Field Knife

[danmoore2k]

Looking to spend around £70 on a knife to carry out stalking and mainly use in the field,
On roe. Have looked though the previous posts but not reley sure wat to get any ideals?

 

[danmoore2k]

Are the swingblades any good? Wat about gut hooks?

 

[african jack]

Have a look here http://www.bladesandbows.co.uk/gerber-metolius-exchange-a-blade-2931-p.asp

 

[badbob]

get a £4.99 bright day glo orange stainless bush knife from Bushwear.co.uk
....you wont loose it
....and a £7.99 bush saw

 

[salopsniper]

If for some reason you WANT to spend alot on a knife up it and go for a Falkniven (http://www.moonrakerknives.co.uk/fallknivenh.html) or
cold steel copy of a Falkniven http://www.moonrakerknives.co.uk/coldsteelh.html
maybe even a EKA (http://www.moonrakerknives.co.uk/ekanordic.html)

A cheap Mora will do as said by others if you want to keep costs down.

ATB

Matt

 

[Mark1495]

EKA swingblade, great knife, I have mine in bright orange, nice rubberised handle, my old man even bought himself one after using mine.

 

[mickp]

+1 for the EKA swingblade great knife done 2 does with it last week and it did everything needed of it plus pretty easy to keep sharpe.

 

[flytie]

Another for the EKA swingblade!

I have two of them, I carry a spare in my roe sack just in case. Having gralloched deer in the dark I would now never have anything but a bright handled knife, black ones are far easier to lose in the dark.

​Simon

 

[Mark1495]

They have a G3 version now which has a lanyard hole and comes in bright yellow, only sharpened mine once in the 3-4 years I've had it, such a great knife.

 

[Dr.T.]

EKA swingblades are great. But if you can do without the gut hook there are plenty of fixed blades that will do the job for much less cash.

 

[tusker]

Boker great steel and holds an edge.

Tusker

 

[Hunting Solutions]

Swingblade G3 is probably one of our fastest selling lines at the moment. I have the original and can't see it wearing out for some years yet!

 

[@theroedeerguy]

I used to have a Swingblade which was a great knife but a time consuming knife to clean properly, brilliantly designed to store blood,hair and gunk in little crevasses.


http://www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk/showthread.php/73287-Bahco-Knife?highlight=bahco

Fantasticly sharp, easy to clean and keep sharp and visible when you put it down.

Don't be put off by the price, gamble a tenner and try one out, you will not be dissapointed.

Regards

BP

 

[Olaf]

+1 for the EKA swingblade great knife done 2 does with it last week and it did everything needed of it plus pretty easy to keep sharpe.

The problem with the EkA Swingblade or the Outdoor Edge equivalent (sold as the Swingbalaze but £10 cheaper and arguably with better steel ) is that the blades are too wide to enable you to work around the anus of any deer much smaller than 60kg without damaging the haunches. I have one and its very good for all else other than this important part of the procedure. I use the flip and zip but carry a Mora carbon steel knife (£10) and an outdoor edge foldable and locking brisket saw and they do all of the initial opening work I need them too. The flip and zip gets used more for skinning the deer as the gut hook is great for cutting the skin along the inside of the legs without getting hair everywhere and the wide blade is great to assist the skinning too.
I just wish they made these knives with a narrow blade for use by hunters who hunt smaller deer like fallow or Roe etc. The EkA or Outdoor Edge swing blade knives seem to be made more with Moose hunters in mind.
Kind regards, Olaf

 

[User00035]

I agree with Olaf. I bought an EKA Swingblade after reading a gushing review in the shooting press but I went off it very quickly. Its very well put together and I like the handle shape and the soft grippy material but I don't like the blade shape, its all wrong for field dressing. The pivot is a pig to clean and I find the edge retention extremely poor. I only used the tripe blade once for unzipping and then forgot it was there. It is useful for skinning legs but I'd rather have a tripe knife as part of a larder set for that.

I use one of these:

Fixed Blade Knives: Boker Arbolito Relincho Madera --- Heinnie Haynes - Knives, Pocket Tools and Accessories

The quality of the steel and the edge retention is in an entirely different league to the EKA. The blade shape is longer, slimmer and perhaps more dagger-like than the typical hunting drop point but I've found it a more dexterous design, natural to use and easier to control on fiddly jobs. The quality of the shealth was a real bonus: its superb.
I understand why many people won't spend much money on a field knife. And there's nothing wrong with Moras. But its each to their own. A knife is a highly personal item. Nothing wrong with a cheapie if it does the job and you'd rather have more money for ammo. But there's nothing wrong with a quality tool you'll want to keep either. If you like quality knives, have one, look after it and don't regret it.

 

[pipe man]

If you do not want to get a Mora knife -check out some of the Buck knife range.I have a Buck woodsman and have used it on sika and fallow as well as fishing.
It has a 4 inch narrow blade and holds its edge quite well.BUT I still think that every hunter/fisherperson!/outdoors person should own a Mora knife even if its just a spare or as the Americans call a backup knife to put into your rucksack or smock.

 

[2130martin]

are the swingblades any good? Wat about gut hooks?

​nope and nope

 

[Taff]

Look on blade forums .com, a lot of quality handmade knives for £70, a lot cheaper than some of the so called hand made knives in the uk, I have imported quite a few with no problems, for a everyday stalking knife have a look at DP knives

 

[wraith]

i purchased a little buck knife has carbon fiber look on the handle cut a red deer up no problem razor sharp never had to sharpen yet but for 40 bucks excuse the pun better than knives i have paid hundreds for im going to purchase another just in case they stop manufacturing this model

 

[nun_hunter]

If you want cheap you can't really beat this http://m.askari-hunting.co.uk/__WebShop__/product/hunting/hunting-knives-tools/hunting-knives/knives-specials/fishing-knife-quebec/detail.jsf I've got one and it's just as good as my Mora but less than a quarter of the price. Only downside is you need to order a minimum of £30 to get delivery to the UK, just a good excuse to buy more stuff!