Now some of you don't like them, that's OK.

For those of you that do, what types are the best brand?

I've seen some nice Alaskan Bushy's, and Buck has some good sized ones.

If I do get one quality (durability) is gonna be an issue, right now I use some Case XXX that are super durable, and sharp, even long.  But the blades aren't that deep.  I'm thinkin about puttin a big one on my xmas list but I've only used the buck.  I'll probably end up using thet green river blade Rondo made fer me, but I was just wonderin what else is out there - hell I didn't bother lookin at the alaskan's till Mule mentioned them.

Spot 

jjlizzard,.... You do good work!!!!

I can also unnerstand, and appreceiate, the "sentimental value" of such a butcher!! You should git MANY years of service from yore knives, hopefully you can "pass them on" to yore young'uns, and the "sentimental value" will increase with each generation!!

Maybe Tas, and Spot, will post pitchers of ther butchers when they git'em,.... you've also give'n me an excellent idea for any butchers thet I build in tha future, with tha story of yore "walk'n stick"!!.. Thank you!!

Fit real good.  I figure I need a homemade knife, a pair of mocersins, a black felt hat, an some of them elk pants like yorn.  Better git out an' practice with my smokepole too, so's I don't look too bad amongst the ronnyvooers.  I'll bring my pyramid tent.  Like to git one of them iron cookin' tripods I saw at the Jackson ronnyvoo.

Personal observation - Elk hide never stops stretching. After a few years, elk pants look like you have baggy knees, and are smuggling ten pound of potatos (or worse) in the seat of your pants. Not good for mocassins, either. Get them wet, and your size elevens go to a size 16.

Buckskin is better.

Personally, I don't carry one while hunting.  They make a nice camp knife when packing without a firearm.  For hunting I use a two bladed folding penknife with 2-inch blades.  I bought it at LL Beans in the 1960s when they were a sporting goods shop, not Yuppie Land.

I think the 'best' heavy big knife is the PUMA model "White Hunter".  It is strong sharp and hard, you WILL need a diamond sharpener to get and keep an edge.

BEAR

I for everyday, carry a K-bar knife that I put a horn handle on . I have  a large one and a medium one that my buddy gave me  that he got in Vietnam. The larger one is good for an all around camp knife that I keep handy for a lot of chores. I don't like a folding knife because they can come undone just when you don't need them to and I like a sheath knife when I'm packing in case I need to cut ropes fast in a wreck.

There is a old gent in Kansas by the name of E.J. Smith, Rt 2, Box 285, Independance KS, 67301. tele 620-331-5211, that makes knives for $65 they are absolutely the best you can buy. He is a catttle rancher, and make these as a hobby and for a little extra money. Each one is a little different. They have  a deer horn handle, run about a 5-6" blade. Are extremely sharp and stay that way. I skinned, quarted and butchered 3 elk this yr with mine . I touched it up once with a hard arkansas to get the shaving sharpness back.

They make good gifts, and I have always offered to buy one that someone has bought if they didn't like it. So far no takers..

I got on to them when my huntying partner  brought me one back a  gift last yr, and I promtly lost it the first elk hunt, so I ordered another one right away. I wa a little more careful this yr.

They come with a nice heavy leather sheath. made for that particular knife..

Whatever your needs, I guarantee you will like these knives.

Just some thoughts on hunting knives.

Two years ago I went to AK hunting moose.  My brother an I went pretty far north, stayed in an native village (pop. 200) for a few days then flew in with a native guide when the weather allowed.  A great trip, we saw lots of bull moose and many good trophies.  We both got good bulls that at mounted today.  One thing about having a guide is he cleaned and quartered both moose.  My brother and I had our hands filled (literally) just carrying the meat away.  Now we were at least 125 miles from the nearest human, and the guide could have left a lot of marginal meat even though you "must take it all".  He left nothing, he even took all the meat off the neck in thin bacon like strips.  Watching him work he took his time, but never stopped once after he started.  He was using a small "kitchen" knife called a "granny Knife".  I have the same 2 1/2 inch blade paring knife in my kitchen.  When he finished he wraped the knife in an old cloth soaked with years of blood and animal fat.

It was easy for me to see the ideal Christmas gift for this guy.  So I sent him the best quality 3 inch folding knife/w lock back I could find, complete with carrying case and a stone.

Next year I went bear hunting with this same guide, after a day in the village we went out  for 10 days.  On the way in he thanked me for the Christmas presents for he and his wife.  Again he produced and my brother and I got good Grizzly bears.  As he skinned the second bear I noticed the same blubber coated rag and the "Granny Knife" doing it's job.

It is interesting to me to think of all the bears, caribou, seals and moose that knife must have done.  It worked for him.  Any even at inflated AK prices, I suspect he paid less than $5 for that blade.  The rag was free, probably a part of an old worn out flannel shirt.

BEAR

Big knives, little knives, both will do the work required of them if they are of good quality and the guy knows what he's doing and knows how to sharpen them.

Once met this old hillbilly who used to let his son borrow his hunting knife - a Buck - when he went hunting, knowing he'd probably never use as he was too young and impatient to kill anything.  Well he was right but then when the boy started killing some deer, his old man wouldn't part with his knife so the boy used a dag gone box cutter!  Worked well quite actually and didn't cost much.  Point is the knife's gotta do what you want it to do and nothing more.  Like guns, knives come in all shapes, sizes and brands for different uses.  The key thing I look for is good steel and a fairly wide blade for field dressing and skinning.  I got a whole set of butchering knives back at camp for the rest of the job. 

