Choice of knife

[S.Archer]

I am new to hunting, but have two hunts lined up for this fall. My buddy said I need 2 good knives, any suggestions? First hunt is moose the other for elk. Thanks

[madrona sh]

A boning knife from a butcher supply.
OLFA carpet knife (The hooked one) Get at hardware store

[BiG Boar]

Olfa knife with carpet blades and regular blades. Best knife out there.

[The Hermit]

Fallkniven F1 AND Havalon Piranta with extra blades https://www.vantagepoint-outfitters.com/hunting-and-skinning-knives/

[madrona sh]

I find the reg blade OLFA a pain to cut out assholes personaly.

[Everett]

Helle knives of Norway hands down my favorite there also works of art. Best part is you can buy just the blade and make the handle yourself to suit your own hand. The blades for the most part are laminated steel. Myself, wife and most of our hunting partners use them I have at least 6 our 7. http://www.helle.no/

[Shooter]

I will HIGHLY recommend a Havalon Piranta knife and then just a simple fixed blade to sit on your belt.

[msharkey]

Enzo Trapper and/or Camper. Great knives,super steel - strop them to razor sharpness- literally!

[bruin]

Fallkniven F1 AND Havalon Piranta with extra blades https://www.vantagepoint-outfitters.com/hunting-and-skinning-knives/

Highly recommend the Havalon Knives. I carry a multitool, a havalon and a saw (if needed) for everything now. Havalon does all the meat and caping, super cheap and always sharp! I hate carpet and hooked knives because I always find I pop something I don't want to pop with the sharp point. Much prefer a drop point knife

[WKCotts]

Havalon Piranta and a Knives of Alaska skinner

[Ambush]

Fallkniven F1 AND Havalon Piranta with extra blades https://www.vantagepoint-outfitters.com/hunting-and-skinning-knives/

Perfect combo. One very sturdy, do-all knife and a changeable blade super sharp skinning knife. You can skin and quarter a whole moose with just a few blade changes on the Havalon and a hundred pack of blades is pretty cheap. The F1 will take about any tough chore you can find.

[troutseeker]

Buck 110 and an Olfa!

[rocksteady]

Any sort of sharp cutlery... After you skin/gut a few you will figure out what you want/need..

Just because I prefer "x" knife does not mean you will!

[GoodPartner]

Love the Havalon Piranta

[Spitzer]

I bought a Cutco orange handle knife last year, we'll see how it works this season, hopefully.

[chris26262]

Havalon Piranta with extra blades for sure! And a good ol sturdy buck 110!

[Wackman]

Personally, I like to have a full tang belt knife, similar to the Puma skinner. As second knife I just LOVE the inexpensive "Mora" knives that are super easy to bring to razor sharpness and even the 4" version is light enough to be used as a neck knife. Happy hunting! :-)

[BiG Boar]

I've got a havalon, olfa, buck 110, custom made drop points, and cutco double d knives. Olfa for skinning deboning havalon for caping is what I use.

[Gateholio]

Victoknox boning knife with 5" blade. Keep it razor sharp and you are good to go.

[Trophyslayer]

My buddy shot a moose this year and 2 blades with my havalon it was field dressed and skinned no sharpening required. I also like to have a strong fixed blade or multi tool because the havalon isn't meant for anything besides cutting flesh.

[Drillbit]

Another vote for Havalon Piranha. I always have a 2 Cutco DD's in the truck for helpers and rough jobs.

[Sundance1972]

I have the Outdoor Edge game processor kit that stays in the camper/trailer. Belt knife is a simple folding Gerber guthook plus an Olfa (and spare sterilized blades lightly coated with veggie oil) in my daypack. Just looked at the Havalon knives and think I will be ordering a Piranta to replace the Olfa.

[Foxton Gundogs]

I have an ancient Uncle Henry not the flint blade edition:mrgreen: but the next model up lol. Its gutted and skinned a lot of game and stlii takes and holds a great edge.

[The Hermit]

I love this thread! No doubt there are some great knives out there for good prices!

I have the Fallkniven F1 in my pack and a Fallkniven WM1 both in Zytel sheaths. (I'll never go back to a leather sheath again after seeing what one looked like after it fell apart... PUKE! The Zyel sheaths are strong and I just toss them in bleach once in a while to sanitize them... think about where your knife has been! ;-) I always carry a Fallkniven U2 pocket knife with me. I'll also be carrying the Havalon in my pack this season.

