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Hunting & Fishing Quality Knifes?

O

OKbow87

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Mar 30, 2006
274
0
Oklahoma City, OK
I am thinking about investing in some high quality hunting knifes. I am looking for a skinning/gutting knife with a guthook, and a smaller caping knife. I know a lot of people will suggest the Knifes of Alaska, which I am fully aware of, but I was wondering if anybody had any other suggestions.

If I were to go with the knifes of alaska, I would go with the trekker series whitetail hunter and cub bear caping knife. The only problem I have found is that the trekker is made of d2 steel which is not quite a stainless steel. So it has the ability to rust if not properly cared for. The cub bear is 440c, which is like super stainless as I understand, so I am pretty sure that I like it. All ears for some advice!
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

Check out Randall knives out of Orlando. You'll lay down some dough for a well known, highly sought after knife that will most likely appreciate in value whether you put it in a safe or use it in the field - mine sits in the safe.

I use a Spyderco Wegner blade design for skinning and a gerber 3" bird blade for small work.
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

I have Chris Martin (CMK on here) making me a custom blade from 440c as I didn't feel the expenditure for CPM154 Stainless was worth it to me.

He's been excellent in communication and the pictures through the process have been making me drool. I should have the blade in about 2 more weeks.

I sketched out what I was thinking for the blank shape and gave him some approximate dimensions, stipulated a few features in the handle and tang that I wanted and let him chew on it for a bit.

I couldn't afford a Gene Ingram or Steve Woods blade though they're going to be top level, a good buddy has a HideFighter and it's an awesome tool.

Here's Chris' email contact if you're interested.
cmknives (at) gmail.com
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

I have a pair of Gene Ingram knives and they are great but if you want a custom knife from him you are going to wait. I waited almost 3 years for mine. There are some dealers that carry his knives though if you don't want to wait.

Here are my 2. They are both D2 steel.

Helmetmount018.jpg
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

I wouldn't call them super expensive but I have had and continue to use the Outdoor Edge Kodi Pack for all of my cleaning, skinning, ect on mule & whitetail deer, elk, aoudad ect for the last five years and have had nothing but good things to say about it. It's not pretty or super fancy but they get the job done. I want to say I have a little less than a 100 bucks in the skinning, saw and caping knives.
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

Bark River for production knife. Tom Krien for a custom knife. The others have made some very good suggestions. Good luck.
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

Dan Crotts
photo2yf.jpg

His wait time is about 3 months or you can get them at a couple of places online if you are impatient. The knife pictured was used to clean/skin/quarter 7 deer this year and it is still scary sharp. He uses heat treated D2 for most of his knives.
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

I appreciate the advice. Im currently running through all the options. For you guys that have D2 steel knives. Do you have any problems with rust? That is the main thing that was scaring me away from the knifes of alaska.
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

I am not having any issues with my D2 rusting, but I wipe my blades clean whenever I use them.
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

Dave McCrosky in Stillwater makes some of the best there is and he is local and very reasonable.

http://www.mccroskeyknives.com/

Handmade less than and hr from your home. When you go to see him take your other knives and he will sharpen them all for you.
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

+1000 on Dave McCroskey knives. Custom fit to your hand size. Turnaround time is great, too.
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Remsen</div><div class="ubbcode-body">If you are willing to invest in a high quality knife for processing game, here's all you need to know:

http://www.geneingramknives.com/

Tell Gene what you're looking for and he'll make the knife of your dreams. </div></div>

I would agree with the above. Mine is also a work of art.

Hope this helps.

Trilogymac
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

Here is a guy that does custom work around the house. Lead time is 2 weeks if you don't see what you want on his website. Check his website out. I have one of his hunter knives and it has served me well and it shows excellent craftsmanship holds an edge. All of his blades are ats-34 stainless unless other wise requested. Knives range anywhere from $1000 and down depending on what you want. I think I paid somewhere in the ball park of $200 +/- for mine.

