need a good hunting knife

[TRIPP]

thinking about a old timer sharp finger that was my first dad bought me when i was a kid and i lost it i also like the case finn drop point i know i want a fixed blade what do you recommend i want it to be a knife i can give my son when he gets older thanks for the help

[TripleF]

That or a BUCK knife would meat the challenge!

[IMBand]

The Western L39 would be a good candidate. A little better looking handle imho and
still a great 'sharpfinger' style blade. You can find a good one with decent handle
and sheath for a fair price.

IM

[garddogg56]

these will due

[MyDogsHunt]

Had a Sharp Finger years ago, but I really didn't care for it.
My two favorites are an old Ruana, and an even older Estwing.
Well the Estwing looks older anyway. Got the Estwing in the late 60's and the Ruana in the mid 70's.
Both were used so I'm not really sure about the date of manufacture of either.


Buck Vanguard's pretty hard to beat, and still available at a pretty decent price.

Don't hunt big game any more, other than the occasional meat Deer here on the property, so I lean more towards the B&T pattern or a good folder these days.

Every body's different though.
Good Luck
Charlie

[Owd Wullie]

Used to hunt W TX muleys on a big ranch out near Van Horn, TX.

The old ranch manager was 100% pure W Texas. He'd lived and worked in that rough assed country all his life and the farthest from Van Horn he'd ever been was Ft Worth. He'd come down the cabin in the evenings and we'd pass the bottle and listen to his stories. He had some good ones.

His rifle was an old Savage 99 in .22 Savage Hi-Power. I'd bring him a couple of boxes of ammo every year as that round has been pretty much dead since the thirties and nobody out there would order ammo for him. He shot every thing he needed or wanted to with that rifle including mule deer.

His "hunting knife" was an old Remington trapper that the GEC 23 is patterned after. The blades were way down and it didn't have much snap. That old fart could gut a mule deer in no time. He also skinned 'em with it and worked 'em up. He had no problem splitting the pelvis as he knew where the cartilage was and he just cut through it rather than chop it.

Theo was born in 1910 and I guess he learned to make do with what he had. He died about 20 years ago. I quit hunting out there because the new ranch manager was a college kid that couldn't pour piss out of a boot with instructions written on the heel. It just wasn't the same.

I learned a lot from that old man and I don't carry a sheath knife deer hunting any more unless I think I might need to chop something other than a deer.

[Paladin]

I'm with Willie on this one. I hunted in about the same area that he did starting in the early 1950s. It is rugged country.
I have carried several different knives ranging from Ka-Bar to Randall. I finally settled in on a Gerber Magnum Folding Hunter in a belt sheath and an Eye Brand Sod Buster in my pocket.
The main reason I quit my fixed blade is that once we set up camp we walked everywhere we went. That means a rifle slung over the shoulder and a fixed blade was often in the way. The sheath-carried Gerber could be carried in a jacket pocket or worn on the belt and was more than adequate for the West Texas mule deer.

[wazu013]

The Buck 119 is a great all around hunting and camp knife. Throw a quality folding hunter on your belt and you will be all set.

[allmightyoz]

The Buck 119 is a great all around hunting and camp knife. Throw a quality folding hunter on your belt and you will be all set.

im with wazu on this one. I love my 119, its an EDC outside of work now (and it gets used). Comes razor sharp from the factory and is a good buy at about 45 with shipping (if you do some searching, u can get it 45 with shipping on amazon I believe). The only thing I dont like about it is the sheath. The sheath is great for holding the knife in it and not letting the knife slip out, but if you need to grab the knife in a second its a little rough because you have to unbutton the sheath and fiddle with it. But it would be an amazingly AWESOME knife to get when you are 12 or 13, the kind of stuff dreams are made of.

Its a large knife as well. If you like a large blade that is fine, but I would personally carry it as a field knife for camp work and a buck 102 for animal work. The 102 is quite smaller but still a great knife, the 119 is more along the lines of a rambo style bowie.

Great Eastern Cutlery makes some very fine hunting knives, but they are at very fine hunting knife prices. I would stay away from leather handled knives if you are actually going to use them. Go to an antique show or flea market and see what the handles on them become after 30 - 50 years... Not something to be passed down if its actually used and abused or not taken care of. The GEC would be a much more memorable and NICER knife to hand down, probably more appreciated later on in life for the young 'un.

Here's a 119 around 40 - 50 bucks:

Here's a GEC fixed blade at 84 bucks from collectorknives.net:

[Ramrod]

To me the 119 is just WAY too big to be useful as a hunting knife, at least as far as working on an animal. Maybe if you needed to fall a small tree though. Also , the clip blade leaves something to be desired. Ill take a drop point any day.
If we are talking Bucks, the Vanguard is much closer to a useful size and shape to me. It is still a little wider blade than I need, but it works. Try some different blade shapes and sizes, and see whats comfortable for you.
Mark

[MyDogsHunt]

To me the 119 is just WAY too big to be useful as a hunting knife, at least as far as working on an animal. Maybe if you needed to fall a small tree though. Also , the clip blade leaves something to be desired. Ill take a drop point any day.
If we are talking Bucks, the Vanguard is much closer to a useful size and shape to me. It is still a little wider blade than I need, but it works. Try some different blade shapes and sizes, and see whats comfortable for you.
Mark

All very good "points".
In my mind a 4" blade is plenty for a "hunting" knife that the OP asked about.
The 102 mentioned above is a wonderful little knife, but more of a B&T knife IMO.
That's actually an old 102 pictured with the Vanguard in my first post for comparison.

For something to hand down, that 84.00 GEC would be an awfully good choice.
Don't care much for the simulated stamping on the sheath, but I do like the flap design which is similar to the older Buck fixed blade sheath's. That style is allot easier on wooden rifle stocks if you happen to be one of us dinosaurs that still carry one. A coat or two of Fiebings saddle tan leather dye would make that "stamping" all but disappear.
Charlie

[garddogg56]

I still carry a 119 hunting or simular but really all I need is a Schrade 34ot to gut out my buck.

[wazu013]

To me the 119 is just WAY too big to be useful as a hunting knife, at least as far as working on an animal. Maybe if you needed to fall a small tree though. Also , the clip blade leaves something to be desired. Ill take a drop point any day.
If we are talking Bucks, the Vanguard is much closer to a useful size and shape to me. It is still a little wider blade than I need, but it works. Try some different blade shapes and sizes, and see whats comfortable for you.
Mark

I know the 119 is a little to big and stiff for small game but I love it for whitetail and other big game not to mention what it can do with kindling wood and cutting up a rack of venison ribs. It's a cross between the BK&t-5 and and the Western L39 that IMBand pictured above. That's why I threw in the 110. It's great for anything the 119 has trouble with. I will say though that I am old school. When I started everybody and his brother carried Buck's in the field. I really haven't given the later models a try. The 119 and 110 are versatile all around camp and field. If I had the money I would have about eight different knives with me and roll them out like a Master Chef. I worked around a butcher shop for 22 years and loved the Dexter Russell knives we had. They cost about $12 apiece. Guarddogg56 has the answer look at his reply above. I'll bet he takes them all to a hunting camp and why not.
So Tripp, I guess the answer is you have to get the knife that's right for you because all the knives mentioned above will work great just don't be afraid to spend a little more if you see what you like. Your boy will love it for sure, nothing beats the first knife that Dad gives you
wazu013

[garddogg56]

Right on Wazu,thats why I buy em if ya gutem use-em, get yer monies worth

[allmightyoz]

those GEC fixed blades are pretty awesome looking knives. I'm gonna get myself one for Christmas probably in Elk