What's your EDC knife while out hunting??

Not to revive an old thread, or to be controvercial,but what [type] of edc knife do you carry on your person while hunting?
we all know its horses for courses,and that the one ideal,do it all knife is still a myth [fortunately!]

its a historical fact that the 2 x knives that tamed Africa were the dirt cheap but versatile okapi and the bigger panga[they came in different sizes]



the okapi skinned and processed more domestic and wild animals [big and small] in Africa than all the other brand names put together and i want to bet that its still one of the most commonly used and preferred edc knives doing most of the hard work out there.....

if we look at the history [+_ 100 yrs. ago] of the hunters of that era then it seems that they preferred a 2 knife combo for edc
[a pocket knife and a bigger belt knife ,later called a 'hunting' knife]

seen here is the famous game ranger of the knp harry wolhuter on a horse.
observe the 'hunting' knife on his hip


[picture from another thread]

a close-up of the same cheap butchers knife that he used to kill the lion with [knp museum]





its my humble opinion that the 'ideal' edc combo would be a 3 x knife set-up
small --pocket knife/multitool
medium-- skinning knife/camp chores
larger--- hide/blind preparing and bigger tasks [a small saw or axe would propably also do]

my 3 x knife edc set-up looks as follows
[its most probably over kill, but i just love it and it works for me..]



It seems to me that the ideal 'do it all' mythical knife does not exist, though depending on your experience and knife skills, you would maybe be able to get away most of the times on a one knife compromise..

my advice is that whatever brand or type of knife you chose-its ok as long as you know how to handle it, and you have it on your person, cause you never know when you are going to need it out there..

im curious,
can some ph,outfitters out there give us some practical input after a lot of usage/experience on their edc knives?
[folder or fixed blade, most practical blade length and shape, most common use
[eg skinning, food /meat processing, camp chores, hide building etc.]
how does your edc knife differ from the tracker/skinners knife?
[why?]

 

willem most likely like you i have "too many" knives. , and am always chopping and changing as i have too many favourites. i like esee knives, fallkniven and certain cold steel (have a recon scout among others) my favourite folder is the cold steel voyager large clip point with half serrated blade its very light and has a 4 inch blade and you dont know its clipped in your pocket . EKA also do their swing blade which is good for skinning as it converts to a blunt ended curved blade for opening up the belly easily. its like unzipping it. close to the one hunting knife if you dont need to do any chopping. as i said too many........my son has got the bug now as well i think he has 8 or 9 now.

 

While (like probably most of us) I have a drawer full of knives of all shapes and sizes (and the wife groans every time I come across another one I absolutely must have), my go-to knife has always been the same: an old German hunting knife I bought second hand on a flea market in Hamburg and that is probably older than I. 9" (23cm) long, with a 5" (13cm) blade, it does everything for me that I realistically need a knife for. For the really large work (cutting through pelvis and breastbone, building blinds etc) I actually carry a lightweight folding pruning saw.

 

some fixed blade 'hunting knives' used across the world

botswana


japan


alaska


France horse mounted hunting venerie traditional outfit


Brasilian vaquero


philipines


Mentawai monkey hunter Indonesia, Asia.


The aftermath of a Montana mule deer hunt


bowie-usa


and of course-then there is australia!

 

more 'hunting knives' in use world wide

australia


france


roebuck bucovina romania

 

it seems that the 'hunting knife' is a universal favourite while hunting
here are some handy fixed blade knife sets to take on a hunt

 

while i just love to have a bigger fixed blade hunting knife with me while hunting


i hate to admit it,but easy for 80% of the tasks while out hunting i can mostly get away with a much smaller blade-pocket knife or small skinner/camp knife

 

My 'got to' knife is just my big leatherman...it is THE tool, knife, the everything to carry! I gave up slogging 'padda slagters' around...too much weight for not enough utility!
I reshaped a dozen 10" bladed 'Okapi' kitchen knives to 6" skinning knives...best set I ever had! Nice thick 'Bakelite' handles and fine carbon steel!

 

ole bally-i'm 100% with you on THE multitool !:beer:

i found this very interesting historical 'multi-purpose' knife concept--
could this have been one of the first 'multitool' knives in hunting history?



A multi-purpose 18th century Spanish knife used in 'caza de monteria' a hunt that involves no guns but dogs who bay the wild animal
[ a wild boar, stag, goat or bears,]
who are then finished off with this knife by the hunter.
As you can see by the removeable [screwed off] handle, that if the hounds got injured during these hunts,[which happened very often] there is a needle ready at the rat tail end to administer stiches on the spot!
very thoughtfull, practical and clever! :clapping:

 

Observe...Nice one! Glad it's not my skin getting more holes poked through it with that though! I got an old multi tool...issued last war which I'll post a pic of too!
Of course before my leatherman I carried the very thick model Swiss Army...Just like McGyver! Still have it and it's a treasured piece!

 

As a spanish hunter, I have to tell you that the type of hunt you refer to, is called Ronda.

Monteria is a driven, big game hunt, with lots of dogs, where guns are used.

That knife you are showing is a beauty, we call it "bayoneta de taco", the handle is cylindrical in shape so it can be placed inside the barrel of a blackpowder rifle and used as a bayonet.

It is our tradition to finish a wounded animal with a knife. Here are three of mine.

 

Depending on what, where and when I am hunting, one of these four are either on me or very close by.

 

In Africa, this one is by my side.

A small Victorinox in my pocket, and a leatherman in my backpack.

 

some of the toys,the one on the left is a damascus blade made by charlton damascus usa and is a work of art and stays very sharp whatever you throw at it. the folder is a cold steel voyager which i have in my pocket from getting up to hitting my bed when in zambia (totally illegal to do in uk...) the 2 dark bladed are esee knives and are new but seem to be very good . the swing blade is a joint effort by EKA and ready edge knives and the blade locks in position whichever side you use. it works very well with the blunt ended curved blade opening the skin very easily. i have a fallkniven s1 forrest knife, leatherman, voyager folder, and a cold steel ltc kukri i leave in zambia just in case i am only travelling with hand luggage so they are the most used probably. but this is only a few as we all seem to agree we have way more than we need, but always find another we cant live without... you think women would understand with all those shoes they "cant live without" :biggrin2:

 

docman ,i nearly have an identical set[panga,muela,kb,multi t]:thumbsup:
spike, - that folder.interesting concept, does the extention part also fold down?

the hunting knife seems to be very popular world wide..

now ,if we take this knife in the picture as an example..



hey,you infront of the computer.......
concentrate on the knife!
[lol]

 

what knife ???????:bonk::eyecrazy: not sure what you mean in your question, the blade is one piece that pivots on the pin at the end of the handle , the button just next to that pin is the release button. to change to the curved belly opener you push in the release button pivot the blade all the way round until it locks , and if you want the knife blade just reverse the process. the curved blade works very well on the belly, and also all the other skin cuts for caping etc. they made some without the locking mechanism but i dont like them.

 

ok,now i get it! its the first time i see something like it. interesting!
at first i thought it was some kind of pocket knife--my mistake!

 

it has the sheath and the blade is about 3 1/2 inches. if you fancy one have a look on that website i mentioned a while ago Heinnie Haynes - Knives, Pocket Tools and Accessories they ship all over the world . its under the eka folders. if nothing else it will help you pass the time and i will be surprised if you dont buy something. its one of my favourite toy shops.....

 

..Willem, you and Spikemike worry me..'concentrate on the knife' you say..which one, the one on the belt or the one on the boob..?

 

jeez thanks for telling me where the knives were i only had eyes for that cute little carbine...:drooling::heh: