Hunting knife

[Rickyd]

Looking at hunting knives, I have had a few cheaper blades for hunting up until now. I fancy something a bit more special. My main question is what type of steel do you think is best for a hunting knife?
I have a few favourites for bushcraft knives. Cpm cruwear, k390, o1, and fallkniven cos just to name a few. Not so sure on a hunting knife though. I’m thinking of the following; 80crv2, d2, cpm4v, 52100, n690.

 

[gra_farmer]

For me, D2 with a 25 degree edge either side, hitting bones really knocks a fine edge out quickly. But to be honest I have prepared more game with 12c27 stainless and been very happy.

 

[Billy-o]

Put your feet up and watch a dozen videos by Virtuovice

By the way, personally I'd go for a readily sharpenable carbon .. i.e something tough ... the 80CrV2 or 52100 you mention or O1 or A2 (have a look at what Battle Horse are putting out currently in O1 .. look at BladeHQ). But, that is just opinion. The Phil Wilson SouthFork that Spyderco did was in S90V (I think) but that sounds like high maintenance. That's gone now, but his Bow River is in Spyderco's 8Cr13MoV - same stuff as the Persistence is made of - and is banging around for about $40.

You might look at an Ackerman Serrata ... theory and practice is that the cast 440C it is made in gets more aggressive the more it dulls (as the carbides are revealed). The geometry on the right one is very good. Or, the O1 things he has recently done

 

[Billy-o]

I notice that ATS/RWL34 gets a lot of use for hunting. It's one of the steels Alan Wood uses, for instance, along with O1 and 12C27. I have a few fixed blades in ATS34 (and in particular one hunter in flatground 3mm) and like it a lot. Slicey, gets sharp, undemanding.

It's not the one I have, but take a look at his Stalker pattern

 

[C_Claycomb]

Maybe it would help if you elaborated on what you are hunting and the conditions you will be under? For instance, you have listed steels that are noted for fine grain, and those noted for coarse grain, two that are semi stainless, two carbon and one fairly corrosion resistant stainless. What properties are you looking for, and how far afield are you looking. Are you looking at hand made only, manufactured, or whatever?

Good heat treat by someone who knows how to get what you want from the steel can be more important than the alloy...ask an American maker to use Bohler steel, you might lose the on-paper advantage over a Crucible or Carpenter steel that they work with more often. Same goes with makers on this side of the pond. The delta 3V treatment by Nathan Carothers is a good example of a maker getting very good with a particular steel.

I have a D2 Swamprat Bog Dog, and put it to use on a couple of fallow deer. It was an impressive cutter and I have never had any corrosion problems with it...but I wasn't out in the weather with it for a week straight. While I don't like S30V for bushcraft, I can see it being good for a knife that is going to need a toothy working edge and good stain resistance. I have used RWL34, O1 and 12C27 and would't get super excited about any for a hunting knife if I was going after deer and larger game. I love RWL, but I love it for the polished edge it will take and hold, which I do not think is the absolute optimum for a big game skinning blade.

If I had to jump for something though, it would be one of the 3v or 4v steels, treated for good corrosion resistance. That could give a blade that would not only do the hunting, but the camp/bush chores too, and not dull from being put away damp.

 

[gra_farmer]

If you want to look at some steel specs try this link

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1b_rNfdJnL9oyn-JoL9yUHhUmDLAP1hJ1dN_0q5G4tug/htmlview#

 

[Billy-o]

I have used RWL34, O1 and 12C27 and would't get super excited about any for a hunting knife if I was going after deer and larger game. I love RWL, but I love it for the polished edge it will take and hold, which I do not think is the absolute optimum for a big game skinning blade.

I feel this too. Though I have a number of ATS34 blades, mainly smaller, there is something about all of them that prevents me from pushing hard on them. Is is just an intuition only, and not as if an edge has chipped or crumbled.

The larger one I mentioned is more likely to be used stirring my coffee than putting a point on a stick. I don't understand why these 34 steels are used in hunting knives, only that I have seen a lot of them.

The only real butchering I have done was in my grandad's butcher shop and in our kitchen. For which, I've used softer steel knives that need tuning every 20 or 30 minutes. 12C27-ish or 1075-ish. Tough, primarily, and sharp enough. I don't know much to anything about what's involved in dressing deer in a field, though.

 

[Robson Valley]

My biggest "hunting knife" was an 8" Bowie, no idea of the steel. Lost it.
Seems that knife got pressed into all sorts of other camp chores from pounding tent pegs to opening cans.
To field dress a Mule Deer buck, several essential steps. No water. Dead dry grass for wiping only.
1. Cut around the anus. Pull that out and tie it off so there are no surprises. Did you pack the string?
2. If possible, pull the deer around so that the gut is pointing down hill.
3. Start a cut in the groin, skin deep, aiming for the sternum. Insert a finger on each side of the blade to lift the skin.
Now cut the abdominal muscle layer and the abdominal contents should spill out with the help of gravity.
Cut away any mesentary to clean that cavity out.
4. Now chop your way all the way up the sternum to the top of the rib cage. Big knife makes this an easy step.
Cut around the diaphragm. Reach into the neck and cut the trachea, esophagus etc.
Spill all that out. A Remington 165 gr in .30-'06 has a lot of hydrostatic shock so don't expect a recognizable anatomy lesson.
5. Swing the front legs up over the rack and tie them together. Get your hauling rope out and attached.
Ready?
6. Now you get out your other razor sharp little knife. You cut away the stinky metatarsal glands, toss them in the bushes.
All set. It's been snowing for a while, everything looks the same. Which direction is the truck?
Highly recommended for a -10C morning.

 

[Stew]

I have a nice hollow ground blade, tapered tang sat waiting to be handled that Stuart Mitchell made - the blade is S390! Not one you hear of often but I think it could work well.

 

[TLM]

As a more general comment, I have always wondered why the steel a knife is made of makes such a big number in the US as there are an awful lot of ways to destroy even a good steel by wrong processing.

I have used several puukkos in dressing elk with about equal success, some plain steel some fairly common stainless. Does not really matter. They all tend to need sharpening during the initial operation.

I would look more for comfortable handle and safe sheath.

 

[Robson Valley]

Opening the rib cage is about as long as my big old knife would last.
Here, there's Mule deer, Whitetail deer, real moose, real elk (wapiti).
You really need an ace up your sleeve = a locking folder maybe. 3-4" blade, no more.
I have an old Kershaw folder that my mother gave me. 3.5" blade & fat shiny brass bolsters(?)
1040 is stamped into one side of the blade. I guess that's the steel? Best bird knife ever.

Never could get excited about bear hunting and bison scare the **** out of me.
I have eaten 6-7 bison over the past 20 years. Always got the landowner to do the wet work.

Now if you want to really talk "sharp", right down to the molecular level, I have the pleasure
of using some first-strike flint flakes for cutting up bison roasts.
Gives me a pleasant paleo sense of living.