Knife for field dressing (Page 1 of 3)
Posted: 9/18/2024 1:32:07 PM EDT
| Recommend a tier one for basic field dressing. (not quartering or skinning) |
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I have an Abraham and Moses AM-2 drop point. Probably the best knife I’ve ever used for gutting out deer. Beautiful balance and is the perfect size to work inside a rib cage. A&M 2 |
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If you're serious about "tier 1" then you should probably look at Busse or CPK. But any good 4-6" blade made by a reputable company these days works fine for gutting deer. Plain old Kabar or Cold Steel works great. Buck now offers Magnacut as an option on custom blades, with a bunch of different models, a 119 would be a great knife, they have worked closely with Dr. Thomas on perfecting the heat treat process to get the most out of it. I have a 110 folder and I wouldn't hesitate to take it deer hunting. I also have a special run 119 in 3V, pretty confident I could cut a car in half with it, lol. |
Smaug:"I laid low the warriors of old and their like is not in the world today". 1 dedicated marksman who held his ground and kept shooting:"Haha bow go twang!"
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ESSE RB3 Link Topps Eagle Shadow Buck 192 Link About a 3 in blade no more than 4. When bloody it will get slick so designed to keep fingers from slipping onto the blade. You want a saw for rib cage and pelvic bone Link Skinning tool Link |
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I’ve got a lot of knives but I always end up back at the Buck 692 my grandfather gave me 20 some years ago. It’s got to have field dressed close to 100 whitetails by now. Attached File |
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Originally Posted By nvcdl: Morakniv Companion (S) Stainless Steel Fixed-Blade Knife, With Sheath, Burnt Orange, 4.1 Inch This. And it is tier 1 because you wont hesitate to hand it to a buddy if they need it. |
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KOA Alpha Wolf Benchmade Saddle Mountain Skinner (Not really a "skinner" in my opinion) Or maybe a Havalon Piranta I always liked Helle Knives but they never fit my big hands. |
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Originally Posted By Dragynn: https://imgdump5.novarata.net/hmzdi8.jpg +1000 Basic field knife that is easy to sharpen, keeps an edge, and does the job. |
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Originally Posted By nvcdl: Morakniv Companion (S) Stainless Steel Fixed-Blade Knife, With Sheath, Burnt Orange, 4.1 Inch That was my deer camp party favor one year. The year after my father in law forgot to pack a knife. |
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Originally Posted By GingerShanks: A Havalon. A buddy keeps one in his pocket and just replaces the blade like a box cutter each deer. Always razor sharp with zero effort, and they are $50. ..but it’s not a man knife. Not tier one for sure. I picked up HMEs fixed blade version from MidwayUSA. |
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Originally Posted By Urimaginaryfrnd: ESSE RB3 Link Topps Eagle Shadow Buck 192 Link About a 3 in blade no more than 4. When bloody it will get slick so designed to keep fingers from slipping onto the blade. You want a saw for rib cage and pelvic bone Link Skinning tool Link I prefer the 692 with the rubber grips but I hate the sheath it comes with so I had to buy a leather one.  
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"War is less costly than servitude. The choice is always between Verdun and Dachau." -Jean Dutourd
www.450bushmaster.net
www.450bushmaster.net
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Originally Posted By MudBug: I prefer the 692 with the rubber grips but I hate the sheath it comes with so I had to buy a leather one. www.amazon.com/dp/B000EHUYQ4 That sheath does suck. I never actually wear it, it stays in my pack until I need it, but I do hate that sheath. |
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I typically go into the backcountry or deep woods so I wanted something lightweight and compact. I really like my PNWild (made by Grit City knives) Tamarack, I was in the USMC with Joel the maker.Attached File |
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Attached File From left: Rapid River Knife Marble Arms NAHC I prefer the Marble Arms while my son prefers the Rapid River. |
Team Ranstad
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Originally Posted By TxRabbitBane: Anything sharp is fine. It's not rocket science. Trying to field dress game with a blade bigger than about 4" is suboptimal. Big "tactical" knives suck. |
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Originally Posted By GingerShanks: Not at all. I used one of these two Lon Humphrey knives for the last 8yrs or so. Simple 1095, easy to sharpen, lots of soul. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/505129/IMG_9413-3262673.jpg Honestly, I hate that knife. |
Turns out, it was a different elephant.
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Originally Posted By fgshoot: What does that even mean? Skinning and quartering is field dressing. You mean only gutting? I have always thought of field dressing as gutting. Then it gets skinned and broken down either back at camp or somewhere else. This is whitetail deer though, I know things are different when you’re out west and don’t have an easy way to move an entire elk besides packing it out. |
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Originally Posted By GingerShanks: Not at all. I used one of these two Lon Humphrey knives for the last 8yrs or so. Simple 1095, easy to sharpen, lots of soul. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/505129/IMG_9413-3262673.jpg That looks like bacteria heaven. |
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Originally Posted By GingerShanks: Not at all. I used one of these two Lon Humphrey knives for the last 8yrs or so. Simple 1095, easy to sharpen, lots of soul. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/505129/IMG_9413-3262673.jpg @GingerShanks Nice! I love LonHumphrey blades. He has amazing handles and I like his forging and heat treatment work. In his practical knives, he puts a lot of thought into handles and how they will fit in the hand and function. |
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I understand the love of a well-made, cool looking, expensive or "one off" knife. But for pure "carry in the pack field dress a large mammal" knife, you can't beat a Havalon. They never get dull, have a tiny caping blade up to a largish skinning/gutting knife, weigh almost nothing, and you won't cry if you lose it. ))/1918245.json?$Prod_PLPThumb$)
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Diplomate, wikigoogle upstairs medical kindergarten
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Originally Posted By ruffhowzer: Yep. I keep 3-4 pocket knives in my pack & switch them out when it dulls. Wash & sharpen when I get home. Originally Posted By ruffhowzer: Originally Posted By TxRabbitBane: Anything sharp is fine. It's not rocket science. Trying to field dress game with a blade bigger than about 4" is suboptimal. Big "tactical" knives suck. Why would you need more than one? Are you field dressing a dozen animals at a time? |
Not fly enough to be halal....
