Best Hunting Knives

Knives are among the most important accessories used by hunters. Few experienced hunters would venture into the woods or field without a knife.

Like many things the novice will often choose something which looks good, or appeals to him for some reason. With experience hunters look for quality and utility when choosing their best hunting knives.

Knives come in an incredible variety of shapes, sizes, and quality. Blades alone come in drop point, clip point, gut hook, serrated... I don't intend to go into great detail here, but rather give some basic information on the hunting knife...

Size, which also includes weight, is important because you will likely carry the knife most of the time. Some think bigger is better. There is a place for a larger knife, especially if you are not going to have a saw or a hatchet. Some like a big knife, but most hunters find them too heavy, and cumbersome.

Medium size are often the best hunting knifes simply because they are a good compromise. Medium could be a sheath knife with a 4 inch blade and overall length of around 8 inches. Or you might consider a folding blade knife with a blade around 3 inches, and around 4.5 inches overall when closed. These are just rough guidelines.

Smaller knives and pocket knives have their uses, even for deer hunters. Small knives are easy to carry as a back-up knife, and they can be good for more detailed work. They seldom work well enough to be the only knife, but can work when carried with a saw, hatchet, or large knife.

Folding hunting knives are often called pocket-knives, but those large enough for good all around use will not carry well in a pocket. They will need a pocket clip, or a belt sheath.

Folding knives have some advantages, the obvious is that they fold into a smaller sometimes easier to carry package. They can have more than one blade for different uses. They have the knife blade, some have a saw blade, a gut hook blade, or other useful blades. Nice to have so much in one relatively compact and light weight package.

Fixed blade hunting knives are preferred by most hunters. They are often stronger and have a larger, more comfortable handle. They may be the best hunting knives for heavier chores. If you need a knife quickly, in an emergency, they are open and ready to use.

Some special purpose knives and multi-tools are very useful. One which I have used often is the Wyoming Knife. I like it for field dressing a whitetail except for the heaviest/hardest cutting.

I generally like tools which are good for multiple task, but find most multi-tools too heavy and bulky for me. My everyday carry for several years has been a very small Gerber Clutch multi-tool. (not in the picture above)
I use the small pliers and screw driver blades fairly often. I have cut myself several times when using the small knife blade for big jobs.

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When hunting until recently I carried the small fixed blade Buck knife and the Gerber saw pictured above. Recently I've been carrying a new design with a fixed blade, but the blade revolves. A single knife blade with gut hook on one end, a saw blade on the other. It revolves and locks in the handle. It's called the SOG Hunter Revolver.

I like carrying this one tool rather than two, but I have not used it much yet. The handle has a much better grip than my small Buck Knife, but it's not as solid as a true fixed blade handle. The saw doesn't zip through wood as fast as the Gerber saw, but it could be better on bone. For now I'm carrying the SOG, but I'm keeping the Clutch in my pocket, the Buck knives, Wyoming Knife, and the Gerber Saw in the truck.

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Knives are a very important, personal accessory for most of us.
Take your time and look at a variety of them, study their features. Think about how you will use it and carry it.

Will you carry a saw or a hatchet for the heavy/harder cutting? Will you carry pruners for cutting small limbs in shooting lanes? No! Then you may want a knife with a saw blade, or a serrated edge as a compromise.

Buy the best hunting knives you can afford. Buy a well known brand. Cheap knives seldom hold an edge (stay sharp) very well and they may break easily. It's not likely, but a good knife could save your life.

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