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replaceable blade knives - worth the hype?

I’ll add, however, that a Havalon is the far better tool to remove a cape from a skull (Skin out a head). Not many do this in the field, but it would be a reason to have one.
 
RMerrell said:
I bought a havalon for back country elk hunting to save weight. What I found was the havalon blades were breaking way to easily when cutting up an elk. Their hide alone is like Kevlar, it’s ridiculous. I was breaking 3 or 4 blades on one elk. You can only be so gentle with a knife when breaking down a large bodied elk on uneven, sloped ground in the dark and cold and I was still managing to snap them. I gave up on it and went back to a ultra light weight fix blade in a hardy S90V steel that weighs the same as my havalon with 4 extra blades.
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Yep,

The 115XT blades are a little thicker for this reason, and do better than their others. Still expect to use up 4, according to the folks over at Rockslide.
 
Plebe said:
I’ll add, however, that a Havalon is the far better tool to remove a cape from a skull (Skin out a head). Not many do this in the field, but it would be a reason to have one.
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I used a box cutter and some razor blades to prep a skull mount buck last year before boiling, much better than a regular blade and I'm sure a Havalon is even better based upon that experience.
 
raisins said:
I used a box cutter and some razor blades to prep a skull mount buck last year before boiling, much better than a regular blade and I'm sure a Havalon is even better based upon that experience.
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I have a taxidermist in the family, and the thin blades work great for these cuts, so we use them.

I still run a Gerber Gator for hunting. It’s not impressive in the world of knives but the thicker fully rubberized grip works well for me and the blade cuts fine for my uses.

These replaceable blade knives serve their purposes, but you can pretty much get by without one. If your specific situation dictates you need the tool, by all means have the tool.
 
Plebe said:
I have a taxidermist in the family, and the thin blades work great for these cuts, so we use them.

I still run a Gerber Gator for hunting. It’s not impressive in the world of knives but the thicker fully rubberized grip works well for me and the blade cuts fine for my uses.

These replaceable blade knives serve their purposes, but you can pretty much get by without one. If your specific situation dictates you need the tool, by all means have the tool.
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The flat sharp blade made getting all the tissue from around the base of the antlers much easier....just push flat part of blade into that divet and then scrap back and go around the antler like that....that was always an area where stuff got hung up before
 
raisins said:
The flat sharp blade made getting all the tissue from around the base of the antlers much easier....just push flat part of blade into that divet and then scrap back and go around the antler like that....that was always an area where stuff got hung up before
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We use razor blades for taxidermy too.

No doubt, FE beatles are the best tool for Euros but they aren’t readily available for everyone. Definitely not something to pack for a day hunt...point Havalon :)
 
Although this hasn't happened to me yet another negative I can see easily happening is the used blades ending up on the ground or if u reached into the garbage can not thinking...most places I hunt require u to take ur animal to a check station and there is usually a skinning rack/hoist available to use. So a bunch of people congregating in a small area to clean animals could easily have people dropping them.... Just I thought...I guess I need to start paying better attention around the skinning rack.
 
Have an outdoor edge with replacable blades. I have a fancy Randall custom made hunting knife so I get the knife obsession... But I use the outdoor edge for gutting skinning deer because its simple not having to sharpen and saves time. Especially when you're just close to being done and notice it's not slicing as easy.
 
I have an Outdoor Edge fixed blade that I absolutely love. I worked 10 deer in 2 weeks and sometimes 3 in one evening. I have never had a problem sharpening a knife to where it can shave you but those days are over. Just pop the blade out and wahla instantly razor sharp.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Ask a question on here and end up deeper in uncertainty . . . or do I mean in debt . . .

I appreciate the thoughts and experiences you guys shared and let me tell you since joining this site initially to learn and save a few bucks in the process, my time here has somehow changed my desire from not wanting spend money to what's the next thing I need to throw money at and try out. Looks like one of these knives is it, ughh what happened to my willpower . . .

So now that you're responsible for me stimulating the economy, is there a particular brand I should buy? The other question is about blades, are they a standard fitment like Havalon blades only fit onto Havalon handles or are they mix and match?
 
Wirrex said:
I have always been interested but I just can’t be without a stout fixed blade knife. You never know when you might need a more substantial knife.
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Funny you say that because since I'm not legal to carry where I hunt I find comfort knowing my hefty fixed blade is capable if ever threatened from man or beast
 
Golly Boys, I wasn't implying that you shouldn't use them. I LOVE knives and LOVE sharpening everything. I just sharpened my 91 year old neighbors knives for about the hundredth time yesterday. I own more knives than I could possibly use in 5 lifetimes. Everyone should use what they are comfortable with for sure. I still think they are great for persons without sharpening skills. If you use them, Great! I, however, like to sharpen things so won't be needing one.
 
I use my 4" Bark River Kephart for more than just skinning an animal. Not only that but its beautiful!
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slonstdy said:
Ask a question on here and end up deeper in uncertainty . . . or do I mean in debt . . .

I appreciate the thoughts and experiences you guys shared and let me tell you since joining this site initially to learn and save a few bucks in the process, my time here has somehow changed my desire from not wanting spend money to what's the next thing I need to throw money at and try out. Looks like one of these knives is it, ughh what happened to my willpower . . .

So now that you're responsible for me stimulating the economy, is there a particular brand I should buy? The other question is about blades, are they a standard fitment like Havalon blades only fit onto Havalon handles or are they mix and match?
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The havalon blade and handle are proprietary and not typically interchangeable with the other systems out there. However, there are companies that make handles to fit havalon blades, but they are much lighter titanium affairs. You can check them out here:

tytoknives.com

Tyto Knives

Tyto Knives are the innovation leader in ultra light, ultra sharp replaceable blade knives. Tyto Knives are tested in the field. We are outdoorsmen that know what it takes to be successful. Made from one solid piece of stainless steel or Titanium with no moving parts. This creates a simple, curable
tytoknives.com tytoknives.com

I’ve never used it, but I’ve researched them and others when I was in the market and they get good reviews on some of the other forums I visit.
 
RMerrell said:
The havalon blade and handle are proprietary and not typically interchangeable with the other systems out there. However, there are companies that make handles to fit havalon blades, but they are much lighter titanium affairs. You can check them out here:

tytoknives.com

Tyto Knives

Tyto Knives are the innovation leader in ultra light, ultra sharp replaceable blade knives. Tyto Knives are tested in the field. We are outdoorsmen that know what it takes to be successful. Made from one solid piece of stainless steel or Titanium with no moving parts. This creates a simple, curable
tytoknives.com tytoknives.com

I’ve never used it, but I’ve researched them and others when I was in the market and they get good reviews on some of the other forums I visit.
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I have a Tyto, because I like it and because it’s flat and light. It uses scalpel blades. You could buy a 15.00 scalpel handle on Amazon and do same thing though.

the blades are cheap and readily available
 
I prefer a real knife myself. I'm cheap but don't mind spending a bit on a good knife and a good diamond knife sharpener. I think if anyone is going on an elk hunt and want's to carry a replaceable blade knife, they should also carry a real knife in the event they find themselves in a survival situation. I'd hate to depend on a Havalon or similar knife to split fire wood or use it to make a shelter.
 
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