Recatto Knives
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

Here is a couple of knives made in ARK for Bullard Knives.
This one is made out of armadillo tail and Damascus steel with the case out of leather and alligator.
DSCN0128.jpg

This is made with Elk horn. This is a big knife but razor sharp.
DSCN0127.jpg

DSCN0129.jpg
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

Ralph Smith from South Carolina makes a great bang for the buck knife that won't hurt your wallet too bad.

Everything I've gotten from him as been a great value for the money.
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: h4everything</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Dave McCrosky in Stillwater makes some of the best there is and he is local and very reasonable.

http://www.mccroskeyknives.com/

Handmade less than and hr from your home. When you go to see him take your other knives and he will sharpen them all for you. </div></div>

Yep, got one and it nice. I also have a Gene Ingram I took to Dave and he sharpened it for me. I used a Benchmade Nimravus this year and it worked great. ESEE also makes great knives. Have the rc4 and the Izula.
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

Gene Ingram all the way. I have had the pleasure of meeting him when I was in college. His shop is about 2 miles from Mississippi State University campus. A friend who was a local of Starkville MS introduced me to him and his work. Enough can not be said of Gene, he is a craftsman and a gentleman. Buy with confidence!
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

Gene makes awesome knives...another thumbs up for Mr. Ingram. My father and I both have them, and they are absolutely superb.

On the more affordable, slightly more attainable side of the world...check out Busse & their sister company, Scrapyard knives. Scrapyard makes some fantastic 154CM knives that have Res-C handles and have proved great for me in the field. It has taken some time to get used to their business model and I have had to find some older styles that I like through second hand purchases....but they are performers! My favorite is the Street Scrapper 4, which marries the Res-C handles with Busse's infamous INFI steel.
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

Bark River makes a quality knife, I enjoy mine, worth a look.
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

Gene Ingram and S30V steel and dont look back u will never regret it!! Charles May also or Jason winston all from around the same area
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

Dave McCrosky makes some fine knives and is a great guy!!!

Here's a new guy on the block (a friend of mine) who does excellent custom work as well. Here's one from Steve 'Rainshadow'...
DEER2009001.jpg



I also have a dandy S30V blade from Charlie May that is simply outstanding!
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

Got one of the new Chris Reeve Nyala fixed hunting knives. Gutted an antelope and 3 deer with it so far this year and still sharp. Very nice blade. Also Richard Self out of Nacadoches, Tx make some great knives as well. His are almost too nice to use though.
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: onlyfineknives</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Ralph Smith from South Carolina makes a great bang for the buck knife that won't hurt your wallet too bad.

Everything I've gotten from him as been a great value for the money. </div></div>

I've heard good things about him.

Another excellent knife maker from SC is Wayne Hendrix of Allendale, SC. He makes nice stuff, and he has a few Jarett rifles in his safe he will let you handle.
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

Check out Keith Murr's knives at the Nighthawk Custom web site. I know Keith personally and have several of his knives and I promise you won't be dissappointed.
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

I'm a huge Randall fan and have several. However, I did just order a combo from Gene...
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

check out Jim Behring knives at treemanknives.com I know you prefer stainless but his hand forged knives fit the hand very well and hold an exceptional edge with very little work to maintain a super razor sharp edge. I use two for my personal use,a 5" skinner and a 2.5" caper.Scagel style knives with beautiful craftsmanship.
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

Been happy with my Charlie May (Scandi grind), when it comes to skinning etc.

Otherwise (like working with wood, even something as simple as making tinder) I use Finnish knives (word is "puukko" in Finnish) since they're much more handy and usable than any hunting knives. It has everything to do with the blade geometry and sharpening angle.

In case somebody's interested in somewhat puukko-style "higher-tech" knives, Fällkniven comes to mind...
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

I have used a lot of knives in the past and still carry some with me but I use a Havalon Piranta which is a folding scalpel. Blades are cheap, like 100 blades #60 for $35 or so. I cannot sharpen a knife that sharp or that cheap. www.outdoorsmans.com has the knives for $39. That is mainly all I use for hunting season. I have some custom knives and really like some of them but when I need a sharp knife, I have one. I recommend the orange one because it shows up when you set it down or drop it.

