Deer field dressing knife kits recommendations
- Thread starter jonnyboy1014
- Start date
- Location
- Blaster land, Okanagan BC
I’ve used a buddies Havalon and yes they work great but I won’t buy one, I occasionally nick myself while dressing out or skinning and I’d be going for stitches if I had a Havalon lol. I like sharpening knives anyway so the paring knife is perfect for me, the older I get the less I like folding knives. I prefer a fixed blade, try out the saw. Dewalt, Milwaukee, Mastercraft etc etc all make one. They hold sawzall and hacksaw blades and weight very little, which is important to me when I’m loading my pack up. The dewalt one was $15-20 iirc.
Hatchets do work but they weigh a lot compared to some saws and when you are hiking and hunting the weight of your pack matters, at least it does to me.
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I keep a Gerber folding saw with 2 interchangeable blades in my pack sack ....one blade has very sharp aggressive teeth for wood , t'other has flat teeth for sawing through bone (brisket and the pelvic bone).
Also in the pack I keep an Old Timer set of 4 different styles of interchangeable blades made by Schrade Cutlery.
These two sheaths are usually kept on my 4-wheeler or 1/2 ton truck .
Plus I usually have a belt knife and a Victorinox multi-tool (which I carry all of the time)
Also in the pack I keep an Old Timer set of 4 different styles of interchangeable blades made by Schrade Cutlery.
These two sheaths are usually kept on my 4-wheeler or 1/2 ton truck .
Plus I usually have a belt knife and a Victorinox multi-tool (which I carry all of the time)
Sharpening is great, but havalon blades weigh practically nothing and are razor sharp. I can put a wicked edge on a knife with a stone, decent surface to work on, and some time, but changing the blade on the havalon takes seconds. Running my mora through one of those carbide/ceramic field sharpeners does a decent job but it's no scalpel blade. I love a regular knife for some stuff but man those scalpel blades are sharp.
They also have gut hook and bone saw blades for the havalon although I haven't tried either.
I've been eyeing these for a while. Very similar to the havalon but supposed to be much less prone to breaking blades. I was worried they were an inferior rip off but I haven't seen anyone around here speak ill of them.
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- Location
- Republic of Buffalo.
Havalon Piranta, and gutless cleaning method is the only way I go now. I should add I have a Bahco Laplander bone saw as well a Milwaukee Hackzall in the truck if needed.
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- Location
- Republic of Buffalo.
Double tap
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Yeah, the Moras come wicked sharp, and you don't need a big pry bar of a knife.
I was given a Havlon and a handful of blades. Glad it was free, would have been pissed to have spent money on it.
Add two guys that I know that have had parts of their blades lost in their animals during processing... Really not impressed. Great tool if you are not tired, not working in the dark, not in a hurry, and don't mind getting raped on the cost of consumables.
Look into learning how to sharpen a knife. If you must, get one of those crappy pull through rigs and learn how to use that. My go-to is a medium or fine grit Eze-Lap diamond grit file. Super light, effective, cheap.
A Mora Companion for the bigger stuff and a Mora Eldris for the small intricate work (like caping) would be all you ever need to field dress game. Both can be had for around $60.00 and come sticky sharp right out of the box. Go put some meat in the freezer and learn how to sharpen them over the winter when there's nuthin to do. Scandi style blades like the Mora's are probably the easiest to learn how to sharpen on a flat stone, no rocket science here.
jonnyboy1014
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- 82.5018° N, 62.3481° W
Looking up the mora knives I don't understand how it can be so cheap yet most of you here rave about it, when the gerbers I bought were 3x the price and garbage.
I'm at a loss for words.
I really need to learn sharpening as a skill
I'm at a loss for words.
I really need to learn sharpening as a skill
It is because Gerber is living off a reputation from 25 or so years ago when they were a decent knife company. Mora mostly uses carbon steel, which is tough, takes a razors edge and rusts if you don't look after it. I have a Mora Bushcraft, beast of a knife and very easy to sharpen, just lay it flat on a stone and rub it back and forth on both sides.
Hatchets do work but they weigh a lot compared to some saws and when you are hiking and hunting the weight of your pack matters, at least it does to me.[/QUOTE]
I switched from a hatchet as they can leave sharp bone edges that occasionally found my fingers
I switched from a hatchet as they can leave sharp bone edges that occasionally found my fingers
I have the belt sharpener for my regular knives, and it is the bee's knees, to be sure.
Hard to take into the field with you, though, lol.
A deer is definitely no problem with one sharp knife. However, a Bear can be a challenge
due to grit on the hide. Moose have very thick hide in some areas as well, often requiring a
touch up while dressing. Dave.
Hard to take into the field with you, though, lol.
A deer is definitely no problem with one sharp knife. However, a Bear can be a challenge
due to grit on the hide. Moose have very thick hide in some areas as well, often requiring a
touch up while dressing. Dave.
Raped on consumables? Don't buy the havalon brand blades then - A box of 100 blades can be had for under $20usd+shipping if you go to a medical supply store.
I actually really like my Havalon (was given it). Nothing better for birds...but you really need to keep your hands out of the way. Also Cabelas sometimes has the blades on sale, that is when I buy mine.
