so, we have lots of gun discussions on here, which i enjoy. how about knives? the arrival of my latest knife, coincided with dogfish's post of the beautiful sashimi knife got me thinking. so, let's hear it; categories to include hunting, bushcraft, survival, defense. oh, and the 'ol "if i only had one...." category. here's my vote for hunting/bushcraft (and my new toy..)
http://www.eseeknives.com/izula-II.htm

check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSrlvqrZQKY




willy

I just inherited about 60 folders & 10 fixed blades from my Dads estate.


That old guy loved his blades !!



c/22

For self defense, I think it is hard to beat the Ka-Bar TDI.

For a pocket knife with style, Ken Onion's line through CRKT is pretty classy and even functional.

Emerson makes some pretty functional tools as well.

Cool topic, one rarely talked about.

Been looking myself as well. I was looking at the Benchmade brands but so many to choose from. Don't know enough about them but would like to know more.

Coley, do you know the reasoning behind the angled design on the Ka-Bar?

lots of SOG around our house. I like the folders but the boy and I have about a dozen of the nice ones. Agency and Demo are stand outs. I like the life time sharpening and the fact I drive past the main office weekly.
great prices here:
http://www.buysog.com/cgi-bin/commerce.c...lt_Folding.html

The angle of the blade and handle design on the ka-bar allows your hand to stay in a more natural position of function. This means more power, leverage, and generally control which are all pretty key if using it in a stressful situation where fine motor skills tend to fail. Again this is a self defense type knife and is not designed to be an every day utility kinda knife.

Cold Steel makes another defense knife called the Safemaker (and Safemaker 2) and though they are popular, the design is pretty weak from a functional standpoint.

I carry a Benchmade Osburne daily.

the things that turned me on about the izula 2:

life time warrantee- the only product i know of where you can intentionally destroy the knife and return it for a replacement. i could torch it in half, return the pieces and get a new one.

edge retention- check out the video. i have a browning fixed blade that i've been using to gut and skin deer. i can get through about 2/3 of a deer and have to sharpen. not any more!

made in the USA- while there are some good steel products from asia, especially japan, I try to buy tools made here. it's made from 1095 steel, so it's easier to sharpen than S30V, and has more stain/rust resistance than D2.

size and shape- perfect for gutting and skinning. don't care for folders here...pita to get the gore out!

pair this one with my knives of alaska bush camp knife, and i don't think i need anything else. except maybe a filet knife.....



willy

For a hunting knife my go to is my fluorecsent orange handled fixed blade CUTCO. Lifetime sharpening for free, never loose it, and holds an edge like know other, well until I saw that video above. I'm kinda a knife hound. I will be picking me up an Izula in the near future.

Kershaw Leek for me, never w/o one.


c/22

http://www.coldsteel.com/tilite.html

I love my Ti-lite. I carry it often. I have the Zy-Ex handle.

Been carrying a Karambit lately. It wont come out of hand with the retention ring and the blade points out the bottom of the palm how I hold it.

Carry an Emerson Mini Commander BTS letter opener every day. For hunting, a Dozier Pro Skinner in D2 and a Kershaw KS1993-2 folder in VG-10. Also partial to a Buck Kaala in S30V. The old Pumas and Bucks in inventory hold many fond memories....

This thread reminds me, how many knives do I need? Just one more. Since I don't hunt or fight off grizzly bears, cougars, or wolves very often I get by with my Grohmann camp knife, Swiss Army Ambassador, a couple fish fillet knives, and 40+ year old Buck stockman's knife that still shaves the hair off my arm. (not that my arm needs shaving.)

A good knife will perform applicable tasks of any degree of difficulty, without complaint, and stick by your side 'til death do you part.

Good reason to have more'n one....

I use a knife many hours each day.

Me, I'd rather spend my money applying for tags or saving for a good hunt or paying for taxidermy after a successful hunt than on a custom knife.
I have used a cheap $20 Forschner straight bladed boning knife for over 30 years as my primary hunting knife.





