Seven Fantastic Hunting Knives

When searching for a hunting knife, the options are expansive. Every knife claims to be the best option for you and your hunting trip. So how do you make the call on which one will work perfectly for you? Today I’ve compiled a list of the seven best hunting knives that you can buy. I’ll go over what makes them unique and great, but I’ll also talk about the cons to the knife. By the end of this list you should have a great idea on which knife you will actually want to buy. Let’s get started.

 

The CRKT Onion Skinner:

This knife actually made my list of the 8 best fishing knives as well, that’s how great this knife is. Ken Onion, who designed this knife, created it at and sent it with some hunters into the Alaskan wilderness. After they came back and reported what they liked and didn’t like about this knife, he redesigned it to create the best possible knife that he can offer. This knife is a very unique knife, especially when compared to other hunting knives: it has a spear point, it has a hump on the dorsal side, and the blade is 3.75 inches long. The hump works to make skinning your animal easier than ever before. The blade is made out of Bohler K110 stainless steel, which helps the knife stand up to challenges for a very long time. The handle is built with a glass-field nylon core covered with a soft textured grip. The handle sports a deep finger choil; this helps to keep your grip strong even when things get wet or messy.

Advantages of the CRKT Onion Skinner:

• Deep finger choil helps keep your grip strong.
• The Bohler K110 stainless steel is very durable.
• Went through an extreme field test before it was redesigned and released to the public.
• The hump that the blade sports makes skinning your animal easier than ever.
• The 3.75-inch blade is perfect for almost any game.

Disadvantages of the CRKT Onion Skinner:

• The included sheath is less than quality.
• It is an un-traditional hunting knife, so it might take some getting used to.

 

The Buck Model 110 Hunting Knife

This style of knife has been made since 1962 and has sold over 15 million copies. This blade is also 3.75 inches, but the Model 110 is made out of 420HC stainless steel. This steel keeps its edge for a very long time. The blade sports a clip point silhouette. Because it is made by Buck, you also get a lifetime warranty with purchase of your knife. The look of this knife is more aesthetically pleasing than some of your other options, with the handle made out of Dymonwood wood with brass bolsters. However, because of this, you do lose some of your handle grip. While this is a folding knife, it boasts a lockback mechanism to ensure your safety. However, this knife can be considered a little bit on the heavier side, weighing in at 7.2 ounces and being 8.63 inches overall.

Advantages of the Buck Model 110 Hunting Knife:

• The 3.75-inch blade is the perfect size for a hunting knife.
• The 420HC stainless steel keeps its edge for a long time without too much maintenance.
• Comes with the standard Buck Lifetime Warranty.
• Has a lockback mechanism to keep you and your fingers safe.
• Aesthetically pleasing with a classic look.
• Has been in production since 1962 and sold over 15 million copies—it has to be a tried and trusted knife.

Disadvantages of the Buck Model 110 Hunting Knife:

• There isn’t as much handle grip as you would find on a different hunting knife.
• This knife is a little bit bulkier than most weighing 7.2 ounces and measuring 8.63 inches overall.

 

The Spyderco Bill Moran Drop Point Hunting Knife:

This knife’s blade is a little bit longer than the previous two, measuring at 3.88 inches. The blade is a drop point blade that is made out of VG-10 stainless steel. The blade has a flat grind, with only a single bevel. This single bevel/flat grind combo work to reduce weight, but adding to the knives cutting ability. It also adds strength to the blade, giving it the needed durability to cut through meat and skin an animal easily. However, this knife is not a full tang knife, so while it is a durable knife, it isn’t ideal for the heavy duty tasks thrown its way. The oversized handle is made out of an FRN and Kraton combination. The size of the handle works to give you the best grip by feeling the knife handle was specifically made for you. While this was designed to be a hunting knife, many people carry this knife as their every-day-carry knife, because it’s just that good.

Advantages of the Spyderco Bill Moran Drop Point Hunting Knife:

• Sports an oversized handle to give you the best grip offered.
• It has a flat grind and a single bevel reduce weight but add to the knives cutting ability.
• Has the durability to cut through raw meat and skin an animal easily.
• Ideal for hunting, great for every-day-carrying.

Disadvantages of the Spyderco Bill Moran Drop Point Hunting Knife:

• Not strong enough to stand up to the heavy duty tasks.
• Not a full tang knife.

 

The Puma Skinner Stag Handle:

This blade is the longest one on the list yet, measuring at 4.7 inches of 440A German manufactured steel. This steel is heavy duty steel, but still is a lighter steel, getting you the best of both worlds. It also has a fantastic balance of toughness, durability, and hardness, which is a hard balance to achieve. The scaled handle is made out of stag handles with brass finger guards to help protect you against cuts. The knife comes with a leather sheath that has a brass lanyard hole. However, the handle has been considered a thicker handle, so it’s ideal for people with bigger hands, while smaller hands can lose some of their grip while using this knife. The knife has a classier/rugged look to it. Along with the knife, you get the Puma limited time guarantee.

