Knives .

RBHarter

West Central AR
We all have a favorite, probably at least one that the other half wonders what we see in it .
I have I guess 20-25 that range from a Galco 8" heavy cleaver to NALIC numbered 12" kitchen knife to 3 5-6" boning knives . Misc butcher knives and a few that Ms uses every day that I look at and think , yeah I don't get it .

I have several fine hunting knives and several that as much as I want to love them I just can't . They don't "feel" right in hand or they are a specialized knife and Old Timer 4" folding skinner comes to mind . The lines beg to be held full palm but it doesn't work well that way it works best more like scraping with a seashell then it's out of grip balance for me . Then there's the Browning folder the gut hook is almost perfect the blade is very utility as far as big game process goes but I could do nicely without the saw . Maybe it's because I learned western field dress where you open the whole paunch from the vent to the sternum , relieve the diaphragm and ....... nevermind . Just never needed a saw for the sternum or the hips .
I love my 124UH Uncle Henry in spite of it being a single blade it just fits and feels right . The clip point just works for me it holds sharp enough, long enough that I could if pressed get 3 deer field dressed I think. It falls down a little bit skinning . I think because it's so easy to get it up on the point .
Dad had I think a 25OT Old Timer he actually bought 2 of them I have the high miles one it's just a little too much of everything for me but it holds a edge and the 5.5" clip point is utilitarian . The straight back blade is a fair skinner and has done a lot of it . There's a certain sentimental value attached also I guess .
There are a few more of course that range from aesthetically lovely but not meeting expectations to way over hyped for what they actually are . I had expected more from Kershaw I guess ......

I have a guy that in exchange for a couple of logs , a 30" oak round 24" long for his anvil base and a piece of cherry for scales , has offer me a one of a kind knife of my design .

Everyone loves a Bowie , if they can settle up on what exactly that means it would be nice . I don't need another hunting knife really but this might be the once in a lifetime deal that I get lucky on ........or it might be worth 2 logs to a beaver that lives in an aspen grove .
I think a 5" clip point with a finger stop curve and a thumb hump should do the job . That would bring it to 9" .
I can move the spine peak out from 50/50 to 60/40 and double the length of the curve from the point so that it stops or arrives at the flat part of the edge instead of just in front of the spine peak about 2/3 of the way back . I get the utility of the clip point with a more controllable longer curve more like a skinner w/o giving up the clip point .

It won't look like a Bowie or butcher knife , the hilt will be psudeo modern . It should be a big enough knife to handle western hip breaking and sternum splitting , narrow enough for fillet/boning and the finger hook and thumb hump should keep my hand on the scales and furnish the ability to push for splitting joints . Something the folders mostly can't offer . It should be petite enough without the full hilt to be useful for the touch and feel blind work in the chest .

Tell me about your favorite field working knife/knives and what you'd "fix" for your taste/use .
 

CWLONGSHOT

Well-Known Member
Yup very partial to knives as well.
Like most of ya I have a few favorites. Some for looks some for function others for history, others still just by brand and of coarse some just Sentimental.

My Grand fathers Case for example. My Father-in-laws pocket knife and my own Buck 110 I got for 8th grade completion.

A Buck 124 has always been a favorite "big" knife. Another big one is my Tops Tracker. I am a fan if a number of brands and lines within brands. Many if mine are "safe queens" but Ill always have a blade ir three within reach.
All gods creatures have something sharp.

CW
 

L Ross

Well-Known Member
Mora sheath knives with either the birch or the checkered rubber handles are my go to field knives. Boning meat, old wood handled Rapala 6" for me and 4" for Sue. Swiss Army Tinkers in our pockets all the time.
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
After lusting after a set for decades, my wife bought me a set of Case Finns, the Big Finn, Little Finn combo. I love them to death, but as with the Woodsmans Pal she bought me, I'm scared to use them because they're so nice!!!

For a carry sheath knife in my opinion the Mora style beats about everything. I currently have a $12.00 stainless example ( I hate stainless) with plastic/rubber grips ( I like wood) in two tone blue (gaudy!) that I adore in spite of everything. Should have bought 3 of them.

