BigGameHunt.net Hunting Forums

[blackbear]

What make, style etc. is your best / favorite hunting knife? How do you sharpen it?

[Don Fischer]

I have a number of knives. My favorites are Schrade folders. Toss up between my old bone handle Schrade and my Uncle Henry. For pocket knives I like to old Old Timers. Have a number of others too plus one custom. Always grab the Schrades.

Shapren on an oil stone then polish on Hard Arkansas. Had a sharpning system that used 400 grit wet/dry paper and a leather strop and like it very well.

[csumerall]

Ive got a leatherman for work but for about everything else ive got a kershaw folding knife had it for 3+ years no problem

[WesternHunter]

I usually carry two knives and a bone saw. Any sturdy folding locking blade or sturdy fixed blade knives with either a clip-point or a drop-point blade 3 1/2" to 4" long will work fine. As long as it feels comfortable in your hand. After using a Buck 110 since childhood, I've finally retired it. In addition I also carry and use a Buck Vanguard and a pack-saw when hunting elk over the last 7 years. I now try to avoid using knives with hardwood or compressed leather handles. I believe the newer rubber or polymer thermal plastic handles to be more sanitary, easier to keep clean, disinfect, and not harbor harmful pathogens as easily.

Replaced the Buck 110 with a Gerber Magnum LST that was given to me as a stocking stuffer this past Christmas. I really like it. Very good sturdy knife, light weight, and not real pricey either. I've come to appreciate the drop-point style blade on the Gerber, it appears to be a very versitile shape for both gutting and skinning. Of course the real test will come in a few weeks if I fill both my deer tags.

For sharpening? A new knife with a keen edge and good bevel established on it's edge should only need to be dressed with a fine meat packers steel or a fine ceramic sharpening rod. As the edge wears down over time the sharpening steel or cermamic rod will no longer produce a sharp edge. You must now hone the edge using first a course stone then next with a fine stone. Use diamond stones with newer stainless steel blades and use Arkansas stones with traditional carbon steel blades. The number 1 key to a sharp edge is to keep the blade at a contant and consistant angle while honing. If the angle deviates or wavers any, you will not get any good results. Finally finish up the edge with a very fine (smooth) sharpening steel or fine ceramic rod.

My knives have HC stainless steel blades. However I've always appreciated the qualities of good old traditional carbon tool steel used in older knife blades. You can get those old blades literally razor hair-shaving sharp with only moderate effort on a honing stone. While carbon steel may not hold it's edge quite as long as the newer stainless steel, and carbon steel will discolor with use and even develope surface rust if not properly cared for. Nothing that an occasional buffing with 0000 fine steel wool can't take care of. I still find carbon steel to be a practical and good choice for a knife. Schrade knives are no longer made, so if you can find a new-old-stock or a used one in good condition then get it.

[jfrench]

My favorites are my Bear & Son pocket knife (just like an old timer), and my Remington fixed drop point with a nice rose handle. I use my Greatgrandfathers wet stone to sharpen all my blades.

[fuzzybear]

All Schrades / Old timers and Waldens. Hard to beat. It was a sad day when they quit.

For hunting I have a 2 knife 2 1/2" - 3 1/2" set and a 2 knife 3 1/2" - 5 1/2" set that are used for dressing and skinning only and a 5 1/2" do everything else.

[blackbear]

I have an old Marble. I wish I knew the age of it. Used to belong to my father. It holds an edge longer than my newer knives, but I worry about loosing it so it stays at home.

[WesternHunter]

I love those old Marbles knives too. Have a Marbles Woodcraft from about the late 1940's. They used some real good tough ball-bearing steel in those blades, and the convex grind that they have is just something that you don't see on too many knives today, even custom made ones. Really sturdy and heafty blades. I don't use mine for hunting because the blade is just what i consider to be too big for my tastes in a hunting knife.

[bitmasher]

Buck 110 FG.

[maineguide]

The old style Buck Zipper. I sharpen mine with a Smith's sharpener.

