Deer Hunting Mule - current and recent steel choices

[Fireman]

LC200N or Magnacut. See if you can find a suitable mule in the seconds sale if you can.

[HolySteel]

LC200N or Magnacut. See if you can find a suitable mule in the seconds sale if you can.

I'm looking forward to the Seconds sale!

[mokele]

Steeltoez83, I will wait for your tests.
Like I said, I know M398 has great corrosion resistance and edge retention, but I am afraid it will chip on bones or break in joints

[Steeltoez83]

https://youtu.be/k-71B9b7aCs

Here's a video I posted when I was testing the overall impact toughness of 15V on a shaman. I use an ice block as my standard media for impact toughness. I know 15V got 115 and the video has the first 50 ish strikes on it I did record some of my testing on H1 and cruwear after I did this 15V but never posted it to YouTube.

[aprivetera]

Found this little gem of a quote from Phil Wilson in a link from Larrin's article on 10V (aka K294 coming soon):

"This is a steel for an avid hunter or guide who wants a blade for field dressing, skinning and boning, that cuts and holds an edge above everything else."

In terms of real life experience, SRS13/SUS405 mule worked fine in the field and kitchen for processing a deer without needing any touch ups. It remains my favorite mule so far for all around use. Would totally recommend if it could be found.

The only nonstainless I have is Rex76 and while it rusted in minor spots on the handle (with lots of kitchen use wrapped only in paracord) it could probably do well in the field if it had a proper scale and sheath to protect it. So K294 would be ok if it's carefully used. Lots of good choices, just depends on how well you care for the steel's weaknesses and how much you'll demand in terms of chopping and popping joints.

[Murphy Slaw]

I've gutted, skinned and butchered many deer with my old Sharpfinger back in the day.

I'd say any Mule would be up to the task with ease.

[jmj3esq]

I’m going on Colorado elk hunting next week. I love orange handles on hunting knives. I chose 15V for its insane edge retention. I’ll just have to clean and tend to the tool steel when done cleaning game. I’d prefer MagnaCut in a mule but don’t want to spend $300. I’m happy with this:

[aprivetera]

Some thoughts after a recent doe harvest (woohoo!):

SRS-13/SUS405 is a fine field knife for dry conditions. Easy opening cuts and even made it through the sternum of a yearling doe with minimal edge damage. Lasted field to freezer last year but wanted to give another steel a chance.

This time around my goal was to see how far I could push the AEB-L with skinning and butchering. Superb performance until roughly the final leg quarter when the tougher tendons were getting notably more difficult to cut. If stainless were needed I think M398 would be better or just bring along something to touch up the edge.

I also suspect the thin edge geometry affected this but it's also nice to have a super tough slicing edge so it's just a tradeoff I suppose. Looking forward to testing out M398 and K294 next time around, God willing. The high wear cutting on hide and tendon would probably make them better suited for the task.

Anyone else get a chance to put their mule to work?

[tcarltonw]

Appreciate you checking back in on the performance. I didn't get a chance to test any out. I sent my step-dad out with rex76 but he didn't get anything. Hope all is well.

[steelbuckeye]

I used my magnacut mule twice last year and it worked well just for field dressing. The blade shape for a couple of the tasks didn’t seem ideal to me, so when I was in golden this summer at SFO I picked up the SPY27 straight spine.

Well I got the chance to use it and it worked very well! Think I’m going to be switching to this one moving forward. Used it to field dress and break open the ribs cage, then skinning. I used a filet knife to quarter up, but may try that next year with the mule too to see how long the edge lasts.

Couple spots of edge damage I assume from splitting the rib cage, but still plenty sharp. I’m also going to buy new scales, the ones on it are cheap and slick, going to buy a set of halpern before next years hunt.

[Xplorer]

Lots of good answer here already.

I'm never quite sure what someone is looking for when they say "hunting" knife. They could be looking for a camp/utility knife, they could be looking for a skinning knife, or they could be seeking a knife that will be suitable in both roles.

For utility work, a good balance of wear resistance, toughness and corrosion resistance seems sensible. In that case, Magnacut is hard to beat, but there are other great options as well. Nonetheless, Magnacut wear resistance is mid-level.

For skinning, edge retention is the name of the game. Being able to make clean, easy, efficient cuts through hide all the way to the end the process is the goal. Making quick work of the job could be really important in some instances (far from the truck, getting dark, wife expected you home 3 hours ago...or whatever). Harder, high wear resistance steels are the way to go and I'd suggest corrosion resistance shouldn't be a big concern for a skinning-specific knife. If a person isn't comfortable with sharpening such high wear resistance steels, I would suggest easily sharpened steels like Cru-Wear or even old 52100 because being able to sharpen his knife back up to a keen edge consistently and quickly may be important.

A knife that is meant for both jobs isn't usually ideal for either job, but that's more of an overall design issue. Like utility knife options, steels with mid-level wear resistance will offer more "balanced" properties if you're looking for a do-everything hunting knife.

For what it's worth, the only design I've seen so far that I think is actually well suited for both skinning and camp chores is the Nessmuk.

