Author Topic: Field Dressing Knife (Read 11560 times)

XD9 · « **on:** November 22, 2007, 04:21:21 AM »

I've been shotting for a few years but just got into hunting this year and took my first deer over the weekend. I'm hooked!!

However, I found out really fast the importance of a good hunting knife. I was wondering what everyone uses when they're field dressing. I dressed this one with a folding lock blade Gerber, 3" serated blade...NOT the best knife to use. I got the job done but didn't like it at all.

What should I look for in a good hunting / dressing knife? I know I can't go cheap. Do you guys use folding lock blade, fixed blade, drop point, clip point, serated, etc?? Brands?

jhm · « **Reply #1 on:** November 22, 2007, 04:39:31 AM »

Well I must say in the beginning my last name means KNIFE in German so with that said I have lots of Messers, My favorite fixed blade is a signed Kershaw 3.5 in. blade and my favorite folder is a U.S. Manu. in Portland Or. Gerber, I have always liked the Older Pumas hunter friend hunter pals and have them and would carry either one if not hunting here on the place, but they have gone up so much in value I just keep them in the Knife safe. JIM

tn_junk · « **Reply #2 on:** November 22, 2007, 06:32:36 AM »

I have a Schrade Sharp Finger that I got for my 13 Birthday 37 years ago. Have tried many many knives and never found one better.

alan

Brithunter · « **Reply #3 on:** November 22, 2007, 06:51:10 AM »

Hi There,

With practice just about knife will work however some blade shapes are better than others. I prefer drop points rather than clip points but I have both for general work. I also brought a dedicated skinner and that's what it's kept for. here are the ones I use:-

Boker Arbolito with 440C blade was my first brought fixed blade knife.

Buck Crosslock the Gut hook is very useful and it's on my belt when I hunt a friend gave me this one and that was before I brought the Boker.

Boker Treebrand stag handled drop point which lives in my knife pocket of my Hunting trousers (pants). Always fancied a Stag Horn Handled knife.

Picked up off E-Bay a Wade & Butcher of Sheffield "Boone" bowie, carbon steel blade that takes and hold a very good edge, pity about the clip point. It's currently in Scotland having a new sheaf made for it as the original is well worn and weak after about 40 years.

Sorry no photo of this one but a friend in the US sent this "Junk" knife as he put it across the pond to me. It's a Frost cutlery "Apahe" made in China. It actually handles quite well and has taken a good edge, have not used it in the field yet to don't know how it holds it's edge but it's certainly handy as a spare even if I am not keen on the Cordura sheaf.

Finally my Cudman of Spain skinner :-

used it back in 2003 on my MO Whitetails and Steven my buddy was so impressed he wanted one so one was obtained and posted across to him, his has Olive wood scales on the handle.

Chilachuck · « **Reply #4 on:** November 22, 2007, 07:15:01 AM »

I used a sharp knife to make the opening cuts and gutting the carcass, then a duller blade for the skinning to reduce cutting through hide or meat.

Butchering the meat calls for the sharpest knife possible. I usually cut dinner off the hanging carcass, so the sharp knives could stay home or back in the camp.

beemanbeme · « **Reply #5 on:** November 22, 2007, 09:42:11 AM »

I carry a couple of the Buck versions of Brit's top photo. I keep one in the cargo pocket of my pants (trousers) and one in the small day pack that I wear. If you keep the knife's edge away from bone, it'll stay sharp for a long time but as we don't live in a perfect world, I carry a small diamond hone in the day pack also.

rickyp · « **Reply #6 on:** November 22, 2007, 03:09:45 PM »

What I use is a Remington big game knife with stag scales. one blade has a saw and gut hook and the other is a clip point blade I don't care for the gut hook and do not use it. Once I got the blade sharp (sharp enough to shave my arm hairs) it is now my favert hunting knife. I only use this knife for gutting and some skinning. For skinning I use a buck special 119 My dad gave me when I passed hunter safety class and a rappla felt knife For gutting my deer I use the 119 and felt knife and it works great.

That being said I really want a buck 110 folder! it is about as good of hunting knife as you can get.

I have a nice Wyoming knife sitting in my gun room it works good for gutting but that is about it.

I have found that a 3 to 3 3/4" blades works the best

Chilachuck · « **Reply #7 on:** November 23, 2007, 08:10:30 AM »

I think the Wyoming knife was designed as a special purpose knife, for gutting only. There's some disposable copies around, or were.

