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Author
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Topic: Big Game Knives
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Miss Joyce
Knows what it's all about
Member # 584
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posted June 30, 2007 07:48 PM
What kind of a knife do you prefer for working big Game?
Still blade or folding / locking?
Single blade or multiple?
Serrated edge or smooth?
Posts: 33 | From: ****** , AZ | Registered: Feb 2005
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Lonny
PANTS ON THE GROUND
Member # 19
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posted June 30, 2007 08:32 PM
I'm far from being a knife expert, and have never spent over $40 for a knife. That said, there sure is some nice looking custom stuff out there.
I prefer folding/locking just because it takes up less space in my pack. No more than about 3" blade length.
Single blade for me, again because of the size and weight. When way out in the sticks, I usually carry two knives because I'm paranoid about misplacing one at a kill site half way through the butchering.
I have no idea how to sharpen a serrated blade, so smooth for me.
How is Tim feeling?
Posts: 1209 | From: Lewiston, Idaho USA | Registered: Jan 2003
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KevinKKaller
Knows what it's all about
Member # 559
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posted June 30, 2007 08:33 PM
Mostly depends on the game
For Deer I prefer a Kershaw 3 blade trader fixed blade
For elk and such I yous a 3 knife set all fixed blades With a skiner with gut hook caper and saw.
My prefrence is in a good set Cheep imotations will come back and hownt you I had a cheep set I yoused on javalina once and what a disapointment
Stick with the best you can aford.
For elk I always cary a gerber Pack Axe as well.
It is werth the extra wheight for the big criters.
Tell Tim I sead Hello
Good Hunting Kevin
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Maker of K-Kalls
Posts: 126 | From: Idaho | Registered: Feb 2005
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Leonard
HMFIC
Member # 2
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posted June 30, 2007 09:31 PM
Miss Joyce, depending on your budget, there are a lot of custom knife makers out there, anything you want to pay.
However, as far as I'm concerned, you get pretty good value from Case Knives, fixed or sheath, folding locking blade, there are a lot to choose from. I personally like a drop point sheath knife, and a folder.
Look here: http://www.wrcase.com/
and you can also search Smoky Mountain Knives
Good hunting. LB
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EL BEE Knows It All and Done It All.
Don't piss me off!
Posts: 32373 | From: Upland, CA | Registered: Jan 2003
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Krustyklimber
prefers the bunny hugger pronunciation: ky o tee
Member # 72
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posted June 30, 2007 11:16 PM
If you are looking for a custom job, try McGinnis Custom Knives.
I have an M-2 Skinner that I like a lot.
McGinnis Custom Knives
Krusty 
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Think about how stupid the average person is, then realize that half of them are stupider than that!
Posts: 1912 | From: Deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia | Registered: Jan 2003
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Andy L
HI, I'M THE NEW MODERATOR OF THE CENTRAL MISSOURI FORUM, PULL MY FINGER!
Member # 642
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posted July 01, 2007 04:38 AM
Joyce,
I have a fella working for us that makes really nice knives. I have one for big game that is made ouf of a crosscut saw blade. It not only holds a great edge, but its kinda unique. It had pits from rust and he sand blasted it, leaving the pits in it. Put a deer antler handle on it, kinda Bowie style. Also he makes personalized sheaths with your name or initials on it.
If your thinkin what Im thinking, I would be glad to have one of these made for Tim, if your interested. If he cant get the knife done, I will donate mine and get one later, just have him a sheath done so his dont say, A.L. LOL
Just an option for a unique, fully functional, one of a kind custom. And he wont charge me for it.
Make Tim a mighty fine elk knife....
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Andy
Posts: 2645 | From: Central Missouri | Registered: Apr 2005
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Steve Craig
Lacks Opposable Thumbs/what's up with that?
Member # 12
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posted July 01, 2007 07:35 AM
I use Shrade/Old Timer knives. For elk and deer, I use a single blade/folding/locking/smooth. And a 3-4 inch blade.
