Knife for Duck & Goose Hunting?

K Williams

K Williams

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Nov 17, 1998
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What production fixed-blade knives would you recommend for duck & goose hunting? Preferably made of a stainless steel(because of exposure to salt water tidal wetlands), also be strong enough for general use & cutting vegetation for blind construction/camouflage, and sized to be able to dress/clean a bird?
 
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a gerber gator will work great for that. stainless,lockback and super good grip. and it wont break the bank.
 
I'd get a dedicated kitchen knife to carry with a pair of secateurs. A sheath made to carry them both as a set offers a great opportunity for something individual. Not only will the knife be optimal for the task but I believe you get a hell of a lot more for your money that way than playing about with sports knives. You could have VG10 as a minimum, or MC66 or ZPD-189 or something in a very cost effective package that a sports knife maker would rook you and arm and a leg for. Light years ahead of simple carbons and can take the fight to the best stainless sports knives around and win. Unless you've got a particular penchant for utility use too and so require toughness I'd seriously consider this route for excellence at what you have in mind.
 
Ditch the stainless for a good carbon blade and proper maintenance. I would recommend a green river ripper. The blade shape of the ripper is the best for fowl cleaning that I have found to date. The blade is small, so another tool would be needed for brush clearing. If you want one knife to do it all, the condor knife and tool 10" inca knife is perfect. It is made of good steel, its cheap, and it will get the job done.

http://www.condortk.com/productsdetail.php?prodid=121

I too often carry kitchen knives for game prep, but I find a full sized chef's knife just won't fly for brush clearing and other outdoor tasks. The thin blade stock is inadequate, and if you want to use it for fire preparation, consider it ruined.
 
Below is an example of the kind of thing I have in mind. It's a small laminated VG10 that would cost me about £80. The Shun Ken Onion [the bloke famous for designing for Kershaw] series have a few either side of $100 USD that I think would do well. As I said, with the secateurs for doing the donkey work you can load up on the cutting with the kind of tools optimized for cutting that kind of thing. Who else is offering laminated VG10 for that money? Same applies to other super steels if you step up a bit further. Seems after the steel, the design, and the heat treat are taken care of like this nothing else is really a factor.

I think it's also worth noting how close that design is to the old Schrade Sharp Finger - one of the most commercially successful hunting patterns ever.


dm0501sg.jpg
 
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Fallkniven makes a variety of blades that may suit your purpose. I would recommend the WM1. Makes a great fixed necker as well.

I take my Fallknivens when headed out to the coast or exposure to wet areas, the lam. VG-10 has not yet rusted or even spotted! The convex edge cuts very well and holds very well....
 
Cleaning birds and chopping vegetation don't go along well. A long (note I said long, not heavy) blade for cleaning vegetation won't be the best for delicate bird cleaning. I would go with two blades. Small thin blade in stainless (Fallkniven H1) for game processing and a cheapo short machete from the hardware store. If you happen to ding, break, chip, bash, lose, drop into the water the machete... who cares? They are cheap and replaceable.

Mikel
 
Mikel_24 said:
A long (note I said long, not heavy) blade for cleaning vegetation won't be the best for delicate bird cleaning. I would go with two blades. Small thin blade in stainless (Fallkniven H1) for game processing and a cheapo short machete from the hardware store.
Mikel
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The H1 is by no means thin.... The WM1, F1, or TK2 would all be thinner....
 
My all-time favorite waterfowl knife is an A.G. Russell Bird & Trout. It just seems to be perfect for breasting out ducks and geese. You can get it in a choice of steels, last time I looked.

As for the blind making chores, I bring a cheap Ontario machete for that.

Good hunting,
desmobob
 
Get a Buck 105 or 102 for the birds and a machete for the vegetation ;)
A stainless Mora is another good choice IMO.
 
Mikel_24 said:
Cleaning birds and chopping vegetation don't go along well. A long (note I said long, not heavy) blade for cleaning vegetation won't be the best for delicate bird cleaning. I would go with two blades. Small thin blade in stainless (Fallkniven H1) for game processing and a cheapo short machete from the hardware store. If you happen to ding, break, chip, bash, lose, drop into the water the machete... who cares? They are cheap and replaceable.

Mikel
Click to expand...

I'll second this opinion. IMO a small, nimble, very sharp knife makes a world of difference when cleaning waterfowl. Leave the vegetation cutting to some other instrument. I like the sharpfinger design for waterfowl, and a small set of hunting pruners to clear surrounding vegetation.
 
Mikel_24 said:
Cleaning birds and chopping vegetation don't go along well. A long (note I said long, not heavy) blade for cleaning vegetation won't be the best for delicate bird cleaning. I would go with two blades. Small thin blade in stainless (Fallkniven H1) for game processing and a cheapo short machete from the hardware store. If you happen to ding, break, chip, bash, lose, drop into the water the machete... who cares? They are cheap and replaceable.

Mikel
Click to expand...

Light vegetation @ ~ .25" diameter at the most.... Marsh grass. You're right...anything thicker, and a machete would be the right tool. The knife will be a gift. I figured stainless would be best for someone that's not really into knives like all of us.
 
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desmobob said:
My all-time favorite waterfowl knife is an A.G. Russell Bird & Trout. It just seems to be perfect for breasting out ducks and geese. You can get it in a choice of steels, last time I looked.

As for the blind making chores, I bring a cheap Ontario machete for that.

Good hunting,
desmobob
Click to expand...

I was out in Suffolk County(Long Island) on Saturday. Didn't get any birds. Everything was flying a good distance away and didn't want to come in(or couldn't hear) to the sounds of the duck & goose calls. Better luck next time, I guess.

I carried my Fallkniven A1, a Leatherman Core, and a Spyderco Manix 2. I'm thinking that maybe the Spyderco Aqua Salt might be a possibility as the gift...
 
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