Folding Hunters versus fixed blade Hunters

[JD Spydo]

There has been an interesting but yet puzzling undercurrent or might we say a gentlemen's disagreement concerning folding hunter knives versus fixed blade hunting knives here in the last year or so.

My good buddy the Deacon :D was one of the first who called this to my attention. He claimed that while he was in business ( in the state of New York) he hardly ever if never got any requests for folding hunting knives. However from the time I was a teenager here in good old Missouri virtually every buddy I knew either had a Buck model 110, A Ka-Bar 1184, or a variant of a Shrade Old Timer folder that they wore in a sheath on a belt.

They not only used these most popular folding/hunting knives for hunting & fishing but pretty much carried them everywhere. To this day here in Missouri and especially in the rural areas you still see a lot of guys carrying these old classic hunting folders to this very day. Also our good brother TED said that he talked to a knife dealer once who claimed he didn't get many requests for folding hunting knives :confused: . Is this just simply a regional aberation :confused: ?

Now I don't doubt ol' Deacon one bit. I am 1000% sure he is completely accurate in his assessment of hunting knife preferences in his area of the country. But I do find it an interesting dichotomy that in 2 distinct areas of the country that you have a profound difference in hunting knife preference. Oh there are a few guys here that do use some fixed blade hunters too. But most of them are old CASE knives or old Ka-bars that were handed down but you don't see that many of them as a general rule. I also don't see many of the guys I know use any of the great, new fixed blade hunters that have hit the market in the last 10 years i.e. Cold Steels, Gerbers, Ontario, ect,. And these knives are available if they want them but most of the time they go for a folding hunter with a belt sheath.

This is where I think that Spyderco could wisely attack both markets if they would just come out with a fixed blade hunter that they could offer with or without a guthook just like they did the Impala model.

So what do you all make of this most interesting difference in regional hunting knife preference? And do you all agree with me that Spyderco could really take this market by storm with the right models? But as the old DOORS song would say "Isn't It Strange"?

[zenheretic]

In Montana it went both ways JD, folder and fixed. Thank Sal for the Clipit however, I don't miss the folding Buck on the belt one tiny bit.

In Southern Nevada, I can't be sure. We only have tortoise and bleeding heart liberals to hunt and the tortoise is protected.

[Jenner 515]

I think it may be a matter of intent when in the past someone was purchasing a folding hunter.

Before discovering Spyderco in the late nineties I carried either a Large Schrade Old Timer (123 or bigger 125 models) Or a Buck 110/112 sometimes loose in the pocket sometimes in the sheath. I never reffered to them as "folding hunters", just "pocket knives" . I used them plenty for hunting and fishing, the high carbon steel in the Schrades resharpened beautifully, and I remember at least 2 mulies and a cow elk I dressed with the 110 Buck.

Now I also have carried a fixed blade hunter...which I thought of in my mind as my "fixed blade hunter". It actually received far less use than the others.

Then I got bitten by the spyderbug.

So again, I think its intent. Folks intend to use the folders for more than just hunting...Fixed blade? You probably have a reaseon you're packing it.

Then again I could be wrong.

[Halfneck]

Most of the Hunters I know here in N.W. Georgia carry a fixed blade hunting knife. Most also carry some type of folder, but they don't see much use on harvesting game.

Where I notice a difference is the older hunter who fully dress their game. They use their fixed blades for gutting & skinning. The folders see use as caping knives and smaller detail work. Most of the younger hunters just gut their game and then take it too a local butcher who finishes processing the game.

The above also mainly applies to Deer and Hog.

Among the Turkey, Dove, Squirrel, and other small game hunters, I see a lot more use of folders. Basically they don't need a large blade to harvest their game and are just as well served by a small folder.

For myself I prefer a fixed blade. Of course I am lazy and don't like to gunk up my folders. Additionally I have several small fixed blade hunters so there is no need to use one of my folders.

[gordonk]

I don't know that many who hunt up here, but the ones that I do know, my brother-in-law being one, it's mostly fixed blades. They do carry folders, just not used for dressing out game.

