Hunting knives

[PaSucks]

I am looking for a gift for my soon-to-be father-in-law. I want to get him a good-quality buck knife with with a unique decorative handle. I want it to be usable but look nice enough that you could put it on the wall. I've seen some knives from Silver Stag that are made with antler handles that look pretty cool, but am open to something else as well. Any ideas?

[Chugachjed]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000EYUDZE

If he's a real hunter this is the best knife to have. Not decorative though.

[NmbrdDays]

What are you looking for folding or fixed blade? Cold steel fixed blades are really good. Then again whats your price range? Vg-10 steel is the way to go but it's a lil pricey. There are some good options just don't waste your time with shitty gerber knives

[PaSucks]

Looking for fixed blade, and honestly I'm going for more ornamental than purely functional. The man has hunted longer than I've been alive, I think he's got what he NEEDS, I want to get him something different that he CAN use, but will appreciate looking at more so than actually using. He's not the type to buy something showy but I know he would appreciate having it. I actually found a gallery that has some great looking stuff here:
http://www.gethmannknifeworks.com/hunting.htm

[Cruiser]

I've had good luck over the years with A.G. Russell:
http://www.agrussell.com/knives-by-p...hunting/c/133/

[Jethro]

I only looked on the first page, but my tastes run towards knives 2&3. I like drop point skinners for skinning, but their blunter tip makes caping and body piercing tougher. I would also do a little research on steels. If he knows knives, he won't be impressed with something like a 440c blade. It is a good steel, but kind of common. Many people have diamond sharpeners now, so really tough steels which used to be hard to sharpen are more usable now.

I found this for a brief steel comparison. I also like my Benchmade folder with M390 steel.

[whippersnapper]

Damascus steel knives are great but you have to be very careful, that stuff cuts *everything* like butter.

[dynamike]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000EYUDZE

If he's a real hunter this is the best knife to have. Not decorative though.

Make it their 5" boning knife and I'll agree. Best knife I've used.

[Chugachjed]

I don't know about the 5" Boner but I've taken plenty of moose deer sheep and bears apart with that paring knife. It just works, sharp as hell and stays that way.

[sb]

I always wanted one of these and they are not as expensive as they used to be.

http://www.amazon.com/Schrade-Golden.../dp/B000IE9LRG

But a Damascus blade knife would be a treasured heirloom and worthy of display.



Good place to look here http://www.smkw.com/webapp/eCommerce...mbo/BWC16.html


or here http://www.atlantacutlery.com/p-2270...ade-knife.aspx

[Kai]

One of these:

http://www.damascusknife.com/damascu...ll_Knives.html

I have 2 of his knives. They are great.

[josef]

Damascus knives look cool but when it comes to use they are not the best. If you want something that they guy is going to cherish you should go custom but it will cost you. Most custom knives use the softer steels because they dont have laser cutters to make the blanks for the harder steel knives. Look for something in 154CM or S30V. My personal favorite is s30v but it can get pricey. As far as using the knife until there are two schools of thought. 1. get a knife with a soft steel that you can touch up in the field as your are processing your animal or 2. get a super hard steel and hope that it wont dull on you. I personally subcribe to the prior. If you dont want to go custom then get a benchmade. I am bias though cause I used to work for them.

[charles martel]

Ka-Bar in Olean, NY:

http://www.kabar.com/

And this guy, The Late Boy Scout, has a ton of reviews of knives, including the Ka-Bars. The BK 7 is a kick ass knife:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnagSLXsA8Y

[FreakofSnow]

Look no further than Ruana, made in Montana

Anyone who has tried to make a knife on his or her own is aware that it is not always the easiest of work. For over 70 years a little blood, a lot of sweat and an occasional tear have gone into making Ruana Knives. Hot, loud, dirty, physically demanding, monotonous, and dangerous are just a few of the words used to describe the work that takes place at the Ruana Knife Works shop. Each knife is manufactured using power and hand tools and machinery that literally require hands on work throughout the entire production process. All knives are crafted one at a time with attention to detail given at every step along the way, enabling us to keep quality our number one priority while making the knives.

The Blades. Rudy Ruana was once quoted as saying, “you pay for the blade and the rest is free.” While not totally true, the main goal at Ruana Knife Works, Inc. has been and will always remain to produce a cutting tool that will be reliable for its owner. Each Ruana blade is made from high carbon steel that is hammer forged, hollow ground, individually oil quenched, and heat treated using a zone tempering method that makes the spine of the blade a little softer than the cutting edge. Our high carbon blades are not stainless, but they contain the best steel for a knife that provides a great cutting edge, will stay sharp, and is relatively easy to resharpen. With minimal care, they will last you a lifetime and then some.

[charles martel]

Nice knife from Montana. I've got to check them out.

If you're into survival, or your future father-in-law is, this might be another one to think over, Mykel Hawke's Helion:

http://mykelhawke.com/knives

[Kai]

Damascus knives look cool but when it comes to use they are not the best.

I have to disagree with you on this. A well made Damascus knife is great to use.

[racesla]

Check out thr Ruana's. Great knifes

[Knut]

I have to disagree with you on this. A well made Damascus knife is great to use.

Depends a lot. If you want best of both worlds, look for a nice damascus knife, where the layers haven been folded around a core of modern alloy steel, like S30V

[thin cover]

Maybe a bit more then you are looking for, but hunting inherently contains schwacking and this thing can schwack the shit out of any brush or small trees. It can definitely dismantle a large harvest to bring it out to the truck. Really nice stuff.

http://www.woodmanspal.com/

[nova2]

I've got a variety of hunting knives from custom hand forged Damascus blades to basic folders that get the job done. One of my favorite functional plus finely crafted custom blades comes from Southern California. Victor Smith Knives.

http://www.victorsmithknives.com/

They look great, hold an edge and they are made and designed for a hunter by a hunter.

[josef]

I have to disagree with you on this. A well made Damascus knife is great to use.

Kai- they will hold an edge and will work for most situations but because of the way damascus is made the metal is not consistent so there are better options out there. If you are really going to have heavy use its definitely not the best choice. In this case however it would be fine. 80% show and 20% use.

[Conundrum]

A different direction than a custom hand build but still really cool and something he might remember from back in the day-look for a Gerber from the 70's and 80's from Portland. A lot different and in my opinion, nicer than the newer Gerber stuff. I carry a Model 450 for deer and elk.

http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/...803-25324.html

You can find them for $150-400 depending on the condition.

[nova2]

Here is a new knife for Victor, it's a larger blade and is a straight ground, rather than his usual hollow ground edges.

[Mathematics]

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.

I don't know about the 5" Boner

heh.

[PNWbrit]

Knives as interior design statements....

Classy as fuck.