[Romey]

Western Hunter,
I hate to correct you but saying carbon steel doesn’t hold an edge like stainless ANY STAINLESS is quite a bit of misinformation.
Any Bladesmith, custom knifemaker or metallurgist can and will tell you just the opposite, including makers that use stainless steel. It is a fact and very well known that the pros of carbon steel is superior edge holding and the con is its not stainless but even at that there isn’t a stainless steel made that wont or cant rust.
The pro of stainless steel is being stain resistant, the con is edge holding. Large scale manufactures make up for this but putting a excessive secondary edge geometry on blades to make up for 1) lack of proper heatreat and 2) lack of carbon content and that maybe why your perception of edge holding is askew, a properly heat treated carbon blade can and should hold a better edge via carbon content at a lesser degree of angle and as scientifically be sharper and hold it longer then same stainless steel blade.

Blackbear, if youd like to read I have 2 articles written about edge holding and sharpening. While I dont say WHAT to use, you should have a clear understanding as why and what for. They are on my links page at the top.
www.highcountryknives.com

[WesternHunter]

Romey,
Everyone involved in making and selling these blades may tell you that stainless does not hold an edge as well as carbon steel, but my experience has been the exact opposite. I agree that you can put a devil of a sharp edge on carbon steel that you can never get on a stainless blade. The big problem is trying to get a keen edge on stainless. Stainless just never gets as sharp (in my experience), but it is harder than traditional carbon steel and it's edge does outlast the older carbon steel edges once you get a good edge on them. The makers and sellers will tell you whatever they need to in order to sell their product. Don't step in the bull. Not meant to argue, just conveying my own personal experience. All in all I do appreciate traditional carbon tool steel blades and find their edges (if properly heat treated and tempered) to be completely utilitarian. After all, carbon steel is all the old timers had to work with, and those older knives held up with excellence.

Don't go by what you've been told or read about. Go by what you know and have experienced. An old evil early 20th century Russian dictator once said: "a lie told often becomes truth". It's no different today. I see a lot of this in the media, magazines and the internet. There is soooo much misinformation out there.

[Romey]

Western Hunter,
I am a custom knife maker and when I post I don’t post here to sell or make a sale of any knife, in fact I hang around here for the hunting chat as I am a avid hunter and big game guide. Its just when the subject of knives come up I tend to show a little interest as am sure you can understand. I did not make the post to give an opinion, as what I said IS scientific fact of metallurgy. There are many steels and all have their proper use and intention. In the knife making world I am somewhat known for high performance knives. i.e. things that hold a edge better then average knives and due to such I have had to study metallurgy to a fair degree to know what I know and I am still learning and discovering daily new and different approaches to this. That being said ill try to not take offense that you claim I am full of bull because as said I don’t post here to make sale, I have plenty and a backlog.
At rate your quote” Stainless just never gets as sharp (in my experience), (exactly my point and this is due to the make up of most carbon steel)

But it is harder than traditional carbon steel (not necessarily as Rockwell is Rockwell is Rockwell. Some companies do make up for lack of carbon purposely making it harder and more brittle as a result)

And its edge does outlast the older carbon steel edges once you get a good edge on them." (Last part is conjecture and your opinion)
So much more make up edge retention then type of steel, edge geometry, edge thickness ECT. It’s a combination of many things.
If you are making your statements from factory stainless steel and factory carbon blades you will run a gamut of different results and steel type doesn’t matter for edge retention as assembly line heatreat is NOT a super critically controlled process. In fact one is more apt to find differences in knives factory or custom due to heatreat then they steel type.
Ever had the same make and model of knife and both retain an edge differently? I have.
If your broad statement was correct there would be NO carbon knives made at all, if stainless did what carbon does, hands down I would stitch and study that steel and never look back at carbon, but the fact is it doesn’t. Am not saying stainless steel is bad, everything has its place and use. Many times I have customers I know don’t upkeep their blades like they should and they patina or something, easily fixed but those customers are the type stainless was made for.
A great example of carbons/stainless debate would be wood workers and wood chisels as well as leather workers. They absolutely need the sharpest most edge retentive blades possible for their work to come out as it does. To my knowledge not a single company that makes those tools, custom or factory uses stainless steel. That is not a coincidence.
The everyday Hunter rarely would use their hunting knife the amount and on the type of materials that I test my knives for or that some say wood workers or leather workers use in their work so all in all a carbon / Stainless steel debate is somewhat of a moot point as both steels will skin a cat.