Advantages of the Puma Skinner Stag Handle:

• The knife has a great balance of toughness, durability, and hardness.
• Has a longer blade than other options on the market.
• Looks classy, yet still rugged.
• The handle has finger guards to help protect you against cuts.
• Comes with a limited time guarantee.

Disadvantages of the Puma Skinner Stag Handle:

• The handle is considered to be too thick at times, making it better for people with larger hands.
• Not as much grip as some of the other hunting knives offered.

 

The Ka-Bar Becker BK2 Campanion Fixed Blade Knife:

This is a fixed blade that measures up with a 5.5-inch blade and 10.5 inches overall. The blade is a drop point made out of 1095 cro-van steel. The blade is very sturdy and extremely sharp, perfect for skinning. The blade is much thicker than expected, which while it adds to the knife’s weight, it does help it stand up to hunting and heavy duty use for longer periods of time. This knife has been used by many not just for hunting, but also a fantastic survival and camping knife. The handle of this knife is made out of Grivory, which provides a solid grip. This knife weighs in at a hefty 1.5 pounds, much heavier than the average hunting knife. This knife is one of the more versatile hunting knives on the market and definitely gets my stamp of approval.

Advantages of the Ka-Bar Becker BK2 Campanion Fixed Blade:

• Extremely thick blade, making it durable and long lasting.
• Very sharp, perfect for skinning.
• The Grivory handle provides a solid grip.
• This knife is great for hunting, camping, survival, and almost any other task that you can think of.

Disadvantages of the Ka-Bar Becker BK2 Campanion Fixed Blade:

• This is a much heavier knife at a solid 1.5 pounds.

 

The Fallkniven H1z:

Fallkniven is a fantastic brand all around and the H1z does not break that mold. This is hefty knife at 8.1 inches long. The blade of this knife is 4 inches long, made out of laminated VG-10 steel. This steel is practically made for hunting and can cut through any meat that you require of it. The knife is truly designed just for hunting and excels at skinning and dressing. A unique aspect of this knife is that the blade is made from two different steels: the inner steel is a sturdier steel that is coated in a softer steel. This sounds like a strange thing to do, but it balances the blade’s hardness and its flexibility. The handle is built out of Thermorun that is textured to provide stellar grip even when things get wet or messy. The “z” in the name stands for the Zytel sheath that is included with your purchase of this knife.

Advantages of the Fallkniven H1z:

• This is a hefty knife.
• Designed strictly for a hunting knife, excelling at skinning and dressing your game.
• The blade is made out of two different types of steel—creating the perfect balance between hardness and flexibility.
• The textured handle provides fantastic grip.

Disadvantages of the Fallkniven H1z:

• This knife does not have finger guards, which can be dangerous at times.
• Really does not do well at anything other than hunting purposes

 

The Havalon Piranta Edge Folding Knife:

This knife sports a flat ground clip point blade that measure as 2.75 inches. The blade is made out of surgical stainless steel and this knife comes with 12 replaceable blades. This is so that if you are out in the field and trying to work quickly, you won’t have to waste time sharpening your blade, you can just switch it out with another super sharp blade. This knife is made by a company that is actually known for making surgical instruments, so you can trust the sharpness of the blade and the ability to cut. The blade is designed for skinning and will give you clean cuts, no jagged edges, ensuring you with higher quality meat. However, this knife is really only made for skinning and doesn’t do well breaking through bones, if you twist it, or if you torque it. The handle of this knife is made out of ABS plastic in either hunter-orange or a camo design. The handle is extremely grippy, making sure you have a steady hand to make the best cuts possible. The knife is crazy light, weighing in at only 2 ounces overall. This is a great knife to have with you during all your hunting escapades and it won’t weigh you down.

Advantages of the Havalon Piranta Edge Folding Knife:

• This knife comes with 12 replaceable blades, guaranteeing you with an always sharp knife.
• These replacement blades are extremely sharp blades.
• Excels at cutting, giving you extremely clean cuts.
• The handle is super grippy, guaranteeing you with a solid grip at all times.
• This knife is extremely light, weighing only 2 ounces.

Disadvantages of the Havalon Piranta Edge Folding Knife:

• This knife is only made for skinning.
• This knife will not hold up to breaking through bones, twisting, whittling, prying, or torqueing.

 

Conclusion:

There are an insane number of hunting knives on the market today and they all claim to be the best hunting knife for you. But no knife can be the best knife for everyone. Each knife excels at something and falls short in a category. To make the shopping and researching process easier for you, I compiled a list of the seven best hunting knives; I tried to find knives that excelled at the most amount of things and fell short in the fewest things. Now that you have taken a look at this list, you will be able to go out and figure out which hunting knife will compliment you and your hunting task in the best possible way. Happy shopping and happier hunting.