All About Pocket Knives

Hello everyone, just looking at thoughts and opinions on my first deer processing knife. (I'm 50 and just bought my first rifle, lol late to the party.) After looking at my co workers skinning rigs I noticed they dont use "hunting knives" as marketed by knife makes. They all seem to have some version of a filet knife with very thin flexible blades. They use a saw where needed (manual and a sawzall). A few even use a Henckles boning knife found in the kitchen and have homemade sheaths. Again I found it odd other than the occasional gut hook nobody used what I considered a hunting knife. If I choose the kitchen boning/filet knife route is there anyone here who can make a leather sheath for a knife? I would pay shipping both ways plus whatever cost upfront. Thanks again for any input. BTW the first rifle is a winchester model 70 in .243 with walnut stock.

I'm of no help with the sheath but in my opinion you've made a good start with that cartridge & the rifle. I like traditional firearms to go with traditional cutlery.

There are several custom sheath makers on the Web. They may ask you to send in the knife for a perfect fit.

I have found the best profile for field dressing is a drop point as designed by Bob Loveless. This has been much copied by many knife makers & manufacturers. Bark River Knives have similar patterns. A 4" to 4.5" blade is all the length you need, and this knife must be reserved 'for flesh only'. Use another knife for 'general camp cutting chores'. A small finger guard is a good feature especially for your first few deer. Blood and fat can make the handle slippery and cutting yourself while field dressing will delay your progress.
There are a few different ways to field dress. There is no need to cut through cartilage and risk dulling the thin edge by striking bone. Nor is a saw needed.
Amputating all 4 lower limb sections is what will dull the blade as you are cutting through hair. I use my general duty knife for these cuts.
There is no need for a "skinning knife" which is a profile with a good belly & curve towards the tip end. Most of the hide can be pulled off using your knife only to cut through the connective tissue in places where it does not let go.
I have field dressed over 50 deer and a few elk and 2 moose and used a variety of knives including $500 custom made by makers famous for their thin grinds and sharp edges. The slickest fastest easiest field dressing i ever did was with a $18 Rough Rider jumbo trapper. The blade could still shave arm hair after completing the field dressing.
kj

My choice for a deer processing knife is a folding hunter, it can double as several different specialty knives. I skinned a deer with a Rough Rider trapper just to see what that knife would do, so size doesn't really matter. I don't think a feller should limit his cutlery to just one deer processing knife and too I suppose it depends on how far into the processing you will go. You mentioned a sawzall, I've been using one for years to cut lower leg bones and the pelvis when I separate the hams. A comfortable filet knife is a must if you want to remove silver skin, my old folding hunter usually serves as a boning knife. Our finished venison has no bones so I have no need for a real meat saw, every thing is done with a knife before packaging. I know quite a few guys that use a belt knife as their deer hunting knife and they work very well. In my opinion it is easy to have too much of a knife, that is a knife that is too large. All that said, you need to be comfortable and safe as you work on a deer. I'm in a position to not have to field dress as we are hunting close to home. We hunt on our place or on our lease that is about 3 miles away. That allows me to work in a more controlled, cleaner environment, complete with water hose, when skinning and then gutting. Weather permitting we can hang a carcass for a few days in the old oak tree covered with a fly bag. Some times the carcass needs to be broken down and put in a cooler due to extra warm conditions. I don't personally have the facility to hang a full carcass so breaking one down is a necessity. Actually I prefer to age venison in an ice chest, drain open, keeping it covered with ice than one that is hung and aged dry in a walk in cooler. Ageing is important, some folks will disagree but if good beef needs to age so does the delicacy known as venison.
Probably more than 20 years go, I backed down from a 30/06 to a .243 and have been well pleased with the results. The older I get the more I appreciate the lighter recoil.
My preferences and opinions about knives and rifles are just like noses, everybody has one and they are all a bit different but do the same job.
Just for the record, here are the knives I usually use when it's time to process Bambi. The old Queen #39 folding hunter, the Russell filet knife, an Old Timer Muskrat and a Milwaukee sawzall blade: Treefarmer

I personally like 2 knives... I go with something like KJ said...for field dressing and a lot of further breakdown. I do like a slimmer, filet / deboning knife...for when I'm breaking it down to the separate muscle groups and deboning. I generally like a fixed blade, for easier cleanup...but it's not that big of a deal, to clean up a folder. If I didn't used my fixed blades, for this activity...they wouldn't get too much use.