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Originally Posted By Skunkeye: I have one of Lon's knives and it would be the last I'd pick to clean game. It has sharp edges on the finger stop/bolster that are just criminal for a hand tool made by a supposed craftsman. The forging marks are so deep that I consider them intentional poser marks, rather than being a result of honest anvil work. All kinds of nooks and crannies for gunk to accumulate. Honestly, I hate that knife. Sharp edges are definitely a thing. Ryan Grizzle took a file to both when he was making the sheaths and smoothed everything out. Gunk does accumulate in those nooks and crannies, but that’s what water and a toothbrush is for. |
| My advice, is something thats comfortable in your hand and that when you grip it normally, your index finger can reach to within 1/2 of the tip. Lots of people get enormous knikes to go hunting with and the reality is a smaller knife that you have better control of is much more helpful for dressing a deer. if your knife is too big/ long you'll likely damage the tenderloins when cutting out the diaphragm, with give you real fits around the poopchute and is downright dangerous when you're reaching up into the neck with both hands working blind. |
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Originally Posted By GingerShanks: Lol, wut? Originally Posted By GingerShanks: Originally Posted By King_Mud: That looks like bacteria heaven. Lol, wut? From the pic it looks like the forge marks are a little over the top and super rough/deep, they would catch lots of gunk unless you toothbrushed them out regularly and some look like they're caves you'd have to dig at. Maybe it's just the pic though. |
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Originally Posted By JimPope: I have always thought of field dressing as gutting. Then it gets skinned and broken down either back at camp or somewhere else. This. The terms were interchangeable and every deer hunter i've ever known calls it one or the other and they mean just gutting it. Some folks though also used to call it "cape-out", i'd never heard the term until the first time I took a deer to a guy who processed/packed the meat for you, he had a sign that said cape-out was an extra 20 bucks, I associated the word cape with skin so I thought he meant an extra 20 to skin it, but he just meant gutting it which I had already done. |
Smaug:"I laid low the warriors of old and their like is not in the world today". 1 dedicated marksman who held his ground and kept shooting:"Haha bow go twang!"
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Originally Posted By Dragynn: This. The terms were interchangeable and every deer hunter i've ever known calls it one or the other and they mean just gutting it. Some folks though also used to call it "cape-out", i'd never heard the term until the first time I took a deer to a guy who processed/packed the meat for you, he had a sign that said cape-out was an extra 20 bucks, I associated the word cape with skin so I thought he meant an extra 20 to skin it, but he just meant gutting it which I had already done. Around here, “caping out” is the process of skinning from in back of the shoulders to the base of the skull, with a cut in the long hairs of the back of the neck and from the armpit down the back of the elbow to midway down the front leg. The “cape” being the part of the hide that gets tanned for a shoulder mount. My taxidermist would rather do the head, ears, eyelids and lips himself as he thinks that’s where most people screw up. “Field dressing” is whatever it takes to get it to your vehicle. Gutting, skinning, quartering, de-boning, whatever it takes. |
Diplomate, wikigoogle upstairs medical kindergarten
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Originally Posted By Dragynn: This. The terms were interchangeable and every deer hunter i've ever known calls it one or the other and they mean just gutting it. Some folks though also used to call it "cape-out", i'd never heard the term until the first time I took a deer to a guy who processed/packed the meat for you, he had a sign that said cape-out was an extra 20 bucks, I associated the word cape with skin so I thought he meant an extra 20 to skin it, but he just meant gutting it which I had already done. Originally Posted By Dragynn: Originally Posted By JimPope: I have always thought of field dressing as gutting. Then it gets skinned and broken down either back at camp or somewhere else. This. The terms were interchangeable and every deer hunter i've ever known calls it one or the other and they mean just gutting it. Some folks though also used to call it "cape-out", i'd never heard the term until the first time I took a deer to a guy who processed/packed the meat for you, he had a sign that said cape-out was an extra 20 bucks, I associated the word cape with skin so I thought he meant an extra 20 to skin it, but he just meant gutting it which I had already done. “Caping out” has nothing to do with gutting. The cape is the skin from the neck and shoulders used for a shoulder mount from a taxidermist. “Field dressing” is the set of game processing that’s done on site where you kill something (I.e. in the field). Most of the time that’s just gutting, but sometimes (like when you kill something far enough from civilization) breaking the carcass down to pack it out. |
Not fly enough to be halal....
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Interesting review from a guy that cleans more game than most.... Red  Knives of Alaska Yukon Belt Knife Review |
B Double-O M Spells BOOM - BF