in the pack to carry two - and you'll want to because the edge can dull or get damaged. It isn't super steel, so it's not going to stay sharp dressing a large deer much less an Elk. I see some people buy those disposable blade jobs. I prefer this knife. It's not hard to sharpen, but I can take a couple of them and have a sharp blade as long as I need it. It has an easy to clean handle (NSF certified) and it sells shipped for $8.99.

Even so, I am contemplating getting a $250 or $300 knife made of something like Cru-Wear, Elmax, M390... there's a growing number of high-end knife steels now. I should try one.

I hadn't thought of using my Morakniv. I would think the thick scandi grind wouldn't be well suited to skinning, but I never tried it. I always have one, at least at camp.

I like the meat, but I really like the skins. I want a knife that is going to do a fine job on the skin. I have them tanned (don't have the space to do it myself). I figure nothing is so important to cutting the hide cleanly as sharpness.

I'd say get yourself something not so pointy! A sem-skinner, bull nose skinner, canadian belt knife pattern or a Nessmuk style blade if you are caping.



Then you've got the right tool for the job!








full disclosure, different day different critter.

JMHO,

YMMV

Ya!

GWB

Sounds like a lot of you guys have a lot more experience than I when it comes to knives. I would like to ask a question. Most knives sold as hunting knives are rather thick and heavy. For me they are harder to sharpen and keep sharp. Thinner knives are easier to sharpen and seem to hold an edge better. I know a lot depends on the type of steel and the angle at which it is sharpened. What say youall?

Honest?

I like knives, but don't go past a price of $150 or so. I personally just can't see some of the prices, but that's just me.

If I get a special knife I'm hesitant to use it. Want to save it for something.

Have found that some of the simplest, reasonable priced knives perform well.

A plastic handle Buck version of the 112, the one with the deep hollow grind blade has probably cut up as many deer as any I have, mainly just because I keep them in my trucks. I go to a friends to drink beer & he says; my boy killed another deer, you want some meat? Sure.

Yeah, I have a pile of Mora's & now liking the $17 Cold Steel Pendleton Lite, even if it does say Taiwan or wherever.

FWIW,

I've owed the CS RoachBelly, Pendelton lite Hunter and the Canadian Belt knife.



at one time it was my "pack knife"



Of the three my fav is the CBK, one of which rides in the side pocket, driver's side, rear door of my Ford Expedition to this day.

IIRC, The Cold Steel Pendleton Lite Hunter was named Field and Stream "Best of the Best" in 2010.

ya!

GWB

When it comes to hunting purposes I use the expensive stuff the same as the inexpensive stuff.

The expensive stuff has always worked more better IME.

Hunting, I’ve had a Buck woodsman for years.

Every day use is a Kershaw.

I would like to get another Anzo? Knife out of Texas. I gave my only one to my boy.

Agree with you on all counts, and no need for some miracle steel to field dress any animal.

Dexter beaver knife
About $15.00 from any trapping supply company.
Made specifically to skin the expensive furbearers
without any pelt damage. No point. Good steel

if it wasn't for threads like this......you wouldn't have the chance to spread your unusual brand of joy ....bob

Because I am a cunt like that...how can I assist you?

I posted this thread as I like to see what is getting used hard, not what is used and salted away in a drawer and dragged out for pics.

I find that more interesting than looking at new shiny toys.

You know, the last two I didn't have any holes in them from the paring knife I used, but then I didn't even flesh them. I put them in the cooler with gel ice packs on top and dropped them off at the tanner.

So I was just thinking about getting the hide off in the field, but your bit of advice made me realize I would be better off with a tool like this and maybe a fleshing tool. I figure the more meat I get off the hide in the field, the better the fur is going to keep. I'm not going to beam the hide in the field, but anything that gets it cleaner and cooler faster is going to be worth more than a super alloy.

Here's a favorite of mine:

quote=JSTUART]


I posted this thread as I like to see what is getting used hard, not what is used and salted away in a drawer and dragged out for pics.

