Best All Around Hunting Knife?
 

In your experiences, which knife is the best for pratical purposes such as carrying, cleaning game, etc? Thanks.

RE: Best All Around Hunting Knife?
 

This might be funny to you but,i carry a plain old pearing knife,i clean squirrels,rabbits deer.It is easy to sharpen to a razors edge.I also use it to peal potatoes,after i clean it
But don' t get me wrong i have all sorts of hunting knives from a brownning to a buck but none sutes me better than a good pearing knife

RE: Best All Around Hunting Knife?
 

I like the Buck Zipper w/rubber handle. It has a heavy sturdy blade that is easy to sharpen and keep sharp. The gut hook works very well. The rubber handle gives a good grip even when covered in blood. I' ve used a number of different knives over the years but has been the best so far.

RE: Best All Around Hunting Knife?
 

Ditto on the Buck Zipper. I bought a special model, made of ATS-34. Supposed to keep an edge even longer. Only used it to dress one deer this year, but it held up very well. It' s just a tad bigger than what I usually like, but so far it seems to work just fine. I just wish someone would make a knife with a blaze orange or yellow handle, for when you set it down while field dressing. Sometimes it get slid under the leaves, and can be hard to see. Since your knife is the most valuable tool that you can take in the woods, I haven' t figured out the reasoning behind camoflauge knives, yet.
Charlie

RE: Best All Around Hunting Knife?
 

I usually bring a gerber fixed blade and a kershaw set with a gut hook/skinner, regular knife and bone/small tree and brush saw. I used the kershaw on my spring black bear and it was sharp after the bear was skinned, quartered and boned out. The only problem was I had some gunk in the pivoting point, and when I tried to take the blade out, it was a little tight, and when I torqued on it some it popped off, dropped off the side of the boat and I watched it glimmer down to the ocean bottom. [:o] I called kershaw, told them exactly what happened and they not only sent me a new blade, but a new handle as well, even though I had not lost the handle. Can' t beat customer service like that!

RE: Best All Around Hunting Knife?
 

I used a little K-Bar with a gut hook. I got a Browning (don' t remember the model) for Christmas. It has a knife, gut hook, and a saw that' s replaceable. So far I like that one a lot.

RE: Best All Around Hunting Knife?
 

I think a common mistake is to buy one too big. A 3-4 inch folding blade is all you need. I use a buck knife. You have to work on getting a good edge on it, but it stays sharp.

RE: Best All Around Hunting Knife?
 

I use buck, and will never use anything else. they are good knives and stay sharp for long periods of time.

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RE: Best All Around Hunting Knife?
 

Gerber gator.Holds edge well.Rubber no slip handle works good when wet.Gerber also makes a blade similar to wyoming knife that uses regular boxcutter blades.Good for ripping open cavity without cutting guts.

CB

RE: Best All Around Hunting Knife?
 

I have a drawer full of Buck Knives of all shapes and sizes. They haven' t cut a piece of deer meat in years.

My CHOICE: I carry a Gerber folding knife with a 3 inch blade and rubberized handle. It' ll do anything I hunt. I gut, skin and bone out a deer with it. It' s easy to sharpen and holds an edge quite well.

RE: Best All Around Hunting Knife?
 

My son and I use Buck Lite knives, the same one for 12 yrs. We' ve skinned and quartered close to 40 elk and they' re still going strong. I would highly recommend them. elknut1.

RE: Best All Around Hunting Knife?
 

i have a remington grizzly...i have the regular straight blade and the bone saw/gut hook model..it has a oversized rubber handle and it worked for me this year...i gutted both my deer and sawed 4 pelvic bones with it this year....only thing is by the time i was done with the second deer the straight edge wasnt sucha razor...but i dont think i sharpened it well enough before season....the rubber handles are nice...all the other knives with various handle materials all got pretty slick when covered in blood....kinda dangerous when your reaching way up there to cut hte esophogus and it slips out of your hand and you have to dig around blindly looking for a knife in a cavity of a deer....but i dont clean that way anymore....i cut hte wind pipe after i remove most of the guts....im still searching for a good knife...i will give the remington another season then goto a gerber if it still doesnt hold an edge....2 deer really isnt much to ask from a knife....atleast i dont think so lol...

RE: Best All Around Hunting Knife?
 

i use a buck folding lockback rubber handle half serrated blade thumb nob for easy opening thick nylon case as abow hunter dont want no leather case obsorbse to much human order awsome knife

RE: Best All Around Hunting Knife?
 

I have the Buck Vanguard with the rubber handle. I still carry my orginal Buck 110 folding lockblade that I have had for maybe 10 years or more. Still keeps a razors edge.

RE: Best All Around Hunting Knife?
 

Case folding 3" lock blade, it is a tradition so I have to take this baby. Before I lost it my Case XX Changer would never miss a trip as well. I have since replaced it with a Kershaw Alaskan Blade Brader set. In it I have the saw, drop blade, gut hook/skinner balde and a 8" fillet knife that works perfect for deboning (much to rigid for filleting, imo).

RE: Best All Around Hunting Knife?
 

Let me throw in another vote for the Buck Zipper. Great knife! I also use my tried and true Benchmade folder that I don' t leave home without.

RE: Best All Around Hunting Knife?
 

