Thread: Hunting knives which one to get?

My knife made by Ludwig from Dunedin. Totara handle, 130mm blade( won't suit everyone but I like a slightly longer blade), brushed stainless blade. Beautifully crafted and a joy to use.

maybe he should go to H&F and buy a $60 mora knife then and be happier with the quality ??????????????
some fellas drive ferraris and some drive landrovers,some even nissan micras,its different strokes for different folks,sure a very expensive custom built knife would be nice (if you can keep it sharp) but you will use a cheapy a hell of alot more and you arent afraid to use it......a bit,well actually a LOT like vechiles or rifles,some are work horses and some are show ponies....
the Graf boys have cut up and carted out a heck of a lot of deer over the years,watch thier videos/dvds and take carefull note of what knife they use to butcher one for home use...the humble Mercator with a bit of twine on the handle.
Ive seen two high priced knives stuffed over the years by fellas trying to cut themselves a manuka walking stick with them,both times a large chip came out of blade....NOT recomended practice but an eggzample of what Im driving at.treat whatever knife you get right and it will do the job just fine,a hard knife will hold edge better but may chip if abused and requires more skill to resharpen...a softer blade will dull quicker but easier to resharpen,it may bend rather than chip.......Buck used to say you could cut an 1/8th inch bolt with thier knives....no way in hell would I even attempt to do anything like that,they are good knives but are really tricky to keep sharp without right stones and technique.

After seeing a recommendation on here for a aliexpress knife from someone who has bark river knives, i decided to get a couple.

I must say I'm quite impressed with them.

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32844523484.html

Used a mercator for 30 years until I was 50 or so but in the end became too uncomfortable to hold so eventually changed to a "proper knife" in a decent steel and was amazed at the difference in speed and ease. Even the Bahco or GWH's Chinese jobs are better than the mercator (stupid little things made out of average steel).

Its a bit like bullers for 30 years too. They were fine until they ruined my feet, and then I get a decent pair of boots and wondered why I ever tolerated the bullers.

They are 2 cult things - mercator and bullers. Both should be banned Along with the old swandri - bitches of wet clingy things.

I was recently in the States and visited Bark River , and attended a weekend "grind in" when they open their plant and you can make your own knife under the supervision of their staff and visiting master blade smiths. I made a couple, but this is the one that I drew up and made for myself. CPM154 stainless for those who are interested. The handle is claro walnut.

Originally Posted by berg243

nice knife @Tahr plan to go to the fella on the west coast that has weekend knife making classes to pick up some skills to try making my own. there is probably a couple hundred guys on here drooling over @terryf s offer and unable to fathom why op has not already snapped it up I would then buy a cheap bacho for rough use and keep the good knife for skinning only.

Once you follow the knife making process through its not difficult. If I can do it, anyone can. Having the right gear and adhesives and stuff is important.

Originally Posted by Tahr

Once you follow the knife making process through its not difficult. If I can do it, anyone can. Having the right gear and adhesives and stuff is important.

The most important part of knife making is firstly the heat treatment and secondly the grind - the rest is really a matter of taste, aesthetics and practice.

Originally Posted by berg243

nice knife @Tahr plan to go to the fella on the west coast that has weekend knife making classes to pick up some skills to try making my own. there is probably a couple hundred guys on here drooling over @terryf s offer and unable to fathom why op has not already snapped it up I would then buy a cheap bacho for rough use and keep the good knife for skinning only.

"Every knife has an owner" as the saying goes and this one may not be his/her cup of tea but it is the one that's on the table

Originally Posted by Ryan_Songhurst

Bahco are a great knife for the money but for a beginner they are real bastards to sharpen

buffing disc does a quick effective job on them :-)

Originally Posted by jakewire

Somebody Pm this guy , tell him to take Terry's fantastic offer.

The old cliche
"You can lead a Horse to water - but you can't make it drink"

Originally Posted by Sarvo

The old cliche
"You can lead a Horse to water - but you can't make it drink"

yes but you could skin it and bone it out with a top quality knife

Originally Posted by dannyb

yes but you could skin it and bone it out with a top quality knife

Still want the knife don't ya?

Not to denegrate terry's fantastic offer, but I would suggest that a re-curve is not the ideal starter profile. Op should at least be aware that you cannot (easily) sharpen them with conventional methods (ie on a stone.)

That said 100 bucks for a nicely made 690 is a steal and with the right sharpening system (something like a spyderco sharpmaker) would be fine.

Originally Posted by berg243

nice knife @Tahr plan to go to the fella on the west coast that has weekend knife making classes to pick up some skills to try making my own. there is probably a couple hundred guys on here drooling over @terryf s offer and unable to fathom why op has not already snapped it up I would then buy a cheap bacho for rough use and keep the good knife for skinning only.

Get into it man, Ive made a couple now. Not hard to do at all. Only need files a hacksaw and ideally a drill press. With a bit of elbow grease and a lot of sand paper you can make something pretty damn nice with very simple tools

Couple I've made. Made a couple of kitchen knives too. Use 1084 for your first steel. Easy to work and heat treat.

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk