New Hunter

S

springer82

Well-Known Member
My girl friends son uses his grandfathers hunting knife. He commented that he would like to put it in a shadow box and save it. There ya go. You know what is coming next. Mama wants me to make him a new knife. Being a good boyfriend it did not go any further then,, YES BABE!!! I started with a "M" pattern. I don't think it turned out very well. Next time will be better. It's still a keeper. I'm down to .187 thick. I think I should thin out the belly some. I have a choice of scales. I have a nice set of Iron wood slabs. Any suggestions would be nice. I'd like it to be the best I can do. Will the hunters please step up to the plate!!!
 

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First off... I love the handle! I’d go thinner than .187.... .125 is pretty nice. I would also make the point a little pointier. When removing the skin, it’s nice to stick the point under the skin on the legs. I know that I’m not making much sense with the description... it just has to be very pointy. I like the design... he should be able to chop, skin, debone, and slice in style with this one!
 
Kevin I'm not a hunter. I go to Cub. lol,,, I read here that to thin of a blade would not be good. I think 3/16 was mentioned. I could be wrong. I think you posted on that thread. Changing to .125 is a easy fix. I can pull the tip back too. When I looked at hunters at Cabelas I found one similar to the one I made. I copy!! Thank you for your help.
 
I prefer a smaller knife for a hunter. If done properly and carefully a sharp 3” blade with good edge retention is plenty knife for field work on deer and elk
 
The knife commonly referred to as a “Caper” works great although take that same knife and move the point upward so the cutting edge has the nice upwards sweep of a skinning knife and it would be my ideal hunting knife
 
The dropped point is great for not busting the intestines when you field dress the animal. However, even though it drops, you can still make it a sharp point. I am, in no way, a knife design expert... these suggestions are coming from a knife user’s perspective. Here is one that I built. I still need to go back and make the point even pointier.

When it comes to hunting knives, there are so many options and opinions. For example, my personal hunting knife is used ONLY to remove the guts and skin of an animal. When that task is complete the knife gets washed and stropped and put back in my hunting bag. Mine are all roughly .100 at the thickest part of the spine.

On the other hand many people prefer a camp knife. These are thicker and can do some chopping and heavier work. I think what you have there is an excellent camp knife. It’s probably perfect for your gfs son... as it can also do a great job skinning, if you get that point sharp. As a plus, a good camp knife will turn more heads because it’s normally bigger and meaner looking. He’s probably going to love it.

Now, if he is skinning 30 deer a year, that’s a different story. Then you want light, thin, sharp. Just my opinion.1EB0EE27-9A55-49B3-BA12-E8FDD744713B.jpeg
 

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I just asked. He field dresses and takes it in to the butcher. I might have to fire up the forge and straighten out the front of the blade a little. It's still .187 thick. Plenty of material. I need the practice anyway! lol,,,
 
That didn't hurt to bad.
I asked about the knife mine will be replacing. Her father was 11 years old when his mother gave it to him. (1940) I'm waiting on a pic of it.
 

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springer82 said:
That didn't hurt to bad.
I asked about the knife mine will be replacing. Her father was 11 years old when his mother gave it to him. (1940) I'm waiting on a pic of it.
Click to expand...

I like that blade shape better than the initial. If he's using it for field dressing he will need a sharp point to get under the skin and that nice big belly will take care of the rest.
 
I think your right Jeremy. I might thin up the belly just a little. I have a file I have not used yet. It's for putting thumb groves on the spine. I'll give that a shot.
 
Thank you Dennis for the link. I can use all the help I can get.

Springer - You are most welcome and we can all use the help...
 
That is a much better nose than the first incarnation. If it is just to field dress then a slightly easier belly is better as he will have to get the knife inside the animal and a larger knife is clumsy in there.
As far as designs go the one on the left is a dedicated skinner and you can see the relationship between the nose and the start of the curve. There needs to be enough of a slant to that conjunction of nose and belly that it will slce as it is put under the skin where if it is too flat it is much harder to open up down the legs etc. The knife on the right is a compromise hunter skinner where there is not as much belly so the transition to the nose is easier but there is still enough to be decent skinner.
IhV4Quyl.jpg
4 1/2 in blades
I only field dress when I am on the hill and so just having to remove the gut and the head so my knife needs are for a much smaller knife and this is what I carry
3hd5rxRl.jpg
4 inch blade
For a small knife that will still do a field dress without the head removal this little EDC will do the job. 3 inch blade
nYI4ddZl.jpg
 
Dont forget that a knife that will be used to do anything as far as skinning goes needs to be as comfortable in hand hand with the blade up as it is with the balde down. Here you can see that in the balde up position the thumb rests easily into what is the finger curve and the rear of the handle curve is compatible with the palm of the hand
xL08aICl.jpg
 
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