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View Full Version : Buck, Randall, Dozier, Gerber...what's the best hunting knife?



jaysouth
11-18-2013, 11:28 PM
Here are my two favorites. The one on top is a Chicago Cutlery about 15 years old. The one on bottom is a Dexter Russell Green River Skinning knife. My grandfather bought it in the 50s. Both have dressed, skinned and butchered hundreds of deer, pigs, chicken, and fish. I keep them sharp with a pocket sized blue DMT folder, a bench blue DMT and a Wusthof butcher's steel. The shine on the top one is from Krylon spray on anti-slip paint. It works OK but must be re-applied often. As a rule, a wet wooden handle has more slip resistance than more modern plastic ones.

Neither is very good a splitting logs, throwing or any 'tactical' situation, but they sure cut through flesh and tendons.

What's your favorite?

http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd507/jaysouth100/DSCN0025_zps63d9e780.jpg (http://s1223.photobucket.com/user/jaysouth100/media/DSCN0025_zps63d9e780.jpg.html)

jcwit
11-18-2013, 11:33 PM
Back in the days when I could get into the woods and hunt I carried a Lee Olsen knife made by Lee in Howard City Michigan. I bought it from Lee himself back in the later 50's or early 60's IIRC. Dressed out many a deer with it.

Those hunting days are forever gone, only exist in my memory.

Mk42gunner
11-19-2013, 12:04 AM
The best hunting knife is the one you have with you, that is sharp.

Next best is the one you have with you.

Way down the list is your hunting buddy's knife, because you know it hasn't been sharpened since the last time you had to borrow it.

I carried an Air Force Pilot's knife for several years; it stayed reasonably sharp, and I couldn't manage to lose it. I did grind away the sawteeth on the spine of the blade, they were a PITA to clean blood and other bits of deer out of.

Robert

possom813
11-19-2013, 12:18 AM
Puma Hunter's Pal is always with me in my pack(don't like the sheath for it because it tends to fall out and I'd hate to lose it from my belt)

Gerber folding knife on my belt in a nylon/velcro sheath

Old German Solingen blade with a bone handle in the pack, good and heavy and holds a great edge.

A friend of mine is making a custom blade for me, nothing super fancy but it's what I want. A lightweight, thin and flexible blade like a filet knife in a skinning knife profile. He's making it from a bandsaw blade. So far it looks pretty sharp and will have a place in the pack.

oldgeezershooter
11-19-2013, 12:40 AM
I don't tell many people, but my eldest son(Never had any DNA testing done,) Had to dress a deer with a sharp rock, because he had forgotten his knife.
I like a Kershaw Blade Trader myself.

GaryN
11-19-2013, 12:45 AM
I like knives. I have a bunch of different ones. Gerbers,Bucks,Cold Steel, Old Timers, Helle,Spyderco, and the list goes on. I also kill an elk almost every year with my bow. So I get a chance to play with them on real animals. So far, the Helle laminated knife is my favorite. It has a super hard brittle blade sandwiched between two more flexible blades. It really holds an edge and is very tough. I have skinned and butchered two elk without sharpening and it was still sharp but needed a touch up.

jaysouth
11-19-2013, 01:41 AM
I have one like the bottom of the photo. Very old German blade. Keeps and edge and has a real good shape to it.

It is marked:
with an arrow pointing to
F.DICK
GERMANY

Fredrich Dick has been around for many hundred years and makes a good knife. For some reason or another, most culinary schools make their students buy a set of F. Dick knives..

The bottom knife in my photo is a Dexter Russell Green River skinner. I think that it cost $3 in the 50s. They are now up to $23 at most sites.

MtGun44
11-19-2013, 02:27 AM
What is the best car? Ford, Chevy, Toyota, Dodge, VW, Honda, Porsche. . . . . .

No answer will satisfy all.

Bill

btroj
11-19-2013, 08:41 AM
Any sharp one that holds an edge works for me. Older I get the smaller I go in knives.

Beerd
11-19-2013, 10:46 AM
I don't tell many people, but my eldest son(Never had any DNA testing done,) Had to dress a deer with a sharp rock, because he had forgotten his knife.

Your secret is safe with us ;-)
..

Bad Water Bill
11-19-2013, 10:57 AM
I have been given several knives when the original owners passed away.

Every one was made out of an old loggers saw blade. All have wooden handles and most used nails to peen the 2 wooden 1/2s together.

I have no idea how they sharpened them tho.

pdawg_shooter
11-19-2013, 12:31 PM
I am happy with my Kershaw drop point I have been using for the last 35 years or so. Really holds the edge and is not so big as to be unhandy, but will still split the breast bone.

paul h
11-19-2013, 01:32 PM
The sharp knife you have with you.