Long time ago, I read a comment by someone who claimed to be the first to put a hook on the back of a knife. He said it was really just a pot hook to start with. He kept having trouble with the wire bail on his pot slipping off the back of his knife so he put a hook on the knife so he could get his coffee off the fire without burning his fingers or spilling the coffee.

Then people started complaining about having to "sharpen the gut hook". He thought is was a dumb and useless idea, but people wanted it and he was selling knives to make money, so he started sharpening them.

Castaway · « **Reply #8 on:** November 23, 2007, 02:15:45 PM »

My go-to knife is a Case Trapper with high carbon steel a 3 1/2 " clip blade for bunging and a sheeps head for general work if I need a back-up sharp blade.

XD9 · « **Reply #9 on:** November 23, 2007, 03:35:54 PM »

Anyone ever used the Gerber Gator II knife (3.5" drop point with gut hook)? It looks nice and I like Gerber but it's getting some mixed reviews. Some people say the blade is lasting all hunting season while a couple of others said the blade went dull after one deer. Of course, I don't know how these people are treating the knife...they may be hitting bone with it. Anyone know anything about it? I found it on Bass Pro's web site for $35 and you can get it on eBay for around $25 after shipping? I know this is cheap...that's why I'm looking at reviews. I would like the best knife I ca get for less than $50. The wife doesn't really understand guns and hunting stuff.

cattoon · « **Reply #10 on:** November 23, 2007, 03:57:41 PM »

case yellow handle trapper. And I must respectfully disagree with the wyoming knife being limited to gutting, I've skinned numerous deer with mine and prefer it to the buck 103 that I have or any of the other knives that I own.

Castaway · « **Reply #11 on:** November 24, 2007, 02:22:08 AM »

cattoon, I agree with you. I have a Buck Zipper and still prefer my Case Trapper for gutting.

dukkillr · « **Reply #12 on:** November 24, 2007, 05:47:04 AM »

Old Timer 77. Two high carbon sharp blades. I've done elk, hogs, caribou, and deer with it. Gigantic rambo knives are for hunters who don't know any better.

Don Fischer · « **Reply #13 on:** November 24, 2007, 06:09:52 AM »

Ah Dukkillr, Love those Schrade knives. But I do use folding hunters. If it says Schrade, Uncle Henry or Old timer, it's a knife! I had, many years ago, a Puma Hunters Pal that was a favorite but they plain cost to much any more. I have a new Buck fixed blade that's really nice looking I tried out this year; pretty girl can't cook!

Archblackmage · « **Reply #14 on:** November 24, 2007, 10:44:28 AM »

I have a white handled cutco fixed blade hunter, and a buck syn handle lockback gut hook.

Chilachuck · « **Reply #15 on:** November 24, 2007, 03:18:46 PM »

Catoon, the one I tried would not reach in far enough to do the job because the winter coat was too thick. I thought it needed another half inch or so. It could be due to the way I held the knife, but I only tried it the one time.

Back to the original question, the best skinning knife I tried was a middle sized Frosts puukko, without serrations. The best for inside the gut cavity was a little, flat, micarta handled folder by, IIRC, Gerber.

goalie · « **Reply #16 on:** November 25, 2007, 05:21:28 AM »

Helle Godbit.

Holds a great edge. Went for 5 deer dressed this season before I sharpened it.

Tackleberry · « **Reply #17 on:** November 25, 2007, 05:44:26 AM »

I really like the "Master hunter" from COLD STEEL. 4 1/2 inch blade with a slightly dropped point, its got a full 3/16 inch thick backbone that is superb for popping with the pad of your hand to break through a sternum. The steel is very high quality that sharpens easily and holds and edge a long time. Handle is a soft synthetic that never slips even when bloody. Cold Steel is located in Ventura California.

My backup (actually, I bought it locally because my first Master Hunter was stolen along with my 94 Ford F-150 nine years ago) is a Gerber 4 inch drop point blade very similar to the Cold Steel Knife. The black back thickness is not quite as thick as the Cold Steel knife but is a very nice knife, not sure what the model number is.

Dave

beemanbeme · « **Reply #18 on:** November 25, 2007, 05:53:53 AM »

To jack this thread just a little bit (who me?) Can someone explain to me why you would have a serrated edge on a hunting knife? Also, why would you want a camo hunting knife? I know a knife is supposed to be in your hand or in your pocket (sheath) but it doesn't always work out that way.

dukkillr · « **Reply #19 on:** November 25, 2007, 07:16:00 AM »

Quote from: beemanbeme on November 25, 2007, 05:53:53 AM

To jack this thread just a little bit (who me?) Can someone explain to me why you would have a serrated edge on a hunting knife? Also, why would you want a camo hunting knife? I know a knife is supposed to be in your hand or in your pocket (sheath) but it doesn't always work out that way.

