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The price of fur has dropped drastically over the last few years and as a result, the population of these animals has risen which has caused headaches for farmers.
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Choosing the Right Hunting Knife
Deer Hunting Secrets
Discover The Closely Guarded True Secrets Of Master Hunters.
Author: Ken Davis Before you settle on that new hunting knife, there are a
few things you should consider. What animals will you hunt? How will you dress
and butcher the animal? Do you plan to have a mount made? How do you want to
carry the knife and is size or weight a factor? All these things may not seem
important at first glance, but get into the elk woods with a knife poorly suited
to skinning, caping or deboning and they suddenly become apparent.
Small game and upland birds are often easily handled with the average pocket
knife. There are, however, knives specifically designed for small game. Big game
like deer, elk, bear, moose and caribou are just that ... BIG game. As the size
and weight of the animal increase, the toughness of the hide increases. Body
size and weight are decidedly an issue if you need to quarter or debone the
animal to get it home or to a meat processor. That pocket knife you use on
rabbits or quail might get the job done on a bear, but it isn't going to be easy
or pleasant. Neither is field dressing a cottontail with a large, fixed-blade
sheath knife.
Let's look at the basic tasks we ask our knives to do
We'll stick with big game. After the kill, your first consideration will likely
be field dressing or gutting. Any experienced hunter knows that, right? But is
there a particular type knife that is better at gutting than some other? Can't
you gut a deer or an elk with the same knife you'll use to skin it? Sure you
can, but ...
Consider that a dedicated gut hook, or a knife with a built-in gut hook, will do
a neater, cleaner job of field dressing than a skinning knife will, just as a
skinning knife will skin that elk easier and more efficiently than a deboning
knife ever could. And speaking of deboning ... try it with a dedicated gut hook
sometime. And what if that elk you just shot is your "Trophy of a Lifetime"? You
want a mount, don't you? At least a full head or a shoulder mount, huh? That
means somebody will have to cape that elk properly so your taxidermist will have
something to work with besides a ragged hide full of nicks and holes. A caping
knife is in order.
The point here is that there are different type knives for different tasks. The
right tool for the job, as the saying goes.
Now let's compare the types mentioned so far
Dedicated gut hooks
This knife (for our purposes we'll call it a knife) really has only one intended
purpose ... to cut open the belly, or paunch, WITHOUT cutting into the entrails
and making a huge, stinking, contaminating mess. The dull tip does not nick the
gut as the inverted "U"-shaped cutting edge zips open the belly slick as a
whistle! Kind of like one of those fancy letter openers. It's not much good for
anything else, although I suppose it could pass as a pencil sharpener in a
pinch.
Knives with built-in gut hooks
This is a regular knife, just about any style blade, but with the gut hook built
right in. Double duty, two-in-one, if you will. (We'll talk about the different
blade styles further down the page.)
Skinning knives
Skinning knives typically have a rounded blade and are not so pointed at the
tip. The rounded cutting edge facilitates cutting the membrane that holds the
skin to the animal. You use it in a sort or "swiping" or "rocking" motion, as
opposed to "slicing". The blunter tip helps you avoid punctures in the hide and
meat as you progress. As with any knife, there are variations and adaptations
but a skinner almost always has this rounded, blunt-tipped appearance.
Deboning knives
Often thought of as a "butcher knife" or simply a "boning knife". This type
knife is ideal for cutting meat from bone. The relatively narrow blade
facilitates close, clean cuts so you don't waste any meat. At the risk of
offending, or angering the purists, this is, in all honesty, the one you can
probably do without. There are plenty of general, all-around hunting knives that
can adequately debone a large animal. Then again, a deboning knife could serve
as a good general all-around hunting knife.
Caping knives
Caping involves fine, detailed skinning work around your trophy's antlers, eyes,
ears, nose and mouth. A good caping knife usually has a slim, thin ... but not
too flexible ... blade and a fairly small, somewhat ergonomic handle. Control
and delicacy are paramount with a caping knife. Some caping knives have pointed
blades, some rounded. Some carry the rounded end to the extreme. This is more a
matter of preference than anything else. While the rounded versions help ensure
you don't accidentally poke a hole where you don't want one, the pointed
versions can reach into tighter places to make more delicate cuts. Just remember
... control and delicacy. Any unwanted hole will have to be patched by your
taxidermist (most likely at added cost to you) and any "missing" hide is not
easily or inexpensively replaced.
It's possible to cape out a nice trophy with that general, all-around hunting
knife, but keep in mind the old saying about the right tool for the job. You
don't want to use a sledge hammer to drive finish nails.
Blade styles
As far as hunting knives go, there are three basic blade styles drop point ,
clip point and skinning .
The drop point is an excellent blade design for big game. The blade is generally
heavier and thicker, making for a solid, sturdy knife capable of splitting the
sternum and even the ribs of all but the largest, toughest big game animal. The
gradual curve from handle to point allows full use of the entire length, instead
of only the first inch or so from the point. The drop point is an outstanding
choice for hunting.
Clip point blades are somewhat thinner than drop points and the point is
accentuated. It's also a bit flatter from cutting edge to back and makes an
excellent all-purpose knife, hunting aside. Most hunters would agree that, if
you have only one hunting knife, the clip point is not quite as good as the drop
point. It'll work, just not as efficiently in a variety of situations.
Many skinning knives are very similar in design to the drop point. However, the
"typical", "modern" skinners don't have the gradual curve associated with the
drop point. The skinner's curve is usually more drastic, starting more in the
middle than at the handle, and the curve tends to have a greater radius than
that of the drop point. A good skinner also makes a good camp knife. It slices
better than the other two types. Some very old skinner designs, not much in
production as hunting knives nowadays, have an almost crescent shape and often
much longer blades. They still see use in commercial operations but are not very
"handy" to tote around camp or the hunting woods.
Fixed or Folding?
Fixed blade knives generally do not have any moving parts. That said, there are
some with interchangeable blades, and even a few that have two blades, one
projecting from each end of the handle ... one blade at a time, by "sliding" the
handle back and forth. For our purposes, these are still fixed blade knives.
Fixed blades require a sheath to protect the cutting edge, and the hunter. They
are obviously longer than a folder of the same blade size, so not as compact for
storage or carry. All but the smallest/shortest will, by necessity, be carried
on the belt or in a pack. Fixed blades are very sturdy, easier to keep clean and
tend to last a very long time.
Folding knives do just what the name says. The blades fold away into the handle
when not in use, although not by themselves. Safety first, folks. Folders are
more compact. All but the largest will fit in your pocket but most hunting
folders come with a belt sheath. Any folding knife used for big game should have
a mechanism that locks the blade open. Folders are not as strong or long lasting
as fixed blades. Pivots eventually wear out and, occasionally, a locking
mechanism fails. They are also a bit harder to keep clean. Debris, blood, grit,
dirt, animal hair, you name it, always finds its way into the blade storage
slots, the pivots, and even under the locking bar. Not a big deal and not all
that hard to clean, just something to consider.
Summary
There is a knife for every task you'll encounter in hunting. Each task begs the
proper knife. Does this mean you'll need to carry three, four, five knives every
time you set out from camp? Of course not. With one well-designed, well-made
knife, maybe two, you can accomplish any of those tasks.
Ken Davis has successfully hunted North American big game
for more than 45 years. All his hunts are unguided and on public land. He is an
expert at field dressing, skinning and game processing. Some of his favorite
knives and sharpeners are available at
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