Hunting knife question for deer hunters

Daniel Koster

Daniel Koster

www.kosterknives.com
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Oct 18, 2001
Messages
20,978
What kind of knife handle do those of you who hunt deer prefer?

I prefer a handle that I could rotate easily in my hand so the knife is edge-up, for skinning.....and also have a guard and buttplate for ease pushing-in/extracting.

What do you use/prefer?
 
I'm a novice hunter and also am looking for a deer knife...I don't have a suggestion for you, but what do you use?
 
A good guard is important because i dont care what the handle is made of your hands will slip some. I would agree with the ease of shape for using with the spine facing down and the blade facing up as a good deal of the work for gutting a deer is done holding the knife in this manner. I would have to say G10 or some synthetic of that sort with a good deep checkered finish would be best. The worst thing is that the blood gets into every part of the knife seemingly, so scales that are removable so that they as well as the entire knife could be cleaned would be a good thing. Granted this leaves exposed tang which would be cold to the touch, but you cant have everything.
 
I have been using a Dozier D2 White River Skinner for the last five or so years and the only really bad thing I can say about the Brown Micarta handle scales is that they do indeed get slippery when wet or bloody and there is no guard to speak of on this knife.

For the last three deer seasons I've sprayed my handles with the Rubberized coating you can buy in multiple colors at Lowes. I have to redo it about every season because it peels off pretty fast actually. I guess I could rough up the handle some for better retention but it sticks well enough for about three deer and then I go ahead and clean it up. It is supposed to be the same stuff you used to be able to dip handles in but now in a spray can. Haven't seen the dip for a while now so I am not sure if it is still around or not.

Anyway this rubber coating has worked fine on this Dozier knife for me for better grip during the season but it is not my first choice. I think a good handle is important and it is one of the reasons I'm looking to change skinning knives this year just to see how I feel about other choices.

The Cold Steel Master Hunter looks like a really great handle and I like the look of the blade and the guard on it so that is the one I've decided on I think in Carbon V steel. I know a couple of other hunters that have really cut themselves bad from slipping when using their knives so I'm kind of thinking it is time to move on to something new this year.
 
I prefer something in a blade length of between 3 1/2" - 5" w/a micarta or kraton style handle, something that'll give You a solid purchase when covered with blood.
Check out www.heafnerknives.com Awesome blades for the money!! and in cryo treated D2, currently got a #3 in my pack now :D

Darrell.................
 
Dan,
I know the guard on a hunting knife is a personal choice and could be cause for debate. For me, I prefer a knife without one. Reason being, I can work my hand around the blade better without a guard. It simply gets in my way. I feel the most important thing to have is a lanyard hole with cordage wrapped around your wrist. This will keep you hand from slipping forward. I know from personal experience the last two years and 9 deer later. :D Sheep horn textured buff horn, jigged bone, elk or stag, I feel are best because they get tacky when blood gets on them. Micarta sanded to only 220 grit improves gripping. Wearing latex gloves improves gripping also. These are things I do in the field when testing knife use on big game, mainly deer.
Scott
 
One with a good guard so you don't get too chummy with your very sharp blade while working blind inside the body cavity. I prefer smooth handles rather than those with ridges for fingers. You should assume you will be working with the knife for a couple hours and you don't need hand cramps because the knife's handle doesn't fit your hand. It is one thing to wave the knife about in the store to see how it feels and quite another to be out in the nasty elements working on game.

Lastly, you don't need a great big honker of a Bowie to gut, skin, and quarter whitetails. However, a good little bone saw and a couple of decent knives helps the job go faster.

Here is a good (with field experience) knife company you might want to contact. It is Bark River Knives located in the middle of whitetail country.

http://www.barkriverknives.com/

http://www.barkriverknives.com/fieldsman.html
 
SOG seal revolver or hunter revolver, you get great skinning knife and boning saw all in one package. aus8a stainless for around $55 -60.
 
I primarily look at how the blade and handle are going to work when I invert them (to spine down and edge up) when I pick my hunting knives. I want the blade and handle to flow in a relatively straight line. I want to be able to snug the web between my thumb and index finger up to a guard in this position and to be able to guard the point of the blade with my index finger. Since I can't tip my index finger up much from this position I want the point of the blade to be a bit down where I can reach it (now remember I have the blade edge-up in this discussion). So this means that I want the point lower than the middle of the blade (away from the edge). This means that if I have a clip or drop point blade I want the clip short or the drop short. My actual preference is to have a semi-skinner blade design or almost a straight back. Both of these configurations makes the tip of the blade reachable with my index finger (assuming that the blade is no longer than 4 inches).

Implicit in the above is that I want a guard to snug the web of my thumb up against. I also want the handle relatively straight and symmetrical. It should have an oval cross-section so that it self-indexes and so that I can apply twist to the blade easier. I kind of like the profile of the handle on the Cold Steel Master Hunter where it is narrower in the middle than at the ends. This makes it harder for the knife to be pulled out of your grip. As far as material, I like to have it non absorbant and rough textured. I have always like the feel of stag. Checkering is OK, but usually a little bit too rough for my taste.

The handle should be secure when your hands are really cold and bloody.
 
I wear rubber gloves when field dressing deer
so I don't have a problem holding on to the
knife.

I agree with the above comments: 3 1/2- 5 inch blade;
although my preference is on the shorter end of that range.
No handle grooves. No preference in so far as handle material.
My most used knives have either Micarta or stag slab handles.

