First Big Game - Need Knife Advice

i guided for three seasons for caribou in the fall so i may have a good idea what will work .... i used in no preference order Martiini Skinner , havalon piranta, outdoor edge kodi pack, Camillus Skinner (the one made in usa) buck 109, 119, 102, 102, 110, folding buck with sv30 blade, mora of all sort including the 2000 (very good but no hand guard ...) so in fact as you re able to keep a knife sharp all will work just a matter of preferences.


and Doug mention a point about hair ill listen him ... skinning a caribou is hard on the edge too ....

a mora is really a good start. i always had and still have one with orange color (you wont loose it dont ask lol) + a gerber folding/collaspible (sp) saw with wood and bones blades can be helpful for the skull. the Wyoming are great but avoid those with leather sheet (more heavy and their steel dont like moisture trapped in)

but for a matter of use two moras and a little ceramic sharpening stuff will work. for everything from moose to any other game (maybe not the bison but why not ...)

now a buck vantage knife with rubber handle and sv30 will be another good choice.

the ultimate for lazy will be Havalon but they are really sharp ....

did i forget mention Mora knife lol ....

have a good selection time ..
 
The reason there are so many different choices suggested as advice to the OP is that there are LOTS of knives that will do everything a hunter needs doing. A good knife will have good steel, a blade shape and length that works for YOU (I think you don't actually need much length) and be easy to clean and sharpen. (To the poster who thinks Cutco knives don't need sharpening - there is no such knife).

I suggest you try the knife you have and see how it works. If you don't like it after a few dead things have been cut up, you will know a lot more about what you DO want from that experience. The Buck 119 has done a TON of gutting and skinning for others, so I expect it will work for you too. My personal choice of a buck knife is the Vanguard, but I that is just a personal preference that has to do with the way I gut and skin. Long ago I tried a gut hook for only one season, and never want one again.

Try the one you have. It will do the job if the guy on the handle end does his.
 
rral22 said:
and be easy to clean and sharpen. to the poster who thinks Cutco knives don't need sharpening
Click to expand...

That's why I suggested the benchmade with D2 steel. Apparently it's hard to dull.

I posted before that I use 3 knives while processing game, what I didn't say is that I usually sharpen them at least once during that time. Fur and hide is harder on an edge than most people realize.
 
c-fbmi said:
Tanned caribou hides are terrible with the hair on, the hair is hollow and becomes brittle and breaks off with the lightest touch. Your wife will hate you, there will be caribou hair all over the house and in everything..........ask me how I know this?
Click to expand...

Because you have seen my house???? ;)

OP- as others have said any good knife will work fine. If you are backpack hunting then weight will be important (Havalon), if you are broke get a Mora, if you want a bit of splash get a custom, if you want none of the above, keep what you have. Definitely drop by the knife forum here- the guys know their stuff inside out and there are a couple threads that will be similar.
Ironically, I got a custom knife made and posted a thread here somewhere where I shot and skinned a caribou solo. Even managed to get some pics. :)
 
I have 3 knives made by a custom maker in the Yukon, and my son has one. He skinned and gutted one season, a moose, 2 bears and 2 caribou.......WITHOUT having to sharpen his knife!!! The one downside I have found is these knives tend to be brittle and will break if abused even slightly. Prior to these knives I used so many different ones with varying degrees of satisfaction that I couldn't keep track. I have made several myself from industrial hacksaw blares that worked very well, using a small drop point pattern with a blade about 3 inches, and a couple special purpose shapes one specifically for caping sheep. Like rral22 says, once you do it a few times you get a very definite feel for what you need and what you don't. A caping knife only needs about a narrow 1 inch blade, for sheep anyway, learned this from too many cut up fingers working way up close to the tip of a much longer blade.
 
Long ago I decided it was better to have knives with softer steel than knives with hard brittle steel. I always sharpen once or twice while gutting, skinning, caping, deboning, etc...and a softer steel takes an edge real quick with a stone or file, and doesn't tend to break when abused. Nothing worse than a busted knife when you are in the middle of nowhere and are trying to deal with an animal.

I save the fancy expensive razor edged knives for home now, lol.
 
G P said:
I'm hopefully going to harvest my first caribou this year. I plan to skin the animal and keep the pelt. I may dry it myself and use it for fly tying or have it tanned professionally. Regardless, I need a knife or knife set to accomplish this task. Any recommendations? I would prefer to keep it in $100 range so obviously I don't need a knife that is going to last a lifetime. I am also hunting on foot so lighter is not a bad thing. I have a Buck 119 currently which I have used for small game and fishing in the past, but I do not know if it is a suitable big game skinning knife. I am a complete newbie to big game skinning.
Click to expand...

No one here has stated that you must tie ALOT of flies.
 
I use a knife called the remington sportsman fixed blade in a leather sheath, works awesome for everything and have only had to sharpen a few knicks out of it.
 
I've used my Ka-bar for the past 5 years now, absolutely love it, holds its edge, and has the rubber handle so your hands dont slip, also a breeze to clean! just my $0.02
 
I've tried LOTS of knives over the years and finally found by far the best skinning and field dressing knife.

A carpenter/utility knife with both standard blades and some carpet hook type blades. Two standard blades and one hook blade will easily do a big Yukon/Alaska moose.

Not real exciting for the gearhead in me, but for $15 you get a knife that will last a lifetime and enough blades to do a handful of big game animals.

I am "real" a knife lover, but nothing else even comes close for field dressing game.

For quickly quartering an animal into packable chunks - a quality machete sharpened well enough to trim your nails with. Again, not fancy, but people who have never seen it done can't believe how fast it works.

Two guys with carpenter knives and a machete can have a moose, hair on, chunked and into the back of a truck or a boat in less than 20 minutes. Seriously.
 
Last edited:
One square foot of belly, hair on should do about a million flies and you don't need to tan it, just rub it real well with a mixture of fine-med salt and borax and let dry. This preserves the hide and doesn't affect the hair, like tanning does.

jaydog........tried the caribou hide rug did you? Muskox is a much superior rug and doesn't shed or breakoff.
 
G P said:
Lack of drop point on the Buck 119 concerns me a bit.
Click to expand...

There are really no wrong choices....some may work better or be prefered by an individual but as long as the task at hand is accomplished and no fingers are lost or any major amount of your blood is lost, all will be fine!
Over time you will know what works best for you.
Have fun!
 
9.3mauser said:
Check out Mora knives. You could easily buy half a dozen for $100 and have money left over. I have the old style red wooden handle one, #2 model I think it's called. Some of the best skinning knives are actually listed as carving knives.
Click to expand...

X2 - unless you are into fancy knives, this is a great choice at a great price

RG

<><
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom