{"id":170972,"date":"2022-12-05T13:52:22","date_gmt":"2022-12-05T18:52:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=170972"},"modified":"2025-10-29T06:12:44","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T11:12:44","slug":"hunt365-the-detailed-guide-to-hunting-knives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/hunt365-the-detailed-guide-to-hunting-knives\/","title":{"rendered":"The Detailed Guide to Hunting Knives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cThere was never a good knife made of bad steel.\u201d – Benjamin Franklin, (probably).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first knives made by hominids show up in archeology roughly 2.5 million years ago. They were made of stone and are among the first tools in the Stone Age. Interestingly, fire was not used until 300-400,000 years ago, meaning that we\u2019ve been cutting meat for a lot longer than we\u2019ve been grilling it. What was the first tool made during the bronze age? You guessed it. Roughly 4,000 years ago some clever humans in Britain smelted an alloy, shaped, hardened, and sharpened it, and thus possessed a tool and weapon that would give them a leg up on the rest of the species. Some anthropologists argue that the metal knife was the first critical step toward the eventuality of the British Empire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
I use a custom game axe for skinning, gutting, and quartering larger animals like elk and moose. The blunt side is great for smashing open bones to get at the marrow.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 2009, 24 million US households owned a hunting knife. There are an ever-growing number of companies making knives, and blacksmithing is making a fashionable comeback. It can be difficult to wade through the marketing and lingo associated with all these knives so let\u2019s break it down for today\u2019s hunter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can reduce the knives I need into a few categories, and I have a favorite knife for each of them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First is my everyday carry. That\u2019s going to be the Argali Carbon<\/a> worn around my neck, and the Benchmade Bugout I carry in my pocket. I can and have processed entire deer, elk, and bear with these two knives, but that only happens when I didn\u2019t know I was going to be working on animals that day. Mostly they exist to open packages, trim fingernails, cut bailing twine, and dig splinters out of my mitts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
When I decided to hike 50 miles of wilderness without food, the Argali Carbon was the knife I brought to survive with. Pictured here next to some brook trout I managed to catch.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For hunting, I use the Argali Serac<\/a>. Its blade design is more conducive to skinning and has a notch on the back of the blade for scraping a Ferro rod, which is my go-to method for starting fires these days because they work in every temperature and weather, work wet or dry, and can start thousands of fires. I also wear the Kodiak Belt<\/a> from Argali which has a diamond plate knife sharpener on the back of the buckle, and a leather patch for stropping. I have found that a little maintenance every few minutes of cutting keeps a knife sharp forever, whereas if you let one get dull, you are going to have to dedicate a bunch of time to re-sharpening. The old adage is, \u201csharpen once, hone forever.\u201d I also use an Outdoor Edge zip blade<\/a> which has a dull point and a concave blade design. It\u2019s an irreplaceable tool for making long cuts through the hide and for opening up the abdomen while gutting. Once I’m in the butcher shop I end up using inexpensive plastic handled 5-6\u201d semi-flex boning knives for most of my cuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Argali Serac has a Ferro rod groove for helping you start a fire and a blade contour that lends itself towards skinning and field processing. The s35vn steel strikes a good balance between hardness and the ability to be re-sharpened. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been interested in knives since I was a little guy, and have picked up a few custom knives along the way. These are special to me because I can feel a connection with the man swinging the hammer into the hot steel and leaning into the grinder to bring that steel to an edge. I value these knives the way I value memories. If you want a custom knife from a knife maker,  you need to start with a conversation that describes what you intend to do with the knife. Do you want an all-purpose field knife, a skinner, or something for caping? How hard do you want the steel? This is a major concern for me. I generally prefer soft steels because my habit is to sharpen often, and soft steels become sharp quickly. Once very hard steel becomes dull, you may have to find a grinding wheel or diamond plate to get it sharp again. Conversely, harder steel might be able to make it all the way through the skinning, gutting, and quartering of an elk before it needs to be touched up. How are you planning on carrying the knife? What should the sheath be made from? Today\u2019s thermoplastics like Kydex, which are inexpensive, easy to clean, moldable, and come in an array of colors have all but replaced leather. Talk through what you want the knife to be able to do, how long the blade and handle should be, and how you plan to carry it and you should get a fabulous product that will end up in your will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
This carbon steel skinner came from Armstrong Outdoor Knives, a small veteran-owned business. I skinned three bulls with it this fall, great knife. Note: carbon steel can and will rust almost instantly if you don’t keep a little oil on the blade after cleaning it. The quality is generally higher than most stainless steel, which can and will rust as well.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the commercial market, you have to answer all the aforementioned questions for yourself, and then start going through the options to find what is going to work for you and your budget. While there are a pile of great knives out there, that are the result of 2.5 million years of progress, I want to go through a handful that I have used and continue to enjoy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I am cutting elk, deer, bear, duck, salmon, and whatever else there are a handful of other knives I also employ. One of my favorites is the Benchmade 15500 Meatcrafter<\/a>. This knife is a bit long for skinning, but after that, it will do every job, from breaking to steaking, and is extremely sharp. Benchmade uses a 14-degree angle on their \u201cselect edge\u201d and it cuts like a laser beam. I use this knife a ton in the kitchen also. That brings up the point of multiple use cases\u2014 people tend to spend more on their kitchen knives than their field knives. Of all these I\u2019ll talk about today, the MeatCrafter is the best adapted to the field and the counter. Benchmade has several models\u2014 the 15500 costs $200. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
