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Real life hunting knives - fixed or folders?

5K views 57 replies 43 participants last post by  puma guy 
#1 ·
So.. Fixed blade or folders for real life hunting duty? I am not talking about "Rambo" bushcraft stuff like clearing a lot or hacking down a tree with a belt knife.... I am talking about real life hunting - which includes gutting/skinning/breaking down game as well as general purpose camp duty...

For me - I carry a fixed blade in my pack for GAME duty.... My simple rationale is Cleaning. I did my first two deer with my old Schrade lock back and I had to clean forever and still probably never got all the blood and guts out... Then - if I am out in the field - the last thing I want to do is close up a bloody knife and stick it in my pocket or worse - the sheath.. I did that on my 1st and it was a real mess.... If that's all you have - it will work... But it's not my first choice.... I also like this one (mostly) dedicated to game so I can keep the edge hair popping sharp. There's nothing like the joy of trying to get a deer opened up, gutted, skinned, and broken down with a dull knife... Groan...

But I like a general purpose folder for general camp duty. I just carry a Swiss Army knife for this... It has a can opener, a couple screwdrivers, toothpick, and tweezers... These accessories are worth their weight in gold - because somebody ALWAYS forgot/lost the can opener or some screws need tightening or I have to dig brambles out or somebody bought beer that takes a bottle opener.... It seems like nobody drinks wine when hunting anymore - so a cork screw doesn't seem quite so important.... But I like that beer bottle opener...
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Years ago, I somehow forgot to bring my fixed blad Buck hunting knife. Shot a nice muley buck. :)

Thankfully I had my ever-present folder clipped in my pocket. I carried that Benchmade folder daily for a lot of years, 15+ I think. Then it was lost one day. I think the seatbelt snagged it when I was getting out of the Jeep, and I didn't notice. Sigh. Nice knife. It did a fine job of field dressing and skinning that buck! :)

Normally for hunting I take two knives, my fixed blade Buck Vanguard, and my little scalpel bade Havalon folder. Between the two I do pretty well. I might look for a fixed blade knife with less depth to the blade. I've tried a few and like them. Thought the Vanguard was my ultimate hunting knife, it's served well, but I may go to something else.



Guy
 
#19 ·
Years ago, I somehow forgot to bring my fixed blad Buck hunting knife. Shot a nice muley buck. :)

Thankfully I had my ever-present folder clipped in my pocket. I carried that Benchmade folder daily for a lot of years, 15+ I think. Then it was lost one day. I think the seatbelt snagged it when I was getting out of the Jeep, and I didn't notice. Sigh. Nice knife. It did a fine job of field dressing and skinning that buck! :)

Normally for hunting I take two knives, my fixed blade Buck Vanguard, and my little scalel bade Havalon folder. Between the two I do pretty well. I might look for a fixed blade knife with less depth to the blade. I've tried a few and like them. Thought the Vanguard was my ultimate hunting knife, it's served well, but I may go to something else.



Guy

There are a lot of good options and choices, based on personal preferences. But these two in the photo are great choices and will get the job done. These two are all one needs for whitetail and black bear.
 
#3 ·
Oh, I keep a little Gerber multi-tool in my Jeep, along with another folder, pliers, hatchet, etc, for camp chores.

Some very nice wines have screw tops these days. That's what goes to camp with me! But, I do have a corkscrew in the Jeep too. My Jeep and I spend a lot of time camping some years, five or six weeks often. So, it's got pretty much anything I might need.

Guy
 
#4 ·
Lol. Great point about the small toolbox I keep in the jeep... How many times have I been the guy who fixes the carb on somebody's 4-wheeler or replaces the element in the hot water heater because I am the only one there with tools... I usually bring a machete and a small pair of tree loppers out to camp with me too... It takes about 5-minutes to split the pelvis, chop off the ends of the legs, and break down the remaining deer carcass with a pair of loppers... clip clip clip done....
 
#7 ·
Fixed... Sheath on my belt and stuck in my back pocket so it won't flop or get caught on anything... I don't want a folder that might fold up on my fingers out in the middle of nowhere...
 