- gord

[SeanH]

In Montana it went both ways JD, folder and fixed. Thank Sal for the Clipit however, I don't miss the folding Buck on the belt one tiny bit.

In Southern Nevada, I can't be sure. We only have tortoise and bleeding heart liberals to hunt and the tortoise is protected.

As a bleeding heart liberal, I can tell you that we are not good hunting. First, we don't run and hide as often as you may expect so it's too easy to pick us off. Very unsporting. Second, I hear we aren't good eating. At least thats what I think it means when I'm told that I spoile a good meal. Or maybe it's the conversation...

[cobrajoe]

I guess I know people who use both, but on smaller game, the folder is more often used. One friend I have likes his little folder for skinning squirrel, and it's a little Beretta skeleton blade folder. I kinda doubt that this was designed for that purpose though.

So here's a question: Do the people that use folding knives use folders that were designed as skinners, or more general utility type blades?

[Michael Cook]

:spyder: I only gut in the field. For field dressing one knife's as good as another. All butchering gets done at my friends slaughter house back at the farm. It's mostly kitchen cutlery there. :spyder:

[d.g.g]

I like to use a small fixed blade. Spyderco makes the perfect hunting knife. It is not too big and heavy, has a great shape, and holds an edge. Ever hear of a fellow knifemaker named Bill Moran (RIP)?

http://spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=42

[bigkahunasix]

In the midwest where I grew up and deer being the only "big game" folders got alot of play in the small game arena. I carried a small custom fixed blade made by my grandfather for deer and one of several different folders for small game.(yes I was a knife geek even way back then) like everyone else says Buck, Schrade and Old Timer pretty much dominated everything back then. On a personal note my last 4 deer have been gutted, skinned, and disected by an old first generation FRN endura and it did three of them without touching my sharpmaker. Can't hardly beat that. Jim


As for bleeding heart liberals, don't they taste just like chicken(or is it spotted owl).

[Irish Lager]

i tend to prefer a FB for a hunting knife, but this year i have been EDC'ing a stretch and i am confident in its ability to serve my needs. But if it is a question of what will i carry in the woods next week, my answer is....
Stretch in RF pocket, CKE Skinner on my pack belt.
Accompanied by my Inova X5 green LED's, and Surefire C3 w/ P91.

But back to subject, i usually prefer a FB for hunting mainly based on design. There are few folders that have the same feel of comfort and control to me. However if i had to i could easily use a Subcom to dress out game, and have used an Endura before with great success. The D'Allara DP might be just what i need for the perfect hunting folder, but i have yet to hold one. So only time will tell with that.
J

[Plowboy]

I don't get to do as much hunting as I want, but tend to prefer folders to FBs. Although I don't own one, the Chinook really looks like it has a place in the hunting woods.
:)

[JD Spydo]

I don't get to do as much hunting as I want, but tend to prefer folders to FBs. Although I don't own one, the Chinook really looks like it has a place in the hunting woods.
:)

Wow Plowboy!! that's a decent pick. I personally didn't initially associate the Chinook II or any of the Chinooks as being a hunter variety knife but the more I think about it, it only makes sense. It's blade geometry would be great for skinning, caping and to some extent some butchering.

With the great Crucible blade steels they used on those Chinooks it would just be the "Cat's Meow" for a lot of game dressing chores. Great input :)

[yablanowitz]

JD, my theory is simply that it is far more common for people to carry a large folding knife out here in the midwest than it is either back east or way out west, where population densities are higher. This is based in part on having lived a number of places over the years, including Florida, Massachusetts and Hawaii. I see a lot more people out here carrying large folders in belt sheaths.

If you are already carrying a knife which can do the job on game, why change or pack along something else? I suspect a lot of hunters here simply use the knife they are used to. I kind of doubt they think of it as a hunting knife, it is just their knife.

