Thread: Top Quality Hunting Knives

Hi all,

four or so christmases ago, when I was still a young lad and a novice hunter, my father gifted me a bespoke hunting knife made specially for my then-small hands. I’ve been using this knife frequently ever since then and I’ve thrown the kitchen sink at it, but this roar I realised how much I’ve outgrown it. Despite how much sentimental value and love I have for this knife, I think it may be time that I give it a rest.

So, the purpose of me creating this post is to hopefully gather some opinions on what would be a good all-round hunting knife. I also want it to be of high quality that will “last a lifetime”. I have a bit of perspective on what’s out there already, but if possible I’d like to steer away from the big-box brands and support a Kiwi business. To this end, I need to figure out what sort of specificiation I’d need to request if I were to make a custom order, and who you’d all recommend as far as knife makers. I’d also be more than happy to purchase a premade knife, so long as it was from a smaller business. I’ll detail my purposes below, and also some of what I know already.

My main gripe with my wee knife, aside from the size, is it’s inability to hold an edge. I find myself needing to sharpen it much more frequently than some of the bigger, burlier drop points my Dad owns, and even then It can be a struggle to put a decent edge on it. Another gripe I have, I’m guessing due to the design rather than material, is rigidity. I want something that I can give death without worrying about it flexing under pressure, and I frequently find myself holding back out of fear that it’s going to snap.

My primary purpose will be gutting and processing Deer, this will include skinning heads from time to time also. When home I use a stanley knife to clean up my skulls, but it's always nice to save a job and get it done while I've got some down time during the hunt.

I've come to the conclusion that either a drop or clip point style will be ideal for my use case, but I'm heavily leaning towards drop point as I've had some experience using one and I quite liked it. I’m also partial to wooden handles, but could be convinced otherwise. It would be great if anyone who has already gone through this process, or is far more knowledgeable than myself could share an opinion. Also, feel free to post pictures of your knives!

I've attached a picture of my current knife for reference.

Thanks, Jasper