#9 ·
I carry an Old Timer (old timer), Case or Gerber pocket knife on me at all times. In the woods I have a Knife of Alaska Wolf or I can't remember the name both D2 steel, one or the other is on me the other is in the backpack. I also keep a large knife in my back pack. Truly I have more knives than I need. My brother makes and collects them and gives them to me when he gets tired of them. I just throw them in a huge Walmart plastic tub. Probably have some real good ones in there. For gutting deer I find the Wolf is the best field dresser I have, its shape and length suit me, so it is usually the most used.
 
#11 ·
I've only ever carried and used two different knives for that purpose.

When I first began hunting, I scrimped and saved and bought a 4" sheath knife. It had a convex ground blade and a blood groove on top of the blade. It had a black leather sheath, brass guard, wooden handle, aluminum handle cap, and it was made in Sweden. That thing would easily take a razor edge and hold it. I was just handling it last week. It almost looks like a toy compared to today's knives, but it will still do the job.

The other is a Rigid skinner Alaskan I bought as a second from Russell. I was able to figure why it was a second. That one also would easily take and hold a razor edge. It's a very unassuming knife, but I really like the blade shape. The handle is two flat wooden scales riveted to the tang. I prefer this one to my first, because of the blade shape. It really seems to work well and is easy to control. It's seen it's share of use.

Never used a folder on a deer. Never saw the need for a gut hook. I don't need a big blade. Just a good one.

I've got lots and lots of knives, but as long as I have these two, I can't see myself using any other while hunting. The others are nice to look at and hold, but those are the two I use.
 
#18 ·
I sneak and stalk hunt. Some days daylight till dark. I travel light and carry my possibles on a GI guard belt across my butt. I added a single over the shoulder strap. At the time BBW, before bottled water it was mostly for the weight of GI canteen. Now I put a couple bottles in my coat pockets with a sandwich. My knife is on the strap across my chest and is also tied to strap. Nothing to snag hanging on sides.
 
#21 ·
The fix blade is easier to clean. The folder is easier to store or carry. Folder does not need a sheth. Both will do the job. I have skinned and quartered a black bear with just a gerber folder. So personal preference is going to be what makes the decision. Like how close your vehicle or camp is to where you will be or your game falls. I think the trip and the task affect the choice I make on a blade. How much room you have in you pack and how much weight you want to pack. Sometimes you sacrifice and removed from pack a bigger heavy blade, so you can add to the pack two extra water bottles. I have made the mistake of taking items out of my pack that later in the journey I had wished the item was there.
 
#22 ·
I probably shouldn’t even be responding to this thread ‘cause I’ll have to admit I’m not much of a “knife guy.” The folder in the pic with the gut-hooked blade and the saw blade is what I use for deer (Xmas gift from a son). It is a mess when I’m done, but I don’ t clean it until I get home anyway. I carry it in a bag that belts around my waist (buckles in the front and rides in the back), along with a few other items. It does have a belt sheath but I carry in my bag. The other knife is a Leatherman folder. When camping I prepare food with it, and it has gutted many a trout streamside in WV, PA, MT, and WY.
 

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#26 ·
I like to see how sharp I can get a knife. If someone was to give me a light saber, I’d try to touch up that edge:)

I have knifes that were made by friends that I promised to clean a critter with at some point. I generally keep those knifes in my pack. I always seem to forget they are there in the heat of the moment, and use use my cold steel voyager that is always super sharp. The type of knife is not important, it’s how sharp it is and how long it stays sharp.

one exception to the rule. Don’t even try to give me a serrated blade. When I was young, I got a cool knife that had a full serrated edge. I’m sure my dad laughed on the inside. I got an elk with my dad, and I tried to clean and bone the elk with that damn knife. It sucked! I’ll never own another serrated knife.
 
#28 · (Edited)
I carry a Cold Steel Recon 1 folder 4" blade, every single day hanging in my front pocket. It has gutted several deer. However, I prefer my fixed blade Cold Steel Roach Belly, I carry in a sheath in my bibs. It's in this picture sticking in the log, and it's worked up 2 deer already this year.

Plant Leaf Botany Tree Wood




DR
 
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