Wish I had one of them Green River Knives, they're supposed to be gooood blades!

Bear;

The Puma's are good knives, I have had several over the years.  Gave my Dad a White Hunter that he still has.  Lost my Hunter's Pal, but now I've got the same blade in a bit larger knife.  I think they call it the Drop-point Hunter.

I've been using a Buck Vanguard with the gut hook lately though.  I'm only doing one animal at a time, the knife doesn't cost much, & if I lose or really damage it, no big deal.  It does the job good enough.

900F

CB,

When I was younger I was a fan of large quality knifes.  And about 45 years ago, I bought a Puma White hunter.  I carried it for years on my belt, then it went into my pack.  The older I got the more critical I evaluated the weight of a large knife.  Then it went into the Gun room.

When My son started hunting he had the "big knife" fever, and greatly admired the White Hunter, it is a beautiful piece of steel.  When he got his first deer, my wife got my knife engraved with the date of his first kill and the date of my first kill on the opposite side of the blade.  We gave him that knife for Christmas present when he was 13 years old.  Like his old man he carried it for 6-7 years.  He doesn't live a t home any longer, but my wife keeps "his room" there for when he passes by (seldom).  The knife is now in 'his room' on his gun rack along with the BP rifle he built.

Maybe if he doesn't lose it, it will end up with his son's name engraved on it some day?

A knife of that quality is truely an heirloom.

BEAR

Personally I like a blade that's long enough to carry different types of edges.

 For me that's 5 1/4" to 5 3/4", I actually vary the pitch of the edge on the blade because I cut differently with different area's of the knife. 

  I put a steep edge by the handle up to the bend then I make it real flat about 20 degrees at the bend, then I get to 25 degree's again, and right at the tip I go 20 again.  I do this because I bone with the tip, skin with the bend and cut steaks with the rest. 

The case xxx set on the left is what I use today, got it in Germany many moon's ago.  The buck lite next too it was used on my first deer and a gift from my father.  I still carry it.  The two case xxx knives with black shealth's are the first two I ever bought they' seen many hog's, cow's, deer, coon, squirrel, rabbit, and and anything else I run across.  The rig on the right is a Kershaw change blade I picked up fer $7 at wally world.  Shealth was ripped, I sent it in and got a new one free.  Don't know what to do with it now, all I do know is i've got some sharpening to do. 

Spot

Rollinb put together my Green river.

  There's a pic of it on the other thread.

Real nice knife, I'll be breakin it in this year.

Spot

In 88' I took my compound bow into the local wood on a sunday night to set in a stand for nuthin else ta do,was the weekend afore all hallow's eve. It was warm,I took nuthin but the bow,just ta get away,,ya know what I mean? Just at dark, my one an only wall hanger "suddenly" appeared from that damn cornfield an I stuck'im ta make a long story short.

I did a full field eviseration of that 185# dressed 9 point buck with one blade from a ThunderHead 125gr broadhead. I didn't want to hurt my self so I slapped one of the 3 blade head into a tree(not the same one,duh),unscrewed the head from the shaft and removed the one blade. Asshole came out clean,bladder,kidneys,slit the diaphram pulled all that, slit the esophages for cooling, then pulled the hock glands,,,did I learn my lesson?  A month ago I took the boy fer small game,,cleaned a squirrel right off with my favored "solingen" 6" hunter,hung it ta cool and did our walk about, the 2nd treerat come ta hand  reached for the knife an it was gone!!  I knew where it was,, we back tracked an cleaned the 2nd squirrel where we cleaned the first.

My point is; it's don't matter what blade a feller has ta hand as long as he know's it's with him, and he know's how to keep it sharp and use it.   I'm shocked at the price of good steel now a day's in stores!!  80-100$ fer a blade, how can they do that??

Tacks,

    Fer me what makes a good knife is 1)  Balance, cause If I can't move it easy my hand's wrist is gonna get tired.  2)  Handle, should be big enough I don't have to squeeze it too hard to control it, and countoured enough to let me turn it easy.  3) Steel - Steel use to be more important to me but now thet I'm long in the tooth on put a edge on that last's the steel ain't nearly as important.  Most blades have good enough steel to work with.

  Here's some thing's I ain't hurt no one talkin about.

  - Some knives are easier to sharpen, n' that's important if your in the field and need to re-sharpen it due to gettin lots of use.

  -  Theres a safety, and lose factors with knives.  If you shealth ain't no good and you loose yer knife thet might be a big problem.  (I've only lost 1) - Also you can fall and some straight blades can poke you.  Not good. 

  -  Blade type is paramount to bone splittin', I like drop points cause I can use my palm on the top of the blade to push down.  Them Puma's with clip points are dangerous to try that with.

SO guy's what's the best kind of shealth, and what do you find as the best blade type and steel to sharpen.

Spot

Re: sharpening tools.

I like the E-Z Lap.  It is a diamond rod and comes in a brass tube.  It is easy to carry and takes about 4 passes on each side to get a great blade back.

BEAR