Ask the Gear Guy
Choosing a hunting knife
Q. I’m going on a camping trip with my troop, but my hunting knife broke. I see a lot of different hunting knives advertised. How do I know which one to buy?
– Knifeless Neil, Summerville, S.C.
A. The best type of knife for camping trips — and most any other outdoor activity, for that matter — is a short, fixed-blade knife with a beefy handle.
Folding pocketknives can fold up on your hand while cutting. Not fixed blades. And remember: When it comes to blades, bigger isn’t always better. Avoid blades longer than four inches. A small, sharp blade can cut just as well as a long one, but it’s safer to handle and easier to maneuver in tight spots. With a good fixed blade you’ll be set for most anything the outdoors can throw at you — whittling, cutting, notching, butchering, filleting, even speading peanut butter.
Here are two of my favorite fixed-blade knives:
- Buck Diamondback Guide ($27; http://www.buckknives.com/)
This knife has a 3 1/8-inch-long drop-point blade with a texturized rubber handle. - SOG Field Pup ($60; http://www.sogknives.com/)
A four-inch stainless steel straight-edge blade with an easy-to-grip handle and nylon sheath.
Read 19 comments about “Choosing a hunting knife”
November 12th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
I like the tip.
November 10th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
If you using it for hunting you want fixed blade.I have a buck knife fixed blade and it works good.I had a folding one and it broke easy so if you want a good hunting knife
get a fixed blade.
November 9th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
folding knives are better
November 7th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
cool
October 27th, 2008 at 10:43 am
This “advice” from the gear guy is pretty bad. Although the knives he recommends are probably great blades, look in your Scout Handbook. “Boy Scouts of America does not encourage the use of sheath knives.” Maybe the gear guy hasn’t read up.
October 5th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
i was never allowed to take my fixed blade knife on scouting activities but i never use it even though it is so sharp i can shave with it. i think a small folding knife is the best.
October 4th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
i like fixed blades but stick with a folding knife with a blade less than 4 inches long in some states 4 inch blades arent allowed.
September 28th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
You know what, I used to be in boy scouts. The whole thing about fixed blades being frowned upon is one thing and one thing only, political. They think it looks bad for a bunch of 13 year olds running around with scary looking fixed blades. Fixed blade versus folding, they really have their own purpose but for most situations in camping a small fixed blade is the way to go. Much more multi purpose and stronger than folders.
3-5″ anything more than that is overkill for most situations, I always thought the USAF pilots knife was a decent knife for the money
September 17th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
You can go to Walmart, or Dicks or even Cabelas. Walmart will sell them for the most cheap and they are of good quility. Dicks will have more knives but they coast much more.
September 17th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
i think that the fixed blade is only really effective if you know how to use one the way it is intended, skinning animals and other extremes of nature survival. most boys entering boy scouts will be too inexperienced to handle a fixed blade. i say stick with a cheaper folding knife with a serrated edge at the base of the blade. if you really want to impress your scout buddies buy a nicer knife that is a wacky color. i have a blaze orange knife from Columbia River Knife and Tool (CRKT) and everyone wants to see it. for 30 bucks i got a serrated edge, double safety system, iron grip clip, and overall a sweet knife. oh yeah, to clean the grit out of the pivot all you have to do is loosen the bolt a little and swish it around in some water, dry it off, and put a thin layer of oil over the entire knife, tighten the bolt, and you have a brand new knife. i like Rem oil but don’t use it on a blade with a black finish because it eats the finish off. Hope it helps.