IN PRAISE of Are Status Symbols, Specialized Stab, and Pry

TRUE LOVE Sparks fly as Dan Frazee grinds a custom chopper.

A WELL-HONED LOOK AT THE SPORTSMAN’S O HUNTERS, KNIVES are more or offered sure solutions to myriad challenges MOST IMPORTANT—AND CHERISHED—TOOL than just items in our pack. They as the implement they use to cut, scrape, slice, BY DAVID RHEA PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOHN KEATLEY IN PRAISE OF are status symbols, specialized stab, and pry. cutting instruments, cherished These days, there are more knife choices than T heirlooms, and campsite multi- early man could have imagined. But even in all of tools. Each knife has a unique its newfangled incarnations, the knife remains history, but together knives share a heritage as our most reliable tool. Whatever the need or humankind’s oldest tool. From sharpened bone circumstance, from whittling a toothpick to and broken stone to knapped flint and whetted rendering a 1,000-pound elk into meat for the metal, throughout history nothing has so con- table, the knife is the trusted companion of the sistently helped hunters perform their tasks hand and the great edged icon of the outdoors.

52 august 2012 outdoor life outdoor life august 2012 53 security withmanydifferent “A subtle,understatedguard because handfatigue during half an inch, is about right. If half aninch,isaboutright.If the pointistoofar fromthe to protect the hand without to protectthehandwithout CHOIL &GUARD adversely affecting maneu- can be the cause of serious can bethecauseofserious “I like anergonomichandle key placessoyou canhave Janich, THE EXPERTS: Edmund Davidson, Tim Wegner, provides enoughofastop field dressingorskinning makes theknife easierto THE ELEMENTSOFFUNCTION “Four inches,give ortake jimping—or grooves—in verability anddexterity.” “The spineshouldhave control during precise control duringprecise —Edmund Davidson injury. Anything that hand, it’s difficultto hold ontoisaplus.” Special Projects Coordinator, Spyderco; holding positions.” —Michael Janich —Michael Janich cutting actions.” HANDLE Founder, Blade-Tech Industries Four legendaryknife makers onwhatconstitutestheperfect huntingknife LENGTH CJ Buck, SPINE —CJ Buck custom knife maker; President, BuckKnives;

Michael Michael

4 0 2 3 1 Frazee. Approx. $250. slightly modified by Dan fixed-blade droppoint, PICTURED: —Michael Janich in placewithasnapfit.” and holdstheknife securely impervious totheelements made ofBoltaronorKydex is “A custom-moldedsheath SHEATH —Edmund Davidson it’s apractical design.” carcass. Inthatrespect, breaking down ananimal all-around toolasitisfor useful andreliableasan “A fixed-blade knife isas DESIGN —Tim Wegner an entireelkormoose.” will notkeep itsedgefor use for ahuntingknife that edge retention.Ihave no stainless andhasgreat “Crucible CPMS30V is STEEL —Tim Wegner blade shape.” all-around huntingknife opinion, itistheperfect by BobLoveless. Inmy skinner design,popularized what Icallamodifiedsemi- “Myfavorite bladestyleis BLADE STYLE

A Bill Siegle A BillSiegle

TOP RIGHT: LUKE NILSSON premium tier. are generally inthe made intheU.S. abroad. Knives knives hasbeensent mid- tolow-priced the productionof better, butmuchof have never been Domestic sales WHERE KNIVESAREMADE 1 as you cutalong Use aknife with ing backstraps, around theani- flat androckit upswept tipor back andforth a sharp,some- meat fromthe the backbone. or remove the hold theknife mal’s skeletal meat, usethe trailing point. When remov- feel your way When boning has aslightly what flexible care tip knife’s tipto FILLETING structure as & BONING and quarter you disjoint 6- to8-inch blade that STATES UNITED Game Game carcass.