I find that more interesting than looking at new shiny toys.[/quote]

I've been infatuated with edged instruments, seems like forever. First time I can remember getting into major trouble, I "borrowed" a knife from the Policeman's garage next door to my house during an occasion when my uncle was "exterminating" I think I was six or seven. It's only been the last 20 years or so that I could afford to become a collector/user. A part of that was that I drove the same ford truck for 17 years and had no monthly note. During that time, my tastes have evolved in regards to type of steel and blade shape.

So yes, I am guilty.

But the actual order is acquire, take pix, use, take more pix, then salt away for use on another occasion should I so desire.

Quite a few I've used some several times!

A Kingfisher by Gene Ingram. Asked him to use A2 Steel. He chose the Desert Ironwood scales.









I like A2 Steel, and etched A2 as it does not develop the marked patina.

I've slowed down over the last few years but between say 2004 and 2019 I would put a conservative estimate on the number of deer, hogs and aoudad I skin each year at +/- 50. That does not include fish, coons, coyote, turkey, dove, ducks etc.

It’s amazing how quick a super-steel knife can be dulled on one muddy hog.






I’ve had cases where I’ve used three or more knives on one hog. It’s like cutting concrete.

Anywho,

I'd be willing to be most folks use their EDC harder than their "hunting' knives"

Here are two that get used daily



VinceM (The Knifefather) hafted them for me.


A Boker Top Lock Auto Conversion I carried dayly for a dozen years before it up and disappeared. Probably opened at least 3,000 Negra Modelo bottles during that time.




Just fer schitz n giggles, perhaps you might define what you consider hard use of a knife used for hunting.

Quien Sabe,

GWB

For shits and giggles...why fucking not!


That knife you saw in my original post was used for five years processing kangaroos in the paddock at night...I shot and processed roos for fifteen years in the Riverina...that was my sole source of income.

No pissy pretend...just hard dirty work by myself with no help, best night was 95 processed...by me...with that knife.

So forgive me if I seem unimpressed with pretty shiny things.

Haha ^^^ WINNER!

And no...I most certainly do not miss the work.


Added. Oh, and that is not blood on the orange plastic handle...that is staining that has gone through in to the plastic, The clean-ish parts were worn smooth by my hands.

How them roos taste?

Why did you take the tails?

I like that blade profile a lot as an all around workhorse hunting knife.

10 to 14 kilo red buck or doe is excellent roasted, wouldn't touch anything larger, eastern does are okay up to about 14 kilos but they get worse from there...don't bother with westerns or big bucks as they taste like crap.

Now take a wild guess what we sold for human consumption...yep, the biggest buggers we could find. And the clueless townies couldn't get enough.

We just killed wallabies for the farmers dogs.

Generally we left them in the paddock unless there was an order for either the cosmetics industry (collagen), or one of the tribal councils wanted some for consumption

I have quite a few knives .. more than I truly have opportunities to use and "push". The constant across a lot of years has been a Gerber LST folder with about a 2-1/2 to 2-3/4 inch blade. It's my "ring the anus and cut loose the diaphragm" knife. Also gets used for gutting trout the rest of the year. I've worn out a half dozen. Not sure I'll buy another, the steel seems to have gone downhill in the past decade or so.

The other knives that I've used quite a bit have gone by the wayside. 30 years ago when I was guiding (fishing) and rowing a lot my wrists were a lot stronger. I could handle a lot longer blade for more time without fatigue. Now I like a smaller knife. Also lighter in my pack. Instead of the ol' Buck General for cutting throats, splitting rib cages, skinning, etc, I first went through a decade with a rubber handled Buck Vanguard (plain blade, no gut hook) which I "processed" quite a few deer with, but since then I switched first to a Cold Steel Master Hunter, then almost immediately a Benchmade Steep Country. I haven't had a chance to use the Benchmade on a critter but everything tells me it will work. 3-1/2 inch fixed blade, about 4 ounces including the sheath. It will do all I need. (The cold steel knife still lives in my truck during hunting season as a backup.)

