3 blade Buck Pocket knife
Long go I learned of the importance of a good quality knife. While in Boy Scouts, my Scoutmaster taught us of the importance of a good high quality knife that is kept with a keen edge. As we will look at later, the sharper the knife, the safer it is to use.
Personal preference for a good knife is similar to that of the trucks we drive, and the guns we shoot. But from a practical side, a hunter should always carry three good quality knives. We’ll look at those three and discuss them in detail.
Pocket knife: It all begins with a good high quality pocket knife. Personal preference is one of three blades. I hail from a day when every young man carried a pocket knife from the time he was ten years old. If my pants were on, there was a knife in my pocket. Even to this day, the left front pocket of my jeans carry the mark of a pocket knife. For over thirty years it was an Old Timer 34 OT. This was the perfect knife – when Schrade company, the parent company of Old Timer was sold and all of the manufacturing shifted to Asia, I reluctantly switched brands. I’ve known for a long time that the steel from knives made in Asia are of lesser quality of those made in the good ole USA. The box on my dresser holds the remains of a few dozen worn out Old Timer knives. Now, the left front pocket carry’s a Buck knife – still made in America – mostly.
For the hunter, the pocket knife is indispensable. It will handle most activities needed. With three blades, there is little it cannot do. Everything from trimming branches to field dressing game. The pocket knife should be in every hunter’s pocket.
Fixed Blade Skinning Knife:
Fixed Blade Skinning Knife: Top to bottom: Case, Case, Shrade, Cutom
The fixed blade, or sheath knife comes in a wide array of design, shapes, and sizes. Without getting into the different styles which is mostly preference. A good 3” to 4” blade with a nonslip handle will perform most chores. I personally do not want a serrated blade on my skinning knife, and I like a slight sweep to the blade. What is commonly known as a ‘clip’ point is just about perfect. I have never seen the need for a gut hook on a knife, being just a bit careful removes the need for one. Not to mention they are very difficult to sharpen. Handle material is also a matter of preference, however a good handle that won’t slip when hands are wet is a bonus. I prefer a fixed blade in the four inch size, but also have some that are two inches. These smaller blades make excellent skinning knives when caping an animal. Their small size makes ease of trimming delicate places. Some of the better brands for a fixed blade include: Case, Buck, SOG, Columbia River Knife Technologies (C.R.K.T.) Benchmade, Kershaw, and Gerber. There are a host of other brands available which speaks to the overall necessity of a good quality blade.
Lock Back Folding Knife: This is perhaps the most popular of the three discussed. With the new designs of these knives, they provide a good hybrid of the two mentioned earlier. Usually carrying a 3” blade or slightly larger. The lock back folding knife is an excellent tool. Some of the best brands today include the Columbia River Knife Technologies, Kershaw, Gerber, SOG, Benchmade, Buck and many others. Again, the steel of American knives are far superior to others, except maybe German steel. When I carry a lock back folding knife I prefer one with a serrated and smooth blade. These will normally have one inch of serration near the hilt with the remainder being smooth. Most of these knives can perform a wide array of tasks in the field. With the combination blade, along with the size and convenience the folding lock back knife is perhaps the best combination made. Perhaps this is why, I see most people carrying a knife today carry these.
Top to Bottom: Kershaw, CRKT, CRKT, SOG
In this same category is the rather new concept of the removable blade knives. When I first saw these at a trade show a few years ago, I immedietly thought of the disposable society we’ve become. Now people won’t even take the time to sharpen their knife, they’ll just throw it away and get a new blade. How sad is that. Today however I have seen an evolution of these brands. Havalon, Outdoor Edge and others have taken the removable blade technology to another level. These are high quality products that are sold at reasonable prices. A Havalon I recently purchased for example carry’s a three inch removable blade and it came with twelve replacement blades. That alone made the purchase price worthwhile. While I am dreading the day, I walk along a ridge in Colorado and see scattered ‘replacement blades’ throughout the landscape. There is a place for the replacement blade in our arsenal. Packing sharpening stones and extra knives a dozen miles into the back country can be exchanged for a few ultra-light replacement blades. Having said this, I do not believe the replacement blade technology replaces the need for a good quality folding lock blade, it is a niche knife for special occasions.
Havalon
Hunters need a good knife, I am always amazed when I enter a hunting camp and some camo clad ‘outdoorsman’ has to ask to borrow someone’s knife to trim a piece of string, or cut an apple. When I enter the woods, I will always have at least two of the knives mentioned above on my person, and a host of others back at camp. All of these knives will be razor sharp and ready to cut whatever I need it to cut with as little effort as possible. Because remember, a sharp knife is a safe knife.
