Favorite field knife

What knife do you carry in the field while deer hunting? Fixed? Lock-back?

I still have the first knife I bought for deer hunting, a Puma Game Warden lock-back, but no longer carry it. I’ve had a couple Buck lock backs but they were junk. About 35 years ago I bought this current knife, a Kershaw Black Colt II lock back, and never regretted it for a minute.

This knife has done it all….deer, elk, bear, gutting, skinning. In spite of its 3 1/2″ blade its been simply great. The Kershaw steel holds an edge better than any other knife in the same price range and takes about three passes on a fine diamond stone to make it shave again and that edge will be good for gutting three to five deer.

I prefer lock back knives for one reason. As a kid a friends dad was hunting and carried a rigid blade belt knife when he slipped on a hillside and slid down about fifty feet. That belt knife got flipped up in the fall and stabbed the guy, sheath and all, in the back and he lost a kidney because of it. He darned near died. The lock backs have fairly compact sheathes and are seldom points so carrying them just seems safer to me and the knives do anything a rigid knife can do. That’s what made the decision for me.

So what do ya’ll prefer to carry and why? Got a specific brand loyalty?

Gerbar Gator Jr folding style. Use it for pheasants, ducks, deer, and turkeys. It has serrations on half the blade. It has a rubber-type handle which helps grip even if its wet. I have had it for about a decade and I manually sharpen and clean it myself.

The fixed blade ones are easier to clean but the folding ones are safer to carry around.

Same knife that I use Tom….worked well for many years…

Always used a 6″ buck knife for everything from gutting to final processing.
Same knife i use to cut bait in the boat too

Also always carried it anytime deer hunting.

I’m doing my best this year to NOT carry it along with any of my butchering/dragging gear. Tend to carry too much stuff. Attempting the minimalist route. I’ll walk back and grab it when the time comes.

Buck Woodsman
Buck 110
Gerber Vital fixed w/Havalon 60xt blades

I always have 2 of the 3 in my pack. The Gerber w/replaceable blades is a really nice knife for skinning, and have used it to gut a few deer as well. The two Bucks give me more “warm & fuzzies” with the stiffer blades and doing gut work that you can’t always see.

When I started hunting at the age of 12, dad bought me an Old Timer Sharpfinger at the local Coast to Coast hardware, which was what passed for a sporting goods store where I grew up.

That knife has gutted dozens of deer over the years, mine and for others.
My father is something of a GutMeister, and with his Buck and that Old Timer, he does a very, very clean job and he is very fast. I’ll never be be that fast. Never had any reason to change knives though. It holds a good edge, sharpens well, it’s compact and not too heavy to carry.

Now that I have my own farm, I don’t even carry a knife with me anymore. THere’s a drawer in the shop that has all the knives, I just go back and get the necessary gear because I’m going to want the wheeler and trailer anyway.

One more thing guys: WEAR RUBBER GLOVES when gutting deer these days! There is just so much that is NOT known about these Prion diseases like CWD it is not worth the risk to expose yourself to blood and tissue by barehanding it! Just put a pair of gloves in your pocket and use them.

Grouse

Agree with Grouse on the gloves. I wear rubber on my hands, shoulder length vinyl as well.

When sitting on stand I use a very old Gerber fixed blade carried in my day pack. Starting to get worn down from decades of sharpening, following this thread to get ideas on a replacement.

When mobile I carry a Schrade LB-5 folder in a belt sheath. Very compact, sharpens easily and compact. Sufficient to gut a deer.

I like a fixed blade knife….easier to clean up afterwards. I usually carry a Knives of Alaska “Cub Bear” model. Its a small fixed blade. Holds an edge well and isn’t too big. I much prefer a smaller blade with a normal sized handle over some rambo style survival whopper.

Timmy wrote:

I much prefer a smaller blade with a normal sized handle over some rambo style survival whopper.

I was speaking to a western guide at a sport show once, and the subject of field dressing came up. He normally carries all the gear for field dressing, of course, but due to a botched saddle bag swap, a client shot a nice bull elk and the guide found he had nothing with him but the Leatherman tool on his belt. One of the clients had a small Swiss Army knife.

So off he went and gutted and quartered the elk using nothing but the 4 inch Leatherman blade and a 3 inch Swiss Army blade. He said they were a little dull by the time he got done, but amazing what you can do with very little knife. I would also say it helps to really know what you’re doing as well, though.