Just my $.02
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

Barry Dawson and Dennis Cook - I just got a couple of their knives, and am impressed so far.
I mainly use my Emerson Commander, just because it's always in my pocket...I've field dressed 3 deer and 1 Nilgai in one afternoon with it, and it never skipped a beat.
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

There are some beautiful knives posted so far in this thread! When you say hunting knives, what are you hunting? Are you packing in on horses or just jumping out of a truck and walking into the back 40? Are you going to be quartering up game animals, boning them out, or just dragging them back to a truck? The best knife combination might be dependent on these variables. For instance, back when I was a hunting guide I would carry a small skinner, a multipurpose tool, and had a full sized axe on my horse. (I never use a gut hook but that is personal preference.) I would quarter up an elk in no time. Now I bone everything out. I carry a 6 inch Victorinox boning knife, a Victorinox lamb skinner, and a small Mora craftsman. They weigh almost nothing. I just drop a piece of tyvex on the ground, skin half the elk, bone that half and throw the meat on the tyvex. Then roll the carcass over and to the other half. Put all the meat into game bags and carry it out in a few trips. Easy! The knives combined weigh less than a lot of "hunting knives" They cost less than 20 dollars each, have easy to grip handles even when bloody, and can clean up very easily. This year I used them to bone my elk and bear and they all still were sharp enough to shave the hair off my arm.
 
Re: Quality Knifes?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: chucky</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have a pair of Gene Ingram knives and they are great but if you want a custom knife from him you are going to wait. I waited almost 3 years for mine. There are some dealers that carry his knives though if you don't want to wait.

Here are my 2. They are both D2 steel.

Helmetmount018.jpg
</div></div>
WOW, Now talk about some awesome looking wood.
 
Ozark Knife Maker / Tom Bullard

dar said:
Here is a couple of knives made in ARK for Bullard Knives.
This one is made out of armadillo tail and Damascus steel with the case out of leather and alligator.
DSCN0128.jpg

This is made with Elk horn. This is a big knife but razor sharp.
DSCN0127.jpg

DSCN0129.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanks for the good words. I try to make my knives like your Grandads were made. ( to last a Lifetime)
 
Gorgeous stuff!

Had a friend on Oklahoma build me a custom set of lightweight field knives for backcountry hunting, where ounces quickly become pounds! Came out friggin' fantastic, ATS-34 with kydex sheathes...
2BD71755-40CE-4BE6-BEF9-995430CE97B2-15415-00000F4E6B016614_zpsdddb7168.jpg


Screw that Havlon replacement blade nonsense
 
Gonna go in a different direction than the board. I have knives by, Ingram, Charles May, Randall, Hankins, Krohn, to name a few. We clean a lot of animals at camp and I never take these to the skinning shed. I use cheap filet knives. They are simple to sharpen due to how thin they are. They will make it all the way through an animal without sharpening it. Cost is about $9. Been using the same one for three years. I have dropped it, no big deal. I would kringe if I dropped one of my customs. All of the game processors I have taken animals to all use a cheap filet knife. There must be a good reason. That is why I switched. Hope this helps in your decision.

I use Dexter-Russell, You can find them on sale if you scour the net. 6 inch semi rigid flex.

Eddie
 
Last edited:
Take a look at Mark Goldsworthy. He did an XL version of his Hunter in D2 for me that is phenomenal!
 
Another fine maker is David Winston, maybe not as well known as Dozier or Ingram but he sure can put together a fine knife. Here is one of his in S30V. Great guy to deal with as well.
 
I got this made by an Irish knife maker John Reck .Its D2 steel ,keeps a wicked edge and I have had no problems with rust.I never leave for a hunt without it.When I get home i give it a clean and a wipe of an lightly oiled cloth .
2pqn76v.jpg

14b4lu.jpg

2guaakj.jpg

2gt870j.jpg
 
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