For fur, I like the Muskrat, 2 blade folding.
I use a Dry medium whetstone in the field that is less than 2 inches long. A client gave me one of those small Diamond mini Steels and it is good too. Very small and light and easy to carry.
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Yes, we did produce a near-perfect republic. But will they keep it? Or will they, in the enjoyment of plenty, lose the memory of freedom? Material abundance without character is the path of destruction. - Thomas Jefferson
Posts: 442 | From: Cottonwood,Az, USA | Registered: Jan 2003
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bowjunkie
Knows what it's all about
Member # 887
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posted July 01, 2007 09:37 AM
I have a few customs but it seems I always go back to my old western fixed blade drop point for guttin skinin and just about any thing else except caping I use a scalpel
Posts: 35 | From: the high mountians | Registered: Jul 2006
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Okanagan
Budding Spin Doctor
Member # 870
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posted July 01, 2007 09:46 AM
Miss Joyce, it depends a little on personal hunting styles and preference but here's one of those. I backpack hunt a lot and my favorite for the past 20 years has been a single locking blade Buck folder in stainless steel. I think it is a Bucklite. Very hard steel and will hold an edge through gutting and skinning a whole moose.
I do not like serrated blades for skinning, gutting, cutting meat, etc. I gutted a deer with a serrated folding knife once when that's what was handy. It worked. I didn't like it.
I like serrated blades for rougher work such as cutting rope, etc. and have a fixed blade diving knife in a one hand release on my life jacket for when I kayak. I've used it twice to cut loose from a tangle of discarded fishing line. That experience as an example of specialized types of use for smooth or serrated blades.
When I am hunting fairly close to a vehicle, I have some fixed blade knives that I like, but don't carry them far afield. My son gave me the Kershaw blade trader and that is a handy outfit.
I used to carry exclusively a Case pocket knife with several blades: main clip point for skinning & gutting, flesh blade razor sharp for detail work, leather awl for cutting tidy holes in anything. I used them all.
My son has a lock blade with two blades: a smooth cutting blade and a saw. Buck makes one like that. He loves it for deer and elk.
Too many options, all good.
Posts: 269 | From: 49th Parrallel | Registered: Jun 2006
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Rob
Knows what it's all about
Member # 75
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posted July 01, 2007 12:45 PM
www.ruanaknives.com/
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"Where did all these #$%^&* Indians come from?" Gen. George Armstrong Custer
Posts: 224 | From: Clancy Montana | Registered: Feb 2003
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TA17Rem
Hello, I'm the legendary Tim Anderson, Southern Minneesota Know it all
Member # 794
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posted July 01, 2007 08:23 PM
Here are a few knives, the four on bottom from left are pretty strong and do a fine job of gutting and quartering and the second one on top from left works just as well. Another good knife i don't have a pic of is the fixed blade buck knife, the blade is concave on both sides and thick at the top and tuff as nails.. http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/TA17Rem/100_0081.jpg[/IMG]] 
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What if I told you, the left wing and right wing both belong to same bird!
Posts: 5626 | From: S.D. | Registered: Jan 2006
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Leonard
HMFIC
Member # 2
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posted July 01, 2007 09:23 PM
Tim, no accounting for taste, but there isn't a single one of those I would keep if given to me, much less buy one. No offense. ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Good hunting. LB
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EL BEE Knows It All and Done It All.
Don't piss me off!
