Best Hunting Knives
Gerber Slimsada
The Slimsada features a 3.47” D2 blade, a grippy olive linen micarta scale, a pocket clip, and easy one-hand thumbhole deployment thanks to its B.O.S.S. Tech ball-bearing system. Closed length is 4.55”, while the open length is 8.03”. This is a versatile, user-friendly pocket knife with a blade big enough for field-dressing deer-sized game.
Spyderco Enuff Black Leaf
Publisher Marcus Weiner used this knife in addition to the Native Chief and the Moran to breakdown several deer from field to freezer, in addition to processing two elk that his hunting buddies harvested. The Enuff is made for precision cutting, in a compact package, and is available in 3 models: clip point, leaf-shaped, and sheepfoot. Blades are made from VG-10 stainless steel; this model features a plain-edged, full-flat ground 2.75-inch blade. Fiberglass-reinforced nylon (FRN) scales that makeup the handle are shaped to fit the hand and are marked with Spyderco’s Bi-Directional Texturing pattern. The knife comes with an injection-molded polymer sheath.
Spyderco Native Chief
We enjoyed using this knife for a variety of tasks in 2022. From bleeding and gutting salmon to butchering deer, the Chief features a 4-inch blade with a full-flat-ground edge that we found works very well as a multi-functional blade. Spyderco hit the nail on the head when they took the long-proven design of the Native and stretched it. The handle is made from G-10 scales with a stainless-steel spacer and features a back-lock mechanism. Our tester has large hands and the handle fits really well in his hand. He’s been using this knife as an everyday carry and loves the slim profile and the ability to move the pocket clip to tip-up or tip-down on either side of your body.
Benchmade Meatcrafter 155000R-2
This is a beautiful knife. It has a fixed, 6”, plain-edge blade with an orange finish. The blade material is CPM-S45VN (60-62 HRC). The handle is carbon fiber, with orange accents and a large lanyard hole. The sheath is made of Boltaron and is black on one side, orange on the other. The orange on the knife and sheath makes it easy to find in low light. With a 6” blade, it’s a little long for field-dressing game, but it’s a great knife for boning and trimming game as well as cutting steaks.
Benchmade Raghorn 156000R
Looking for the perfect fixed-blade knife for field-dressing any game from deer to moose? The Raghorn is a great choice. The 156000R model features a drop-point, 4”, plain-edge blade of CPM-CruWear (63-65) steel finished in orange Cerakote. The handle is lightweight carbon fiber, the Boltaron sheath is black on one side, orange on the other. The orange on the blade and sheath makes the knife easy to spot; a plus both for safety and for finding it if you set it down. We field dressed a couple deer with this knife and found it to be very sharp (we didn’t need to sharpen it) and comfortable to use, with a good grip even when bloody. The knife weighs less than 4 ounces, and the sheath about an ounce, so the whole thing is quite light, which helps keep pack weight down.
Spyderco Itamae Bunka Bocho
Publisher Marcus Weiner used this knife for daily cutting chores and quickly found it to be his favorite knife in the butcher block. It was used for prepping vegetables, removing skin and dark meat from fish fillets, cutting deer into chunks for grinding, creating sashimi and poke from coho salmon, chopping razor clams for various recipes, and for turning roughly 800 apples into apple chips. He estimates 25 slices per apple, meaning the knife made 20,000 cuts over a month-long period. The 7.69-inch blade is made from an Aogami Super Blue core, clad between layers of SUS410 stainless steel and the octagonal handle is made from eye-catching burl G-10 scales. You should seriously consider adding some of Spyderco’s culinary knives to your kitchen.
Spyderco Aqua Salt FRN Black/Black Blade
Spyderco is one of the go-to brands for us when looking for reliable, quality knives. This knife is no exception. The Aqua Salt is a fixed-blade, nitrogen-alloy knife that will hold an edge and not rust. The blade is constructed with nitrogen in a process that results in a blade that physically cannot rust. The Spyderco website is an excellent educational resource for anyone looking to improve their chemistry- or blade knowledge.
