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KNIVES FOR HUNTING

watchmaker

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2007
Messages
299
Location
New York
KNIVES FOR HUNTING

Many of us hunters of long have a love affair with the tool of a successful hunt; the knife.
In our minds, we have this idea of the perfect knife that will fit our hand like a glove; that will perform surgery like a scalpel; that will not need to be sharpened ever, and will remove a cape as well as field dress and skin anything from a deer to a moose.

In our search for the perfect blade, we accumulate many of them that are probably as good as the best knife ever made, but in our search for Nirvana we keep adding new blades and hoping to do enough hunting to test all of them on game.

On the other hand, some hunters are not interested at all in the tool. My friend Frank that has probably field dressed at least fifty deer with the same Buck hunter knife in the last 20 years removes it from the pack once every year in hunting season to field dress a deer or two, and the blade goes back into the same pack to wait for next year�s job.
Perhaps his father being a butcher has something to do with it. He was taught how to field dress a deer early in life, and to him it is just a necessary job that has to be performed. To others like me it is a culmination of all our efforts and should be done as elegantly and as clean and bloodless as possible and with the most effective of tools.

I have found in my long search for the perfect blade that many of today�s knives in the market qualify as superb blades for the job. A good knife blade of 3 � to 4 inches will be plenty for most chores. Preferences in my case are for the drop-point blades, but I have had good service from clip points or other shapes.

Some of us like a fancy wood or antler handle or perhaps some engraving on the blade. Those I label dress knives and are a great way to stir a conversation between fellow hunters. I am one with that type of taste and will always appear at camp with a fancy blade. The truth is that I perform all of my field dressings with a plain one that I keep hidden in my pack.

Here is one of my fancy blades, the Browning model 122 one of one thousand, and the one that does the actual field dressing, a Buck 192 Vanguard.

browningandbuck.jpg


Best wishes

Watchmaker
 
watchmaker - you are the gadget guru! I know you're a hunter, but how in the world do you have and know so much stuff? Do you sell these products or are you just obsessed with gadgetry (even more than the rest of us)?
 
Watchmaker, I too value a good knife, but to me they are a tool to be used. I think I do an efficient job of field dressing, but I don't take 30 minutes on each deer either to make it look nice. Sometimes I may have 3-4 deer to field dress for some of the older guys, so I get it done.
On the other hand, I just like knives and have collected or acquire them for about 45 yr. Mostly good knives, but nothing that will jump out and demand hundreds of dollars. I just like guns and knives. :grin:
 
gil1 said:
watchmaker - you are the gadget guru! I know you're a hunter, but how in the world do you have and know so much stuff? Do you sell these products or are you just obsessed with gadgetry (even more than the rest of us)?


Yes, very very obsessed, but I don't have any other vices!!
 
I have a ton of knives all for different jobs...Filleting, Field Dressing (small game & big game), Pocket Knives, Multi-Tools (LOVE my Leatherman, goes with me every where) and some that I do not know what there job is but I had a need for them when I bought them (I think). But why is it that every time I see a new one I think "this one will do the job better than the ones I already have"? Is it because the perfect knife has never been made? I am especially in the market for a perfect field dressing knife everyday no matter how many I already own.

Is there something wrong with me or does any one else have this same obsession?
 
I like to roll my own when I have time. They're kind of crude in fit and finish but they get the job done OK.

Here's a pig sticker that I made for a friend in Alabama who raises American Bulldogs and hunts hogs all the time, made from old car springs and wood handle:

pigsticker.jpg


Here's one I forged out of cable from an old dragline my father used to own, with stag handle:

8Ball1.jpg


Here's a "tactical" knife I made for a friend in the Army out of ball bearing steel with micarta handle:

Knife.jpg
sheath.jpg
 
I have neither the skill no the patience to attempt that. I wish I could though, I've always wanted a "custom" knife. One that fits if you know what I mean. Craftsmanship like that is just a bit out of what I could explain to my wife on the expense side. Very nice knives fellas.
 
Stalker said:
WOW!
What does a guy need to start doing this himself?

