What Makes A Good "Deer Knife"?

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VorpelSword

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What characteristics make a knife, whether straight and belt-worn or pocket folder, good for field carry by a deer hunter?

Assume White Tails or Mulies on a day hunt out on someone's farm or ranch.

Please: A discussion of blade steel is complex and best left for another thread, I think.
 
In my experience, I look for the following now in a deer knife:
1. Fixed blade 4-6" long blade.
2. Clip, drop or spear point, provides some decent belly.
3. Not too deep from the spine to the edge.
4. Synthetic handle. Wood or leather handle could get gunky from blood and fat, so I prefer a synthetic handle.
5. Synthetic sheath for the same reasons as point 4.
 
The Schrade SharpFinger and Buck 118 both have a lot of loyal followers. Both have high points, and sweeping belly.

I consider gut hooks on fixed blade knives to be an abomination, almost as bad as a bottle opener.

Nothing wrong with a separate gut hook though. Preferably one with a replaceable blade.
 
I prefer a drop point blade no more than 4" long. A synthetic handle and sheath are good. I have xl hands, so I like a larger handle than most. I do not like a guthook either. I don't ever use one, but I can see where others will. Great thread OP, thanks.
 
I would add to the list, easy to clean. That goes for folders and fixed blades. I have folders I would not want to clean gunk out of every crevice and I've even seen fixed blades that look like a nightmare to clean, like ones made out of an old file that still has the grooves.
 
These worked pretty well, but so have dozens of others. An ESEE 4 used to be my go-to whitetail knife.

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I like the following characteristics:
- 4-6 inch fixed blade;
- clip, drop, or slight trailing point - something with a decent belly;
- a decently pointy tip capable of piercing hide;
- blade stock no thicker than 3/16" that tapers to a relatively fine edge;
- hollow, flat or convex grind (no scandi or shallow Sabre grinds);
- handle that is comfortable in multiple grip positions and has decent traction; and
- leather sheath that doesn't make a loud *scrape* sound when walking through brush.

Edit: I should clarify that my preferred hunting knives are used for field dressing, skinning, and quartering. I'd rather have some thin boning knives for butchering, but the "deer knife" can be, and has been, used in a pinch if needed.
 
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What are you intending on doing with the knife?

Field dressing/parting? Re-killing? Just skinning? De-boning? Or are you free-diving from a stand onto the deers back caveman style?

Maybe all the above?
 
To me I like a fixed blade because when you get the fat / blood, / etc. on the blade I find it hard to clean off sometimes. I would imagine a folder would be worse, but it would certainly work if needed.
Also I would avoid anything with a leather stacked handle, etc. for the same reason.
I have mostly used a Buck 119, which is really big for a hunting knife, but I like it :cool: In hindsight I probably would have opted for a 105 Pathfinder or a 102 Woodsman instead, but my 119 opens the rib cage like a boss so I don't have to stick my arms inside up past my elbows.
 
Hashishiin said:
Is it easy to get the gunk out of everything? A 119 would be as good, would it not?
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I’ve always washed mine with soap and water, flush it out under the tap shake it off and put it back in its sheath. Pretty simple.

Still if given a choice I always choose a fixed blade for cleaning animals.

The Buck 105, 118 or 121 are great knives for game. The 119 is actually a little big.

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If you really want a clip point, 117 is the same shape as a 119 but smaller.
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Or maybe a 212. You really cannot go wrong with a Buck knife.
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I always preferred a drop point type of a blade really more like the buck 113 ranger or something similar. I tried the longer pointy types and if not careful will poke a hole in the gut sack on a game animal. I remember when I was younger and took my Randall 14 deer hunting and harvested a nice buck. When I went to field dress him with that big old blade and thought to myself. I wish I had a shorter less pointy blade. 😁 So a nice drop point would make for a nice hunting knife, but for an all arounder. I guess a pointy longer blade would suffice and be better if you got lost or needed to survive in the wilderness for a while and cover all bases.
Good luck on your hunt for the perfect hunting knife that's the fun part......The Hunt. 👍
 
VorpelSword said:
What characteristics make a knife, whether straight and belt-worn or pocket folder, good for field carry by a deer hunter?

Assume White Tails or Mulies on a day hunt out on someone's farm or ranch.

Please: A discussion of blade steel is complex and best left for another thread, I think.
Click to expand...
Gut hook drop point blade. Not a super steel, needs to be able to be sharpened in the field. Synthetic handle. Fixed 3-4in only.
 
Public property/State property requires clip point, but on somebody's ranch or even farm, I prefer drop point.
Blacktails require hollow-ground edge, while Mule deer and Whitetails require full flat grind.

It's very intricate picking the right knife for your application. Bow hunter will need even more specialized cutlery, they have different needs that rifle hunters. And don't even get me started on muzzle-loaders, they need half-serrated edges with delicate jimping, 4" and up. Be careful, the wrong knife might get you in trouble. Very strict laws!
 
I don’t gut as many as I used to, preferring to quarter them for ease of dealing with them. But if we are talking about field dressing and hanging whole I really prefer a drop point. I used a modern folding drop point made by Spyderco designed by Tim at Blade Tech for years, then a Blade Tech produced similar knife. But the last 19 years I’ve had one that always gets used. A Victorinox Hunter. It has a serrated gut hook and a saw that have both come in handy.

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This year I used a Buck 112 drop point to quarter an elk and I was pleasantly surprised how it did. It’ll definitely go on many more hunts and I could see this being the only one I’d ever need…but where’s the fun in that?

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I used this Hess Whitetail on a few Antelope last year, gutted and hung in a cooler. And used it on a couple of Whitetail, gutted,and Mulie, quartered. It has worked fine and I carry it mostly on deer hunts. If you’re looking for a capable and nostalgic looking knife, this one works on both accounts. It’s not some super steel so it needs touching up here and there but it’d do a couple deer before requiring that easily.

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