That said, the one knife you should have about a 1/2 dozen of because they cut so well and are so inexspesive are the victorinox paring knives.

http://www.swissknifeshop.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/454x458/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/v/f/vf40601_vix_x1000_1.jpg

$6 and cut wonderfully due to their shape. Couple swipes on a diamond stone will have you back in business.

smokeywolf
11-19-2013, 01:40 PM
I carry a Randall and/or a Case Bulldog, but some of the best knives for the money that I've seen are the ones you make yourself.

smokeywolf

L Ross
11-20-2013, 10:06 AM
I once read Northern Bushcraft by Mors Karchanski and he used Mora knives. I happened across 3 over the years with the red painted birch handles and they have given great service. Mora now makes a knife with the same laminated blade with a non slip checkered rubber and plastic handle. I hate plastic but by golly those handles work well when covered in blood and congealing deer fat. They sharpen shaving shape with a diamond hone.
I also have an 50's vintage Russell belt knife I like. I broke a corner off a handle scale using an improved baton to drive the blade through a pelvis. I'd have rather broke my finger.

Duke

10x
11-20-2013, 02:32 PM
I have an inexpensive Gerber Gator (Fixed blade with gut hook) made in China that has been used to dress out and skin over 75 mule deer over the past 12 years. It is still as sharp as the day I bought it and it has only seen a steel to touch up the edge once. It is an incredible piece of steel. On sale for $19.95. Bought two, gave one to a buddy who threw it in his tool box and eventually lost it. Bought another of the same model a few years ago, gave it to a friend, it does not keep its edge like mine does.
Got a Schrade Old timer (4 inch blade) that needs a touch up every second cut while dressing out a mule deer. You can feel the thing go dull when it cuts deer hair.

KCSO
11-20-2013, 04:33 PM
Fatty Fatty run for your life, here comes skinny with an Olsen knife. Olsen's motto in 1959.


My hunting knife is forged from a chevy car spring and that does just fine. Otherwise I have about 50 others that get used now and then. I prefer a 1095 or 5156 blade that can be resharpened in camp with simple tools so I shy away from some of the Gerber's and Bucks.

1Shirt
11-20-2013, 04:39 PM
1st choice for me is a Buck (carry both an old very early folding), and an early small blade belt knife. Second choice is AF Pilots survival knife!
1Shirt!

fouronesix
11-20-2013, 04:46 PM
Small is good. I usually take one of these along with a diamond lap. Carried in sheath and in a pack. I quit carrying a belt knife when I figured out I didn't need to fast draw on a dead critter.
Buck 102, old Russell paring knife well worn from sharpening, newer Russell paring knife (bought a bunch of Russell paring blades a long time ago- so just add wood scales when I need a new knife).

DaveInFloweryBranchGA
11-20-2013, 06:08 PM
A few years back I read on a forum where a fella made some cave man stone knives and talked about how sharp they were. I got curious and after searching a bit, managed to find a fella at a gun show that had made a few for sale. I bought one. Sure enough, it was at least as sharp as a surgeon's scalpel. It managed to get lost in a move, but sure did work well for dressing out an animal.

That said, my Dad, who sold knives for many years, gave me as gifts a Bulldog pocket knife and Rigid lockblades in small and medium sizes. They do pretty well and I haven't had to sharpen much over the years, maybe once or twice in 20 years. But in the last ten I have to say they've opened more boxes than they've cut deer due to me not having the time/opportunity to hunt much.

reloaderman1
11-20-2013, 06:30 PM
1st choice for me is a Buck (carry both an old very early folding), and an early small blade belt knife. Second choice is AF Pilots survival knife!
1Shirt!

I like the Buck knives also. My folding hunter is going on 35 years old now, and I find you have to sharpen it about every two deer. I've got a Sharp "sharp finger' with a nice curve to it, but it seems like the Buck gets the call most of the time.

Char-Gar
11-20-2013, 07:19 PM
In 1959 before my first deer hunt, I bought a large two blade folding hunter by Queen. I still have it and it has cleaner and skinnes several dozen deer and quite a few antelope, javalina and the like. I keep it clean a sharp as is just as good as the day I bought it. Works for me...

hiram1
11-20-2013, 07:55 PM
I had a friend name jimmy lile give me a knife and it works real good for me .He kep it sharp for me till he past but it don't take long to fix it.i have a friend who makes knifes now who worked for jimmy and he makes a real real good kinfe i have one of his and it stays sharp and stays sharp.

Lloyd Smale
11-21-2013, 07:05 AM
My randal is no doubt my best knife. thing is its so expensive i about hate taking it out of the house. Mostly i carry bark river knives. We call them pour man randals around here.

CastingFool
11-21-2013, 07:26 AM
You guys are correct, the best knife is the one you have when you need one, and the best knife is a sharp knife. I carry a Buck 110 folding knife that I purchased back in 1973, when I was in the Army. Cleaned most of my deer with it. I do have to work on the blade to make sure it's sharp when I need it, but it's not a problem gutting out one or two deer without touching up the blade. In 2008, I was given a Gerber Gator folding knife, with a guthook. That and the Buck are my favorites, and the guthook does a great job on zipping open a deer. The blade stays sharp, but I don't use it as extensively as the Buck. These two knives only see use during the deer season. For my everyday carry, I carry a small Buck folding knife, and most of my knives are Buck knives.

