A hunting knife earns its keep in about twenty minutes of work a season, and those twenty minutes decide whether the meat comes out clean. What you want is a blade that keeps a keen edge through hide and connective tissue without needing a stone halfway through, and a handle that does not turn slippery when it gets wet. Every knife here is a full-tang fixed blade hand-forged in our Memphis, Tennessee workshop and ships with a leather sheath.
Drop point, clip point or skinner
A drop point has a lowered, rounded tip. It is the safest profile for field dressing because the point is less likely to nick the stomach wall. A clip point has a finer, sharper tip and gets into tight work, but it demands more care. A skinner has a wide, sweeping belly built for long pulling cuts under the hide rather than piercing. If you are buying one knife for deer, take a four inch drop point.
Why blade length matters more than overall length
Three and a half to four and a half inches of blade covers almost all North American big game. Longer blades look impressive and get in the way inside a rib cage. The overall length in every title here includes the handle.
Steel and heat treatment
Our Damascus is 1095 and 15N20 forge welded, hardened to 58 to 60 HRC and oil quenched. That hardness is deliberate. Harder holds an edge longer but chips on bone. Softer rolls. Fifty-eight to sixty is where a hunting edge belongs. Carbon steel will patina and will rust if left wet, which is the price of how easily it sharpens. For a wet climate or a boat, look at the 440C stainless versions.
Do you need a gut hook
If you dress more than a couple of animals a year, yes. A gut hook opens the belly along a controlled line without the point dipping where it should not. See the gut hook knives.
Questions people ask
Full tang, and does it matter? Yes on both counts. The steel runs the whole length of the handle, so there is no join to fail when you are levering a joint apart.
How do I care for the blade after a hunt? Wash, dry completely, light oil, and never store it wet inside the sheath. Full method in our care guide.
Can I have it engraved? Yes, in house before it ships.
Related: camping and bushcraft knives, skinning knives.
Please check your local law before ordering.
