Your best knife for hunting depends on how frequently you hunt. If you are a serious hunter, you will need the best one, the biggest and the most durable. In this case, custom knives are preferable. On the other hand, if you are an occasional hunter, you have more freedom to choose a knife you will need. Anyway, there are a lot of factors to consider.
How easy is it to sharpen?
If you get a high-tech stainless steel hunting knife, you will enjoy its strength and durability, but you won’t be able to sharpen it while on the field! This is a common mistake some hunters make. This steel is extremely hard, so it requires the use of a machine to be sharpened. This makes it almost useless while in the field. They should be left back in a cabin, next to a sharpening machine.
Forged knives which are easier to sharpen are perfect for this purpose. They usually come with a sharpener which can be used anywhere you want and sharpening will take just a few minutes.
Fixed-blade or foldable?
This is one of the biggest questions: do I need a fixed blade or a foldable one? You should know all about knives in order to make a choice that takes into account your needs. Here, you can learn about fixed blades versus foldable. Both have pros and cons. Fixed-blade knives are called sheath knives, due to the sheath they are placed in. All of them are much stronger than foldable knives and they are far more durable. After all, they are made from a single piece of steel. In addition, they are easier to use, because they are always ready. For more demanding applications, this type of knife is the best.
Foldable knives are a different story. They are less durable, due to the fact that their blade is made from one piece of steel and the rest of a knife from another piece. But, they are cheaper, they are more practical and they are convenient. Newer models are also very strong and they cannot be accidentally folded. Interestingly, all foldable knives are known as pocket knives.
Type of tip
The tip or the front part of a blade can be either clip point (more common and sharper), where the front part is declining (bowie) compared to the rest of the knife or it can be a drop point (where the tip is basically a triangle). Custom bowie knives are preferable for stabbing and for making initial cuts. The other type is preferable for cutting and skinning animals. Ideally, you could have both.
Summary
Custom knives are usually the best hunting knives to decide on purchasing. They can be made to meet your specific demands. For example, they can have a different tip and a blade, which suits your need better than either of the types mentioned above. Custom made knives can also be made to look extraordinary. If you are a professional hunter, you will definitely want one of them.
November 15, 2017