history, butaccord has a long,rich This cutlerytown manufacturing here. lation has hurt wages and regu- ing tosources, high 2 2 3 1 ENGLAND SHEFFIELD, a huntingrifle—itboilsdown topersonaltasteandpreference. stronger thanthey have ever been,”addsBuck. in materials,processes, anddesignsthatmake today’s lockingfolders nicely,” says Davidson. “There have beenmanyadvances over theyears ers chooseafolding knife. “For one,afolder iscompactandpacksup mechanism ofafolder andfillitschanneledhandle,” Buckpointsout. field dressing ananimal,materialslike hair, fat,andbloodcancoatthe in handfor whatcanbeawkward game-processing tasks,”hesays. fail underpressure.” Buckalsoprefers afixedblade.“It’strustworthy weak spotinitsconstruction.“Thefixedbladeismuchlesslikely to FIXED BLADES VS. FOLDERS Which knife designis bestfor hunters? PROS &CONS The two agreed thatchoosingahuntingknife ismuchlike choosing However, BuckandDavidson bothunderstandwhy somehunt- The expediency ofcleaningtheknife isalsoafactor. “Whenyou’re Says Davidson, thevery nature ofafolding knife meansthere isa F some andhandy. folder isbothhand- The Boker Epicenter INTOFOLD THE

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Davidson, there are arguments for both. conversations withknife makers CJBuckandEdmund choosing theknife they’ll carryonahunt.Based IXED BLADE town. this historic cutlery have long thrived in Henckels, andPuma Zwilling, J.A. Makers like Boker, 3

SOLINGEN, GERMANY or folder? It’sadecisionallhuntersfacewhen 2 3 1

2 3 1 made here. and Fox knives are switchblade. Latama Italian-made stiletto tional homeofthe This isthetradi- 2 3 1 4 4 6 5 MANIAGO, ITALY

4 6 5 production plants, ourknives comefrom allover From old-world craftsmen toFar East mass-

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tractor here. facility orsubcon - have aproduction many companies ity ofcheaplabor, Due totheavailabil - 5 CHINA GUANGDONG,

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2. KERSHAW 1050 SOG WOODLINE SOG WOODLINE 1. produce knives here. SOG, andCRKT still Spyderco, AlMar, companies like However, U.S. duction toChina. forced mostpro- The strongyen has 4 6 5 FOLDING FIELD 6 FIXED BLADE BLADE LENGTH BLADE LENGTH 8Cr13MoV AUS-8A WEIGHT WEIGHT JAPAN SEKI, 3.75 in. 8.6 oz. 8.3 oz. 4.8 in. 4.8 in. STEEL STEEL PRICE PRICE $100 $60 4

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IN PRAISE OF KNIVES DROP CLIP PROFILE OF A KNIFE MAKER POINT POINT A MAN

SHAPE OF STEEL A drop point is the perfect shape for a knife O CONSTRUCT blade that needs to handle various butchering tasks like cutting, skinning, and carving. a tool with your T hands that will be AESTHETICS used for years is more Many hunters prefer the aesthetic value satisfying than anything else. of a more traditional design, which the This is the motivation that drives clip point offers. Dan Frazee as he crafts knives in the garage of his Tumwater, VERSATILITY Washington, home. IN THEIR IMAGE The drop point is typically thicker, especially at As a knife maker, Frazee is Blade templates are the tip, compared to a clip point. This makes it currently somewhere between used to trace designs a more versatile tool for game-care tasks, like onto the steel. beginner and breakthrough. The disjointing and prying. 36-year-old physical therapist PRECISION began making knives in 2000, but With a concave clip on a relatively short blade, has since taken his craft beyond CHOOSE THE RIGHT BLADE the user can extend the index finger along the the hobby phase. Making sense of the alphabet soup of steel designations back of the blade for a scalpel-style grip. The “I started out doing a few kit fingertip can be used as a depth stop. knives, and I was hooked,” he Though their compositions vary slightly, these popular says. But those with steel in their CARBON carbon steels share similar characteristics and applications. SAFETY hearts don’t stop there. “It kind With the drop point tip plunging down under the of snowballed,” he admits. type our pick the good the bad blade’s spine line, there is less of a chance of Graduating from hand files unintentionally puncturing a hide, a gut sack, and sandpaper, Frazee began 01; ontario Carbon steel is easy to forge Carbon steel is not corrosion- or anything else you don’t intend to cut. 5160; spec plus and differentially heat-treat resistant. Also, the harder it to make major investments in 1095 gen ii sp42 and sharpen, making it perfect gets, the more brittle his passion: A belt grinder, a for big outdoor utility knives. it becomes. SLICING The upswept tip of a clip blade generally metal lathe, two drill presses, offers more edge area, which allows a forced-air forge, and a milling Stainless steel is less susceptible to corrosion and wear. for long, graceful cuts. machine—among other tools of STAINLESS Groups are based on the similarity of their characteristics. the trade—now share space in BALANCE his 13-by-15-foot shop. type our pick the good the bad A drop point is a balanced design that is Frazee’s progress escalated comfortable in various grip configurations. with help from some modern aus-8; b0ker magnum Inexpensive; low carbide Low-end steels are A well-designed drop point blade can offer masters, such as custom knife 440c; counts make them easy softer and less several index points. 8cr13mov elk maker Todd Begg, Timascus hunter to sharpen. corrosion-resistant. co-creator Bill Cottrell, and ABS Mastersmith Ed Caffrey. 420hc; gerber Affordable, with more Some issues with “You can always learn some- 12c27 gator hardness than previous corrosion resistance and 400-series steels. edge retention. DROP CLIP thing from somebody,” Frazee says. “It’s just a matter of paying attention and getting honest Very hard without being More expensive than the aver- feedback. Todd Begg always said s30v; blade-tech brittle; hold an edge for a long age stainless. Due to hardness, pro-hunt- to me, ‘Do you want me to tell you vg-10 er magnum time. S30V is considered the they require more work and best choice for hunting knives. time to sharpen once dull. you did a good job, or do you want me to tell you what you can do Widely used and versatile, mantis ta- These are more expensive to be better?’ ” 154cm; these tough steels have good Frazee watched, listened, ats-34 2cm “the corrosion resistance and due to added alloys and a principal” hold an edge well. “premium” designation. and applied the lessons. Now he makes about 40 knives a year. 4 Shop time doesn’t come easy, spyderco1 Made with 1 percent hydrogen It’s expensive and h1 pacific instead of carbon, it will not has been known to though; he balances it with time salt 5 rust; sharpens easily. scratch easily. spent with his wife and two young 2 sons. But he knows that to be a

