Recomendations please

[stumpy]

I am looking for a high quality knife. I want something with a guthook/skinner combination blade. I plan on using this knife for hunting and was wanting something that holds a edge and is well built. I know there are many "off the shelf" knives of this type but I was looking more toward a "custom" maker whom is known for their quality and edge holding. I am prepared to pay several hundred dollars for such a knife but want something that is worth what I pay for it.
Any suggestions would be helpful

Thank In Advance

[Graybeard]

Dunno about the guthook option as I personally don't like it but I've reviewed the Sunrise River Custom Knives and can attest to their quality and edge holding ability. You can read my review of them here:

http://www.graybeardoutdoors.com/producttest/sunrise.htm

[kyelkhunter3006]

Yeah, I'd skip the guthook too, none of the ones I've tried worked very well.  Get a top quality skinner/hunter and don't look back.  Read the past posting, there are several great makers that are highly recommended.  You might also look on A.G Russell's website for first quality knives too.

[Joel]

Two of the better makers around building top quality hunting knives at very reasonable prices are Charles May and Gene Ingram.  I don't personally own knives from either man, but have friends who are serious knifenuts(not magazine reviewers) who swear by them.
http://charlesmayknives.blademakers.com/
http://geneingramknives.blademakers.com/

Guthooks suck.  They weaken the point, are uglier than sin, almost impossible to really sharpen well.  When ol' Merle Seguine designed that feature as a coffee pot bail grabber, it should have stayed just that.

[kyelkhunter3006]

I wonder what made someone look at that little hook in the blade and say "Man, I should sharpen that and use it to slit open body cavities"?  It's probably the most successful knife gimmick since "surgical stainless" was introduced.   

[stumpy]

I guess I get the point...I have had several of the of the shelf versions of the "slotted" kinives and none worked very well thus I thought it was the knife and not the design thus I thought a "custom" maker might have the problem solved.
Thanks for all the help and I now just have to decide which of these I will order.

Thanks Again

[kyelkhunter3006]

If you want a knife to slit open the cavity, you could try the Wyoming Knife.  Gerber also has a version, it's plastic instead of metal,  I've tried it and didn't like it that much at all.  It worked ok, but I didn't think it was any easier than using a regular knife and guiding it with my fingers.  I've thought that maybe one of the seat belt cutters that emergency personnel use might work ok, but they have pretty narrow gaps for the cutters.  The ASEK cutters that are issued with the new Gerber LMF and the Ontario Pilot Survival knife might work, but again, the opening is very narrow.  I think that it would clog up on the hair.

[ironglow]

  Kyelk;

  I have often wondered about that Wyoming knife. The one good feature is replaceable blades.

  I rercently designed and built a trotally different guthook type knife. I gave it to my friend at Ontario so he could consider if it is worth producing. With this guthook, you can have any shape/type blade you want.

   The blade I forge most often for big game is a sort of modified Nessmuk blade...it works very well when you flip it over and let the "high-rise" part of the spine ride on the belly wall of the game..

[SDS-GEN]

Guys I've got the solution to the gut hook problem.  Get a folding utility knife and install a hooked blade in it.  They weigh practically nothing, cost $5-$7, don't ugly up a perfectly good skinner and never need sharpening.  A guy showed me this on a bear hunt in Alaska.  I don't know if it is really necessary for gutting your average whitetail but it sure cut down on the skinning time for those bears.  If it gets dull, throw out the blade and replace it.

[kyelkhunter3006]

That's probably the most practical solution I've heard yet......

[stumpy]

Well I made the leap and bought 1 Gene Ingrams and 2 Charles Mays ... a Bird and Trout,  a Holt Collier Special and a Big hand Sandi all in D2. I am very impressed with the quality of the workmanship if all of these. These are my first custom knifes and just like my rifles I see you get what you pay for when you go with custom makers.

Please understand I have had many knifes and have never had any problem shaprening one.... but just so I am on the right track is there anything special about these knifes that you might suggest I do as far as care  that would be different then you would do with a "high end" production knife.

Also just as a general question ..These knifes were not cheap but I do see there are others that cost much more...is the price a function of quality or at some point just the name. By that I mean for a knife that is going to be used and not just collected where/what would be the point of deciding you have the best knife for a given task.... I know everyone has opinions on this but I am just wondering if there is some  exclusive level of knifes that are used and thought of as the cream of the crop so to speak.

Thanks for the Help you guys lead me in the right direction.

[Buckfever]

I have a Charles Mays Holt Collier special in D2 and it is one sharp knife.  I also have an EDC in 52100 by Bill Buxton.  A lot of work is put in to triple quinch the metal and is a very nice knife.  Easy to sharpen and holds a very sharp edge.  Both of these knives are top notch.  The EDC 52100 maybe capable of the sharpest edge although I don't think it is really discernible by most hunters.  The Charlie mays knife is about 1/2 the price of the Buxton, both are more than worth what you pay for them in my humble opinion.  Buckfever

[kyelkhunter3006]

Just like in most other things, there is a point of diminishing returns in the custom knife area.  Once you pass $300 for a knife, you are either paying for a name or very exotic materials, IMHO. And there isn't anything wrong with either.  When you go custom for anything, (guns, knives, etc), pride of ownership should play a big part in the choice.  Granted there are knives that are works of art, and very expensive to boot, but they are for looking, not using.

There is no way that I'd pay more than a couple hundred, maybe $300 at the top, for a using knife.  I'm hard on equipment to begin with, but I can't see how having more money than that invested in a knife would make it better for ME.  There are others who would disagree, I'm sure.

[Buckfever]

I would agree completely!  I was able to buy the 52100 EDC for $275 a couple of years ago.  The Charles Mays knives are really a great knife for the money.  D2 is a great steel.   Buckfever

[Buckfever]

Thought I would add this.   Both Bark River knives and Rapid River knives make excellent hunting knives.  The Bark River knives sell on E-bay for under 90.00 usually with sheath.  They are made out of A2 tool steel and are sharp as hell.  Also carry an edge for a long time.  The guy that owns the place use to run Blackjack Knives of Ill.  It is not in business but made some ultra fine knives.  You can buy on of those on E-bay also but pretty spendy.  Rapid River has a wed site also and makes a dynamite skinner.  A2 also.  Both Michigan companies.

These are great value knives for the outdoors.   Buckfever

[James B]

http://www.grohmannknives.com/pages/outdoor.html

You won't get to pay a couple hundred dollars but these are about as good as knives get.

[30-06man]

try benchmark, Gerber, or kershaw. you get a good knife and don't pay $300