In some ways we make way too much of this knife vs that knife. Like rifles. Someone who knows what they're doing will look at the knife that's handy, the job that needs doing, and figure out a way to make the most of what the knife has to offer while avoiding its weaknesses. The indian is more important than the arrow.

Tom

You are right Tom...my Randalls are boy jewellery...that cheap Mora of mine is my work horse.

Just for the fun of it.


I am 5' 10 1/2"...bloody big hole to find yourself in when you turn on the lights and all you see out of the windscreen is dirt...for six months after that every time I hit a hole in the paddock my arse did it's best to choke me.
Definitely left an impression.






And this last picture is of my brother Martin who came for a run with me, Martin never shot roos for a dollar...but he did shoot camels for money when he had no work shearing.

So yes Geedub...this is my idea of hard use.

It may interest some to know that the knife in this picture was a 6" F Dick boner, I used them for the first thirty thousand or so roos I shot and had no issues at all with the blade length...most of the roo shooters around here use 6" blades and have no issues with blade length being unwieldy.

In point of fact the 6" blade was better than the shorter blade when a roo head was hit too far back as it allowed one to hack through the shattered skull or neck bones with relative ease.
Made no difference when knuckling them though.

Damn that made me laugh... THANKS...

Never thought about kangaroo killing and meat as a source of income... NEVER...

I used to commercial fish Alaska... long line to halibut and Sable fish... same kinda volume processing (day and night as needed). Working knives only.

As for the upset truck... priceless... West Virginia dozier roads get sporty also... problem is, if you go off the Stopping Part is not 8 feet away...

I think you would fit in up here... but sorry... no roos.

My go to knife is an AG Russell One-hand folder in AUS-8 steel.

My dad had one of those for years and then lost it

Puma Packer with green handles, bought many years ago.
Randall Alaskan skinner with leather handle bought in the 80s
These are the 2 I use the most
Coach

The $25 "Junk Knife" I use is used by virtually every single professional butcher I've worked with over the last 43 years.

Thanks for caring though.

I use Randalls as well as other customer knives for gutting deer. They work great.

I often use a $9 florists trimming knife.

They're Buck Knives

it was just an observation, but if it brought you some joy, then I am happy as well.

I carry an S30V Ingram light-hunter pair in a double sheath in my pack. I have a Kingfisher and a May BobWhite in the door-pocket of my pickup for upland birds, turkeys, or anything I need a knife for when I'm not using my backpack. There's a whole bunch more, but, those 4 see the most use.

Mannlicher makes a valid point. I’d bust your balls for virtue signaling but instead I’ll simply put it a different way.

There are plenty of cheap as fugk (relatively speaking) rifle options out there. If a guy wants to use a rifle that’s above the bottom price line, he can take a little pride in whether it’s custom modifications he’s done himself, or ordered in the gun is it a status symbol? Did you use the cheapest gun that would work to shoot your Alaskan grizzly? Or any of the other nice mounts you have in your trophy room? You obviously give a fugk or you wouldn’t have had them mounted. As well you should, they are awesome specimens.

Sure can be. Same with a knife he didn’t buy at dollar general.


If a guy drove a 30 year old Corolla, shot a rem 710, and nailed a skull cap to the wall, it’d be consistent with using a cheap as fugk knife that “works as well as anything else” and bragging about that knife would fall in line.

The two below get the most use on game. Used for partial skinning (gutless), deboning a buck yesterday to bring the meat back in state. They get used on a lot of deer every year.

I've got way more knives than I need and could certainly get rid of a lot of them. None of it's a status symbol, they're just knives.....and I like knives. A person should use what they want and like. Most game work could be done with a cheap pocket knife and that's fine is someone prefers that. I prefer to use a pattern I like that fits my cutting style and needs with good steel, a handle bright enough that I can find it if I set it down, and durable materials that clean up easy.

[/img]

JSTUART,


Your original post……….



Next…….



And last…….




