best locking mechanism for deer hunting folder?

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SaltyCaribbeanDfly
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Re: best locking mechanism for deer hunting folder?

#21

Post by SaltyCaribbeanDfly »

Guess I gotta donate 2 cents…I always have a fixed blade when deer hunting but last year I tried the siren and the chef out just for shi.. and giggles…the siren had better grip w/bloody hands and my chef has a frag g10 scale…but the chef easily glides up hide when gutting or skinning w/o fear of puncturing guts or piercing meat because of the rounded tip…and the chef was easier to clean…this year I’m getting a Bradford Guardian 3.5 sheepsfoot 👊
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Re: best locking mechanism for deer hunting folder?

#22

Post by Wandering_About »

Frame lock with an open back is about the best for a folder. A pocket sized fixed blade can be very nice.
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bobnikon
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Re: best locking mechanism for deer hunting folder?

#23

Post by bobnikon »

A certain lockback (not naming because in the General Forum) has probably dressed more animals than any 5 (++ possibly many more) other folders combined. I guess that system works just fine. But I agree with some of the above, you probably couldn't go wrong with a frame lock.
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Re: best locking mechanism for deer hunting folder?

#24

Post by Dnwrghtsr »

I had a frame lock fail from a well known knife maker. Made in USA. While cleaning a deer the knife broke and the blade bent back at my hand. So the spine came at my hand. Was replaced free and I still use the replacement. I do feel safer with a back lock. You are cutting blind blood soaked and I absolutely don’t want a knife to fold towards my fingers.
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Re: best locking mechanism for deer hunting folder?

#25

Post by Doc Dan »

I don't trust frame locks and liner locks, especially when doing something that might be demanding, like cleaning a deer. I've actually quartered them in the field with my knife by going though the joints. A lot of hunters prefer the light weight and compactness of a folder. Men like Ron Spomer use a folder.

Lone Wolf Knives went with a back lock instead of an axis lock. I prefer a back lock because it is very strong and won't give way when you are putting pressure on the blade in weird ways that can happen inside of an animal. They don't get gunk in the works easily, unless the knife was closed and then reopened when covered in gunk. My second choice would be a Compression Lock, though I haven't used one on an animal. It's flow through design would make it easy to wash out and it is a strong lock. The downside is that it is detent based and I wouldn't carry it without a sheath or pouch. It is easy to manipulate the lock with the thumb without changing the grip or pinching it to close the knife. However, the back lock would be easier with gloves on.
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Re: best locking mechanism for deer hunting folder?

#26

Post by JD Spydo »

ladybug93 wrote:
Mon Mar 06, 2023 10:39 am
Evil D wrote:
Mon Mar 06, 2023 9:59 am
Almost any lock can eventually get packed full of crap that can compromise the lockup or even the unlocking, so I would think about this in terms of which lock is easiest to clean out. I would think a back lock is a actually among the better choices since it's closed off while locked open, and there aren't any spots for gunk to get stuck in except up between the scales behind the pivot and tang. A compression lock or liner lock are wide open plus they can get gunk behind the lock bar that can prevent you from unlocking it. The same goes for a CBBL, though I have seen that lock completely packed with mud and they do rinse out fairly well but again is that something you can do out in the woods while cleaning a deer? Another thing I would look into is a knife design that puts as much space between the edge and pivot as possible, so it keeps the gunk at bay. I believe this is part of the thought process behind the Siren, but you can get similar benefits from knives with finger choils. A good example of this might be a Barong, where the edge doesn't come all the way back to the pivot so you can only get it so close to the gorey stuff.
i was thinking the same as far as gunking up a knife. the simplicity of a backlock makes it easy to operate even with junk in the pivot and, even with the closed back, it's really easy to rinse out. i've had my salts full of beach sand and still able to function and it was easy to shake them under the water for a quick rinse. a cbbl would probably be the worst when it comes to getting gunked up with stuff (and i say that as a huge fan of the lock). compression locks and liner locks could potentially get gummed up between the lock bar and the scale, making them almost impossible to close without rinsing. the backlock wouldn't have that kind of problem. a frame lock wouldn't have that kind of issue either, but then you're using a metal handled knife in a slippery situation, which also isn't ideal.
I agree with what you and David are saying. But I also think it's safe to say that most of the guys here on this Forum would be careful to keep their folders clean and in good working order. As much as I sharpen and clean my folders they would never get gunked up or filthy. Like with field dressing a deer for instance I immediately clean all my tools when the job is finished.
I learned a very hard lesson about 14 years ago when I cut up some tomatoes with a Spyderco folder that had a ZDP-189 blade. The acid in those tomatoes put horrible pits and corrosion marks on the blade after just one night. Because I forgot to clean it. I never let anything like that ever happen again. If you thoroughly clean your blades when the work is completely you won't have any functional problems. But you can't procrastinate you must clean it immediately.
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Re: best locking mechanism for deer hunting folder?

#27

Post by pleadnotguilty »

I’ve used enduras, natives for years, and a delica (once). Try to shoot the deer in the neck so the body cavity doesn’t have any excess bleeding. That’s always worked well for me.
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Re: best locking mechanism for deer hunting folder?

