Growing up, I learned most of my outdoor savvy from my uncle. While not a hunter, he had a wealth of knowledge from paddling, hiking, camping, and climbing his way through the Pacific Northwest. A central tenets of his was to always have a knife, lighter, and a headlamp on your person. This golden rule is applicable to all outdoorsmen, including hunters. However, for hunters, the knife is more than just a survival tool. Their blade must also be a capable skinner, gutter, and butchers knife. This is a tall task for a single blade. Let’s break down the essentials of choosing a hunting knife.
Fixed or Folder
First, one of the main decisions you need to make when buying a knife whether to get a fixed or folding knife. For a hard use backcountry knife, a fixed blade option is strongly recommended. Sturdy folders such as the Buck 110 can work, but will still never be as strong as a full tang fixed blade knife. Avoid liner locks, as these can fail under hard use and leave you stranded when you need your knife the most. There are many popular designs out there that can work well.
Blade Shape
How the point of a knife is shaped greatly affects its handling characteristics. My favourite are drop point designs with wider blade profiles. Drop point blades are very useful when making the opening cuts on an animal. Using clip point designs and other designs that have very sharp points that poke above the spine, it can be easy to knick the gut sack while opening the animal. This can be exacerbated if the animal was not recovered immediately and has had it’s gut sack bloat. Unlike clip points, a drop point makes it easier to get the animal cut open without spilling digestive contents in the chest cavity.
Another attribute I like is a wider blade shape. I find this helps me avoid cutting into the pelt while skinning. Additionally, the wider blade shape adds durability to the knife. While not particularly important while gutting, the durability is useful for using the knife around camp. Delicate blades can be damaged doing hard use tasks such as batoning firewood. On the other hand, narrow blade designs are preferable for deboning. Consider a narrower blade if you plan on completely deboning the animal before packing out.
Size
Perhaps counterintuitively, bigger is not better when it comes to hunting knives. The first animal I field dressed by myself was using a Grohman #4. That knife was an exceptional camp knife but was excessive for dressing game.
In my opinion optimal blade length should be somewhere in the 2-4 inches range. A shorter blade makes it easier to cut in tight spaces. On the other hand, a longer blade is more useful for general camp tasks. Try out different styles and see which length of blade you prefer.
Material
Finally, picking the right materials for your hunting knife can make a big difference. If the manufacturer does not list the steel they use for the knife, assume that it is a cheap stainless. These low cost stainless steels are easy to sharpen and very corrosion resistant. However, they quickly lose their edge, which makes them less than ideal for serious hunting use.
Picture this scenario: you make a perfect shot in the final minutes of legal shooting light. The deer sprints into the thick brush, and by the time you find him expired in the brush it is completely dark. You’ve got a long night ahead of you. Do you really want to stop halfway through the process to sharpen the edge on your blade?
Although they are more expensive, modern super steels offer great corrosion resistance with much better edge retention. Additionally, these excellent steels don’t sacrifice the durability of the blade! There are many great steels out there. Some of my personal favourites are S30V, S35V, and D2, but there are many others.
For the handle material there are many fantastic options. While not as durable as some of the synthetic options, wood handles are beautiful and work well. For more modern options, G10, carbon fiber, and resin based handles are impervious to weather, lightweight, and extremely durable. With such a variety of fantastic handle materials it is hard to go wrong.
Replaceable Blades
Before summarizing, I would like to cover the topic of replaceable blades. This style of hunting knife has undeniable benefits but also comes with some serious tradeoffs. Firstly, the sharpness of a replaceable blade is truly scalpel sharp. They slice through meat and hide with an almost eery lack of effort. Also, they do not require sharpening throughout the butchering job. If your edge begins to dull, simply swap out a new blade. This is a boon when butchering after dark in inclement weather. If you want to purchase a replaceable blade knife, consider using the button below. At no increased cost to Northern Rifle earns a small percentage of the sale which helps keep the website running.
On the other hand, because of their razor sharpness, it is easy to knick oneself while using them. The replaceable blades are sharp and these knicks tend to cut deep. The disposable blades also tend to be flimsy. Multiple times, I have had the blade break while trying to free a joint and have had the uncomfortable task fishing a chunk of razor sharp steel from where it had broken off in the animal. This flimsiness also makes these types of knives fairly useless as a camp tool.
Because of the inherent benefits and drawbacks of replaceable blade knives, I usually carry one in addition to my standard hunting knife. Weighing only 2 ounces it is not a burden to keep a Havalon in my bino harness in addition to the fixed blade on my hip. To be fair, I would not feel under equipped if I left the Havalon at home.
Closing Thoughts
In sum, picking your hunting knife is as much an exercise in self-expression as practicality. Choose a fixed blade knife with a drop point and a medium length blade made of quality steel and you will have a tool that will last a lifetime. Replaceable blade knives are useful but for a true all-purpose knife the fixed blade reigns as king. For those looking for a quick recommendation my personal hunting knife is the canadian-made Lynx, available from North Arm knives. Until next week, keep your edge sharp.