Have a whole drawer full of knives of various makes, both stock and custom. But the last time I cut up a Bear after trying out several on the same animal, I ended up finishing the job with a little 2-1/2" bladed Kershaw, as it seemed to work the best. Wondering what the hunters and Guides of Alaska have found that works best, in regards to knife needs.
Still searching for one knife that does it all well enough that I don't need to bring several in the field.

I have a drawer full of knives as well, including some new Diamond Blades that are wonderful, but I was astonished this last summer when my guide in the Brooks caped my Dall Ram slick as a whistle with a $5 paring knife you can buy at virtually any store. It was hard to believe so I went out a bought a couple and used one on an elk hunt in September and damn if I didn't use the little sucker to skin a nice 6 point bull. I'm a believer in the puppies now and won't be buying any more $500 knives when a $5 one will do the trick better than most.

Kinda funny. I have several that are pretty expensive myself, and the one I have been using lately cost about $40.
My ol' Hillbilly hunting buddy is about twice as quick at dressing an Elk as I am with his old case fish folder, that's missing one of the side panels. Been that way for the last 20 years! But he keeps it sharp and it works for him. I like my Kershaw folders about as well as anything. And about a 2-1/2"blade at that.
Cheers

The little $4 red plastic handled Victorinox paring knives are quite common with a lot of Alaskan guides and taxidermists as well. So are the larger Victorinox butcher and skinning knives.

Depends what's available, I also have $100s invested in knives but on one hunt on the Colville River I ended up field dressing a moose with this pocket knife because we got separated from our day packets

The Havalon Piranta knife with its replaceable scalpel blades is my go to knife now. The orange one is some type of poly/plastic and is extremely light weight. For a bear I go through one blade skinning, one blade fleshing, and then put on a fresh one for eyes, lips, and ears.

K9 +1

We use the same thing for everything except fleshing. I always have a couple of extra boxes of blades in the garage.

quote:

Originally posted by 458Win:
The little $4 red plastic handled Victorinox paring knives are quite common with a lot of Alaskan guides and taxidermists as well. So are the larger Victorinox butcher and skinning knives.

Same here & a Kershaw folder #1550

Are the Victorinox serrated?

You can buy the little Victorinox knives either serrated or plain for the same price.

I do not like a serrated knife for gutting, skinning or butchering.

They are handy for cutting rope, webbing zand "things".

I have used German made Pumas, and Randalls for several years, and more recently the Boker made Blaser knife. They all hold a great edge and are easy to sharpen.

The Victorinox knives are very good as well. Many Professional Butchers use them.

Phil, hold do you sneak them out of the lodge past Rocky?

On a serious note, how do you carry them, do your packers have home-made sheaths?

Rocky has lots of them but they are available from Smokey Mtn Knife works for $2.99 so we buy them by the dozen. They also sell sheaths for them in Naknek at the boat shops for commercial fishermen and last year at SHOT someone was giving away sheaths for them made of orange webbing.

Another knife that I have found that you can get crazy sharp are the Opinel folders from France.

Because they are floders they are safe to carry in the field.

Mine are regular steel. I bought them years ago for backpacking. I now use them daily here at the house.

They get "sharper" than the Victorinox knives, IMHO.

Opinel makes stainless ones as well, but I have not used them.

Interesting as hell! All these expensive knives out there, and we all mostly seem to prefer a much less expensive one. Years ago when I lived in Montana, I had a whole bag full of all kinds of knives; some cheap, some; not so much. Anyway, after I shot my Bear and the work begun, and after trying several knives on the Bear to see what worked and what didn't; I ended up putting all the high dollar one's back i the bag, and finishing the job with a frickin' $15, 2" bladed, 'Old Timer' folder. Just goes to show that sometimes simple is better.

458win is right about the Victorinox knives being used in the taxidermy shops.
I've done my share of work in a couple taxidermy shops and could'nt tell you how many of those Victorinox knives I've worn down to a nub.

In the field my favorite is a Puma hunters friend. I find the Pumas (and any knife from Solingen steel) will resharpen quickly on a steel.

quote:

Opinel

I've used those fancy French wood handled knives to slice cheese & onions to put on my pilot bread, always keep one in the cook box, but never to skin nothing

quote:

The Havalon Piranta knife with its replaceable scalpel blades is my go to knife now

Having never heard of them, I had to check them out. They look very usefull. How strong are they?

quote:

Originally posted by bedrok:

quote:

The Havalon Piranta knife with its replaceable scalpel blades is my go to knife now

Having never heard of them, I had to check them out. They look very usefull. How strong are they?

Mine as well. They weight nothing and the replacable blades weight less than sharpening gear and save the sharpening time. I recomend the one with the orange handle.