On the other hand, if you don't routinely carry a knife you could easily skin a deer with, and are planning a hunt, why would you select a folder? A fixed blade is simpler, stronger (or at least less likely to fold up if you screw up), and has fewer hiding places for blood and guts so it is easier to clean. If the only time you are going to carry it is on a hunt anyway, much of the convienience of a folder is negated.

As for taking the market by storm, first you would either have to convince Sal to build cheap knives (good luck :D ), or convince all the non-afi's out there that a good knife really is worth a hundred dollars or more. I know a lot more people who freak over what I spend per knife than how many I have or how many I carry at a time.

[Manix Guy 2]

Nice comments . In my area you never know what you may see during hunting season . Alot of guys prefer fixed blade but here are two guys who walk a different path : one only carries a Case Muskrat for Deer , another buddy swears the Meercat I gave him is the best thing for him in the field .

[JD Spydo]

This regional hunting knife preference is really quite odd when you think about it. I guess that traditions run deep. I would normally have gotten a laugh about Manix Guy's testimony about a guy using a Meerkat for deer hunting but it hasn't been too long ago I heard about a guy using a Blade-Tech Mouse ( which is very similar to a Spyderco MOUSE) to skin a deer with.

But then again I guess there are no hard rules about what knife to use for any skinning job. What is really making me scratch my head is the fact that there are a lot of guys who use 1960s vintage knives for hunting/skinning chores :confused: . Why would anyone want to use those antiquated blade steels when you got all of this new stuff i.e. VG-10, S-30V, D-2 and many more modern steels that are far superior :confused: .

I guess old habits die hard but I always try to find a way to improve on the old ways of doing things. IF I was going to use a small knife to skin a deer with I would at least use Chad's Lava :) It has such superior ergos and your wrist wouldn't get carpal tunnel syndrone :o .

[STR]

When I was growing up in West Virginia I think my whole town hunted. I remember when deer season started every year and we didn't even have school that day back then because they shut it all down. None of the teachers would have been there anyways let alone the students. Hunting was a big part of our way of life. For many families there even today if they don't get their their deer quota during the winter they didn't eat a lot of meat that year. We depended on the meat in my family also but we also did it for sport and because it was the norm.

Its very possible to do all your field dressing and bagged game work with a folder but they will gum up and get nasty on you so its important that you have one you can easily clean, that won't collect gunk and start smelling to high heaven. Fixed blades are easier to clean and work better overall I think but many folders are quite good these days and certainly capable of doing all the work any fixed blade can do including but not limited to going through the breast plate of deer and the tougher more demanding parts of taking off the hide and limbs to section the animal.

I gave my brother and Impala PE for Christmas last year and he told me its a real good field knife. I thought it would be. The Ocelot worked great but you have to watch the paw prints for collecting gunk. Otherwise its a great field knife too. I have not tried it but it looks to me like the Chinook, Persian and Mini P would all be good skinning knives based on my experience with one of the best fixed blades I ever used which was the Buck Kalinga.

I watched the natives in Dillingham Alaska when we were there with the Indian Health Service. They most always used small finger knives no bigger than that one called the Ready Edge by Cold Steel for everything from their Salmon to the biggest Moose you would ever see. Did it all with those things almost. It was incredible. I think a lot of those little knives were just old files they made themselves but I know some used those little Ready Edge full serrated things too among other short little knives with blades no longer than your index finger. Go figure.
STR

[Halfneck]

One of my favorite hunting knives is by Wayne Hendrix. It is a small blade design looking like a George Herron Semi-Skinner - makes sense since that's who taught him. Wayne Hendrix is also a Hunting Guide, and has been for many years. He recommends a blade of 3" to 3.5" with either no guard or a minimal guard. He said he could always tell a rookie hunter in the camp if they had a 5" or bigger blade.

[poodle]

if you dont want goo in your knife, use a fixed blade.

[yablanowitz]

Manix Guy's buddy may be telling the literal truth when he said the MeerKat was the best knife he had for deer, simply because it is quite possibly the best knife he has, period. I always love watching people use a good knife for the first time, especially the people who think all knives are created equal. It seems a shame they hold so tight to their ignorance, because a good knife can make life so much easier.