Grouse

X2, Grouse.

I enjoy watching those Alaskan reality shows – and I noticed that Heimo Korth from the Last Alaskans pulls out a Leatherman tool and a small stone after he shoots a moose…. he made a joke that the guys with giant knives read too many Daniel Boone stories….lol.

Leatherman MUT is my daily that does everything and anything with acceptable success. I hate the carbon scraper tool and have been lightly brainstorming ways to replace it with a more useful attachment, having broken and replaced 3 of them now.

For deer field dressing I use a Gerber fixed blade bear grylls branded knife. It’s not the best but it’s holds an edge pretty well and it’s got some heft for giving that pubic bone a good whack. My dad has field dressed many more deer than I have in his years and he prefers a small hatchet and a buck folder, I forget exactly which model.

For full butchering and quartering I have a cheap-ish set of chinese stainless knives that I really need to replace with something nice, however they continue to function just fine and have a nice hard case for storage. We also tend to have a variety of fillet knives on hand when processing.

I carry my fathers 1941 Marble knife. I has cleaned many dear and elk. Holds a edge like no other knife I’ve owned. I hope I never lose it!

x10000 on knives of alaska, have the alpha wolf and muskrat. great knives.

KPE wrote:

giving that pubic bone a good whack.

You do that?

I haven’t done that in years, and everyone i’ve showed the alternative way to, as been happy to never wack that bone again!

First thing i do is grab the tail and cut around the anus, the 6″ knife i use i go in all the way. From there, gut as normal and pull the anus right out the gut cavity. Fast & CLean & easy on your hands. 2c.

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

First thing i do is grab the tail and cut around the anus, the 6″ knife i use i go in all the way. From there, gut as normal and pull the anus right out the gut cavity. Fast & CLean & easy on your hands. 2c.

Ding, ding, ding…..we have a winner! I do likewise FBRM

I carry that same knife Tomm, even bought one for my son when he started hunting.

i carry my Leatherman wave and Kershaw blackout on my side everyday and have used both in the field.I have used a fixed blade Gerber gator most years,but find myself using the Outdoor edge razorlite alot more often.
Not a fan of serrated or gut hooks,but no matter what knife I use I always carry a Sagen saw,the guy who invented it,is from Devils Lake.
The saw is a very helpful field dressing tool,now copied by other manufactures like Gerber.

i dont have a favorite knife………i just have ALOT of knives. my wife thinks i have a problem!!!!!

glenn57 wrote:

i dont have a favorite knife………i just have ALOT of knives. my wife thinks i have a problem!!!!!

You can never have too many knives.

Sharon wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>glenn57 wrote:</div>
i dont have a favorite knife………i just have ALOT of knives. my wife thinks i have a problem!!!!!

You can never have too many knives.

thats what i keep telling her and i keep getting the infamous wife eyeroll!!!!!!!

I own a couple Benchmade knifes that I’m itching to get bloody here soon!

I also avoid splitting the pelvis. I try to keep as much intact as possible until butcher time.

glenn57 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Sharon M wrote:</div>

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>glenn57 wrote:</div>
i dont have a favorite knife………i just have ALOT of knives. my wife thinks i have a problem!!!!!

You can never have too many knives.

thats what i keep telling her and i keep getting the infamous wife eyeroll!!!!!!!

Glenn I too suffer from your problem. Maybe we can start a support group. Once when checked at the border coming back from Canada I was asked any weapons in the truck and replied no. She came back in after checking and said no weapons huh. I was nervous for a moment then she smiled and said I think I counted at least 7 knives in your center console.

Browning 6″ drop point. going on 30 years now.

Cutco serrated hunter…. life changing

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>KYLE P ERICKSON wrote:</div>
giving that pubic bone a good whack.

You do that?

I haven’t done that in years, and everyone i’ve showed the alternative way to, as been happy to never wack that bone again!

First thing i do is grab the tail and cut around the anus, the 6″ knife i use i go in all the way. From there, gut as normal and pull the anus right out the gut cavity. Fast & CLean & easy on your hands. 2c.

Thanks for the tip, I’ll give it a shot tomorrow should the opportunity present itself

Opportunity presented itself. It worked fine, didn’t seem to speed things up any but again I am using a hefty knife. If I was using anything smaller no doubt this is the way to go.