Hunting knife, what do u use??

no guts

I'm another guy that is not routinely gutting deer after a kill. Unless I have made a shot somehow that cut the stomach or intestines, then I spill the deer in the field.

I'm finding I can get the entrails out easier and quicker w/ the deer hanging. The carcass is at eye level, there's lots of light, and gravity is your friend.
I've had absolutely no issues w/ flavor and spoilage.

The whole object for me is to get to the two inner loins, which some guys can get to without removing entrails, but I cannot.

Now, back to knives. I was given a Buck Mini-Mentor 20 years or so ago.
Stainless blade about 3-1/4 long. Not a clip profile, but not a drop point either. Sort of a broad saber point. Soft rubber grip, w/ a lanyard hole.
Factory sheath was a joke, but I found a pouch sheath that works great.

The rubber grip is dandy when your hands and knife are covered in blood. The lanyard hole has a small loop of para cord, which, when passed around my wrist, allows the knife to dangle when I have to work w/ both hands. The blade is right there again when I need it, w/ a roll of the wrist.
The fixed blade cleans up easy, few cracks and crevices, and the stainless feature is a plus. Modern stones let me put an edge on stainless like never before. The broad sabre point works good for skinning, but is has enough tip for really fine work when I need it. There is enough length to take off the front shoulders and the backstraps w/ the long slashing cuts necessary. That Buck stainless is tough stuff, and I have worked up 2-3 deer in a season and not sharpened, just to see.

I carry a few others now and then, fixed blade and folders, but that only affirms that the Mini-Mentor is superior to them for what I need in a deer knife.

Of course,........ its no longer made.
 
(air temp has to be above 40 in the south during deer season)
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Sometimes it is. Sometimes it isn't. :D


Modern stones let me put an edge on stainless like never before.
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What do you use? I never liked stainless because I can't get one sharp enough. If you can't shave with it it's not sharp.
 
I usually carry a Buck Crosslock Hunter. Been carrying it for about 12 or 13 years and it works great. Not hard to get blood out of a folder with dishwashing liquid and a brush. Or the dishwasher itself (when the wife ain't looking :)).

I can gut to skin to butcher with the same knife. I do have a couple of fixed blades including a nice old Western Cutlery carbon steel knife (that my grandfather bought me when I was 8) and a Schrade sharpfinger.

I generally gut mine in the field and take it to a processor, but occasionally I'll kill one too small to be economically processed. Then the method Doyle described earlier is what I use. Did that with one Monday.
 
What you now have in the cooler is 2 shoulders, 2 backstraps, and either two hams or the cut-off meat from the hams. That represents about 90% of the usable meat.
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No where near the claimed 90% of "usable" meat.

There is a bunch of pounds of neck meat. And for me, I take the time to get the meat that is between each rib as well. Actually, The hide and gut package is all I do not make use of...

After I have gotten every ounce of meat that can be gotten... The skeleton is for the dogs to eat.

And on a hog, I really go to town...:D

Brent
 
As much as I like clip points for general use, the point tends to drag when opening an animal.
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Never had that problem, Natman..... I slice a small hole just forward of theither the penis or udder and put 2 fingers and the blade inside, edge up, tip between the tips of the fingers...... leading with the fingertips, slide the knife forward ..... cutting from the inside avoids cutting hair......
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That's exactly how I do it.

With a drop point held edge up, the tip is pointing straight ahead, between your fingers.

With a clip point held edge up, the tip is pointing straight down, just at the perfect spot to slice open the guts. :(

huntingknifedroppoint.jpg
 
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I have been accumulating knives for 50 years and have a couple Tupperware storage containers full.

These days about the only one I use for almost everything is a Mora Clipper. About a 10 dollar knife, light like a feather, carbon steel, and sharpens like a razor very easily.

It isn't pretty, but it sure works well.

Mora3Small.jpg
 
I have many different hunting knives.
My 1st is a Western L88 Skinner.
I do not find any on the internet other than a sold one refering to it as an "Antique Bowie Skinner". The sheath is very poorly designed but a very useful skinning knife that I used this year.
The 1st one I bought was I believe was a Buck 110. I have given it to one of my Grandsons as I have a much better one now.
The Buck knife is a very important Heirloom knife, as My FIL was a self proclaimed knife expert and saw me sharpening it 35 years back and told me he would give me a few lessons on how to sharpen a knife! Well he worked at it for about 2 hours with his toothless gumms working the WB Cut tobacco chew about as hard as he worked the stone. Then he tossed it down claiming the knife is worthless!:rolleyes:
He had never worked a hollow ground knife and the stone never got close to the edge. The stoning marks on this knife bring back wonderful hunting memories of my best hunting partner I ever had.

Today I carry a hand made knife by a Wonderful knife-maker out of Kalkaska Michigan by the name of Russ Musselman.
RM-13.jpg


This image is a Damascus steel knife and mine is just Carbon Steel, However I have one of his 1st made. It was given to me by his father who was my neighbor at the hunting shack. It looks exactly like the one pictured.
There is over a 2 year wait on any Musselman Knives.
http://www.mcknightcutlery.com/_catalog_80178/RUSS_MUSSELMAN
 
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I( carry two knives when hunting. Both in my hunting bag, A Kabar for general rough work and a Buck skinner that my son gave me ten years ago. Plus the Old Timer, two blade stockman in my pocket. Plus the Gerber hand axe in the pickup truck.
 
somebody asked

For stainless, and many of my others these days, I'm using a Smiths diamond hone thingy. Sorry, that's about all I know to call it. 4-6 inch dual sided "stone" w/ a self storing handle, one side coarse, the other fine. Think its diamond crystals or similar abrasive set in metal. It will bring stainless back fast, and the coarse side is great for an axe, or 'hawk.

I do not use it on my vintage carbon blades.
 
I would highly recommend that you check out the SOG Field Pup. I have used so many knives over the years (Gerber, Kershaw, Benchmade, Buck, etc) and this one far out performs any of the others. It's not too expensive, either. It has a drop point, the blade stays very sharp (even when cleaning hogs), and has a very comfortable grip that doesn't slip. It's around a 4" fixed blade.

As for knife sharpeners, try out the Warthog V-Sharp. Very easy to use and works fast. We've got one in the shed where we clean hogs. Usually had to sharpen after each pig... until I got my Dad a Field Pup. Now we all fight over who gets to use it.
 
Grohmann makes an outstanding knife called the "Canadian Belt Knife". It is just the size for a steak knife because I have used mine in that capacity, and also in cutting up fruit. It is a good cutting knife.

It comes from the 50's when people used to walk in and out. So it is a lot lighter than current generation pry bar stuff.

You get a nice thick leather scabbard. I like my rosewood handle, lots of figuring. Overall a well made piece.

The blade steel is not so hard that you cannot sharpen it in the field.


GrohmannCanadianBeltKnife.jpg


http://www.grohmannknives.com/pages/outdoor.html
 
Buck folder, I guess it's a 110. Bought it in 1985 and it's done every big game animal I've ever shot (a bunch of deer and couple elk) plus a slew of birds.

Some really nice knives out there but never needed more than this, now I'd feel like I was cheating on it if I used a different one. :D
 
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