Finding The Right Hunting Knife

THE BLADE

Blades made with a 440 High Carbon Steel tends to hold a sharper edge longer than most other. Other options are a 420 High Carbon Steel, D2 tool steel, or ATS-34 steel with basically the same effect. the preferred length of your blade should be between 4″ and 5″. There are knives out there that have a sharp edge on one side and they have what they call a gutting hook on the other side, that is a sharp hook shape on the back side of the blade designed for actually opening the abdomen for gutting your kill. Serrated cutting edges are great for cutting cord or other tough surfaces, along with a beveled edge for skinning.

THE HANDLE

With a fixed style blade there are many different materials and handle designs. They include plastic, wood, rubber, polypropylene, and even metal handles. The lock back feature is good for its compact size, and they come with the same materials you can get with the fixed blades.

Once you find the knife you want, test it in your hand to make sure the weight and balance feels good, then look at the sheath. Is it made of a good quality material? Sheaths can be constructed of metal, plastics, leather, cloth, and so on. Make sure all sheaths are double stitched.
If you use a professional sharpening stone, make sure it has two sides. A good quality professional sharpening stone has both a rough side and a smooth side. Use the rough side first, then the smooth side. Preserved your knife by wiping it down with vegetable oil after you have finished sharpening it (even stainless steel will rust, it just takes longer).

If you invest in a good quality knife and maintain it, you wont have to purchase another knife again. Happy Hunting.

The Balisong Knife or Known as (Butterfly Knife)

The balisong knife other wise known as the batangas knife, fan knives click clack, and most known it the U.S. as a butterfly knife. Is a knife that? would be considered a pocket knife it has two handles that are both on a? hinge and the knife itself folds in to the handle and in the hands of someone that knows how to use it and be flipped open every quickly with just one hand. For the most part these knives are pocket knives size but are also make in sword size and can be over three feet when fully opened. These bigger blades are not surprisingly called baliswords.

All those now on is really sure where the name balisong comes form that are a few thoughts as to what it is referring to. In the Tagalog language? balisong or Baling sungay means broken horn, and because the first knives where made of animal horns many think that is where the name comes from. Others think that they are called balisong for the reason the they are thought to first be invented in a town called balisong. These pocket knives origins are from the Philippines and? though discouraged now for hundreds of years where once used to fight in duels.

These pocket knives where not known to western civilizations until the Spanish came and governed the Philippines and then made these knives? popular. Though evidence suggests that Balisong knives have been apart of the Filipino fighting arts since 800AD. Balisongs where brought back to the states after WWII when troops that where fighting in the pacific came home and brought these handy pocket knives back with them.

A balisong is mainly made up of ten parts. The edge, swedge, choil, kicker, pivot pins, tang, tang pin, bite handle, safe handle, and latch.? The edge is the sharp blade of the knife. The swedge is the back side of the blade that is made to look sharp but is not. The choil is a curve above the kicker to help you to sharpen the blade. The kicker is what stops the blade for hitting the inside of the knife when closing to help keep the blade sharp. The pivot pins are the pins that the knife pivots on to open and close. The tang is where the blade come in to the handle. The bite handle is the part that closes on the sharp side of the blade. The safe handle is the part that closes on the back side of the blade, the part that is not sharp. The latch, this is what keeps the knife closed.

There are now a number of knives makers in the U.S that make balisongs or butterfly knives. One of them is?? Benchmade. Another well known knife make is Emerson. Emersons very first knives where balisongs that he made while studding Filipino martial arts in California. Because of the nature of these pocket knives many countries have them outlawed. But are very sought after by collectors.

Pocket Knife vs Folding Knife – What’s The Difference?

So you want to buy a knife but you are not sure if you want to buy a pocketknife or a folding knife.? What is the difference anyway ? don’t they both fold??? Well, yes ? that is true, but there are differences.

Pocket Knife – According to Wikipedia, “a pocketknife is a folding knife with a blade that fits inside the handle and that is small enough to fit in a pocket.”? Most modern pocketknives are for light duty ? and are a convenient tool for those many little tasks you might run into when other knives are not handy. Pocket knives have blades that are held in place – open or shut – by a spring mechanism, allowing the user to open and shut the blade easily.? Pocketknives come with single or multiple blades and some have additional tools and even forks and spoons ? many options depending on your purpose.? One drawback to this type of pocketknife ? since the blade does not lock open, it can be closed inadvertently.

A Folding Knife, on the other hand, is usually a little bigger, stronger, and has some sort of locking mechanism to hold the blade open. Because of this added strength, they can handle heavier duty tasks.? But since they are bigger, they are normally carried in sheaths, not in the pocket.? This locking mechanism makes the folding knives a little safer because the lock prevents the blade from accidentally being closed.? These knives come in many styles and usually have only one blade.?

Before you buy a knife, you should check local knife carry laws.? Most pocketknives are legal to carry (except in places like courthouses, schools, etc).? Whether a knife is “legal” to carry is usually determined by blade length ? from my limited research, knives with blades of less than 3 ? – 4 inches are usually legal ? but do check your local laws.

IN SUMMARY ? A small personal knife is a valuable tool that has many uses ? I actually carry two most of the time ? no matter what purpose you have for a knife I know there is a knife just for that purpose ? whether it is a pocket knife or folding knife ? the choice is virtually endless ? enjoy the shopping ? find the right knife for you ? buy it ? and take care of your knife so it will serve you for many years.