I echo Mr Ross's admiration for the Victorinox Tinker style, althought mine is a long discontinued prior model with metal scales and just 2 blades a can opener and flatblade screw driver. Very worn, and due for replacement.

And of course, I carry a Leatherman Wave+!
 

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
I think when the topic is working knives, it really comes down to what works for you.

Everyone has their favorite and if it works for you then that’s the right one.

My grandfather would use any available knife and the only requirement was it had to be sharp. My father used a Ka-Bar for everything, including fileting fish, which seemed to defy logic. His skill with a knife was amazing and yet he seemed to give the activity almost no thought. Maybe it’s an innate skill? I was NEVER as skilled as either of those men.

We now have better materials available than we had in the past. We have some stainless-steel alloys that will hold an edge a bit better than the older stainless-steels. We have some incredible synthetic materials that can tolerate a lot of abuse and neglect without failing. But the old steels and handle materials got the job done.

I used an old U.S.A. made Schrade LB7 (copy of the Buck 110) for years, and somehow managed to make that work. Can’t say it was a great knife, just the one I had. Somewhere along the line I upgraded to the A.G. Russel “Deer Hunter”, That was a better tool for the job

I cannot help comparing myself to my elders and know that whatever knife I use, I will come up short against their skills.
 

Jeff H

NW Ohio
The knives I use regularly, and use the crap out of, after years of vetting, testing, sorting, are pretty much all "cheap knives"

1) Ruike P662-B folder in Sandvik 14C28N, $28 - EDC
2) Victorinox Executive, $10 - EDC
3) Mora 510 and 511 (originals, in carbon steel and stainless, specifically Sandvik 12C27) $10 to $11 each;
4) A. G. Russell Woods-Walker, of which I also have half a dozen and one of which is my most-used knife in the kitchen, $10 each;
5) A set of Opinel paring, peeling, serrated knives (12C27), $? - gift
6) Opinel No. 8s, both in 12C27, $12 to $15 each
7) Varustulekka, Scrama 240 (this is a BIG knife), $60
8) Fiskars, Sissi-Pukko (5.5" version) $75

At work, I carry a Queen Barlow in D2 (a gift from a knife-maker friend) in lieu of the Ruike P662-B, and the Victorinox, mentioned above. The Ruike is "new" and I have been extremely impressed with this knife. It replaced an Ontario RAT folder , which was a good working knife, but gargantuan as a pocket knife.

1 & 2 are used every day, several times a day;
3 & 4 are used almost every day, meaning maybe a day or two a week I DON'T use one of them
5 is used almost every day in the kitchen, meaning maybe a day or two a week I DON'T use one of them
6 gets used outside a lot for gardening/pruning/yardwork sorts of days
7 is the only one which will do - being just short of having an axe, but very handy when cutting firewood, clearing brush, etc.

EDIT: Added photo. This only includes (top to bottom) Skrama 240, Fiskars Sissi-Puukko, Mora 510 (new version) and an A.G. Russell Woods Walker.

I'd post the others but my ISP isn't playing nice and I had this pic from a few years ago.
8 goes along on hikes or hunting, but a Mora 510 usually end up doing all the work

I had a PILE of custom knives at one time and eventually started selling them off. I always seemed to grab a Mora when I went out anyway. The two customs I kept were gift from Knife-maker friends and as related to specific lengthy discussions about proportions, dimensions, blade shapes, etc. Those two are special in terms of sentimental reasons, but also sort of like really high-end Moras, really.
 

Attachments

  • WORKING KNIVES (Copy).jpg
    WORKING KNIVES (Copy).jpg
    87.6 KB · Views: 9
Last edited:

Missionary

Well-Known Member
We may have one of every Gerber (not chicom ) made. I carry a Military Crewman Armor made of S30V daily. Originally were made for the "rotor head" crews. Very good steel. It will stab through 1/16 aluminum and thin sheet metal and saw it.
 