For the past three years I've been using Geno Denning's GM model.
Like it so much that I bought one for my hunting partner. We normally
dress out three or four deer a year. We don't do our own butchering so
I can't address that.
Hope you get your deer.
 
Wasz said:
I would agree with the ease of shape for using with the spine facing down and the blade facing up as a good deal of the work for gutting a deer is done holding the knife in this manner.
Click to expand...

Don't mean to pick here, as there are several folks who agree. But, I'm guessing I must just do things a little differently. I do use the knife edge-up for splitting the skin on the belly and up the back legs, but otherwise these operations account for very little of the overal time to process. Once these cuts are done, I use the knife in the normal edge-down fashion 3 or 4 times as much. My favorite style knife is a full skinner pattern, and I'm one of the guys who do prefer a guard. But I don't care for finger grooves or drastically curved handles. Last year my brother didn't have time to process his deer before he had to head up north (home) again, so he dropped it off at a local butcher's. We stood and watched them work on 3 or 4 deer ahead of his, and naturally, they were pretty quick at it. Wanna know what kind of knives they used? Plain ol' 6" or 7" boning knives. Skinny blades, fairly pointy tips, spines straight or slightly upswept, and by everyone's accounts here, they were using blades too long for the task.

It seems every time this subject comes up, someone will make strong statements regarding blade length when working "inside the body cavity". I can see that this may be a geniune issue for elk or moose, but for the deer I'm used to, I don't think it's any big deal. I'm not performing quadruple bypass surgery on the thing; once the belly/chest is open the guts practically fall out on their own. Only thing that really needs cutting is the poop chute, diaphragm, and trachea & esophogus. I'd have no trouble using my 18" bladed bowie for the task. (I usually have it at hand anyway for splitting the sternum and whacking off the head & legs.)
 
In Alaska when we were there the natives used very small knives not much bigger than their index fingers in length on the largest game (Moose). From a distance it looked like they were doing the work with their hands because you couldn't even see the knives they were skinning and field dressing with.

Of course this was just a few families so it may not have been real common, but the point is that it doesn't require a lot of blade just a skilled hand.

I learned some other tricks there too actually. Like how to use an 18Volt cordless saws all and make it a convenient portable butcher shop/sectioning tool for easy load up of all the meat on four wheelers to get in and out before predators came running in from the smell of blood for example.
 
A 3 1/2 -4 1/2" slight drop point blade ,stainless steel preferred. Handle straight, this is important since in the dressing out, skinning and butchering the knife is held many ways. One factory knife that meets the standards well is the CS Master Hunter in stainless [AUS-8]. The rubber handle is non-slip even if hand is wet or cold.
 
Buck Vangaurd, Wood Handle, no gut hook. This is my hunting companion. I have dressed out several deer and a couple black bear. It has always served me well.
 
I use a plain old plastic handle Buck Woodsman. For the couple times a year that it gets used, it does just fine. You don't really need an S30V or D2 blade for it to stay sharp long enough to gut a single deer, which is pretty much all it ever does before being resharpened.

But then again I suppose you don't need either of those to open envelopes either. :D

I have been thinking about getting a nice hunting knife. Someday maybe.
 
My dad has been deer huntin' for close to 50 years now, used to use a Buck 110 that he made into a weird looking drop point. Now however he uses a Kershaw Mini Task, small little knife, I don't know how he does it but he does.
 
I have field dressed alot of game from squirrels, rabbits, grouse, hogs,deer, bear, and having a family with a farm even a few cows. My primary knife has been a knife with a strait handel and an upswept blade with an somewhat integrated gaurd with finger grooves for deer. It has always done me well, but I have used my Kershaw DOW to do it as well as other pocket knives on deer. I just used one of Scotts knives, that I got from him on a deer and it had no gaurd and a stag handle. Did great it had a lanyard and I had never used one and I loved it. Now I like a blade like 3-4 inches with a slightly curved blade and now having used a lanyard I like that. But I believe its all preference, and butchering can be done with many diff blades.
 
I.ve dressed out many bucks and hogs with my Master Hunter. Never had a problem, good size handle/grip. I also use surgical gloves which make clean up quick..
 
Hey Guys..

I also rather not have a guard on a knife.. A deep finger groove is my prefered choice...

I also like a knife with a shorter blade, something that I can extend my finger along the spine of the blade, where the tip is just slighlty longer..

It should also be a thin (stock)blade with some belly..Drop point is nice..

We often are skinning deer and bear for mounts, and prefer a smaller knife for this....

Something a little nonslip is nice to have...

ttyle

Eric...
 
Daniel Koster said:
What kind of knife handle do those of you who hunt deer prefer?

I prefer a handle that I could rotate easily in my hand so the knife is edge-up, for skinning.....and also have a guard and buttplate for ease pushing-in/extracting.

What do you use/prefer?
Click to expand...

Me and a buddy went to the now discountinued Cold Steel Twistmasters a few years back. Similar to Opinels, but more heavy duty. Liked the checkered Zytel roundish shaped handles and the carbon steel blades. At the time they were pretty inexpensive too. We bought several of each size. Last outing I used a Dozier with canvas micarta slabs. Don't remember any problems, but not as grippy as the checkered Zytel.

I'd vote for handle material that you can maintain a good grip with when your hands are bloody and chilled.

Jeff
 
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