Boning Knife Recommendations?

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Kirk_Ferentz

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Feb 16, 2010
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I want a good knife to go to for processing game after I am done with the gutting / skinning knife. It looks like a curved boning knife would do the best job.

Since it is for cutting meat over a long period of time, I'd probably lean towards a stainless steel, but if you want to suggest non-stainless blades, I will certainly listen. I'm not looking for any super steel, but I'd like a steel that can (1) get very sharp, (2) easily take a quick touch up re-sharpening when needed, and (3) hold a good edge through all of that cutting.

I see that Mora makes several models, and their Sandvik stainless seems to have a good reputation. My experience is that it holds up pretty well and takes a good edge for a stainless. I also see a lot of high end German and Japanese knives that are probably beyond what I want to spend. Then there are some others where I just don't see enough information to be able to evaluate them.

Of the knives that I have now, what I would choose for this sort of work is a mora 748, which doesn't seem to do a bad job. But I'm guessing a good boning knife would do a better job.
 
i like this barkriver canadian sportsman,,i also have forschner an f.dick boning knives that work great.i would stay away from the mora,in my testing the blade takes to much damage when nicked or working around bones.but this is just my opinion.
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I like the F. Dick ErgoGrip line. Kalama's second pic has a few of their knives in it. Great ergonomics, phenomenal design for the task, great edge retention as far as industrial knives go, easy to clean, and inexpensive. I use a 5" angled boning knife with a stiff blade when I section meat rabbits after cleaning.
 
When Becker was trying to name their new line of small knives, I suggested that the BK-15 be called the " Becker Boner". For some reason the name wasn't chosen......................... :D
 
I've always liked the Knives of Alaska Jaeger. I really like their D2 and their Suregrip handles fit me like they were made for me.
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today i was looking into the Knives of Alaska Jaeger..was thinking of getting one..looks good.
 
The bark river looks nice (looks like its Sandvik) but costs an arm and a leg. I see the f. dick blades are X55CrMo14 ... is your experience that they hold a good edge with that steel? It's pretty low end isn't it?

Another thing I should have asked -- for game like deer and pigs, better to have a stiff or semi-stiff blade?
 
I'd go with semi-stiff personally since it allows you to get a little extra meat off the bones. The F. Dick blades hold a decent edge in my experience. They're still soft enough to respond well to a quality steel but they're almost too hard for it. If you don't mind my asking, where were you able to find information on the steel? They don't mention it in any of their literature as far as I've been able to find.
 
the f.dick holds a decent edge i always have my f.dick steel with me,an give her couple swipes now an then when deboning.i realy like my carbon f.dick,it holds a great edge,but i dont know if they make carbon knives any more.that knife is over 50 years old was my grandfathers butcher knife.i use the semi-stiff blades best for around bones like the hip,shoulder,or spine areas..f.dick makes some of the best steels i ever used but they are pricey.i really want to get the svord boning knife,that might be a great knife,love svord steel(L6).hard to get here...HINT,HINT FortyTwoBlades's
 
kalama said:
the f.dick holds a decent edge i always have my f.dick steel with me,an give her couple swipes now an then when deboning.i realy like my carbon f.dick,it holds a great edge,but i dont know if they make carbon knives any more.that knife is over 50 years old was my grandfathers butcher knife.i use the semi-stiff blades best for around bones like the hip,shoulder,or spine areas..f.dick makes some of the best steels i ever used but they are pricey.i really want to get the svord boning knife,that might be a great knife,love svord steel(L6).hard to get here...HINT,HINT FortyTwoBlades's
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I can tell ya' that F. Dick no longer does anything in strait carbon steel. I agree regarding their steels--impossible to beat and well worth the money. They harden those puppies like files and they produce a lot of patterns that you can't find anywhere else.

Regarding the Svord, I can get my paws on them to even if it's not a regular stock item just drop me a line and I can hook you up. :)
 
I've been using a Cabelas premium fillet knife the past few seasons. Today, it work very well deboning the buck I harvested. I only stroped it once throughout the process. For an inexpensive stainless steel (I picked it up discounted) it performs very well.

I wish more custom makers made boning/fillet knives. Been trying to talk Andy Roy into to it for a while now....
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
I'd go with semi-stiff personally since it allows you to get a little extra meat off the bones. The F. Dick blades hold a decent edge in my experience. They're still soft enough to respond well to a quality steel but they're almost too hard for it. If you don't mind my asking, where were you able to find information on the steel? They don't mention it in any of their literature as far as I've been able to find.
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I saw that steel listed in a listing for one of the other knives from the same series. I assumed that the same steel is used in both. Here is the listing: http://www.madcowcutlery.com/store/pc/F-Dick-Ergogrip-10-Cimeter-p2300.htm

I think that is the same steel used in Spyderco's Byrd knives. I don't have much experience with it, but I guess I was hoping for a steel of at least a VG-10 or 154CM level. AUS8A might not be bad either since it has a reputation for getting very sharp.
 
I am kind of new here but I have become partial to A2 steel. I am a chef and was looking for a boning/fillet knife that I could use at work as well as carry into the woods. I like the bark rivers knives rising wolf. Its a pricey knife but its doing double work for me. VG10 is ok but I have chipped some thinner blades on bones. Any way Virtuovice turned me onto bark rivers check him out breaking down a deer.
He is using a Gunny 3V steel no ramp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksVdcuMjpUI&feature=plcp


http://www.barkriverknifetool.com/DG-RisingWolf.htm
 
A2 would be a nice steel to have a good boning knife in, but rising wolf is pretty far from a classic boning knife design. It should have a thin ~6 inch blade.
 
Kirk_Ferentz said:
I saw that steel listed in a listing for one of the other knives from the same series. I assumed that the same steel is used in both. Here is the listing: http://www.madcowcutlery.com/store/pc/F-Dick-Ergogrip-10-Cimeter-p2300.htm

I think that is the same steel used in Spyderco's Byrd knives. I don't have much experience with it, but I guess I was hoping for a steel of at least a VG-10 or 154CM level. AUS8A might not be bad either since it has a reputation for getting very sharp.
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Those guys know what they're talking about so if they say it's X55CrMo14 then I'm sure it must be. According to this post it's the same steel used by Victorinox and is similar to 440B or 12C27 Sandvik. It's worth noting that Randall Made Knives use 440B for their stainless models.
 
The talk about older carbon steel boning knives got me looking on the big auction site and it looks like that might be a good option. Old Hickory knives are the most abundant. Looks like Ontario now owns that line and produces them in 1095. That might be a good option -- I trust that if it is heat treated well, 1095 would take and hold a nice edge. I'm very familiar with it with all of my sharpening of my moras.

Other brands are Hoffman, Sabatier, Robinson, and Chicago Cutlery.

If anyone has any info or experience on any of these, let me know. One specific thing that I would want to know is how the steel/heat treat compares on these old knives.
 
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i found out couple days ago that barkriver will be bringing back the Canadian sportsman in 154cm,i cant wait.i also had these a custom boning knife by koyote knives carbon steel was a great knife always regret trading her..the other was a birddog..
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I am a former butcher and I suggest the victorinox forschner with the five roc handle. I used then in my work and love them
 
go with an f-dick, good price point and the best commercial handle for comfort I have ever used......11 years slaughterhouse work and 20 years of cutting my own meat.
 
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