Posts: 32373 | From: Upland, CA | Registered: Jan 2003
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Dusty Hunter
Knows what it's all about
Member # 1031
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posted July 02, 2007 08:37 AM
Joyce, I'm not sure if this is a surprise for Tim, but I found that your high carbon steels are easier to sharpen and will get sharper than the stainless steels. High carbon has a finer grain structure than the stainless. Once they are sharpened, if you look at them under a microscope, a high carbon blade edge will look smooth. The stainless steel edge will look jagged. When I used to hunt big game, I would carry a folding knife that locks open and a fixed knife blade. The fixed knife blade has to have a good sheath for safety reasons. I prefer a drop point knife. Here's a picture of what one looks like: http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/yhst-7321468305845_1950_19219472
[ July 02, 2007, 09:24 AM: Message edited by: Dusty Hunter ]
Posts: 346 | From: AZ | Registered: Dec 2006
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Leonard
HMFIC
Member # 2
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posted July 02, 2007 09:28 AM
Okay, I appreciate the (unintended) joke as much as anybody, but, here's the deal.
Miss Joyce never logged off. Tim began this thread asking about knives, but failed to notice that it was entered under Joyce's screen name, if you are following along.
So, this is no discussion about a secret gift for Tim.
And here's the deal. A knife is such an individual thing, it would be very difficult to select for somebody else, hardly the same as a gift tie on Father's Day. A man (rightfully) should pick out his own "ideal" blade. Very similiar to allowing someone else to pick out a wife for you, it is not going to be appreciated the same way as doing it yourself.
Good hunting. LB
PS, remember to log off, or somebody can sit down and write:
Leonard's a no talent idiot!
signed: Leonard
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EL BEE Knows It All and Done It All.
Don't piss me off!
Posts: 32373 | From: Upland, CA | Registered: Jan 2003
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Tim Behle
Administrator MacNeal Sector
Member # 209
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posted July 02, 2007 03:41 PM
Thanks, Leonard.
I kept meaning to write a correction, but my broadband connections hates this heat, I can sometimes read 3-4 threads, and then I get locked off of the 'net for hours.
I didn't mean to mislead anyone, I just wondered what those with a lot of big game experiance prefered.
I'm with you, knives don't make real good gifts. I've got drawers full of gift knives, in perfect shape. But it's the one's that I buy for myself that get worn out.
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Personally, I carry a gun because I'm too young to die and too old to take
an ass kickin'.
Posts: 3160 | From: Five Miles East of Vic, AZ | Registered: Jun 2003
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Doug
Knows what it's all about
Member # 31
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posted July 02, 2007 03:45 PM
Tim,
I use a Cold Steel SRK knife. I like a big strong fixed blade to skin and bone an elk.
Doug
http://www.coldsteel.com/38ck.html
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My mountain cur thinks I'm God.
Posts: 69 | From: Northern Colorado | Registered: Jan 2003
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csmithers
unknown comic
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posted July 02, 2007 06:57 PM
I like Buck knives. I mainly use a Buck Alpha Hunter folder for gutting.
Edge retention is the biggest problem I have run into with any of my knives. If I could find one that would hold an edge for any decent amount of time I'd be happy.
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varmit hunter
Knows what it's all about
Member # 37
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posted July 02, 2007 08:00 PM
I have a kershaw "Black out" smooth I have come to like on hogs.
When I put up fur I tried a lot of "Case" folders, but I always came back to a Shrade "Muskrat Skinner".
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Make them pay for the wind.
Posts: 932 | From: Orange,TX | Registered: Jan 2003
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Dusty Hunter
Knows what it's all about
Member # 1031
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posted July 02, 2007 09:52 PM
Tim, I've been hunting bear, hogs, and deer since 1964. I've got a collection of knives. Nobody has ever given them to me as presents because it is a very personal thing and I tell them not to. I know what kind of steel I like and I like them made in the USA. I own three knives made by Barry Dawson. I've had one for quite a while. I just picked up two more recently. Barry makes some of the best knives I've seen and used. Here's his website, I'd sure check it out. Look under the hunting and general purpose section. http://www.dawsonknives.com/info.html
[ July 02, 2007, 09:57 PM: Message edited by: Dusty Hunter ]
Posts: 346 | From: AZ | Registered: Dec 2006
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Tim Behle
Administrator MacNeal Sector
Member # 209
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posted July 03, 2007 07:57 AM
Rob,
You posted a link to one of the biggest memory makers of my childhood. I have two Ruana Knives.