Lets see, I have a Puma folding knife 2 3/4 inch blade. Very nice for cleaning deer. I have 3" case, which is extremely sharp, I have a 1 3/4 folding buck knive which will keep an edge like no-ones business, and a bunch of others. But, I' d have to say that my favorite knive is one that my Uncle gave me way back when I was 14 when he was in Germany. It' s called an Edge Brand (made in Germany), and it is really something. I have never seen this knive anywhere.

I must say though, that if I were to buy another knive, it would be a Buck Alpha Hunter, Rosewood.

RE: Best All Around Hunting Knife?
 

I much prefer fixed blades. I used a folding Bucklite for years, but it lacked sturdiness to dig, pry, and do tough chores (I know, I know). I also didn' t like the tedious cleaning job of the handle groove and hinge that lay after every use on game.

For practicality, I really like the downsized version of the Marine K-Bar knife I' ve been using the last couple of years. It' s super rugged to pry broadheads from tree stumps, split pelvic bones, and hack small saplings. It' s also made from quality steel that sharpens well and has a handy blunt end cap for driving in tent stakes and other chores. Refreshingly, it has a decent sheath, too.

Aesthetically, and for delicate skinning jobs, I really like the Siggma knife that I had custom made for me. It' s ruggedly beautiful being made from a very old sawmill blade, and gets scalpel sharp.

RE: Best All Around Hunting Knife?
 

I' ve had a Buck/model #110 for close to 20 years, great
knife that I' m sure will never wear out. It' s a folding
knife with a 3 1/2" blade. I usually leave this at camp
or in my truck until needed.

Every time I head to the woods, whether scouting or
hunting (which is quite often:D), I always have my
Leatherman Supertool on my belt. If I ever lost
it, I' d go out and buy another the next day.

About a year ago, I received a Browning FDT( Field
Dressing Tool). To say the least I' m dissapointed.
The only thing I use is the caping blade....and
the first time I used the saw cleaning a buck, I had
several teeth break right off[:@]...and to make it
worse, it wasn' t even my buck...it was my brothers.

RE: Best All Around Hunting Knife?
 

I' ll vouch on the Gerber Gator, excellent knife. My favorite is the buck passed on to me from Grampa, many memories in that knife.

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RE: Best All Around Hunting Knife?
 

Over the years I' ve used Buck, Case, K-bar, Gerber, Schrade, Cold Steel, Kershaw, CRKT, Western, Puma, Opinel.... More different brands than I remember and I can honestly say I' ve not had a bad knife from any of those outfits. Just some weren' t quite as good as others. ;) My favorite was Western (the OLD Western Cutlery Company, not the crud that Camillus has been putting out under that name).

I' m another that doesn' t like cleaning the blood and guts out of folders. Preference is for fixed blades. 3-4" , as said before, for gutting and skinning.

Right now I' m using a Helle Nying, and I can tell you those triple laminated blades are something else! Very oddball, traditional Scandinavian-style handle, but very comfortable and practical once you get used to the feel.

RE: Best All Around Hunting Knife?
 

I use a SCHRADE OLD TIMER. It is a lock folding knife with a 3 inch blade, 1 3/4 straight blade edge and a 1 1/4 serated blade edge, with a 43/4 inch handle made of plastic with a non slip type of coating, comes with a a heavy fabric belt holder that can be thrown in the washer when soiled. The curve in the blade is well placed for a index finger push down on the blade and also has a plastic piece mounted in the top back of the blade for gripping the the top of the blade. It holds a really sharp edge for a long time. I used it to remove fletching from a carbon arrow and then was able to field dress a deer without sharpening the blade between uses.
Heck I was on a outfitters hunt and the owner and my guide both had knifes for field dressing my deer that had dull blades so I handed them my OLD TIMER and they were both very impressed with the knife, they said leave it to the lady to have a knife sharper than ours[:o][&:]
My husband picked it up for me at Wal-Mart for $ 19.99, I love the knife and thought it was a heck of a good deal he got.

RE: Best All Around Hunting Knife?
 

I have had a few knives and am happy with my kershaw . I allso have used a pairing knife like swamper and they work great . A small swept back blade is best if you are cleaning alot of animals and they sharpen easyer allso . AK thats a real nice blade you got there .

RE: Best All Around Hunting Knife?
 

After trying many knives over the years, I' ve decided that I like a fixed blade with a rubber handle, and a 4-5" (thin, not wide) blade. This seems to be the best combination for me. I use this knife strictly for field dressing. Works very well. I also have other knives I use for skinning, butchering, etc.

RE: Best All Around Hunting Knife?
 

I carry a Kersaw and a Wenger---guess I' m the first on here to mention the granddaddy Swiss Army knives.

I' ve carried the Wenger for almost ten years, and can say that the thing can do everything. Plus I get two blades for the price of one...

RE: Best All Around Hunting Knife?
 

I have used an old timer, and it worked fine until I lost it. Then I got a gerber gator and I didn' t like it because it got dull so fast.

So now I use my Buck Pathfinder that my dad gave me when I was young. It ain' t easy to sharpen but it holds an edge for a loooong time. I also have a buck pocket knife that I use sometimes.

I will never use anything other than a buck knife. I had to buy a sharpening kit to get the thing sharp but it gets so much sharper than any other knife I have ever seen. Heck I once shaved with my knife on a backpacking hunting trip.