How do you define yourself as a hunter? A profession, amateur, or just a person who likes hunting knife quite a bit?
You can be of literally any type, but one thing you should must agree on- A hunter is nothing without the right set of guns or kits for hunting. And talking about hunting kits, one of the kit that hunters had been using for centuries is- the knife.
And that’s what this article is all about. If you’re interested yet, there even more for you.
Hunting Knife- Some Basics
If you want to do wonders with a hunting knife, you should acknowledge a very bit of it. What I mean is the types, the stricture, the metals, the sharpening kits, the cases and most importantly, the using tactics.
Here we start with some preliminary basic on the hunting knife
Types of Hunting Knives
In terms of hunting games, hunters divide knives into three major categories- Small game knives, medium game knives and large game knives. Worry not, we’ve got to cover in this section.
1. Small Game Knives
In hunting, there are small and amateur level games to start it within teenage. Games like foxes. Rabbits, hares, and birds are in this subcategory. And as it sounds like, they don’t’ require too much large knives.
Remember, if you’re a beginner in the game, don’t do the mistake of buying a large knife for the purpose. A pretty small folder with a short blade is a good one for go.
2. Medium Game Knives
Animals like deer and similar sized ones are in the medium game of haunting. Pigs and kangaroos are also in this group. They, while being hunted, provide a little resistance between the knife and skin.
Therefore, sharp mid-range knife that has a cutting edge of six to eight sentiments is well enough to go. You can easily skin and field dress game for this size.
3. Large Game Knives
Now we’re at the pro level. Professions and super professionals are into this game where animals like scrub bulls, buffalos etc are targeted to be killed. As you know, this job asks for heavier and larger knives to get the job done.
The skin of these animals is thick and tough. To make the job even harder, they also have layers of mud on the skin. Initial cut through the skin can be done what disposable blade Stanley knife. It will save the blintz before the real job starts over.
10 Facts to Know Before You Be a Hunting Knife Ninja
Now, this is the most exciting part of today’s article. Here, we’ve listed 10 most important and also easy-to-learn steps of using a knife in the field as like as the professionals do. Go through each of them and I promise, your confidence level as a hunter won’t be there where it is now-
1. What Do We Do with Hunting Knives
In hunting, there are a number of jobs to do. But where do exactly hunting knives fit in? Well, the list of tasks that hunters do with a hunting knife is- skinning, guttering, quartering and finally, butchering.
2. Use A Backup Utility Knife for Secondary Tasks
The knife you use to skin the animal works best in the state of being razor sharp. This can be done by doing nothing except slicing hide and meat with the knife.
But as you know, hunters need knives for a number of reasons. So, it’s better if you keep an extra knife to use as a utility knife. This can be used in tasks like paracord, rope, sharpening stakes, preparing meals etc.
3. Don’t Use Your Hunting Knife in Daily Chores
It’s necessary that you don’t’ use the main hunting knife in any other household or outdoor chores. Such as tightening the bolt or anything similar. This can severely harm the sharp edge of the knife.
4. Don’t Use the Knife After the Dulling
When you’re working on the animal and done with skinning, you’ve just use the hunting knife. But as you’re approaching tasks after dulling, no need to use that knife anymore. Now, take a break and start using the utility knife for the tasks afterward.
5. Use A Cutting Paper to Check the Sharpness of the Knives
When you’re on the game, sometimes it’s usual to confusion about whether you need to sharpen the knife or not. To make it done, keep a piece of cutting paper with yourself. They are for testing the sharpness of the knife. If the blade does tearing rather than being cleanly sliced, then you will get the signal that it needs a sharpening. A better way to under start is, to shave a bit of your arm hair with it. If the knife can’t do it, it needs a sharpening job.
Well, we’re done with our six facts list. But, the last one regarding sharpening the knife, requires a more definitive guide. Therefore, here it is-
Sharpening the Knives- The Definitive Guide
To sharpen the knives, the key to success is the maintenance of a regular and uniform angle of the edge of the blade.
There are some old school hunters who can do this angle stuff pretty precisely without any mechanical or technical assistance. But I am definitely not one of them. If you’re also like me, here are the guide-
A number of tools and sharpeners there to make the job perfect. Here is one of them-
American Made Smiths Sharpener- they are quick and easily be carried in the field. A few drawbacks are these cutters. Such as they are not so long lasting and the cutting tools aren’t firmly fixed. But as they are cheap, I won’t mind buying one for seasonal hunting.
The Bottom Line
Being a hunter is a task of bravery. But being a profession on the job is even more challenging. So, if you’re confident to move forward, you have to work hard on the skillset. And no debate on that- knife skills is the core of them.
Hope this guide has ignited your spirit as a hunter and solved a few confusions as well. We wish a good luck with your life as a hunter.