I buy a new one and throw it in my pack along with my trusty steel before a big hunt.
Never met a critter that needed a more expensive cutting instrument.
I remember caping, skinning & boning 4 Caribou bulls in one day and really never yearned for a better blade.

Like many things in life it is the talent of the guy using it much more than the quality or price of the tool.

Buzzkill Sal. Don'tcha' know that we're supposed to believe we cast better with more expensive rods and shoot better with more expensive guns and are manlier if we carry expensive knives?

i was waiting for sal to show up....i'm with you. i also have dressed many a deer (about 4 magnitudes less than you) with a myriad of blades. i hate having to sharpen in the middle if i can avoid it though, and I've found that higher quality steels hold a better edge. the thin boning knife probably stays pretty sharp for a while, but how does it deal with the hair? it seem that the hair really beats up the edge. personally i like a less pointy knife, primarily due to lack of skill. i don't have to worry about using this knife for something else, and thinking i need to resharpen prior to butchering. i wonder also about the continuing quality of your knife. any decline over the 30+ years?




willy

A long time big game guides favorite up here has been a Victorinox 3 1/4" paring knife.

Small, easy to sharpen, cheap, and cuts up a moose just fine.

I usually end up processing ten or so animals a season managing an archery only outfitting camp. I have the luxury of handling all of the work indoors, so packing or weight isn't an issue.

So, my answer, is to use three knives of the same design; if one is dull or particularly gooey, I just grab another and keep going and resharpen all of them at the end of the day.


I have one set dedicated for skinning by Outdoor Edge Co, a set of small Gerber folders for gutting and Dexter-Russells for cutting meat.

I saw a story on this fellow on TV the other night.
They mentioned one of his knives sold for 12K at an auction. He is out of Olympia.
Not hunting knives per say, but pretty interesting how much craftmanship goes into making his knives.

http://kramerknives.com/articles.htm

As usual, Sal's philosophy is flawless. I used that same Gerber folder that JTD has to part out deer and elk over a couple of decades. Think it was $30-something back then. I'll hand it to the next generation when he's standing over his first deer....

The Dozier was a recent birthday gift from my love. Accordingly, it will likely join me on hunts for my remaining days. It is too robust in the belly for parting out grouse and boning/caping needs, so I added the Kershaw and Buck last summer for less than a C-Note. Gotta love ebay. I prefer fixed blades to folders for easy field clean-up. Had to soak the Gerber folder in the sink after returning home to be able to brush out the tallow and goo. Its Cordura sheath had the same fate...

I keep a dainty ceramic sharpening stick inside an equally dainty PVC pipe case in my pack. A quick lick on it now and again makes for light work.

Have also butchered my own critters for a number of decades. A 6" Giesser curved boning knife ($19) and 4" boning hook ($10, Link) make breaking down the pack loads easy, after getting home and hanging same at the local locker for a spell. Hope these perspectives help too....

Driftin'

"Had to soak the Gerber folder in the sink after returning home to be able to brush out the tallow and goo"


I love that Gerber- it is lightweight, easy to sharpen, inexpensive and the finger groove to totally practical except as a single guy, I just hose them off and run them through the dishwasher.

Cheater. My dishwasher says she doesn't do gooey knives/sheaths....

I carry a crkt daily. In my personal opinion the quality of the knife it top of the line. I have not had a knife hold up to everyday use like this one. It just a folder with the double safety and flip out switch.
Half serrated blade is the way to go.

Sharp enough?

for 12k, it should cut through 12 water bottles, 11 zombies, a douglas fir, man-bear-pig, and a brick [Bleeeeep!]-house. cool demo!


willy

btw, last weekend, i replicated the esee demo. i cut through a 3" alder limb, and was still able to shave the hair off my arm with the izula ii. sweet knife.....



willy

My next door neighbor forges knives and sells them at shows. Pretty fun to watch him work. I've taken a couple of his finished products to work to show off.....but they are way out of my price range. I think the last one I took in to show sold for $750, and he said that in his last show he sold one for a cool grand. They really are works of art and made from some pretty exotic materials, but I can't see throwing that much money at a cutting instrument.