Jeff H

NW Ohio
We may have one of every Gerber (not chicom ) made. I carry a Military Crewman Armor made of S30V daily. Originally were made for the "rotor head" crews. Very good steel. It will stab through 1/16 aluminum and thin sheet metal and saw it.
It's some awesome steel. I've had a couple using S30V, one of which I used to cut a bunch of 12 AWG, stranded THHN wires from a spool cart because something else had to happen, like RIGHT NOW, and the wires were blocking an aisle. The guy I was with just hung his head. He apologized later I had to ruin my knife to get his stuff out of the way. I got it out and handed it to him and the only sign of the abuse was a few coppery streaks on the face of the blade - still shaved hair.
 

RBHarter

West Central AR
6323.jpeg
The Browning folder seen at the top a 503 .
Unbranded but very similar and like steel to Old Hickory boning knives.
Dasco 108 8" clever .
US , Ontario Knife Co DA-11-009-QM-23192-1953
I don't know what the number is on the MAC tools but using it a couple of seasons it just wasn't for me but Mom's Dad liked it .

The Ontario Knife was from a thrift store just because it's hard to find decent carbon steel knives and it was like $6 . It's over kill in the home kitchen for everything except really fat water melons .

That cleaver will hold enough edge to slice tomatoes on a hanging mulie doe it'll cleave 3-5 ribs without much fuss . It won't cut week old mulie femurs but itll navigate the break and slice the meat . I don't believe a slip into live bone would end well , it weighs about 3.5# . I bought it at a yard sale 20 yr ago with framing hammer tracks all over it's spine . It's otherwise identical to Mom's Soligen example .
 

RBHarter

West Central AR
CW
The one at the bottom of the first picture with a drop point similar to the folder is more or less what I have laid out for the swap knife . I don't know if there's a name for the style or not .....
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Cleavers- growing up in the restaurant, and my grandfather being a former meat cutter (not butcher! Still don't know the difference) we had a couple or 3 cleavers hanging around. Big, medium and little I'd call them. The big one must have gone 5-6 lbs and meant, I'm sure, for splitting the major parts of a beef into smaller parts. I never saw it used, but it was fun to look at and imagine the destruction an 8 year old boy could perform with it. The middle sized one would produce pork and lamb chops on occasion and the little one was move of a chopper like an Ulu (sp?) than a cleaver of flesh. IOW- a big heavy knife you could control easily with 2 hands. I still have a couple small ones that never get used. I also got the favroite "French Chefs Knife" as I was told it was called. Takes a wicked edge but it look like it went though a couple of major wars, so it's stored in a drawer where it rarely see the light of day.

I have a very old 6" or so Ka-Bar my grandmother gave me. I rehandled it in shop class when I was about 13 and the grip is sized perfectly for my 13 year old hand. Way, way too small now. I really need to make a new handle for it and get a sheath made up. That particular knife takes a really good edge and holds it. It's carbon steel and very plain Jane, but I really like it.

Until a few years back I was unaware that the standard off the shelf Buck knife you buy these days isn't a made in the USA tool, but made overseas someplace. You can still get the US models, but they cost 2-3x as much last I looked. I still ahve my Buck Stockman I bought around 1972. Worked all summer to save up the $28.00 and change it cost. You can still buy a Buck Stockman for around the same $$$, but they just aren't the same.
 

Snakeoil

Well-Known Member
My Dad was a butcher. He worked for A&P. When the FDA banned wood handled knives, all the stores got new stainless knives with plastic handles. The old knives were discarded and needless to say, they never made it to the trash can if Pop was around. I have a large selection of Dexter knives from big carvers down to small boning knives. All are carbon steel. All hold a great edge and a quick run over my Nicholson steel will restore an edge in seconds. The only downside was at some point A&P started using commercial sharpening services that were not what you would call kind to these knives. The produce knife in the photo below shows the effects of more than one trip across their grinding wheels. I have a similar knife at home that is more like a sharp needle than a knife. I also have several Sabatier French dicers that I suspect came here when my Grandparents immigrated from France at the turn of the century. Lastly, I have a full set of Chicago Cutlery that I bought 40 years ago when they were still made in the USA. Those are great knives as well. Love carbon steel knifes.

We are at our summer place, so I only have a few here that are extras/duplicates of knives we have at home. Knives are self-explanatory with the exception of the one on the bottom. That one is a bread knife. There were two like this in my Grandparents house. I suspect they were made sometime long before WWII. Very thin spring steel blade with a scalloped edge. It is without a doubt the best bread knife I have ever owned. Goes thru the hard crust of French or Italian bread with ease.

20220719_111717.jpg
 

oscarflytyer

Well-Known Member
I have a lot of, and had a whole lot more, knives pass through my hands. I have two that I refuse to be without. One is the little Swiss Army Classic SD 7 (scissors/blade/file/toothpeick). I keep them in places much like I do reading glasses!

The other is the Old Timer hunting knife I bought for $10 when I was 16 (soon to be 60). I also now have a backup just in case. Both mine are older US mades. I have also bought a number of the same pattern (not US made unfortunately) and given to my boys and new hunters. The model is the Old Timer 156OT. This has been THE ONLY hunting knife I have used more than once! I would be lost without it.

And last is in the kitchen. I have a bunch, a couple favs, but will never be w/o some good Ol Hickorys, including a heavy cleaver!
 

Rick H

Well-Known Member
Working field knives:
Top are Helle Norwegian sandwich steel blades that I completed as knives.
Second row L-R Micarta Handled knife from Blind Horse Knife works, A.G Russell clone of a Loveless Hunter, The rest are all from a home state maker, Bark River Knives. I made most of the leather.
As you can see I am partial to knives on the small side. Blades from 2 3/4" to 4". I field dressed and quartered a rather large Whitetail buck with that little 3" blade Stag handled Bark River. I see no need for larger blades in th e field nor for skinning. For butchering deer I use 5" curved and straight flexible blade Victorinox/Forster boning knives.
 

Attachments

  • Knives.jpg
    Knives.jpg
    603.4 KB · Views: 14

smokeywolf

Well-Known Member
Was watching "Bearded Butchers" on the Utube a while back and decided to try the knife they use most; a Victorinox boning knife. Have had it a little over a month and so far, like it.

Kitchen knives that are winners IMHO are Shun and F. Dick.

Hunting knives are Case, Buck and Randall.

Have a tiny little folder made by Beretta that is about 35-40 years old and has cut everything I've ever asked of it. I've never had to sharpen it.
 

Jeff H

NW Ohio
Working field knives:
Top are Helle Norwegian sandwich steel blades that I completed as knives.
Second row L-R Micarta Handled knife from Blind Horse Knife works, A.G Russell clone of a Loveless Hunter, The rest are all from a home state maker, Bark River Knives. I made most of the leather.
As you can see I am partial to knives on the small side. Blades from 2 3/4" to 4". I field dressed and quartered a rather large Whitetail buck with that little 3" blade Stag handled Bark River. I see no need for larger blades in th e field nor for skinning. For butchering deer I use 5" curved and straight flexible blade Victorinox/Forster boning knives.
I wouldn't be afraid to carry any one of those into the deep, dark bush. I'd prefer to have an axe too, but I'd still defer to the smaller knives.

I am also partial to smaller knives, very similar to those in your pic. I've had a few of the same ones actually.

The only large knives I've gotten along with are an ancient Marine Corpsman's knife (two pounds), which was a childhood toy, and the Skarama 240, which eventually supplanted it. That one is amazing for shelter-building, if one is deficient an axe, but 99% of everything else gets done with blades 4" and under.

I had a BRKT Golok, and it was SCARY. Not enough handle to control it and too much mass ahead of the handle. The handle on the Skrama, even though it's ugly, black plastic-rubber sorta stuff is a work of art in handling. Hatchets have alwasy scared the crap out of me. A whole axe or a really big knife is preferable for me, but neither displace a solid 4" and under knife.