[WesternHunter]

Romey,
My comment about "Bull" certainly was not directed at you. Really I meant no offense at all. I was not aware that you are a custom knife maker when I made my last post.

All I have stated is my experience with the two types of steel. However I do agree that heat treatment and tempering varies greatly from common factory knives when compared to high end custom handmade knives. And as you've stated, there are many variables that will affect the longevity of a sharp edge. My experience with stainless has been with fairly wide ranges, both low end to high end knives. My experience with carbon has been with mid range to higher range knives.

My comment about sellers and marketers in general holds true. You can sell dog poop to anyone if you market it correctly and cleverly. Marketing departments within companies know this. I've seen it many times. The high end makers of stainless blades will tell you that their's are superior and vise versa. Not saying that you do this, as it sound to me like you put a lot of work, skill, and knowledge into making a fine product. But I know in general that companies BS all the time about their product. Like I've said, one must go by what he/she has learned from experience and come to know rather than what they've simply been told by others or read about somewhere. If you say that your knives hold a better and longer edge than any stainless blade then who am I to argue. You know your product and put a great deal of skill and knowlege into it, and there's nothing at all wrong with that in my book. Maybe one day I'll have enough extra cash to buy one of your fine knives, but right now I need another knife like I need a kick in the shins, so I gotta make due with what I have now.

[Romey]

WesternHunter wrote: Romey,
My comment about "Bull" certainly was not directed at you. Really I meant no offense at all. I was not aware that you are a custom knife maker when I made my last post.

(I had a notion this was the case but I still wanted to make it clear that I do not post here to make a sale, though time to time I may show a picture of something extra I have for sale. I completely agree there is ALOT of BS in all sales industries and knife making is no exception and can even be the rule! Pick up any Blade magazine or Knives illustrated, its AD start to finish including the articles. One good example is a gentleman from Wyoming who is a great salesman but his knives are sub par for what he speaks and even more sub par compared some factory knives trouble is he writes it and ppl listen!! He will tell you all day long how he can stab through a car door and cut through X amount of rope. To that I say, so will a railroad spike and a saw.)Parlor tricks are what they are its that simple. I have driven a blade edge first into a steel welding table for a demo and drop it tip first from shoulder height to show edge retention and proper heat treat, no parlor tricks to that and ill do it on a finished knife much to the customers horror but i figure if it broke or don’t something in a way that damaged it then I wouldn’t want to sell it anyway and have my name attached to it)

All I have stated is my experience with the two types of steel. However I do agree that heat treatment and tempering varies greatly from common factory knives when compared to high end custom handmade knives. And as you've stated, there are many variables that will affect the longevity of a sharp edge. My experience with stainless has been with fairly wide ranges, both low end to high end knives. My experience with carbon has been with mid range to higher range knives.
If you say that your knives hold a better and longer edge than any stainless blade then who am I to argue. You know your product and put a great deal of skill and knowlege into it, and there's nothing at all wrong with that in my book.

( I stated carbon blades hold better then stainless, inparticualr higher carbon blades, I dont mean junk made from a chevy truck spring although they arent BAD if done right. I am one to let others opinions speak for my stuff and they praise much better then I could myself)

Maybe one day I'll have enough extra cash to buy one of your fine knives, but right now I need another knife like I need a kick in the shins, so I gotta make due with what I have now.

I have contemplated making another give away knife, I have done this regionally to let ppl test them and abuse them to their will and in return ask for a honest opinion, keeps me informed and honest. Maybe you’d be a good candidate for this.
I personally test ever 5th blade to near destruction and record what I did and how it performed, Every other knife I make I put through a rigorous cutting test which I make very public and goes with that knife if and when sold.
In another thread on this forum I actually posted a cutting result so if you look around you’d find it. In a round about way I posted it thinking the folks involved with the thread may test their super duper factory knife against it, if so I didn’t hear a result.
I apologize if i came of over sensitive as well, I had just woke up from a fairly intense hunt with a guy I didn’t care for as a customer so that may have affected my fuse level. I would though be interested in continuing the thread and possible I could give a more in-depth reason why each steel performs like it does and its uses and reasoning behind them.
I really would stress reading the articles on my site that i wrote (links page) and my opinions page.