At home in the field or kitchen, the MeatCrafter is born and bred for cutting game meat.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you want a lightweight folding knife then check out the Benchmade 15535 TAGGEDOUT<\/a> , also $200. This knife is slim in your pocket at less than 1\/2\u201d thick but has a 3.5\u201d blade. The whole thing weighs a shade over 2 ounces. I cut bailing twine with mine for a couple of months and while it wasn\u2019t hair-poppingly sharp anymore, it was still plenty sharp for every other task. My main issue with using folding knives on game is they have lots of nooks and hiding spots for chunks of organic tissue to end up in and they are a pain to clean. If you don\u2019t do a good job cleaning, they can start smelling a little wild.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last Benchmade I want to talk about is the Hidden Canyon<\/a> skinner. It comes in a classy leather holster<\/a> and has the best skinning blade contour I\u2019ve ever used. As a general rule, the shorter the blade, the more precise the cut\u2014 a surgeon\u2019s scalpel<\/a> is a good example of this precision. The Hidden Canyon is exactly that\u2014 a precision skinning tool. It\u2019s also really good for game birds like ducks, geese, and pheasants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Hidden Canyon Skinner, pictured on the left, is a deft and capable skinner. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Josh Smith, a card-carrying Master Bladesmith, has done incredible things in the last couple of years with the Montana Knife Company. I recently got to put my hands on the Stonewall Blackfoot Skinner<\/a>. This knife comes in at 5.5 ounces, has a G10 handle which is so tough it will someday end up in the fossil record, and has a blade design that can take on about any task you could ask of it. It also uses a steel called MagnaCut which is tougher than any of the steels used in the other knives in this article. Josh grew up in one of my favorite areas of Montana on the edge of the Bob Marshall Wilderness. I worked near there on a ranch calving out heifers while I was in college and carried a 338 WinMag with me everywhere I went for the number of grizzlies around. If people are a product of their place, then this knife, named after a river and mountain in that region, has both the place and the man as ancestors. The Stonewall is headed to Kansas with me next week and will have a place in my pack on many a hunt in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The MagnaCut Stonewall Blackfoot Stonewall Skinner is a knife that can take to task the most serious undertakings. If I had to skin a hippo or cape buffalo, this is the kind of knife I’d want in hand. The Kydex case increases the usefulness of this knife by making it wearable on the belt or practically any strap on a pack. Simply holding this skinner gives you a sense of balance, sturdiness, and quality. I’m taking it hunting this week and am wearing it on my belt as I write. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The throw-away blade knives hit the scene hard this century and as long as we have folks who don\u2019t know how to sharpen or don\u2019t want to, these will be part of our lives. The two I\u2019ve used the most are the Havalon and the Outdoor Edge. These knives are relatively inexpensive up front and the blades come out of the package extremely sharp. I came within 1\u201d of cutting my own femoral artery with an outdoor edge while skinning the lower legs of a cow elk for a client and barely felt a thing, at first. Extremely sharp and somewhat dull knives tend to be the most prone to severely injuring users. Havalon<\/a> blades are famous for breaking, with the pieces springing away into who knows where, but hopefully not eyeballs. However, when used correctly they are surgical. I like Havalons for skinning coyote tails, cutting around the preorbital glands on elk and deer, and for removing the claws from bears and mountain lions. Outdoor Edge<\/a> knives are much less likely to break but they get dull quickly. I cannot make it through an entire elk before the blade gets thrown in the trash. This category of knives is least likely of all to end up being passed along to a future generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While knives might be the most over-thought piece of gear in your kit, they are also one of the most valuable. When it comes down to it, a knife may be even more important than fire for your survival, especially since you can more easily make a fire with a knife than you can a knife with fire. The knife you have is probably good enough for the task ahead, but if you want something better, these are some great options to check out. If you want a referral to some good custom knife makers reach out to me @6ranchoutfitters<\/a> and I\u2019ll point you in a good direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll leave you with a tradition. If someone gives you a knife, give them a coin in return. This goes back to Roman times and has been practiced in many cultures. Some believe this prevents the knife from cutting the friendship. Others believe it makes the whole affair more transactional and limits the power offset. A pro move as the giver is to tape a coin to the package containing the knife, in case the recipient doesn\u2019t have a coin on them. Traditions are worth keeping alive and it\u2019s a good conversation starter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are an ever-growing number of companies making knives, and it can be frustrating to wade through the marketing and lingo so let’s break it down for today’s hunter. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":129,"featured_media":170974,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_specdata_upc":"","_specdata_placement":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1220,7,4322,1217,2657,1232,992],"tags":[635,1209,1265,1411,2641,2067,627,208],"featured":[],"hunt365":[4089],"class_list":{"0":"post-170972","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-huntgear","8":"category-gunsamerica-authors","9":"category-gear-optics","10":"category-hunt365","11":"category-james-nash","12":"category-knives","13":"category-specialty-publications","14":"tag-buying-guide","15":"tag-hunt365","16":"tag-hunt365top3","17":"tag-hunting-gear","18":"tag-hunting-knives","19":"tag-knife-review","20":"tag-knives","21":"tag-reviews-2","22":"hunt365-hunting"},"yoast_head":"\nThe Detailed Guide to Hunting Knives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Detailed Guide to Hunting Knives - 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