Some kind of forge, either coal, charcoal, or propane
A hammer or several
Anvil (a piece of railroad track will do)
Some kind of grinder is nice to finish it up but it can be done wth files and sanding blocks if you have the time.

Here's the forge I built: http://www.dfoggknives.com/forge.htm

You can get the high temp insulation from Insulation & Refractory Services on Decatur Ave in Memphis or order from Ellis knifeworks in Knoxville: http://refractory.elliscustomknifeworks.com/ Ellis has just about any kind of supplies for forging.

Go to hammer-in's and gatherings and bother everybody with lots of questions like I do: http://forums.dfoggknives.com/index.php?showtopic=8023

Definitely go to the Batson Blade symposium next year around the end of March at Tannehill state park near Birmingham, AL. It's free next year because it's the 20th anniversary and you can do hands-on classes as well as watch master smiths give demos and lectures. Mel Purdue usually hangs around all weekend and talks to everybody and that guy knows as much about knives as anybody. http://afc.abana-chapter.com/ http://www.melpardueknives.com

Another good hammer-in in East TN: http://www.lonesomepineknives.com/2007_mtnhammer.asp

The huge ABS hammer-in near Hope, AR is in Oct and cost $125 to attend: http://www.americanbladesmith.com/absschoolschedule.htm
 
You are full of good info...
Thanks a ton!

I never can find the knife that is just right, I think that I will look into this further and try my hand at it...I have most all tools required, but may need to purchase a few that will make it easier.

You rock man! You made those with your own hands! Thats just cool!
 
Years ago I was invited to join a German hunting club in the Catskills, which had access to huge woods and was managed for quality deer. The members hunted from hotchsits and performed the "last meal" ceremony in the deer they got, all very proper and traditional Teutonic customs.

To "fit" in I dusted off my Mannlicher style Mauser 30-06 rifle and bought a White Hunter II Puma knife.

Here is it.

whithutwo.jpg


Best

Watchhunter
 
Watchmaker,

Ever had a knife made from CPM440V? I have several made for me by Glenn Marshall of Mason, TX. The material was originally used as a bearing race material for use in the space shuttle. Highly abrasion resistant, holds an edge like no tomorrow. At the time Glenn made these for me, he was one of only four custom makers in the country that would work with it. He made (haven't talked to hime in 3 years and at the time he was pushing 80- semi retired)most of the knives for the guides at YO ranch. I have one that I've field dressed over 50 deer with and have yet to hit it on anything other than a black hard arkansas stone. He did all of his own hardening/ tempering to about Rc60, I believe and these blades would take a 15 flex before setting or breaking. Glenn was personal friends of the guy that publishes Knives Illustrated and had won every competition for performance they ever ran. Multiple inductee to different knife making guild hall of fame. Have you heard of him?

It makes a pretty awesome blade. Just thought you'd be interested.

Also killed my first deer in the Catskills- grew up in the Hudson Valley. now a proud TN resident that will never go back!
 
Boker and Spyderco both make folders with CPM440V blades now. You can get the Bokers for about $80 online. Crucible has released an updated steel called CPM420V (also called S90V)that holds an edge better. Both are great edge holders and very rust resistant but they can't be differentially heat treated like plain carbon steels so you can't make them as tough/break resistant as those. Since most people aren't going to do anything to snap the blade in a skinning knife, it's not really a problem.
For a big military/utility/camp knife that might be used for prying or chopping, I'd rather have something like 52100 or W2 that's almost impossible to break and still holds a very good edge.
 
Hogbear,
I've got more knives than I'll ever use, and one of the ones I now use the most is one that Glenn and I made together in his shop about 5 years ago, mainly due to the sentimantal nature of havning worked with a master. It's a scaled down version of the first knife he made for me, and is of D2 with black mesquite handle scales. I wanted something native to his area of TX since we did that one together. He preferred D2 to the CPM stuff mainly because it's easier to touch up, and his opinion was most guys don't take the time to learn how to put a good edge on.Over the years we got to be quite good friends, and he ended up giving me and my boys more knives than we bought from him.
I'll look around for the Boker and Spyderco knives you mention.
Thanks
 

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