[VandymanG]

Lots of good answer here already.

I'm never quite sure what someone is looking for when they say "hunting" knife. They could be looking for a camp/utility knife, they could be looking for a skinning knife, or they could be seeking a knife that will be suitable in both roles.

For utility work, a good balance of wear resistance, toughness and corrosion resistance seems sensible. In that case, Magnacut is hard to beat, but there are other great options as well. Nonetheless, Magnacut wear resistance is mid-level.

For skinning, edge retention is the name of the game. Being able to make clean, easy, efficient cuts through hide all the way to the end the process is the goal. Making quick work of the job could be really important in some instances (far from the truck, getting dark, wife expected you home 3 hours ago...or whatever). Harder, high wear resistance steels are the way to go and I'd suggest corrosion resistance shouldn't be a big concern for a skinning-specific knife. If a person isn't comfortable with sharpening such high wear resistance steels, I would suggest easily sharpened steels like Cru-Wear or even old 52100 because being able to sharpen his knife back up to a keen edge consistently and quickly may be important.

A knife that is meant for both jobs isn't usually ideal for either job, but that's more of an overall design issue. Like utility knife options, steels with mid-level wear resistance will offer more "balanced" properties if you're looking for a do-everything hunting knife.

For what it's worth, the only design I've seen so far that I think is actually well suited for both skinning and camp chores is the Nessmuk.

Not suggesting just wondering. Looked up nessmuk knife and saw a Damascus nessmuk. It created a question that I have no clue about. Would a Damascus hunting knife even work? Would the toothy effect that a Damascus blade gets as it dulls help it for processing a deer or bigger?

[Xplorer]

Not suggesting just wondering. Looked up nessmuk knife and saw a Damascus nessmuk. It created a question that I have no clue about. Would a Damascus hunting knife even work? Would the toothy effect that a Damascus blade gets as it dulls help it for processing a deer or bigger?

It would work just fine, but not necessarily as well as a good modern super-steel like just about any steel mentioned in the conversation here. Lots of people love and cherish their "Damascus" hunting knives (the name Damascus is slightly inaccurate today).

A little background on Damascus steel...Actual Damascus steel dates all the way back to 800 AD, and was produced in Syria and/or India. According to Islamic scholar al-Kindi, swords were forged in Damascus, Syria called Damascene and they were not reported to have a visible pattern. Around 100 years later (roughly 1000 AD) Islamic scholar al-Biruni writes about swords forged in the same geographic region called Damascus and also mentions a smith called Damasqui. Patterns were mentioned this time. Such steels were considered the finest sword steel of the time and there were stories of Damascus swords cutting through rifle barrels back then. The knowledge for creating this steel was lost for centuries and only in recent times have there been reports that people have figured out how exactly to replicate the process. Today it's become common to call pattern welded steels Damascus even though it is not correct. Modern day pattern welded steels are similar in that they are layered, but the steels, the process, the patterns, and ultimately the blades are new and different by comparison.

For the context we're discussing in this case, the idea behind a patterned steel blade (other than looking good) is that the differing wear resistances of the two steels create a toothy saw-like effect. The pattern itself is really important in this regard. While patterns with tight vertical lines do offer some toothy sawing effect, testing (including recent tests) shows that even the best multi-layered pattern steels do not cut better or hold an edge longer than modern high-end knife steels.

As a side note...there are additional reasons to use patterned steel in a variety of different patterns that I'm not mentioning because they don't apply to the type and size knife we're discussing.

There's thousands of versions of the Nessmuk. It's the oldest "American bush-craft knife" and was originally drawn by George Washintgon Sears in the mid 1800s. He went by the nickname "Nessmuk". The general idea is a medium sized sweeping "skinner" style blade that's robust enough to handle camp chores as well...

but, I'm sorry for the long tangents...I didn't mean to derail the conversation by mentioning the Nessmuk. I was really more wanting to suggest zeroing in on whether skinning or utility is the priority and maybe choose the steel based on where that decision leads.

[mooniesdl3]

MagnaCut was designed to be a very balanced stainless steel, sure it doesn't have extreme wear resistance, sure it doesn't have extreme toughness BUT what it does have is a balance between them which is really new for a stainless steel. Normally extreme wear resistant stainless is not tough and extremely tough stainless doesn't have much wear resistance. The steel wasn't designed with high stainless properties in mind and even Larrin was surprised at the level of stainless it ended up with, he expected it to have good stainless properties but not the level it ended up with.

I've been making kitchen knives from it for a few years now and it really is an amazing steel for what it is but it was designed for balance, not extremes.

It will do everything SPY27 will and be tougher and more stain resistant while doing it. Larrin designed it with the idea of making a stainless version of CruWear/Z-Wear, from a property perspective, not chemistry perspective and I think he nailed it.

[Bolster]

Spyderco has never made a Nessmuk, has it?

[Xplorer]

^not exactly. At least, not that I'm aware of. Of the current offerings, the Moran has a lot of the same attributes. It looks a bit like a small, understated Nessmuk. I think a Nessmuk would be a great heritage project for Sal to do, like he did with the Respect Bowie.