A few thoughts,

It seems that there are innumerable reasons that folks participate in forums such as 24hrcampfire.

In my old age, I’m guilty of participating mainly for my own entertainment and a way to push hours out of the way.

The act of going “afield” and many times taking “game” is literally called out of me, and has been since I was around 6 years old. However, it has always been an avocation, directed toward pleasure and enjoyment, not work.

I’ve always subscribed to the notion that if one would rather be doing something else, then it’s a job. I’ve never wanted a job, rather an opportunity.

Thirty plus years ago I saw an “opportunity” to finance my “addiction” to firearms by buying, collecting, and later selling at a profit. During the course of time I’ve had the opportunity to load for 85 or so different centerfire cartridges,and collect quite a few rifles. I’ve killed thousands of critters with close to 200 centerfire rifles had a ton of enjoyment along the way. Now that I am on a fixed income, I will supplement that income with future sales from my collection, another effort/process I enjoy.

I mentioned before I have had an affinity for edged instruments, mainly knives. I did not start out to be a collector, and after years of collecting and using them, have come to the conclusion that one does not make a profit on custom knives purchased at “retail”.

However, once again by collecting “pretty, shiny things” I had the “opportunity “to get to know and enjoy the conversation/company of a number of knife-makers, most of which I had the pleasure of collaborating in the design/creation of “one-off” originals. I’ve found that most makers enjoy seeing their knives actually being used. I have also found that many makers are artists in their own right. However, like anything else what once may have been an art can become a job. I get a kick out of contacting a maker and presenting an idea, then saying, if you were making this for yourself what would you do if time and expense was not the motivating factor. The results have been amazing.

Posting pix of said “pretty shiny things many times have led to more commissions and sales (and hopefully profit) for those makers. I’ve had more than a couple makers tell me in the course of a conversation that they have had an individual call and say “Can you make me a knife like the one you made G-dub”. It makes me feel good that I might play a small part in their success. I have about four dozen of one maker’s knives. It makes me smile that I might play a small part in contributing to the welfare of his family and maybe even his kids education.


In conclusion, after I went back and reread/reconsidered your original and subsequent posts I can see that we are miles apart, not only in geography/location but in our approach to hunting, edged instruments, and our approach to life in general.

Best,

GWB

Well aren’t you cool ass f uk

Again Harry, anyone can work up a critter with a “pos “ knife. As far a “status symbol “, I would say wearing a dumb “sleeping Indian wool” hat out on the town, well, just sayin…

Lol. Cool hat imho.

The old Case XX Razor fixed blades were cheap and sharp, used many! Mostly used a good pocketknife on the small Texas deer and small game. The Case Stockman was my dad's favorite, I used many, found the Buck to be very hard to sharpen with my skills. Schrade Walden big 2 blade folders were mostly my thing.

I have a shytload of hunting knives , both fixed blade and folding {like over 100}. For hunting I usually just put my Puma 970 Game Warden or Camillus # 3 lock back in my pocket. I never carry a fixed blade knife in the field and I have dozens of them including 2 customs.

Damn
That sudden stop with a truckload of swinging meat
had to have sucked pretty badly

as someone who skins a LOT of fox and coyotes for the market, I'd argue that point with you. There is such a thing as too sharp when it comes to skinning. For that reason I keep a couple different ones handy.

Haven't seen any "POS low quality" knives in this thread yet.

Dog tucker.

They drop the whole tail on the fire and wait 'til it's cooked-ish, then peel and eat...traditional but not my cup of tea.

My father in laws girl friend is part Maori.

She likes lamb tails.

glad I could make you smile....bob

The new ones are nice to ogle Geedub, but the knives I really like to see are the ones that are carried and used...price or maker has no bearing on the matter, age doesn't either.
When a fellow uses or goes back to his favourite standby you have to ask yourself what makes that blade stand out, conversely when another posts a new different blade every time I just assume he hasn't found his knife yet.

As I said before, I particularly like my Randalls and enjoy using them...but experience tells me that I can rely on that Mora.

We used to eat them as kids in Qld.

