Hi guys, I need some basic info. There may be a good source for this and if so just point me in that direction rather than having to provide an answer. I'm looking to get a nice custom knife but given that I'll only have one I need it to be multipurpose. I really want it for skinning, cleaning, and quartering hogs and deer. I want it tough enough for the job but not really big and cumbersome. I have been told to look at drop point utility and hunter/skinner knives. I've heard these terms but don't know exactly what they constitute. Is it length, shape, design? How are they different from say a caper? Is there a steel to go for or ones to stay away from? I know there are probably are as many opinions on "best" as there are for bows but hearing people's opinions on bows helped me begin to speak the language and figure a few things out. Feel free to shoot me a PM as well. Thanks in advance for any help.
Zane
The perfect blade dosn't exist for me. Mainly because I use one for to many different things.
My favorite go to blade has changed over the years as my experience level has grown. For quartering your intended game your blade should be able to work into tight spots around bone. A wide blade wont do to well here. You can peel a hide off with a narrower blade, it just takes a little more skill.
A utility type blade that handles well would be a good place to start building on your go to every hunt carry blade. Most of the time simple works best for me.
I also like the high carbon steels, I use a blade enough that I don't have problems with rust.
I appreciate the response. Can you give me some reference for what "wide" is? The dimensions for length and width would probably help me quite a bit.
Thanks
Google "old timer 150". I build custom knives, but the knife that I skin almost all of my deer with is one of these, though that is partially because it belonged to my uncle before he passed away. I think they still sell it as the "deerslayer", but it is made out of stainless now, which I'm not fond of. The one I have is an older carbon steel model. It is a fairly slim blade, so it works well for quartering like Roughcountry said, but it has decent amount of "sweep" to the blade, which lends itself to skinning. Also, it is a fairly thick, heavy blade that is strong enough to break through a whitetail ribcage fairly easily. There are better designs for each aspect of game cleaning, but as a "do all" knife, I really like this one.
It would be fairly easy for someone to build you a similar knife, or you may be able to come across an original carbon steel old timer if you watch the various auction sites.
This is the style and size I prefer on my do it all knives.
http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=110;t=004407
Chris