#28

Post by Evil D »

I think the answer here is the future various MagnaCut Salt models, whatever they might be. As much abuse as a Pacific can take, I wonder how it would deal with trying to quarter a deer, and with MagnaCut having better edge retention and still being all but corrosion proof it's going to be great for bloody work like this, out in the woods where you may not be able to rinse the knife off right away.
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Re: best locking mechanism for deer hunting folder?

#29

Post by Larry_Mott »

Back lock for me, every day of the week.
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Re: best locking mechanism for deer hunting folder?

#30

Post by wvguy8258 »

Thanks for the replies. I would like to see Spyderco come up with a new locking mechanism just for folding hunting knives. It would have 1 locking mechanism with a "safety" that locks that locking mechanism in place. Other makers have these types of locks, and I always considered them overkill until now. We might like 1 handed quick closing, but there are many scenarios where a tradeoff in speed and ease of closing would be warranted.
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Re: best locking mechanism for deer hunting folder?

#31

Post by eshishlo »

I used a Native years ago and it did well. It has pinned construction so cleaning was a bit of a pain but I didn’t have any issues with the lock.
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Jerome Howard
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Re: best locking mechanism for deer hunting folder?

#32

Post by Jerome Howard »

There is absolutely no reason to use a folder for field dressing a deer. It's just silly.
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Re: best locking mechanism for deer hunting folder?

#33

Post by Doc Dan »

Before I moved over here where it is illegal to own a firearm and hunting isn't done, I was a big time hunter. I would get a Stretch, without a doubt, because it was designed with the hunter in mind. My second choice would be an Endura. I would get either in the best steel I could find.

Buck made itself famous by making the Folding Hunter and that is all the knife many carry. Famous hunters like Ron Spomer carry folding knives, not big honkin' fixed blades. I carried a small fixed blade or a Folding Hunter as the Stretch didn't exist in those days.
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Re: best locking mechanism for deer hunting folder?

#34

Post by MFlovejp »

Jerome Howard wrote:
Sun Apr 02, 2023 7:40 pm
There is absolutely no reason to use a folder for field dressing a deer. It's just silly.

Tell that to the generations of hunters who carried nothing more than a Buck 110 every fall when it was time to go fill the freezer. My grandfather’s old brass folder has dressed dozens of Arkansas white tails.

I’ve used a Spyderco Delica to dress out 3 little Sitka blacktails on its own, and I use a folder for some aspect of every other animal I clean and dress, including moose.

Just look at the entire Havalon line of products- every one of them is a folding blade.

Maybe you only use a fixed blade but that doesn’t mean we all do.
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Re: best locking mechanism for deer hunting folder?

#35

Post by skeeg11 »

Big game hunting is the primary reason for my interest in knives. Tried dozens over the ensuing decades both fixed and folding. The SpydieChef pretty much has me spoiled rotten.
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Re: best locking mechanism for deer hunting folder?

#36

Post by aicolainen »

Jerome Howard wrote:
Sun Apr 02, 2023 7:40 pm
There is absolutely no reason to use a folder for field dressing a deer. It's just silly.
Blanket statements without any reasoning wouldn’t normally warrant a response, but it wasn’t many years ago that I’d completely agree.
Even today I might agree once the deer hits the ground and the real work begins, but the difference in use isn’t that much and after getting used to carrying folding knives there are many situations I find them more convenient to carry and use. Even in many hunting situations.

I’ve probably posted this picture before, maybe even in this thread. My favorite hunting fixed blade through the last 25 years compared to my most used “hunting” folder.
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Re: best locking mechanism for deer hunting folder?

#37

Post by James Y »

In decades past (and probably still today), many hunters used 2-blade Case trappers to field dress. And trappers are slipjoint folders.

I’ve heard of an Alaskan native woman who field dressed a bear using only her Spyderco Ladybug.

I’ve heard of people dressing deer with their SAKs.

What I’m saying is that whether someone uses a fixed blade or a folder matters less than the person’s personal preference, or what they happen to have on them, and their own skill at using it for the task at hand.

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Re: best locking mechanism for deer hunting folder?

#38

Post by Manixguy@1994 »

I just thought I should add that knives used for deer hunting can be a highly personalized thing and and there is no right or wrong , it’s just what works knife you and are most comfortable with and may also be a edc . I have a friend who uses a Meerkat and another a Case Muskrat , nothing silly if it works for them . Buck 110 folders have been used by many over the years around here and on their belt still every day. I may hunt with a Randall fixed blade but there is always a folder with me . MG2
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Re: best locking mechanism for deer hunting folder?

#39

Post by Doc Dan »

I wonder how the Leafjumper will work as a hunting knife?
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Jerome Howard
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Re: best locking mechanism for deer hunting folder?

#40

Post by Jerome Howard »

Why would I want to clean blood and guts from the mechanism of my folder, when my fixed blade can just be rinsed off and wiped with a rag?

I've hunted elk and deer in Montana for decades. NOBODY I ever hunted with used a folding knife to dress an animal.

I don't care about your grandpa's Buck 110. If there's a proper tool for a job, I will use it. And it you don't have room on your person for a fixed blade when hunting , you should just stay home.

What's next? Which folder is best for batoning? Or pounding nails?
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