Hunting knife used as bushcraft knife?

[Toddy]

Well said

For years I carried a wee brass and rosewood handled folder, and it was excellent, but it didn't keep an edge worth a damn if I did any coarse stuff, and the older I get the less happy I am with the ring lock on the opinel.
I was given a little san ren mu, and it's just brilliant. Cheap as chips, Chinese, and it just works so well Ask the Chinese for cheap carp and you'll get cheap carp; ask them for good quality at a little more expense and that's what you'll get.

Another archaeologist borrowed my opinel to trim the roots off a section so that he had a clean cut for recording, and he snapped the tip off it he was a bit heavy handed with tools though, so I'm putting it down to his idiocy and not the knife. That one I'd only bought a week beforehand so it wasn't anything I'd done to it.

cheers,
M

 

[santaman2000]

No, in bushcraft those are normal use. That's what we're trying to explain to people who insist that we should have a plethora of tools.
One knife manages it fine, but for most of us that not a hunting knife to do the job.
No way am I going for a walk carrying an axe or climbing spikes....

I don't go for a walk with either of those either. But if I'm going to need them I take them. If I'm just going to build a fire, I just break the wood over my knee. Unless I'm planning on deer hunting in which case I'd have the climbing steps to screw into the tree or a proper deer stand) then why on earth would I want to climb a tree using a knife? How is that a "normal" use?

 

[santaman2000]

Here in Scotland we don't have hunting camps as such, we have estate lodges and larders, only a poacher would generally look to process game on the hill or in a camp, although there are circumstances where it's done legally. The vast majority of shot game is almost always recovered from the field/hill, argo-cat, quad (4 wheeler in the US), pony or sheer brute manpower, to the larder where it's finally dressed if need be, hung and in some cases butchered after hanging, or sold whole.....

Not much different from Florida actually, although we don't have hunting "estates." Most deer "camps" in Fl consist of camping in a state or national forest then taking the deer back to be processed although some state forests now provide cleaning stations with a covering over hanging hooks and running water as well as a bin for the guts (we don't "age" it either) We do however have something like the hunting estates, quail plantations, for the small game. Some of those also provide access to big game but they're not often used for such.

That said, I don't consider either of us to be a true test of hunting equipment, hence the reference to the true hunting camps. And you might well be able to process even big game with just a penknife but it's certainly not the best choice (as we've both said earlier the best choice would be a proper butchers' set) And when I was kid cleaning small game (squirrels, rabbits, and birds) it was easy enough but they generally wore out much quicker.

 

[Samon]

Read post #356. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/582468-Rough-Rider-amp-Related-Slipjoints/page12

Classic example of what a decent pocket knife can do and why you don't need a 'hunting' knife, cheap or custom.

 

[santaman2000]

First off a "trapper" is a hunting knife albeit a folding one. Secondly, he cleaned one deer. That's hardly a real test. let me know how that knife is holding up after a dozen or so.

 

[Toddy]

My husband is having venison steaks for his dinner tonight.
I know that the deer was butchered using a wee thin finger length knife. Razor sharp and kept that way, like a scalpel it just strokes it's way through muscle and sinew.
I know that little knife is over 40 years old, and it still cuts better than my sabatiers for the job.

Sticking a knife into tree....search for Mors It's handy for reaching up beyond one's own arm stretch. Funny how often the good stuff is up too blooming high.
Personally I don't do it, but then I'm a very well rounded little lady these days

cheers,
Toddy

 

[santaman2000]

My husband is having venison steaks for his dinner tonight.
I know that the deer was butchered using a wee thin finger length knife. Razor sharp and kept that way, like a scalpel it just strokes it's way through muscle and sinew.
I know that little knife is over 40 years old, and it still cuts better than my sabatiers for the job.....

Had to look up "sabatiers." No douby any knife would do a better job of dressing game than that would. It's a "chef's' knife not a butcher's knife. And if you've been using the same little wee thin finger knife for 40 years, what's kept it from being eroded away from sharpening. Surely you haven't gone that long without sharpening it have you? are do you not actually process several der every year (age alone means nothing unless it also gets hard use all season every year)

 

[santaman2000]

.....Sticking a knife into tree....search for Mors It's handy for reaching up beyond one's own arm stretch.......

So is just throwing a stick into the tree. Or stand up in the saddle/tractor seat/etc. Or when harvesting mistletoe, I just shoot it down. Mors? Not really one of my role models TBH.

 

[Toddy]

Had to look up "sabatiers." No douby any knife would do a better job of dressing game than that would. It's a "chef's' knife not a butcher's knife. And if you've been using the same little wee thin finger knife for 40 years, what's kept it from being eroded away from sharpening. Surely you haven't gone that long without sharpening it have you? are do you not actually process several der every year (age alone means nothing unless it also gets hard use all season every year)

They sell knives intended for butchery, boning out, etc., that's what I'm using.

The constant use (to my certain knowledge it's used to butcher at least a dozen deer a year, to say nothing of the wildfowl) is why what was originally a small boning knife is now the size of a finger, and still the 'go to' tool for the job.

Ah, now, Mors, he is truly inspirational

Tractor ...??? I'm on two feet.

cheers,
M

 

[santaman2000]

They sell knives intended for butchery, boning out, etc., that's what I'm using......

