Hunting knife for big hands

M

Mr. Hill

New member
I'm looking to upgrade from a cheap hunting knife to better quality, especially better quality steel. Use will be large game hunting, deer and elk, in the mountains. Would prefer American made. Want a 4-5" blade that can fit a big hand (I can palm a basketball). Budget up to $150 or so.

Any suggestions? I'm especially mindful of the need for a larger grip, and wary of blade grinds that will be difficult to sharpen, especially in the field.
 
You need a larger grip, not a specially made knife. Assuming you mean a skinning knife vs a camp knife. The price usually doesn't mean better either.
Once you get past all the daft armchair commando stuff, Cold Steel makes tools for reasonable money.
So does Buck. Buck's 'Skinner', made of 420HC S tainlessSteel, has an MSRP of $83.
 
https://www.kabar.com/knives/detail/139

The zombie stuff is silly, you can take it all off if you want.

But this is a ka-bar, this is a serious knife... but twice the length you wanted.
I have one, razor sharp and heavy duty strong spine. I found it at a sale price 3 years ago. Again, it comes with the option to remove all of the zombie markings which I did.

I think the zombie crap is a shame, it's an awesome quality knife and the zombie stuff distracts from the real value of the knife.

Can't tell if you want a hunting weapon or a skinning knife though.
 
Puma White hunter or equal

There are just too many good choices. may I suggest a Puma White Hunter or Hen and Rooster equal. .... :)

Be Safe !!!
 
Loving my combo of having my large-ish mora pathfinder for general stuff and The fat tiny mora eldris for gutting n skinning
 
I will second the Puma White Hunter, although it does not fit the OP's wish of American made. The White Hunter has a good heavy blade and is quite versatile.

I got my first one when I was 14 yrs old. I got a good deal on another maybe 10 or so years ago, so now I have 2 of them plus a couple of other different style Puma knives.
 
Cold Steel Master Hunter. I do have a couple Puma knives and they are great, but to me the handles are a little small, and I don't have big hands.
 
Gee, guys- he needs a larger than normal handle. No one has suggested a knife with a larger handle.
Cold Steel makes mediocre production knives with a lot of hype.
All new Puma stuff is made in China or Spain.
The Bubbablade stuff is likely Chinese.

Mr. Hill may need to contact a relatively new custom knifemaker and have what he wants built.
 
Since I was a high school kid, I've always carried a KaBar (USMC version). Best utility and skinning knife a guy could need. If that isn't expensive enough, get a knife maker to put together a fancy one with Damascus steel.
 
knives

Knives are kind of a personal thing, what one guy uses and likes, another may not. As example, 603 likes the USMC Kabar as a GP utility, skinner I do not. Sure, I've got one, and carry it fair amount to build blinds, hack saplings to make shooting lanes, but......to work up a whitetail, too big, the second edge on the clip seems to always bite me, and the hilts are too big to suit. But that's me. He like them, neither of us will change.

Since everybody's offering their two cents, here's a knife with a bigger than average grip, .....the Gerber Gator. Available in both fixed and folding models, plain and partially serrated edges.
 
My uncle Bob gave me his World War II issue Western combat knife. At that time I shot my first deer and didn't own a hunting knife. That was 52 years ago. I still have that knife. I have large hands also 2xl gloves when I can get them fit very tight. That knife fits my had easily. It stays razor sharp for a long time. And sharpens back up to razor sharp very easily. I use it for my camp knife a lot of the time. I've boned out many an animal with it. I am very pleased with it.
They don't make knives like that any more. But they still can be found at gun and knife shows in decent shape and in your budget range.
Find one and you will find our it was very well worth the price and effort.

Good Luck, and may you have a target rich environment.
 
Mr hill.
I am good friends with Wes Whipple. He is a custom knife maker in Wyoming and he hand forges knives from ball bearings that hold an edge like you can't believe, and will make a knife to your preferences.
His prices run from about $325 up to about $550 I believe. I don't know if that range of pricing is within your budget, but if so you could not find anything better.
If you would like to talk to Wes PM me and I'll give you his number.
 
The Ka-Bar's and other military, woods craft knives, are good for survival or bush crafting. Not the best choice for a hunting knife. I wear XL gloves and can also palm a basketball and have never noted any full size knife handle being too small. Some small folders yes, but never a fixed blade or any full size folder.

There are literally hundreds of choices to pick from, most are good. A $12 Mora with a 4" blade is probably as good as you'll actually need. You really need to go to a large knife shop or knife/gun show were yo can handle some.

I don't have this exact knife, but overall Benchmade impresses me and this fits your other criteria including price. They make a version with a leather sheath, but I was too lazy to look for it.

https://www.amazon.com/Benchmade-15...=1489332523&sr=8-29&keywords=benchmade+knives

Buck will also be another good option, but only if you choose carefully. Most come with 420 HC steel. It ain't bad, but there are better options. They make several versions with S30V steel. In fact you can have a 110 folding knife custom built with that steel for around $100 +/- depending on how expensive you go on handle material. It is well worth the $13 for the better steel. Those have a quite large handle and are a classic.

https://www.buckknives.com/custom-knife/customizable-110-folding-hunter-knife/CKS110/
 
"...to gut, quarter and slice deer & elk..." You need the right tool for the job. A 'hunting knife' is a generic term. Should've mentioned 'em before but there are blades only available that you can put whatever size grip you need. Not stupid expensive stuff either.
"...can also palm a basketball..." Me too but it keeps escaping. snicker.
1500 x 690 pixels is far too big. Please reduce the size of your pictures.
 
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