We stopped there on a family vacation twice and Dad let me pick out a knife each time. The first time, I got a hunting knife with about a 5" blade and the antler inset into the handle. I carried that knife with me everywhere I went for years! My Mom used to get so pissed at me, she'd take me to the store with her, then notice half way though that the knife was still on my hip. So she'd send me out to the car to wait.
If anyone is ever in the Bonner Area on vacation, that store is someplace that you have to stop and take your boys. It's been 30 years since I've been there, and I can still recall looking into the cases at all of the knives and listening to Dad talk to the old man about how they were made.
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Personally, I carry a gun because I'm too young to die and too old to take
an ass kickin'.
Posts: 3160 | From: Five Miles East of Vic, AZ | Registered: Jun 2003
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Andy L
HI, I'M THE NEW MODERATOR OF THE CENTRAL MISSOURI FORUM, PULL MY FINGER!
Member # 642
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posted July 03, 2007 08:31 AM
Well, I screwed the pooch.
I just mentioned it to the fella that works for us and when I went by his office yesterday, he already had a blank cut out and a sheath made for you. I didnt expect him to be that quick on the draw.
If you got a drawer full of gift knives and dont care for them, no biggie. My mistake. Its a nice knife, Ill use it.
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Andy
Posts: 2645 | From: Central Missouri | Registered: Apr 2005
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Leonard
HMFIC
Member # 2
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posted July 03, 2007 09:15 AM
Just bring it to the campout.
Good hunting, from Peoria. LB
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EL BEE Knows It All and Done It All.
Don't piss me off!
Posts: 32373 | From: Upland, CA | Registered: Jan 2003
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Tim Behle
Administrator MacNeal Sector
Member # 209
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posted July 03, 2007 09:15 AM
Andy,
What I meant by that, was that I've got a drawer full of knives that have been given to me over the years, and that those knives are still in perfect condition.
It's the knife that a fellow picks out for himself that gets all of the use, and shows all of the wear.
I've got some beautiful showy knives, some with pictures on them like the ones that TA posted, but I'd never consider taking them out and using them, I'd be afraid that I would scratch a knife like that.
What I'm looking for here is some suggestions as to a good working knife style, from those who most often use them.
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Personally, I carry a gun because I'm too young to die and too old to take
an ass kickin'.
Posts: 3160 | From: Five Miles East of Vic, AZ | Registered: Jun 2003
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Leonard
HMFIC
Member # 2
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posted July 03, 2007 09:21 AM
I find the most useful style is a drop point caper, with a blade in the 3.5" range. And, carry a folder. You might like a saw, but you can bone a lot of meat with a small sharp knife.
Good hunting. LB
edit: I like slab sides, or antler, jigged, something where the knife is not difficult to control with blood on your hands.
[ July 03, 2007, 09:23 AM: Message edited by: Leonard ]
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EL BEE Knows It All and Done It All.
Don't piss me off!
Posts: 32373 | From: Upland, CA | Registered: Jan 2003
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Kokopelli
SENIOR DISCOUNT & Dispenser of Sage Advice
Member # 633
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posted July 03, 2007 03:50 PM
Lately I'm useing the small Rapala filetting knife with about an inch of the blade tip removed for everything from skinning coyotes to boning out deer. Fits my hand, good balance & control. Decent steel & holds an edge pretty well. They're light weight so a couple of them in the pack isn't noticed. Plus......I find them slightly used at gun shows and pay about $5.00 per each for them. Not a 'custom' knife to be proud of but also not a lot of worry that one will grow legs and walk off, either.
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And lo, the Light of the Trump shown upon the Darkness and the Darkness could not comprehend it.
Posts: 8237 | From: Under a wandering star | Registered: Apr 2005
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