Hunting knives

[charles martel]

Depends on what he hunts.

If it happens to be orc, this is probably the best mix of decorative & useful:



Tends to be a pain in the ass to sharpen though.



heh.

What if concealed carry is an issue?

[Kied]

Just picked up a Bark River. Hard to find, but insanely nice knives. Usually about $150-$200. No fancy bs, just solid.

[DudeLebowSKI]

Damascus in most cases these days is all hype. Not to say that there are not some good Damascus blades but you can also come across thousands of cheap as borsch shit blades that are Damascus. It's kind of overdone at this point and unless you really know your blades, you can end up with some really crappy steel.

Bark Rivers fulfill your requirments and there are tons of models to choose from. You should check out Fiddleback Forge knives. They are custom blades. They are beautiful, can take a beating and aren't that pricey considering. They would be high on my list of gift blades:

http://www.fiddlebackforge.com/

[NmbrdDays]

Damascus is all legit. For a field knife / hunting knife I wouldn't waste the money, it's gonna get abused. Damascus steel is great for kitchen knifes and swords. The s30 is good steel, I think Emerson uses that steel mainly.

I am a big fan of vg-10. It's hard but not too hard, you can still sharpen it. It holds a good edge and is razor sharp. Not too expensive.
That's the cold steel ODA. So far I've only used it to take out some lamb for Easter. It cuts like butter and I love it. It's a little on the large side but hey " that's not a knife..."

Puma makes some really nice shorter fixed blades. Not sure where to find them or if they are still in biz. My old man gave me his old hunter and it's more a keepsake now, he used to love it back when he hunted.

[DudeLebowSKI]

Damascus is all legit.

No, there is lots of crap damascus out there. Most of it is crap actually unless it's from a reputable custom forger. It all depends on the type of steel that get's layered, how efficiently the steel is forged together and how well the blade is heat treated. You can buy a damascus blank from Pakistan that will cost you $5.

[Viva]

You can buy a damascus blank from Pakistan that will cost you $5.

Hell, you can buy a teen bride from Pakistan for not much more that that...err, or so I've been told.

[charles martel]

Nice stuff. I've learned a lot about some really interesting knives I had no idea existed.

Came across this by The Late Boy Scout about what I'd call outdoor hard/emergency use of an economy commando/hunting knife, which is helpful, as I plan to get back into backpacking and camping this summer. He makes a lot of sense about what is more likely to work or not:

[NmbrdDays]

No, there is lots of crap damascus out there. Most of it is crap actually unless it's from a reputable custom forger. It all depends on the type of steel that get's layered, how efficiently the steel is forged together and how well the blade is heat treated. You can buy a damascus blank from Pakistan that will cost you $5.

I guess I should mention that a lil Hw on what your buying helps. I would never buy any of that shit. Stuck to USA, Japanese, German steel. My shun classic knives which are folded and forged are amazing. Again you get what you pay.

[himavan]

You should check out the knives made by Dave Beck:
http://www.drbeckknives.com/David-R-...nife-Line.html

He's a master craftsman and been making knives for a long long time. Got a knife from him 16 yrs ago. Really well made stuff as well as custom made orders I think. I also always wanted to get one of these knives that he designed with Tom Brown Jr. way back in the early 90s: http://www.drbeckknives.com/WSK-KNIVES.html
Not the best for just hunting, but a pretty cool one piece survival knife.

[IAlove]

There are a lot of good recommendations being made here but there are also several BAD ones. When it comes to steel s30v is hard to beat, takes a super keen edge that lasts forever and has very high corrosion resistance. High carbon steel that is found in most outdoor knives such as TOPS, ka-bar, and the likes will take a great edge as well however rust then becomes an issue. Cold steel has some great knives if you get into their San Mai series blades but they aren't the look that you're after. For my money the Buck Kalinga Pro is exactly what you want however it has been discontinued. There are also several custom kalingas to be found that would suit your needs and many have antler or horn handles. Last I knew Rocky Mountain Knife Co. In Estes Park, CO had a fantastic Kalinga pro with antler scales in stock. A google search should turn up results for either of these knives and they can commonly be found on eBay.

Good luck!

[nova2]

Another one to check out is Fiddleback Forge it is a neat blend of crafted edges and handles and spalted steel blades.
http://www.fiddlebackforge.com/

missed dudelebowski's post ditto on his link

[charles martel]

Was cleaning out some old folders to free up space and found this. First rate custom knives:

[jqualls]

I will throw out a name from my local area. Jim Largent makes some really nice knives. I have not had anything made with him for probably 15-20 years but always made everything custom by hand. He made my father and 2 brothers all matching knives with our initials from the antlers of a bull my dad got when I was about 10 or so. I have used it for hunting but it is also very nice and would be a nice display knife as well. I dont know if he has a website or anything I am sure a google search would find him. I see his knives around in the shops but I havent talked to him since I was young.

[mall walker]

Have you looked at the amazing collection of hunting knives available at Chicago Knife Works?

lol fuck off

[skizix]

Stek (http://www.stekknives.com/) makes some really, really beautiful knives. Here's one currently on ebay ( https://www.ebay.com/itm/Stek-Knives...QAAOSwCpRbCFmf ):



I used to have one that looked a lot like that, purchased straight from the maker (Craig Steketee). It was an impeccably crafted, heavy-fkn-duty knife - totally worthy of display or hardcore usage. Unfortunately, it was too pretty for me to ever want to actually use it, so I eventually sold it (and made a nice profit, after hanging onto it for a few years).

"Damascus" steel (in quotes because it's really pattern-welded steel - the process for making the original, legendary, Damascus steel was lost centuries ago) is highly useable in the field, but you definitely have to be careful to prevent rust (as with any non-stainless blade).

[skizix]

BTW, while Stek knives show up on ebay pretty regularly, don't judge by what's up there now. No affiliation, but here are some pix grabbed from their website. They do non-Damascus blades too (and of course, they do custom work too), but I'm a fan of damascus, so...

[splittin]

Kabar BK-7 with different grips.

[anotherVTskibum]

Ancient thread, but http://carterknifeco.com/#/ is worth checking out. I met the owner/operator a few years ago when he was traveling through Red Lodge and have seen and handled a few of his knives, and I wish I could justify owning one.