Brett

Another vote for the Havalon Piranta knives with disposable blades, I like the bright orange handles. Those paring knives work good also. Thin knives just cut better for me. I have a couple of costly knives that I am always afraid of loosing since my sweet wife got them for me. But they look good.

As long as the knife is SHARP, I can go with any small, non-serrated blade knife.
Big knives suck..

I got a Cold Steel copy of the Russell Canadian Belt Knife for about $15. They're sharp and cheap, feel good too. Used on a deer and was impressed.

quote:

Originally posted by DMB:

Big knives suck..

A man handy with one can get by with a small knife or small rifle but for big game a large knife and a large bore will usually get the job done faster.

For capeing a small knife of course. For skinning a large animal off the body like a bear something a little bigger. I like a Puma hunters friend.

One thing that amazed me was when I shot a couple black buck in Argentina.

After the morning hunt we had a Barbecue lunch that consisted of mostly meat (loved it) while the Gaucho who, had been driving around the ranch guiding us skinned the antelope.

Those guys carry a huge knife for an all purpose tool in the small of there back. The're about 10 or more inches long.

That guy cut those capes off those little animals perfectly with that sword.

i use the havalon knives for all my bear work and couldn't be happier...
i used to skin full time for a taxidermy shop and used the victornox knives as well as scalpel blades, but i reached for the scalpel the vast majority of the time. my victornox now is just used to cut pickles and onions when i'm cooking and the havalon is my go to knife...the number 60 blades are perfect for bears and i can skin one and not have to flesh when i'm done...and thats huge.
i use big blades, only for thick hides like moose and mt goat backs...otherwise its all done with the havalon...
and don't get me started on boning meat with the havalon...oh my....scary easy.

Gerber Gator and a paring knife are what I use to cape out nearly anything.

+1 for the Kershaw 1550 folder. You can get them "scary" sharp without too much trouble.

Another good knife for little cash is the MORA, they come in carbon or SS come with a plastic sheath and you can get them with Orange handles that are difficult to loose!!

Another cheap idea that I tried a few years ago that replaces the gut hook knives. I got the idea one day when replacing my golf grips and it is a box cutter with the hook blade. Cheap, sharp, disposable and it works great.

Cool topic. Just ordered two of the Havalon's and 100 extra blades. Thanks for the tip. Now I have 102 knives.

Just got a couple of Victorinox kives. Cheap and sharp!
Thanks all for your input, really helps.

Many years ago I bought two Opinels size No 8 for the wife and I to use in our camping kit.

They are light weight.

Here in the last year and a half I have put them in the kitchen.

I use one of them almost daily [I like to cook], and I find them to be a most excellent knife.

They are very easy to sharpen, and cut like Han Solos Light Sabre...

Since I use them several times a day I wash them several times a day, [hand wash not the dishwasher ] and the wood handles still look brand new.

Now you do not need a folding knife for the kitchen, but for the field they make a lot of sense.

They have a very Positive blade hold open lock, they CANNOT close on your hand.

If I was an outfitter, camp cook, etc. all of my butchering/cooking knives would be the proper sized Opinel.

They are a pretty good piece of work.

I was a Professional Butcher for several years, and always used Victorinox knives...

But for field/wilderness work, the Opinels are "much mo betta", IMHO.

quote:

Havalon Piranta

The only way to go!!!!!

Gee, I'm surprised that after 30+ posts, nobody has mentioned the Buck Folding Hunter.

I know, I know....not "new", not "cool", not "Hi-Tek"....just a good design, that works!

I've had mine since 1975... IT WORKS: 2 buffalo/bison, 8-10 elk, 20+ coues deer, 40-45 turkeys, 8+ mule deer, 25-30 javelina, 15-20 antelope, 1 alaksan moose, 2 dall sheep, 2 Rocky Mtn Big Horn sheep, 2 caribou...strong enough to be "rock-hammered" thru elk/bison pelvis, yet sharp enough to skin/turn ears.

Plus cutting lots of carrots, onions, potatoes, and steaks in camp!

I sharpen it every year...even if it doesn't need it!

Guess I'm old school...it works, I think I'll keep it.

+1 havalon piranta no other knife needed. just a few extra blades.less then 3 oz

This thread has been VERY informative!
Peter.

I just received my Havalon Piranta 'Predator". Not the orange handle but an imitation scrimshaw handle. I bought it on EBay. A few bucks less than from Havalon and it included a belt case. Very nice! Thanks for the tip, again.
Peter.

Just received my Havalon Piranta's (2), with 100 extra "Autophsy" blades, and it is the sharpest blade I have ever witnessed. It weighs nothing, but is very serviceable. Wow, what a find!