Hunting knife

A hunting knife should really focus on a purpose. The hunting knives are designed to dress in the field, plain and simple, and although it is common for hunters to use them for other purposes, dressing in the field is the main objective to concentrate. If you want to cut branches around your tree, for example, you should consider a small saw to try to force your hunting knife to take over the task. Once you have shot and tracked the deer or another animal you've been hunting, it's time to take out the hunting knife and get to work. But what qualities are a good hunting knife?

First of all, hunting knives must be agile. They should surround the organs and make cuts where you will not have much additional space to work. Most agree that ideal hunting knives are between 3 and 4 inches long, but should never exceed 4 inches. When it comes to differentiating between a fixed and a folded knife for that purpose, any of the designs works as long as the fixed blade is not too long. Apart from the occasional action of bone separation required in field conditioning, the strength of a folding blade should be more than adequate for any field preparation task. There is some concern about those who climb tree posts and use a fixed blade knife in a holster on their belt, but a high quality holster should mitigate most of the concern.

Folding knife with drop tip, the perfect design for a hunting knife.

Regarding the type of tip of the blade, two types are usually highlighted as the best for field seasoning. The first is a handmade Damascus pocket knives specifically designed for the work of dressing in the field. Its powerful blade is perfect for the task, and it can also help skin and dismember the animal once you take it back home. The other tip of the blade, slightly less specialized to use as a hunting knife, is the tip of the drop point. It still provides part of the extra surface area found in the skinning knives, and the tip reduces the possibility of piercing organs while making the initial incisions.

Survival / general outdoor knife

A survival knife has many qualities that are not ideal in a hunting knife, but in case of trouble, a survival knife must still be able to handle skinning and field dressing. This does not mean that it will be the most accurate work ever done, but when you're hungry, you cannot complain too much. Other activities that you may need to deal with a survival knife include cutting and shaving fire wood (typically small to medium branches), acting as a fire start tool, serving as a first aid tool in emergencies, filling in like a shovel or hammer and even help in hunting or self-defense actions. For all these reasons, there is only one type of knife that is worth selecting for the job: a fixed blade knife with a full tang that is as wide as the handle. Even better is an extended spike so you can handle hammering tasks without risk of damaging the blade. The extended tabs protrude from the end of the handle and offer a flat piece of steel that can help in a variety of tasks that the blades do not.

A fixed blade knife with a drop point, an excellent choice for a survival knife.

When it comes to blade and tip styles, a straight edge blade will work best for that purpose, but just make sure it's a one-sided blade. A double-sided sheet will not allow pressing the flat edge of the sheet required in some tasks. As for the tip style, the drop point that we describe on the hunting knives is the best point for a survival knife as well. Finally, when it comes to the length of the blade, anywhere between 4 and 8 inches is generally considered an appropriate length. It can still be used for peeling techniques, but its fixed blade and extended spike make it versatile enough for other tasks.