Sorry then. I had to google "sabatiers" as I've never heard of them and this is what I found www.sabatier.com/gb/aujourdhui/gammes.html Certainly not butchers' knives.

 

[santaman2000]

.....Tractor ...??? I'm on two feet.

cheers,
M

Then we're still left with the option of just throwing a stick.

 

[santaman2000]

......The constant use (to my certain knowledge it's used to butcher at least a dozen deer a year, to say nothing of the wildfowl) is why what was originally a small boning knife is now the size of a finger, and still the 'go to' tool for the job......

The size of a finger? I'd rather
have the Old Timer Sharp Finger

 

[rik_uk3]

Buy a Sabatier - flatter than a flat thing that's been flattened by a steam roller Needs a decent secondary to work well though - I put a hollow secondary on mine

No I really do!

Sabatier make some good knives but have you tried Gustav Emil? Much nicer IMHO. My set is coming up thirty years old and doing fine.

 

[Samon]

First off a "trapper" is a hunting knife albeit a folding one. Secondly, he cleaned one deer. That's hardly a real test. let me know how that knife is holding up after a dozen or so.

I have a feeling it's probably help up better than my 3 Buck 110's that were not fit for any job I pushed them to..

The size of a finger? I'd rather
have the Old Timer Sharp Finger

Meh. 'Nother failed company selling cheaply made (in Asia) knives under the reputation it once had.

But I'm sure I've bored everyone with my opinion on hunting knives by now, but the facts still remain (imo) the same. They are not equal to Bushcraft knives, and aren't even designed to be. They have their place ,and that is in the hand of an individual who's main intention is to cut the skin off and guts out of a beast.

Lol you shoot down mistletoe..? 'MERICA!

I'm a little dubious to the idea/need to climb on a knife you've rammed into a tree (I've no idea who mors is..) as I too would just throw a stick at it.. or climb the tree (don't have a spare climbing horse/saddle.. or a tractor at the ready most days ).

Either way, I'd be fairly certain the average hunting knife would snap and leave your legs gushing with blood if you did try this (due to the common brittle stainless used in most) and due to the generally overbuilt high carbon blades of the average bushcraft knife (even though someone said it was done with a more? 2.5mm of carbon steel!) I have a feeling it'd/you'd probably survive with reasonable success!

It's because of these somewhat extreme uses (including batoning through thick wood/logs) that bushcraft knives have evolved to be thick, simply shaped (small kitchen knife) and made of tough steel where as the hunters knife has stayed the same - i.e why fix it if it ain't broke (lol yet..).

 

[HillBill]

Did they forget to put a grind on that one?

The size of a finger? I'd rather
have the Old Timer Sharp Finger

 

[Graham_S]

Use whatever suits you.
It doesn't really matter how a knife is marketed, if you're comfortable with it, and can use it for the task at hand, then that's all that matters.
Everything else is opinion, and in this matter the only one that counts is the person holding the knife.
I've used all sorts of knife designs for bushcraft. the only one that was unsuitable was a fairbairn sykes commando knife.
People were using sharp rocks for "bushcraft" for thousands of years.
We sometimes forget that, I think.

 

[sandbender]

"...People were using sharp rocks for "bushcraft" for thousands of years.
We sometimes forget that, I think..."

Millions really, folks do forget that.

Some folk, not so many on this forum, do obsess about this or that aspect of a particular knife design. Some will do a better job at some tasks, some not so much. They will all do a very poor job if the hand wielding them doesn't have the skills.

 

[Firebow Swagger]

Well said Samon

I just feel awkward using a blade that is too big for the job, It makes my femoral artery twitch. Adding the heightened circumstance of being alone in the wood Just rings alarm bells in my tiny brain

My favorite knife EVER !, was a "Taylors eye witness" 12" steak knife , it was made of Molybdenum stainless, Slightly grey looking steel . Its held a edge well and was easy to sharpen. Lasted for years (butchery years are like dog years)...I may have loved it so much because it was a prize for Being young butcher of the year

Uk company too , and I recently found out they make pocket knives http://www.heinnie.com/Knives/Taylors-Eye-Witness-Knives/c-1-92-829/ Squeeee

I never liked the grip on Sabatier range, I did manage to snap a flexible Sabatier boning knife once, put me off them for life, Great chefs knives but also useless for butchery once you get fat on the handle they lose grip, same goes for Gustav beautiful steel poor grips

 

[santaman2000]

Did they forget to put a grind on that one?

LOL. More likely a bad picture. But as Samon said, they're made in China now so who knows. And BTW Samon, I agree with you that they ain't what they once were; it's the model I like, not the current production runs.

 

[santaman2000]

......I'm a little dubious to the idea/need to climb on a knife you've rammed into a tree (I've no idea who mors is..) as I too would just throw a stick at it.. or climb the tree (don't have a spare climbing horse/saddle.. or a tractor at the ready most days ).

Either way, I'd be fairly certain the average hunting knife would snap and leave your legs gushing with blood if you did try this (due to the common brittle stainless used in most)......

Generally not a fan of stainless myself either. But then again, most of my hunting knives are carbon steel; not all, but most. Kinda irrelevant to the point here though as neither of us sees much need to use a knife as a step.