Do you prefer a short blade or long fixed blade knife?

uplander01 · Sunday at 12:17 PM

I really don't think there is one knife that does everything perfectly, it would take 2-3, and then opinions vary widely. DesertDog on Youtube has a great video on the evolution of silliness in regard to bushcrafting/hunting knives for everything. If I had to pick one knife and that's all I could have for any situation, from being a walking around gentleman in Africa, to backcountry mountain hunting, to bird hunting, cleaning a fish, or god forbid having to use it as a weapon, it would be a 5-6" full tang fixed blade with a really nice grip. I have the knives pictured below and they are the closest thing I have to a one and done. But I'm not one to sit and skin out ears, eyes, and noses for taxidermy purposes.......And I can't imagine a world where a guy has only one knife, I think I have 25-30.

Nyati · Sunday at 12:28 PM

Muela Kudu, semi-custom. Four inches.

Mekaniks · Sunday at 12:34 PM

WAB said:
It would likely help if I included the pic.
View attachment 785139

I carry a Von Gruff AH EDC when I am hunting.

It's smaller than yours. Its been Its been a great knife

JPbowhunter · Sunday at 1:21 PM

WAB said:
It would likely help if I included the pic.
View attachment 785139

I had him make a boning knife for me with some nice Siamese rosewood. He does a good job.

coyote wacker · Sunday at 1:23 PM

I was a knife maker for over 50 years people tended to wanted a longer blade knifes thats 4" to 6" were the most popular. Myself to carry alot and only use to cape and gut 3 1/4"-3 3/4" is very comfortable to use and have on your belt. And most of all in a animal gutting having to reach inside a cut the esofigus, a long blade is useless. My though is what section of a knife do you use most of the time.....the first 1 1/2" the rest of the blade really not that much.

HankBuck · Sunday at 3:05 PM

Hunt anything said:
I prefer a 4”-5” blade for general field work, but while butchering I flip back and forth from that knife to a flexible blade for close in work to get every scrap I can for the grind pile.
I probably use more types of knives on fish, from a 12” fillet knife for big tuna, amberjack and such to a 9” serrated knife for tough fish like cobia, sheepshead and trigger fish. Most fish work is done with an 8” fillet knife.

I don’t really like the replaceable blade knives, while extremely sharp and versatile I don’t care to throw the used blades in the trash where some marauding coon, dog or other animal can get to.

@Hunt anything - agree with you regarding “replaceable blade knives” and nothing about them appeals to I me (heart surgery maybe) but they are becoming more popular and in 20 years No one will know how to sharpen-a-knife

Ryan · Sunday at 3:45 PM

AZDAVE said:
I use a shorter 3-4in in the field and bigger for butchering.

@Ryan I like the knife in the middle best of the ones in your picture.

That is one of three blades in a kind of bull nosed pattern I made about 10 years ago that I made into knives. They all turned out a little different.
Top is warthog ivory, dyed burl and water buffalo horn handle, middle is the one you mentioned of a bunch of different micarta that ended up looking like a 70s T-shirt, and bottom is stabilized curly redwood and dyed burls. Middle and bottom fit in the same sheath and have gone hunting. Top is a bit chunkier and I need to make a sheath.

I have control of my rifle collecting. Knives, not as much.

coyote wacker · Monday at 11:55 AM

HankBuck said:
@Hunt anything - agree with you regarding “replaceable blade knives” and nothing about them appeals to I me (heart surgery maybe) but they are becoming more popular and in 20 years No one will know how to sharpen-a-knife

Last year picked up for very cheep a replaceable blade knife a Edge brand Razor 2.5". Was thinking its small carry in my pocket....give it a try....if I loose it no big deal. I tend to loose a pocket knife before they get dull....LOL Well I like it a lot even gutted a buck last year to give it a chance, ended up doing 4 more deer and was still sharp. Even resharpened a blade with my Lansky Sharpener at 17 degrees, steel is very hard at least 60 rockwell. Your not going to split a breast or brake a pelvis with it but to gut a deer it does a good job and if you loose it its not that big of a loss.

HankBuck · Monday at 2:19 PM

coyote wacker said:
Last year picked up for very cheep a replaceable blade knife an Edge brand Razor 2.5". Was thinking its small carry in my pocket....give it a try....if I loose it no big deal. I tend to loose a pocket knife before they get dull....LOL Well I like it a lot even gutted a buck last year to give it a chance, ended up doing 4 more deer and was still sharp. Even resharpened a blade with my Lansky Sharpener at 17 degrees, steel is very hard at least 60 rockwell. Your not going to split a breast or brake a pelvis with it but to gut a deer it does a good job and if you loose it its not that big of a loss.

@coyote wacker - thanks for the “review” and no doubt you made good use of that “replaceable Blade” knife. I’m sure I could find one and use it - just don’t have any desire to….except if I was “skinning out” a fox/coyote and needed fine work done on feet/pads, maybe head too —— it sounds better then other traditional knives I’ve used…but I rarely skin hides any more. I can sharpen a knife fairly well but rarely to a “razor edge” like a some guys can. Now, for an emergency use ie: removing someones appendix —— a replaceable blade knife would be the BEST.

Flbt · Monday at 2:50 PM

Hate to answer like this but it depends on what I am doing with the knife.
Every day carry. I carry folding knifes.
On my armor vest there a buck 120
When I hog hunted with a knife I wated min of 7 in blade 10 better
most of my cleaning knifes are 5in or less

coreydb · Thursday at 8:26 AM

My knives are between 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 inches in length. I did have an old Benchmade 2-1/2 inch folding pocket knife that was used to field dress a Golden Wildebeest..... I watched skinners use 4-1/2 and 5-1/2 inch blades skin my cape buffalo. The knife I used most over the last 55 years was my Buck 110 folding knife.

MS 9x56 · Thursday at 8:36 AM

I think bird and trout sized knives are perfect to dressing and skinning. But for butchering I prefer a good 5 or 6 “ boning style knives. For small game a pocket knife suffices.

MS 9x56 · Thursday at 10:18 AM

HankBuck said:
@Hunt anything - agree with you regarding “replaceable blade knives” and nothing about them appeals to I me (heart surgery maybe) but they are becoming more popular and in 20 years No one will know how to sharpen-a-knife

I agree with your assessment. As for 20 years I have found very few American hunters know how to sharper a knife properly now. I tried to teach my son but he never did get the hang of it. Taught my grandson and he can make any knife razor sharp in short order. Any one who knows me knows if I hand them a knife to handle it cautiously.

Wyatt Smith · Thursday at 10:37 AM

I tend to like them around 31/2 to 4 inches for hunting. I either carry my von gruff safari, which I believe is 4 1/4” or a Buck 110.

Do you prefer a short blade or long fixed blade knife?

uplander01

Nyati

Mekaniks

JPbowhunter

coyote wacker

HankBuck

Ryan

coyote wacker

HankBuck

Flbt

coreydb

MS 9x56

MS 9x56

Wyatt Smith

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