Picked up some new equipment on a shopping mission today. Got some awsome Scarpa GoreTex boots and an Under Armour hood and some good gloves. Scored a diamond blade sharpener for the camp kit. Little stuff. Every year or so you gotta fill in the gaps. It was fun to shop and feel all excited for this years hunts. Just need a few more camp supplies and we're set.

Any rex on a field knife? Midway has a few affordable ones with a gut hook. I've always used a more generic blade but I want a slick piece this time around. Nothing fancy.

Bought a new hatchet a while back and the edge hasn't been made into a razor yet. I guess thats the consumers responibility. I have a couple of sharpening tools but I'd like the first edge to be really nice. Should I take it somewhere or will a stone and a half hour do it?

If you are going to be chopping wood and stuff with your hatchet you don't want too fine of an edge on it or it will roll over. I have never used anything but a file on hatchets, axes, bushaxes, etc.

I also think you would be better off with a regular 3-4" drop point blade than with a gut hook. I haven't really kept up with knives in years but I assume Buck and Gerber still make decent knives. Get a good quality one and take care of it and you will have it forever.

I'm sure you can google up some sharpening directions, no bonafide woodsman would pay somebody to sharpen his blades. :p

I've had a few Bucks that have been good knives. I bought my brother a Kershaw and that has been a good knife as well.

If you get a chance go down to Harbor Freight and pick up their three piece damond sharpening set. I've been using one for years and never a problem. Price is almost a give away. These are really great for any kind of sharpening.

"Gearing up" is always a pleasure. Concerning the gut-hook knife, keep in mind that there are "fish" gut hooks, and there are "big game" gut hooks. You might get away with a fish gut hook on deer & antelope, but it will give you fits on an elk with much thicker hide. A more open gut hook is what you're after for big game. I haven't found them to be too much of an advantage over a regular (sharp) knife blade though. There are a few makers of switch-blade knives, with a gut-hook blade, a rounded tip skinning blade, and a pointy blade.

Nothing like a nice sharp hatchet when quartering animals and splitting down the backbone. Of course, you need two, one for the set, and one for the pounder. Your setter doesn't have to be very heavy duty, just sharp. Gerber makes a nice sharp serrated blade one w/composite handle that's fairly light, but not cheap at something around $35. Your pounder can be any $10 hatchet, but should be a bit heavier with a fairly wide hammering surface. As you can imagine, your pack can start to get heavy with two hatchets in it. Our crew usually hunts in groups of two or three and so we always make sure we are carrying at least one hatchet each, of each kind amoung us.

What are you gearing up to hunt? Reason I ask is there are general purpose ones and then there are the specific ones. A paddle shaped knife can be great for skinning deer, but not really the knife to use as a general purpose knife. If you go after Bear, make sure it sharpens easily as you will more likely than not be doing so several times while skinning it.

My favorite around the camp tool is a folding pull cut pruning saw corona makes one for about twenty bucks, it will sail through leg, pelvis and breast bones as well as small trees. The saw won't replace the hatchet but it does make a nice compliment. I keep my hatchet pretty sharp, you can really tell the difference when limbing out trees, and dispatching porcupines. A sharp hatchet will cleanly remove a porcupines scull cap, do this BEFORE you dog discovers the pocupine. I used a file on mine then a few strokes with a stone before work keeps it dangerous.

I've had a Gerber blade for a while and its fine. The hook doesn't sound needed. Chances are I'll primarilyt be skinning dear and elk although the bear hunt is growing on me. I have a good file. Does it matter what kind?

I have the Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker and that is pretty simple and works well.

Them gut hooks are no good. After one use they are to dull to do any good, you are better off with just a blade. I know the fun of gearing up. I am going to make a run this year myself in a month or so. I finally am breaking down and getting myself a respectable pack. I have been using the same one since I was 14, now I am 26. I need a new pair of light weight boots as well.

My Western knife and hatchet set worked pretty well. I gave to Ben when he started hunting. The knife kept a good edge and was easy to sharpen. The hatchet was a little light for trying to fell trees with but I mostly used it for spitting the brisket and quartering up critters. I looked to see if they still made the set but they don't anymore so you'd have to buy both a knife and hatchet. Go to www.knivesplus.com/WESTERN-KNIVES.HTML
The hatchet looks about the same shape as Ben's but with a coposite handle.

I've since purchased (well 7-8 years ago) a Schrade lock blade knife and a Browning model 900 folding saw w/ belt sheath. The saw makes short work of briskets and pelvises and works well for quartering. I don't use it to cut off legs with but I'm sure it would work. I usually cut legs of at the joint with my knife. Much faster for me that way. My knife sharpener is an EZ lap diamond hone that has it's own belt sheath. It screws apart then screws back together the other way to make it's own handle. I've had it for about ever. I've also got a Kershaw sharpener that works the same way. It does kitchen duty most of the time. Both work very well, putting an edge on real fast.

For a great hunting knife I'd recomend this

http://www.888knivesrus.com/product/KS1070

Everone I hunt with carries one and likes it..
for sharpening in the field I like

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0006471512485a&type=product&cmCat=search&returnString=QueryText=sharpening&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=sharpening&noImage=0&returnPage=search-results1.jsp

small, easy to use and light (plus I don't think you can wear out a dimond like a steal.)

This what I use, elk to deer (no bear yet, but with the way it holds an edge, and ease of sharpening, I'd have no trouble with this blade).. For bone cutting I cary the Gerber saw, comes with a bone blade and wood blade, light and fast cutting

Good luck

Nate

Them gut hooks are no good.


This is basically how I feel about them... About the only way to sharpen them is to use a dremel tool and grind away, not real good for longevity. A good sharp knife will beat it any day.

I carry a small grooved steel for infield sharpening, I can sharpen the hatchet with it in a pinch. I usually just replace things as they wear out, so gearing up is a year round affair for me... I use my hunting stuff from about middle march to late november, from fishing, backpacking, camping, varmint hunting and big game hunting...