Has Anyone Used a Spyderco Folder for Field Dressing?

[Foehammer]

With deer season coming up its about all I can think about. I was wondering if anyone has ever used a Spyderco folder for any game prep/field dressing. Obviously a fixed blade would be the best for that kind of task, but let’s hear your stories about game process with Spydercos! I haven’t done much with my Spydies, cut some goose breast out once with a Pm2.

[TomAiello]

Try the Stretch. It's a great shape for that. A little hard to clean out, though.

My favorite spydercos for that task are the obvious choices--Southfork and Sprig. I _love_ those knives.

[Wandering_About]

Stretch is a good choice. My first Spydie was a stainless handled Delica and it got a lot of use on wild game. More than any of my other folders to be honest. Worked fine for small game, although something a little bigger like the Stretch is better for deer.

The Bill Moran drop point is an excellent one for game, although of course it is fixed blade.

[Manixguy@1994]

I used a Chinook 2 to field dress just on a whim. It took longer to clean knife than the deer . I usually go with my Randall’s. . I had a friend who swore by a Meerkat but he obsessed over smaller knives and had good success. MG2

[James Y]

I don't know if you count this as field dressing (I do), but I believe that forum member surfgringo has processed a LOT of large fish with Spyderco folders. Maybe he will chime in here.

Jim

[curdog]

Have used a 2009 forum native to skin and gut more than a few, pain in the butt to clean knife out but did a good job for me

[on_the_edge]

I don't know if you count this as field dressing (I do), but I believe that forum member surfgringo has processed a LOT of large fish with Spyderco folders. Maybe he will chime in here.

Jim

I agree--Lance will have the most experience processing something that was alive at one time. And the Salt series knives will be no maintenance (or essentially whatever maintenance you want to do to them).

[Manixguy@1994]

I would definitely try my Siren if I decided to go folder . No liners is a plus and for me blade would probably do fine . . MG2

[MFlovejp]

I’ve cleaned several deer and loads of ptarmigan with a plain ole ZDP Delica. I made it pointier with a dremel and it works great for gutting.

[BrokenArrow]

I've cleaned a lot of squirrels with my PM2. Worked great. I think it would do fine for deer. Blade shape should be great for skinny.

[Hopsbreath]

Gave my dad a ZDP Stretch and he’s used it for deer a few times.

[u.w.]

Absolutely I have used Spyderco folders for field dressing Elk, Mule Deer, Whitetail Deer, Rabbits, Grouse, Turkeys, Squirrels, various fish including Barracudas, Hog Fish, Grouper(s), Snapper(s), much fresh water Trout, catfish(s), etc... Many, many, many times. They work just fine

My first Spyderco I used for field dressing was an "old school" clip-it Endura.
Then my Wegner C48. I loved that knife! And Miss It to this day!
Then more Enduras, then the Stretch 1(s), which I very much adore and still use to this day. Though I will sometimes still use an Endura, or even a Delica if that's what I've got on me.

Haven't used an Endela yet, but I'm sure it would do just fine.

The C48 T. Wegner and the Stretch 1(s) are Easily my Most used and favorite folders for processing game.

u.w.

[skeeg11]

I'm in the small blade camp when I'm up to my armpits in a critter's gut working blind. Don't see much of a need for a really sharp point under these circumstances, either.

[tulsamal]

He’s right about the Wegner! It’s my only Spyderco with a combo blade. I knew I wanted to use it as a deer hunting knife so that’s what I bought all those years ago. I almost always carry that knife when hunting. Unless I’m practically in sight of my house, I always use the Wegner to do the basic field dress in the woods. Get the guts out, get some blood out… any shredded internals, etc. It’s always worked great for me.

Last year my son in law came for deer season and got a deer. I always end being the one cleaning up the deer back at the house… I had bought several different fixed blade hunting type knives and wanted to try them all. I laid out like half a dozen on the tractor bucket and tried each one. My long time favorite is from Tops… it’s a weird looking knife but is great for deer processing..

https://www.bladehq.com/item--TOPS-Kniv ... ade--81890

Since I knew the Tops would work… I tried other knives. And the surprise to me was a Spyderco.

https://www.bladehq.com/item--Spyderco- ... ade--24009

I bought it when it was on a discontinued sale but that knife really does work when your hands are bloody and it’s dark and you trying to get this done!

[z1r]

I use a Spy DK for Rabbit and Squirrel. I got a ZDP Stretch 2 for a.back up skinner.

[skeeg11]

When processing a large game animal, there is not one knife that is best for all that it entails. As stated before, I feel the safest option is a small blade where the forefinger tip extends over the point and the handle does not extend beyond the heel of your hand. For skinning, the SpydieChef is by far the best folding skinner on the market, IMHO. After getting your venison home and hung in a cooler for 14-21 days, you have any number of options for breaking it down. Up until that point, if I could only choose one knife, it would be the SpydieChef. While the handle extends beyond the heel of my palm, the blade is still short enough that I can extend my forefinger along the spine to the not so pointy point of the blade so I have enough control over where the edge of the blade is at all times while working blind in the abdominal cavity.

PS. It is a salt so blood and guts are not a problem. Rinse it out when you get home after a nap.

[JD Spydo]

I've used at least 3 different Spyderco folders for field dressing deer and various small game. The main 3 models I used for deer have been the C-36 Military model along with the C-60 Ayoob ( older model) and a PE version of the JD Smith. It's been a long time since I used a JD Smith model but I do remember it performed nicely>> and I'm getting to the point to where that is probably going to be the next old school model I'm going to lobby for a Sprint Run.

You can't go wrong with the C-36 Military model. It's near perfect for those types of cutting jobs. And I've used the Military in at least 3 different blade steels. I'm also sure that a Para2 would be ideal for a field dressing job as well.

There are at least 12 to 15 Spyderco folders that would be ideal for field dressing game animals. It would probably just boil down to which is your favorite.

[Doc Dan]

I’ve cleaned several deer and loads of ptarmigan with a plain ole ZDP Delica. I made it pointier with a dremel and it works great for gutting.

If you are in AK then I'm jealous. I miss it.

The Delica was designed as a hunting folder. Great knife and still my favorite in this size range.

[skeeg11]

Once an animal has given its last full measure, it's all about how you treat your meat. You can field dress a critter with just about any knife, but the proper tool makes things easier. Pointy blades can puncture things you don't wanna taste come dinner time so if you use a pointy blade, protect that point with your finger tip.

[aicolainen]

I’m with skeeg on this one. Small is where it’s at.

My all time favorite for field dressing is the Fällkniven WM1 with its nimble 2.8” drop point blade.
There might be even better ones out there, but once you find something that really works you stop looking. Though I switch it around some times, to try other alternatives, the WM1 has been my preferred field dresser for deer and larger game since I bought it 22 years ago, and still hasn’t been dethroned.

However, since getting into folding knives I’ve become so accustomed to their ease of carrying, that they are creeping ever farther into what used to be fixed blade territory.
As a result, I’ve carried folders as my dedicated “field dresser” on some hunts, but these have not resulted in fallen game, so I have yet to gain any practical experience.


From my own collection, I consider the Native 5 Salt to be among the better options. A little less edge and a bit more handle than the WM1, but overall length is about the same. Low maintenance knife that is super easy to disassemble and give a thorough cleaning once your back to camp. FRN also provide a good balance of grip vs ease of cleaning compared to some textured G10 that can hold on to blood and goo annoyingly well