Moran as a hunting/game processing knife?

[michaelm466]

Anybody used a Moran as a hunting/skinning/gutting knife? How'd it do compared to others you've used, thinking about getting one for my uncle and grandfather for hunting season, the thinner stock and good belly seem like they would do well, but don't have experience with this particular model.

Also, which blade shape do you think would work better?

[maa14]

My brother used his by gutting and skinning a few deer last year and he said that he loved it. It is the drop point version. Very light, nice sheath, great blade shape, sharp, and in one of my personal favorite steels. I think it is an awesome knife for cleaning and skinning game. And I think the drop point would be better for this type of task. He likes it a lot.

[MountainManJim]

I don't have a lot of experience but, I think the Moran works great for skinning. I have the Upswept model. It's light, well contoured, grippy and, of course, made of a great steel that stays sharp for a long time.

Jim

[VashHash]

Thats what the moran was made for. The originals were mirror polished to. Make clean up easier. I would go upswept for skinning. Finger lays better on the tip of the upswept. Which is good for keeping the tip from puncturing. Its easy for such a thin sharp knife to slip through

[ChapmanPreferred]

I have used an FB01 on the last three whitetail that I harvested. It worked very well in field dressing. I do not have a place to hand the deer for skinning, so I can not comment on that usage. I will say that I did not have to sharpen the blade after the field dressing the first deer. After that first season I sent the knife off to Tom Krein for a Full Convex grind but due to the thin stock, Tom had to add a convex micro bevel for edge stability. I have not had to sharpened the knife yet.





Sorry these pics are over used, but I did not have much good fortune last hunting season.

Doug

[Papa_K]

My initial impression of the Bill Moran was that it needed about 1/4" more handle length. I've got XL hands. Using the FB01, it's very handy, and I'm in love with VG-10.
I plan on getting the drop point version as well, and even giving them as gifts, where necessary.

If it was full tang, it would be a technical plus, i.e., although I'd prefer full-tang on principals, it hasn't proven otherwise on this lightweight knife.
If it was in one of the latest ultima-steels, it might appear to be a plus, but VG-10 is probably about as good as I'd ever need on edge retention;
and VG-10 only needs to be shown the Sharpmaker to transform itself into a scary-sharp edge, which is not so easily attainable with some higher-rated snob steels = to me, it's a big in-field plus.

I'm very satisfied with the FB-01, and I'm also ordering an FB-02, the orange handle version, while they're still available at a good price.

[cckw]

It is a good option. I have taken many deer from field to freezer with this type of knife. The thing I don't like about the Moran is (IMO) the edge should come further back. I always prefer drop point even for skinning. The upswept tip more gets in the way, except on some skinning strikes, but those are easy anyway. So drop point is more comfortable and precise to use.

Also worth a look, the Bone collector series from BM is based on an older design that was a great knife. But in trying to make them look cool, they put bumpy jimping on it, which hurts my thumb so I reworked the caper and like it quite well now.

My favorite hunting knife is an EnZo Trapper D2 flat grind. It costs more then the Moran or BM, but I really like it for large game and am glad I spent the extra $ on it.

I am a long time fan of D2 steel, I can do 3 deer completely without sharpening. After 3 it is still sharper then what your typical Fudd starts off with, but I want easy, precise, and controlled cuts.

[Ankerson]

Anybody used a Moran as a hunting/skinning/gutting knife? How'd it do compared to others you've used, thinking about getting one for my uncle and grandfather for hunting season, the thinner stock and good belly seem like they would do well, but don't have experience with this particular model.

Also, which blade shape do you think would work better?

That would make an great knife for him as that is what it was designed for.

A lot of hunters like Drop points while others like trailing points.

[JD Spydo]

I've had both of the Spyderco Moran models and they are great blades. However personally I'll always like the original FB05 Temperance 1 model the best out of that generation of Spyderco fixed blades. And my highest wish for a Sprint fixed blade at this time is for Spyderco to do a Sprint run of the orignal FB-05 Temp 1 in a Salt Series format with H-1 blade steel. I have thought on many occasions how great it would be to have a Temp 1 with H-1 steel for many Salt Water applications and for a survivalist blade where washing the blade might be an inconvenience or a problem.

I've even wondered if they have even given thought to maybe doing one of the Morans in H-1? But the Temp 1 with H-1 steel I do believe would be a survivalist's, preppers, outdoorsman's dream blade. Not to mention what a great fishing companion it would be to use along with the Green handled H-1 Catcherman that I so dearly love.

[justinl]

virtuovice has some good things to say about it...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibsu9Pb4pQk

I've never skinned or processed with mine, but it is a fantastic blade! I'm sure it would excel at just about any task you give it.

[michaelm466]

Thanks for the replies so far, this is looking like one of the best options, might try and get the orange handled one while its still available.