You wouldn't want a serrated edge. The only explanation for a hunter carrying a serrated edge would be that he doesn't know any better. A camo knife is like a camo rifle stock. It's a sales tactic, not something that will help.

beemanbeme · « **Reply #20 on:** November 25, 2007, 10:46:53 AM »

Wonder how many knives are left laying in the woods.............?

Chilachuck · « **Reply #21 on:** November 25, 2007, 11:39:42 AM »

Well, there's a reason cammo hafted knives keep selling so well.

Davemuzz · « **Reply #22 on:** November 25, 2007, 12:14:32 PM »

XD9,

"Field" knife's kind of depend on what you hunt. If (like me) you hunt whitetail and your just looking for a knife that you can field dress the animal with, then you can and probably should go with a $25 or $35 knife. I have a Buck knife in that price range that opens 'em up just fine and cleans out all the "goodies" in the field that needs cleanin. Now, if I forget and leave that knife out there, or it's a snowy day and I lose it under the snow....it's no great loss.

When I bring the deer back I use the better skinnin knifes (that don't leave my truck unless it's skinnin time). And when it's "cuttin" time I use high quality ($80 to $110 per knife) knifes.

So...the field knife is the least costly. But if your hunting where you need the knife to do it all......that's a different story.

Dave

Jal5 · « **Reply #23 on:** November 25, 2007, 01:52:10 PM »

I have a Schrade folder, wooden handles, very handy in the pocket but the one I like the most for field dressing is a Case Ridgeback Hunter, 3 " very nice synthetic handle, just feels good in the hand and is easily controlled in doing the gutting, etc. due to the ridges in the top of the blade. It is the go to knife.

Ranger J · « **Reply #24 on:** November 25, 2007, 02:05:21 PM »

I use a 4 inch fixed blade Case with a blaze orange rubber handle. It keeps a good edge and the orange handle keeps me from searching for the knife among the leaves when I lay it down.

RJ

XD9 · « **Reply #25 on:** November 25, 2007, 03:39:53 PM »

Quote from: beemanbeme on November 25, 2007, 10:46:53 AM

Wonder how many knives are left laying in the woods.............?

The whole reason I started this post is because I left my knife in the woods when I gutted that deer. I now need to buy a new knife and I want to make sure it's a good one. I know the serrated blade is not a good option for a field dressing knife but it's all I had at the time. I definitely will not be buying another one for this purpose.

I really like Gerber knives and I'm looking at some of their fixed blade options. I don't really like folding knives for this because they are much harder to clean after coming out of the field. You can never quite get everything out of the ends.

beemanbeme · « **Reply #26 on:** November 26, 2007, 04:09:21 AM »

Well, there's a bunch of good 'uns on the market. I'm sure Gerber makes one. Just avoid extremes. It seems like a consensus in the thread is 3-4" blade with a slight drop point preferred. I like to carry two hunting knives and a small hone. Plus a good pocket knife. I guess I'm just a "the glass is half empty" kinda guy.

backstrap · « **Reply #27 on:** November 26, 2007, 05:02:56 AM »

What ever knife u deside to get make sure it has a gut hook on it they are so nice just to unzipp the belly and not have to worry about getting into any of the stuff inside, i got a old time i bought from wally world got a green handle on it the blade is 4 inch with a gut hook on it i wouldnt trade it for any knife that cost 10 time as more for it and i didnt give but 25.00 and it keeps an edge to

Drilling Man · « **Reply #28 on:** November 26, 2007, 05:58:50 AM »

And here's another opinion...

After field dressing well over 100 animals from moose and brown bears on down to deer, and other smaller big game i don't like gut hooks, and wouldn't have one... Splitting the belly is what ? 5% of the job, why have to put up with something you don't need, for the other 95%?

My most used knife is an old Gerber custom series...

I liked the first one so much, i bought two more, and that was many years ago...

If i was buying a new hunting knife today for deer sized animals, without breaking the buget, i'd buy this one...

http://www.gerberstore.com/index.php?xpage=itempage&xid=647

DM

backstrap · « **Reply #29 on:** November 26, 2007, 06:33:16 AM »

Y not have a gut hook its not like its in the way or make the sharp edge bawler or any thing like that i have no problem with mine after i unzipp him just turn the knife over and start useing the edge for what ever u might be doing ,there cant be any down side to a gut hooked knife that i can tell but to each his own