6 real knife maker, there’s no 3 substitute for the time it takes to develop the skills. QUARTERING If you understand the anat- “To become successful takes omy of an elk or moose, you can quarter it a lot longer than you’d think,” he with your knife by running the tip of your says. “You discover, firsthand,

Game blade along the joint lines as you separate why guys charge so much for

care tip the tissue to cut the quarters loose. a custom knife.”

56 august 2012 outdoor life 58 august 2012outdoor life The mid-20th-century knife designthathasinspiredlegionsoffollowers THE GRANDDADDY OF’EMALL Living on the Edge: Legends of the is quotedinLivingontheEdge:Legendsof hunter washismostinspired knife design,and blade drops below theplaneofblade’sspine. the “dropped hunter”becausethepointof history ofcutlery. BobLoveless calledhisdesign $165 TINE BROW CRKT CLASSIC 6 MODERNKNIVESINSPIREDBY THE LOVELESS Loveless wasknown tosay thatthedropped T

most revolutionary designsin the throughout theworld asoneofthe hunter isanAmericaniconknown HE R.W. LOVELESS $35 $35 MAGNUM BOKER

drop point droppoint $45 $45 HUNTER LONE WOLF BENCHMADE

$46 $46 FOLDER DROP POINT FREEMAN GERBER less popularhuntingknives. point hunteristhestandard designfor count- Now,imitations. ahalf-centurylater, thedrop inspired aninfiniteamountoftributesand 1911 pistolortheLesPaul electricguitar. Ithas timeless designbenchmarkasJohnBrowning’s almost aspittingimageofanAutopsyKnife.” Hunter wasobvious tomeinthe’50s.Itis Loveless Logo,by AlWilliams: This simple tool established the same type of This simpletoolestablishedthesametypeof

“The Loveless ‘droppedhunter’ timeless designbenchmarkas established thesametypeof John Browning’s 1911pistol.” $65 $65 SKINNER GEN-5 BUCK

“The Dropped $80 $80 HUNTER DISKIN KERSHAW

carcass without causing fatigue. enough pointto flowing strokes use fewer long, Use askinning small strokes. needs tohave a capingknife You want itto cape amouse hide fromthe be usedlike a balanced and flow withthe comfortable. dermists can knife, butfor care tip us amateurs, separate the with aBowie It’s better to knife thatis SKINNING hand asyou & CAPING than lotsof Most taxi- Game Game scalpel.

TOP: POINT SEVEN STUDIOS