[Husky7mm]

I will HIGHLY recommend a Havalon Piranta knife and then just a simple fixed blade to sit on your belt.
X2 wish I invented that knife

[yama49]

Another vote for the havalon..

[warnniklz]

Had a gerber gator for the longest time. Then the pin broke on it. My dad still uses his. Lately I've been using my Outdoor Edge Stratus...

Worked great for my deer. Didn't need to sharpen it once. Gutted and caped it out with it. Still doesn't need sharpening. However I think it'd be too small to do a moose, elk or cariboo.

I'll probably pick up something new again in February. I always seem to get new knives right around then.

I don't think there's really a wrong knife. They each have their place. Even mxima knives can cut garlic coil in camp.

[TARCHER]

[Having numerous knives, my favorite is the drop point hunter by Bob Dozier. My first Grohman original belt knife is also close by and very affordable.

[Yak]

I carry a Grohman skinner (surprised more people on here dont?) and a cheap Gerber folder. Really enjoy using the Grohman and would reccomend it.

[igojuone]

I prefer a sharp knife over a dull one.

[moose2]

I have used snap off box cutters for about 20 years on dozens of animals. They are sharp and cheap if you loose one. However the handles get a bit slippery with the animal fat. They are a bit weak for the work around the bones or rib cage. I have also broke blades in the cavity a few times, it can be a bit sketchy digging for them as well. I have had them slip twice on me and created stitch causing cuts both times. Not saying I wouldn't of cut myself with something else, but I think a better designed handle would help. I will be trying a hunting and skinning knife from havalon this year. I think the better handle and the sharp replacable blades would be a great combo. I like a tough fixed blade in my pack as well for the heavy work. ( taking off a skull cap if there are broken bones around it, hacking the top of the rib section for halving and so on )
Mike

[David]

If this is your first hunt, probably a good idea to ask your buddy what his usual "after the animal is shot" process is. i.e. Does he skin it where it lays or does he load it on an ATV and bring it back to camp.

In general I would say bring THREE knives:
2 X something to gut with. Take something that is comfortable in your hand and has a blade length that is easy to maneuver. If you haven't gutted an animal before, google some videos. As an example, you will want to open the animal up without puncturing the stomach - size and comfort matter here.

The reason I say 2X this type of knife is it is VERY easy to dull your knife quickly when doing something like cutting out the asshole and hitting bone because you're a rookie and don't know what you're doing.

My first number of hunts I used a Forst River Knife (?) which at the time were like $8 each. Your stereotypical buck/hunting/belt knife is fine as long as it is sharp.

If your partner plans to de-bone in the field I would take 3X knives for this. The reason for multiple knives is regardless of how good your steel is, as someone new to the process you are likely to dull a knife pretty fast.

For skinning I recommend a carpet knife like everyone else. It will be slower than a proper skinning knife but cheap and you can keep changing blades to stay sharp. The small size/maneuverability also means that as a newbie to skinning you will be less likely to get hair on the meat.

If you decide to stick with hunting you can then spend the $$$ for knive(s) you like and of higher quality.

Hope that helps.

[andrewscag]

I've been using scalpels lately and love them. Super sharp blades and when they dull just get a new one. Cheap way to go. Bet an exacto knife would do well too

[jetboat jim]

havalon knives are the best.

[Sundance1972]

havalon knives are the best.

Ordered a Piranta from VPO and just got it in the mail this morning. To be totally honest, I wasn't expecting to be overly impressed with it (for some unknown reason I had a mental image of a cheap plastic POS), but it looks to be well made and fits my hand nicely. Can't wait to try it on a spring bear if I decide to go out.

PS, Bill from VPO is great to deal with. Had a couple computer related problems with my order that were quickly dealt with by phone and e-mail. Went back on the site this morning and ordered a couple shirts/hoodies and had a shipping confirmation e-mail within a few hours :)

[Ron.C]

PS, Bill from VPO is great to deal with. Had a couple computer related problems with my order that were quickly dealt with by phone and e-mail. Went back on the site this morning and ordered a couple shirts/hoodies and had a shipping confirmation e-mail within a few hours :)

I've purchased two Falkniven knives from VantagePoint outfitters. Used the F1 last fall on an elk, and a pile of deer. Great knives, great service from Bill at VPO