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Recommend a good field dressing knife

Dyehard said:
You should check out the Morakniv knives. Dirt cheap, sharp, and hold their edge well.
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Also have been using this knife for years. Haven’t chopped up many animals with it but when I have it’s been great. Cuts like butter and holds the edge really well too.

I’m probably the only one on earth that hasn’t tried an outdoor edge knife yet. Too stubborn to just buy one and keep hoping someone gets me one for a gift some year. Eventually I will. I’m sure they’re great too.
 
Also, @Black Titan to answer you question in a different way- I wonder if you can stipple the knife that you have to add some grip- it can be as simple as using a soldering iron or you can get fancy and get different tips that create different textures. I feel down a gun handle stippling YouTube rabbit hole a while back but haven't tried it yet. Seems pretty similar to wood burning which I have some experience with though.
 
Black Titan said:
those of you with the folders/double blade swivel type, any issues with getting gunk inside the handle thats hard to clean out?
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Main thing is not getting gunk in them in the first place. When stuff does get into it , get it rinsed out as fast as you can. When it dries out it's a pain to clean. Luckily where I hunt, I'm not far from a creek or waterhole where I can give the knives a good rinse.
 
My personal use knives are currently either the Argali Serac or the TOPS 3-Pointer! Obviously the Argali is way better steel, but I've also been using the TOPS for longer. You do need to keep the 1095 of the TOPS dry and oil it from time to time, but I can do an entire deer (including snapping off the ribs at the breastbone up to the neck) sometimes two before needing to resharpen.
 
Just wrote this in the “Gut Hook” thread:
Outdoor Edge Flip ‘N Zip is the only knife I need.
 
Iron_llama said:
That's my go-to as well. Going to try the classic Schrade Sharpfinger this year. Bought one, lost it, bought another, lost it, bought a third, found the first two.... Might as well get some blood on one of them.
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I’ve had a Sharpfinger for awhile but never really used it. Finally got around to ordering a quality sheath for it and get some use out of it this year.
 
Black Titan said:
those of you with the folders/double blade swivel type, any issues with getting gunk inside the handle thats hard to clean out?
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I've got a swingblade thing. The way it's made the whole inside of the knife is open and accessible for cleaning. A green scrubbie gets in there pretty easily. A bit more involved to clean than a fixed blade, but not unreasonably.
 
Iron_llama said:
That's my go-to as well. Going to try the classic Schrade Sharpfinger this year. Bought one, lost it, bought another, lost it, bought a third, found the first two.... Might as well get some blood on one of them.
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I have cut up a lot of critters w/my Sharpfinger and really like it. I put a neon green 550 cord lanyard on it for laying it down in the dark.
 
Iron_llama said:
I've got a swingblade thing. The way it's made the whole inside of the knife is open and accessible for cleaning. A green scrubbie gets in there pretty easily. A bit more involved to clean than a fixed blade, but not unreasonably.
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Second the easy cleaning. If you use a hose it’s even easier.
 
Chandler96 said:
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This is the one I use. Outdoor Edge. razor sharp and super cheap blades.
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After years of using a havalon, I bought this one last year. Just as sharp and convenient, but not as delicate of a blade which is nice when working around joints. Better retention, too. And it feels like an actual knife in my hand.
 
I have been using a case Trapper for about 7 or 8 years now. I also have a Carl Schlieper trapper as well. Both are good high carbon steel. I like the two blades of the Trappers. The spey blade with the rounded point I use to make the initial cuts in the hide, and turn it around and let the rounded point glide along the meat without cutting it as I unzip the hide. It makes quick work of skinning without puncturing the chest cavity.

When the skinning is done, I switch out to the clip point blade, which at this point is still shaving sharp and break the deer down. I can quarter and pack a doe down with just a trapper and a little hat mounted AAA light in about 20 minutes tops and be headed out.
 
My requirements for a field knife are: blade between 3 and 4" and handle has texture/good retention when wet. For a deer, there is no reason to have a 6" blade because there is no need for reach and actually a large blade is more dangerous because it is harder to maneuver (like parallel parking a compact car vs a limo).

My current 2 favorites are the Spyderco Stretch and Spyderco Delica.

But those are folders.

If you want a fixed, then I would pick any fixed blade that is smaller (3 to 4 inches), has a hand guard, and is linen or canvas micarta.

When micarta gets wet, the fabric expands slightly outside the epoxy matrix and it actually becomes more grippy.

Brand and blade steel is not that important and personal preference, so long as it is not "convenience store" quality. Just any knife from a brand you've heard of.

I love Spyderco but I don't think they make any micarta knifes. Their fiberglass reinforced nylon handles are very textured though.
 
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raisins said:
My requirements for a field knife are: blade between 3 and 4" and handle has texture/good retention when wet. For a deer, there is no reason to have a 6" blade because there is no need for reach and actually a large blade is more dangerous because it is harder to maneuver (like parallel parking a compact car vs a limo).

My current 2 favorites are the Spyderco Stretch and Spyderco Delica.

But those are folders.

If you want a fixed, then I would pick any fixed blade that is smaller (3 to 4 inches), has a hand guard, and is linen or canvas micarta.

When micarta gets wet, the fabric expands slightly outside the epoxy matrix and it actually becomes more grippy.

Brand and blade steel is not that important and personal preference, so long as it is not "convenience store" quality. Just any knife from a brand you've heard of.

I love Spyderco but I don't think they make an micarta knifes. Their fiberglass reinforced nylon handles are very textured though.
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Love the Delica. I have carried one EDC for years, that or a Police. I've never used it for skinning though. Might have to give that a try.
 
Nobody use the cold steel click n cut? That seems to have the most robust blade of the replaceable blade style knives u see. Much cheaper that the outdoor edge brand also. Looks like they got drop point, serrated sheep's foot, and a curved "caping" blade
 
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