[Ramonade]

I have been waiting for the "right" Nessmuk to buy. After a couple of years I just decided that I would make my own one day.
Now, if Spyderco makes one... That would change things

[VandymanG]

Not suggesting just wondering. Looked up nessmuk knife and saw a Damascus nessmuk. It created a question that I have no clue about. Would a Damascus hunting knife even work? Would the toothy effect that a Damascus blade gets as it dulls help it for processing a deer or bigger?

It would work just fine, but not necessarily as well as a good modern super-steel like just about any steel mentioned in the conversation here. Lots of people love and cherish their "Damascus" hunting knives (the name Damascus is slightly inaccurate today).

A little background on Damascus steel...Actual Damascus steel dates all the way back to 800 AD, and was produced in Syria and/or India. According to Islamic scholar al-Kindi, swords were forged in Damascus, Syria called Damascene and they were not reported to have a visible pattern. Around 100 years later (roughly 1000 AD) Islamic scholar al-Biruni writes about swords forged in the same geographic region called Damascus and also mentions a smith called Damasqui. Patterns were mentioned this time. Such steels were considered the finest sword steel of the time and there were stories of Damascus swords cutting through rifle barrels back then. The knowledge for creating this steel was lost for centuries and only in recent times have there been reports that people have figured out how exactly to replicate the process. Today it's become common to call pattern welded steels Damascus even though it is not correct. Modern day pattern welded steels are similar in that they are layered, but the steels, the process, the patterns, and ultimately the blades are new and different by comparison.

For the context we're discussing in this case, the idea behind a patterned steel blade (other than looking good) is that the differing wear resistances of the two steels create a toothy saw-like effect. The pattern itself is really important in this regard. While patterns with tight vertical lines do offer some toothy sawing effect, testing (including recent tests) shows that even the best multi-layered pattern steels do not cut better or hold an edge longer than modern high-end knife steels.

As a side note...there are additional reasons to use patterned steel in a variety of different patterns that I'm not mentioning because they don't apply to the type and size knife we're discussing.

There's thousands of versions of the Nessmuk. It's the oldest "American bush-craft knife" and was originally drawn by George Washintgon Sears in the mid 1800s. He went by the nickname "Nessmuk". The general idea is a medium sized sweeping "skinner" style blade that's robust enough to handle camp chores as well...

but, I'm sorry for the long tangents...I didn't mean to derail the conversation by mentioning the Nessmuk. I was really more wanting to suggest zeroing in on whether skinning or utility is the priority and maybe choose the steel based on where that decision leads.

No apologies needed. This thread has been one of the best sources of information on heavy use hunting knife steels and I look forward to any detailed reports here. Plus now I want a Nessmuck. Ah the rabbit hole keeps getting deeper.

[VandymanG]

Found this little gem of a quote from Phil Wilson in a link from Larrin's article on 10V (aka K294 coming soon):

"This is a steel for an avid hunter or guide who wants a blade for field dressing, skinning and boning, that cuts and holds an edge above everything else."

In terms of real life experience, SRS13/SUS405 mule worked fine in the field and kitchen for processing a deer without needing any touch ups. It remains my favorite mule so far for all around use. Would totally recommend if it could be found.

The only nonstainless I have is Rex76 and while it rusted in minor spots on the handle (with lots of kitchen use wrapped only in paracord) it could probably do well in the field if it had a proper scale and sheath to protect it. So K294 would be ok if it's carefully used. Lots of good choices, just depends on how well you care for the steel's weaknesses and how much you'll demand in terms of chopping and popping joints.

Think I’m going to have to give the SRS13/SUS405 a second look. It never made it out of my kitchen due to how easily the cladding scratched just cutting fruits and vegetables. Also I didn’t know my wife was cutting said fruits and vegetables on a ceramic plate so I couldn’t figure out why the darned knife was always dull. SMH I think I should just incorporate the wife cupboard mule sharpening test into all future mules, except the HIC. Thanks for the report.

[aprivetera]

Some additional thoughts after another field test with a pre-Christmas buck harvest:

As discussed above, K294 would be a good field knife for the start of the process. Great for cutting but lost sharpness very quick on aggressive scrapes and chops. I would definitely carry a secondary knife that's stainless and tougher for any demanding tasks. (Note: more or less still the factory edge so perhaps after more removal of that edge this may change)

AEB-L definitely a great all around stainless option if bringing along a small stone to resharpen. Stands up to the abuse of cranking on it when working on and around bone. Easily and quickly resharpened.

SRS-13/SUS405 and REX 76 were also part of the team in the kitchen while breaking down the quarters and trimming up grind meats. Big dude so all four knives had degrees of wear and needed resharpening with ceramic Spyderco stones. K294 needed time on the benchstone to work out some chips, but everything was finished in a single sitting.

I suspect any of these mules would be fine for field dressing deer with a finished handle and careful cleaning afterwards. Just be prepared to sharpen frequently the more demanding the use. As these are hunting knives I've never minded cosmetic damage nor have I devoted time to trying to fix it.

Still some season left so God willing I'll have another report with some different steels.