We burn ours off....so I guess we could eat them too.

We docked really late....they must have weighed over a pound each.

Same here !

My go to always, outside.

Got lots of fancy kitchen cutlery, that I love & use indoors.

To each there own !

my knives are all cheap. 100 bucks is the most expensive and i got it as a gift. i figure i would just lose them anyway so never bought good ones. my favorite is a little queen steel bird and trout i got almost 50 years ago. probably a 10 dollar knife then and not worth much more now but it does the trick.

I've used a lot of different knives over the years and for the last 15 or 20 years I have used one or the other of the knives I make. Prior to that, I used this Morseth I bought in 1972. It is a very handy size, has a blade shape I really like and holds a great edge even though it's just carbon steel. I don't claim to have anywhere near the experience some of you guys that have killed stuff for a living have. But there is no telling how many game animals and fish this knife has dressed over the years, how many shooting lanes it has helped clear or the miles I have carried it. It has been lost and found several times and gotten more rust on it than I would like to admit. It would easily do it all again. It was about twice the price of a Puma or Buck in 1972, and very well worth the extra cost to me.

I always enjoy knife threads but have yet to get the "honest" part, who would lie about their choice of knives?

Now edc pistols I can understand folks not wanting to admit they don't carry a Glock but many knives perform well regardless of cost or mfgr.

#glocktard


mike r

Shooting for a living sucks and is just work...I am more impressed with the fellows on here that hunt off their hind legs and carry everything with them.

And I have seen some very interesting knives on this thread that tell a lot about the fellows who use them and how they use them.



added. Something I do find perplexing is how do you fellows that hunt in cold weather work with knives that have small handles?

Am interested in the Cattaraugus knife that pictured on this thread . [email protected]

No...it is waiting for it's owner.

That is not you.

GDub,

More pics and info on the G Dukeman knife on the dove breasts, and also the knife in the foxes mouth, if you please. Google failed me on the Dukeman.

My "hard use knives" see maybe 2-4 deer a year. Maybe a few dozen squirrel.

The Benchmade in my ruler pocket is the true hard use knife, for me. Only been used on deer a couple of times, but it goes every where I do.

My hunting buddy was also a butcher for the largest grocery company in my area, that it all he uses, but he has the set. I bought a selection myself, but find my Havolin knife does all his will do except cut thru deep meat, then I pull out my victorinox, which is all I use in the kitchen.

years ago i gots one of those at costgo. it was a freeby if i bought a liter of jim beam.
it's spent its life on my reloading bench

same knife i use, just wish i could find a good sheath.. i hate hard plastic sheaths

works good for gutting deer and pigs.

Mine knows more about critter innards than most veterinary eggspurts.

I have and use a Mora carbon steel model and an Old TImer locking folder. They both are "foundlings" and this really appeals to my Scotch-Irish frugality. I have a few other knives, including a small Buck (Squire?) that was a Christmas gift from my dad, but most are cheapos.

Having said that, I'm glad not everyone is like me. It's good that many folks want to invest in custom knives (or guns, or whatever) because they are helping to keep the knowledge of how to make these items alive. It'd be a shame if the skills it takes to make things one at a time were lost.

I have built dozens of fixed blade knives, but I cannot carry one in WA state.

WA law:
It is a gross misdemeanor to furtively carry with the intent to conceal any “dagger, “dirk,” or “other dangerous weapon.” There is a circumstance of possession element to “other dangerous weapon” such that it can include, for instance, a paring knife with a three-inch blade.

In addition, any WA local municipality can have stricter [than state] laws.
As one drives on the freeway on a fishing trip in WA, a fish knife will be illegal in many of the towns.

Pardon the tardy response.

You can find Gary Dukeman on Facebook. There are two Gary Dukemans. He will be the one pictured with a female. You will have to scroll down to 2012 to find pix of his knives on his facebook page. I spoke with him a couple years ago. I'm not sure he makes knives anymore.

An update of a post in regards to Gary Dukeman/Squawsatch Knives.