Jeff82
11-21-2013, 10:19 AM
I love my Spyderco Mannix II.

savagetactical
11-21-2013, 12:56 PM
My old case is the best hunting knife.

Firebricker
11-21-2013, 10:23 PM
88239
Here is my favourite hunting knife it is a Bark River. Thing I like about it is very little choil drop point and hollow ground and it holds an edge extremely well and it is not to big but big enough to do its job. I also have a Cold Steel master hunter with the carbon V blade back when the were made in the U.S.A. that is on the favourite list. And of course the old Buck 110 which I think everybody should have at least one of. FB

MaryB
11-22-2013, 01:25 AM
Buck selector I got back in 1984 as a salesman's gift to get our business. Gut hook blade and a serrated bone saw that interchange and a folding regular blade.

Lloyd Smale
11-22-2013, 07:05 AM
carried one just like it for about the last 10 years of working as a lineman. It was totaly abused. Used for everything from cutting my lunch to skinning 4/0 cable. Still is in great shape and take a great edge. Ive got probably a dozen of there knives and cant say a bad word about a single one of them.
88239
Here is my favourite hunting knife it is a Bark River. Thing I like about it is very little choil drop point and hollow ground and it holds an edge extremely well and it is not to big but big enough to do its job. I also have a Cold Steel master hunter with the carbon V blade back when the were made in the U.S.A. that is on the favourite list. And of course the old Buck 110 which I think everybody should have at least one of. FB

pipehand
11-22-2013, 10:41 AM
Mora tri-flex. Inexpensive, and takes and hold a scary sharp edge. For actual butchering, I have my Great Grandfather's Russel boning knife and sharpening steel, and his Bridell cleaver for taking the ribs off.

MT Gianni
11-22-2013, 11:24 PM
I have a CKRT that holds an edge well. Also a pair of older Lakota knoves that are great. They hold an edge and stand on the handle with the edge off of the table.

blackthorn
11-26-2013, 04:51 PM
I have and use several different knives. I have a 2 Buck fixed blade knives and a couple of Scharade folders that I use for hunting, as well as a kife made from an old file (not by me). My everyday jacknife is an Uncle Henry 3 blade.

Amusing story:When my Granddaughter turned 7, I gave her a (very sharp) jackknife. We were at my cabin at the time and she immediately went outside and attacked the willow scrub in front of the cabin. Very soon thereafter she appeared in the doorway holding her right index finger with her left hand. I asked her: “how bad did you cut yourself”? “Not bad” she said, “but I’ll tell you one thing----Mummy is not going to be impressed”! She said her mother had commented that I treated her just like she was a boy and maybe I really wanted a Grandson rather than a Granddaughter. We then had a long conversation during which I explained that I was more than pleased to have her just the way she was and that just because she was a girl it did not mean she should not learn to fish, have a knife and/or a gun and know how to use both. Several years later I gave her a lock blade Ken Onion case knife. She is 29 now and still has both of those knives and she brings them with her whenever we go to the cabin. Unfortunately, she never developed any real interest in firearms. Oh well maybe I will live long enough to corrupt my Great Grandson heh heh heh. He will be 2 in Feb 2014.

jonp
11-27-2013, 04:53 PM
I laugh at all of the Rambo's walking around the deer woods with a 2ft bowie strapped on. What the heck are they going to do with that? I carry a Spyderco Pocket knife to field dress the deer. It is really all you need for that. I do have a fixed blade Soligen with a bone handle that my Grandfather brought back from Germany during WW2 and I have it on my belt but I don't really use it. It's about 5in long or so and I did use it to skin my first deer but have not used it since. I just keep it as a reminder of my Grandfather along with his compass and take both with me into the woods every year.

jonp
11-27-2013, 04:56 PM
I love my Spyderco Mannix II.

I am a big Spyderco fan..

bob208
11-27-2013, 05:17 PM
I have skinned a lot of rabbits and squirrels with a Barlow. field dressed dear with my boy scout fixed blade made by western.it is about the size of a buck 102. for butchering I use a old hickory bought new for $5

you have to watch buck now some are made in china. I have a 371 I won at a shooting match it is made in china.

jonp
11-27-2013, 05:41 PM
88239
Here is my favourite hunting knife it is a Bark River. Thing I like about it is very little choil drop point and hollow ground and it holds an edge extremely well and it is not to big but big enough to do its job. I also have a Cold Steel master hunter with the carbon V blade back when the were made in the U.S.A. that is on the favourite list. And of course the old Buck 110 which I think everybody should have at least one of. FB
Which model is that?