My post above is about field dressing, and re-reading the opening post i see it is asking about "deer processing". Butchering, the cutting up of carcass into roasts, steaks, chops, etc. needs a longer blade like in a "boning knife".
Are you inquiring about field dressing ? or the entire process from field to table ?
kj

Mark,
Not to interrupt the responses to the OP but I want to say a couple more things:
KJ, that's a fine buck! Florida deer ain't nothin' like that.
Also a point I made about preferences being like noses, we already have a comment about a fixed blade and although not mentioned we hang deer head up, just the opposite of KJ's picture of that fine Canadian buck. There appears to be more than one way to skin and process a deer.
Treefarmer

Thank you all for the points in the right direction. This should be a good learning experience luck willing. It appears there are a few thousand ways to process a deer and no absolutes as there will be a lot of variables.For nostalgia's sake I'd like to try an old school 50's and 60's era stacked leather handle Western or the like with a filet/boning knife and probably an old Case stockman. (I eyeballed the sharp finger but chose the stacked leather in the end)

markpreston wrote:Thank you all for the points in the right direction. This should be a good learning experience luck willing. It appears there are a few thousand ways to process a deer and no absolutes as there will be a lot of variables.For nostalgia's sake I'd like to try an old school 50's and 60's era stacked leather handle Western or the like with a filet/boning knife and probably an old Case stockman. (I eyeballed the sharp finger but chose the stacked leather in the end)

For field dressing I have an old Western B&T knife with a wood handle that’s been sharpened down skinny over the years. It gets real sharp and unzips Bambi’s britches real quick. I like the folding hunter method that TF uses too.

Hunting Northern & Southern Michigan whitetails for 31 years till our camp broke up, ( 2008)
I agree with KJ on a 8-9 inch fixed blade knife and I prefer the double, full hilt guard for field dressing.
I had a double sheath with a 8 1/2" knife & a little 4 1/2" knife to do some inside work.
Cause I like to cut right thru the breast bone for more air to get inside, and a better cut on the wind pipe
A fillet type knife is great for boning the way the blade gives. Even used an electric one when
I got lazy and older..I reckon choices for a knife would also depend where you were hunting & how big the deer average in size.

Stag

...and my secret weapon...if you want to make things a lot easier...
Although it can be done, without...
A pruning shear, to crack the ribs open, during field dressing, allows quick and easy access for lungs, esophagus and trachea removal. It's messy and tricky with the ribs intact. Sort of qualifies as a knife... a mini-leveraged knife.

Doc, that's a fine idea! When I was a lot younger, I could usually rip through the sternum using both hands and my trusty old #39 Queen. I always try to salvage the heart and that will surely open one up for easy access in separating the heart and lungs. Talk like this could lead down another trail, shot placement, where we won't go this morning other than to say, "You shot him through the heart, you messed up a fine piece of meat!"
Hope we don't scare Mark (the opening post) with our different ways of putting venison on the table.
Treefarmer

Gut a deer with a Schrade 34ot or a Buck 303,then process with a Buck 121nice thin blade very flexible. I trim legs and heat off with a battery Sawzawlwith a new blade of course.

Here is the one I have always liked as my "one knife fits all" for deer processing.

It's called the "Field Dresser" by Wenger.
The blade that is pointing up to the right has a blunt part on the end that keeps it from digging into the meat. You can slide the blade under the hide and cut the hide without cutting the meat.

Here a knife that will do the dressing and comes with the sheath.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Schrade-USA-14 ... SwG-FdD4a8
The design of the blade allow to open the skin a animal without cutting into the meat.
All you need besides is a hand saw to cut down the center of the ribs.( I use a knife on younger animal )
So far this year I have dressed over 30 Sheep and some goats. (haven't done any beef this year ).
I cannot convince my son in-law that I am retired.
In this country you can only dress animals for your own use or dog food.

Grant

It occurs to me that the most common mistake new deer hunters tend to make when it comes to selecting a hunting knife is that they pick one that is way too big. I'd vastly prefer working up a deer with a four inch or shorter blade as opposed to something in the six inch or larger blade length. The extra length makes the knife cumbersome and difficult to control. Most of the deer I've taken were field dressed and later skinned using a Buck 110, Schrade LB7, or a Case Sharks Tooth. Those knives all have a blade length of about 3 1/2 inches and have been plenty big enough to do the job. I have also used a fixed blade of similar size on occasion but prefer the folding lockback because it can be carried in a sheath on my belt where it's readily available but not nearly as prone to snagging on something when I sit down.

Here's a guide to hunting knives from a salesman's point of view.

https://knife-depot.com/pages/the-compl ... 689028d451

Some brief history about the origins of the Bowie knife too. I'm on their email list but have no affiliation with Knife Depot or anyone who works there, FYI. Hope you find something you're looking for.