Years ago(Circa 2012-2014) a fellow who called himself Squawsach posted a picture of a belt knife he had made. I had a Knives of Alaska production belt knife that was almost identical. I thought to myself that it would be nice to have a custom belt knife.

I contacted Mr. Dukeman and asked if he would be interested in making another. I told him that I was a user (at that time I did not know I was a collector) and I was not interested in a “play pretty”, but something that I could use, and described how the knife would be used. We agreed on D2 steel, micarta scales and that he would sharpen about 1 to 1-1/2 inches of the spine toward the point. That way I could also use an upstroke when caping.

A couple months went by and this is what he came up with. I liked it immediately. The scales are fastened with operable socket screws. The scales can be removed for cleaning. The finish should stand up to use. A working knife, just as I’d asked for. I really like the retainer he fashioned for the sheath. Very practical.



Shortly after I acquired the first knife he posted a second knife (well the second one of his that I noticed). It was a modified Canadian/Yukon belt knife that he called an “ Oklahoma Belt Knife”. I liked the shape and thin grind of the blade and the fact that it was D2. I thought it would be a great caper/slicer. I inquired about having one made and Gary said he would sell me the one that he had featured here. I jumped on it.



After it came in I told him that should he engage on another project, to keep me in mind. A bit of time went by and I contacted him once more just to check what he was doing. He told me he was going to make a filet/bird and trout for a fellow. I said, if it’s not too much trouble make two. He did.



All three are different knives, but IMHO the F/B&T is the pick of the litter. Exquisite fit and finish. S30V steel, 416 Stainless corbys and bolster, Rosewood scales. The pix do not do justice.

Gary also made the sheath for these knives.



and as you requested.......

BTW the picture with the breasts were from the sandhill crane below.











Best,


GWB

If this is the one you are referencing..........





That would be a "Dirk" courtesy of Gene Ingram.





We were speaking and I asked him if he had anything laying around. Don't remember the exact circumstances but IIRC he sent me pix of this and quoted a price. I said "done", without hesitation.
















ya!


GWB

GDub

You oughtta get a commission from knife makers.

Had my wife message Dukeman on FB

Gene Ingram's site says he's not taking orders. Seems like it's said that for a few years, now...

Awesome blade you have there. I've been looking for a similar one for years. Morseth blades have increased in value quite a bit over the last several years, so I'm having a hard time finding one for a reasonable price. Yours is likely worth between $250.00 - $400.00. Also, I believe Morseth blades are laminated steel, though I don't remember the specifics at the moment.

High Noon, this Model was called their Ozark Hunter. It is made with the laminated steel. Softer steel sides with a hard steel center. I never knew what kinds of steel make up the blade. It was made shortly after A. G. Russel purchased Morseth.

I'm not certain what has happened with Morseth since Mr Russell passed away a few years ago. In recent years they had begun making knives of stainless steel and I'm not sure if the laminated blades were still available.

Yep. Not sure of the validity of this but I seem to remember reading that AG, used up Morseth's remaining stock (blade blanks) to make the knives he sold. I remember well drooling over them in the AG Russell catalog. I should have purchased one when I had the chance.

You have a good one there, use it well.

I think that’s probably the coolest Ingram design I’ve ever seen.

Friend of mine in Texas made this one for me, I have forgotten how many deer it has helped with, not to mention my two elk. (You know him DD, Clay) I got to design it just like I wanted it.

Good stuff this one.

First I’d seen it. Dated earlier this month. He retiring? That will save me $300+ a year. Got one left on his books. Guess I better make it a good one.

Isn't this is a case of; it's more about the indian than the arrow? With a career of cutting meat for a living, I would expect you to would know how to cut muscle and tendon that minimize the contact of the blade against edge rolling skin and bone, as well as edge dressing on the fly when necessary.

For most of us civilians, well made S30V, D2, A2, VG10, etc, $25.00+ knives are more forgiving of our inexperience and incomplete knowledge of meat supporting, structural anatomy.