Removable blades or fixed blade?

00BUCK

Active Member
Feb 23, 2011
290
177
NorCal
I have used outdoor edge replaceable blade knives for years. I hate having to sharpen in the field and carry a sharpener, I also don't like folding knives for big game hunting. Way to hard to clean.

Recently I started learning about the different steels out their, specifically super steels and powder metallurgy. Some of these steels can do multiple animals without sharpening. So I now use a Esee fixed blade in S35VN.

Get a american fixed blade in a super steel. Its the best option I have found
 

go_deep

Veteran member
Nov 30, 2014
2,650
1,982
Wyoming
I'm not a knife guy. About 20 years ago I bought a 3.75" skinning knife at Cabelas. Couldn't tell you what I paid, couldn't tell you what the blade is made from, but I can skin and debone a whole elk without touching up the blade. I've skinned and deboned well north of 100 big game animals and it still works great.
 

JimP

Administrator
Mar 28, 2016
7,070
8,347
70
Gypsum, Co
The big secrete to having a blade keep its edge is knowing how to sharpen it properly. Most knifes if sharpened properly will hold a edge while you break down a elk.
 

BuzzH

Very Active Member
Apr 15, 2015
910
953
Havalon and never look back, by a landslide.

I have 2 sizes, the piranta and baracuta.

I can get by with either one but having both is better. I like the bigger blade for boning elk with the baracuta and the plus side I can resharpen those blades as good as new.

The piranta is better for caping, but I've quartered and boned an elk with one blade many times.

The way to keep a sharp knife is to stay off bone, the way to not break them is to not butcher animals like a gorilla, use some finesse.
 
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jbRiMP9

New Member
Jul 5, 2019
8
0
I'm a shieldon knives user here and prefer fixed blade but depends on what you're doing with it. As i know fixed on the hip for quicker access if the need ever arises but main purpose would be survival/skinner.
 
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irontmphrke

New Member
Mar 3, 2022
4
0
Hello. What do you use for elk like shieldon knife? Fixed blade or replaceable blade? I've used both. But last year I used the Outdoor edge Razorlite but I felt like the blades went dull pretty quick. I like the havalon but those blades seem really flimsy.
 
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00BUCK

Active Member
Feb 23, 2011
290
177
NorCal
I have used many knives over the years and really liked the changeable blade knives but have found better options since changing blades when your hands are cold in the back country is not ideal. The safest and best option in my opinion is a american made fixed blade. Not just any fixed blade you need one with great steel. Needs to be powder metallurgy. These steels will keep an edge longer then you can imagine if you have only used cheap knifes. No need to pack a sharpener. One of the most common of these steels for fixed blades is S35VN. Even buck knives offers premium versions with powder metallurgy recently.

My favorite brands:
ESEE
Bradford knives
Tops
 
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Bruce Wilson

New Member
Aug 4, 2022
1
1
Fixed blade knives are the tried and true. This type of knife has been skinning and quartering up game since before you or I were in existence. There is something nice about a good fixed blade knife in your hand. Between the grip, how the knife feels overall and the craftsmanship behind many of these, it's hard to argue against them. In fact, I recently switched to a fixed blade knife this year and love it. I have loved not only using it, but I also really like the look of it with its slick wood handle and killer looking blade in a beautiful leather sheath. It is a knife of beauty
 
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Prerylyon

Veteran member
Apr 25, 2016
1,334
511
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Cedar Rapids, IA
Long-haul thread here; all good; non-removable, larger folders for me; I use this for everything, though have yet to tear down an elk I shot; have helped others though:IMG_20220807_085358.jpg
 

Shane13

Active Member
Aug 8, 2012
315
221
Hawley, Texas
I like a lot of different knives. I have several fixed blade knives made by knifebuilder friends of mine. Jason Fry is one. He was on the Forged in Fire TV show a couple years ago. I have a Buck 110 that is a great hunting knife. I have a similar locking folder that's from Cabela's (before BPS ruined them). I forget what the special steel/treatment on it is, but it was the top of the line they had at one time. Great knife as well. I had an old G96 that was the same style of knife for years and years. I ended up leaving it on the ground in the bottom of a canyon after gutting a mule deer a few years back. I had it since my dad gave it to me when I was a kid. I went back down there and found it. Then the next year I left it on the ground after gutting an axis deer. Couldn't find it that time. Getting old, I guess. Dadgummit.

I tried my dad's Havalon several years ago, and it SUCKED. Blades went dull in 5 minutes. I couldn't understand why anyone liked those knives. But then I found out that he had a pile of blades that his veterinarian buddy had given him, and that's what I had used. They were cheap Chinese crap blades (the reason the vet gave them away). I ended up buying a Havalon, and I found the 70A blades that are thicker/more durable. They're awesome. Great knife and blade. I also have a couple of the Shockey versions of the Havalon that has a folding "regular" knife blade as well as the interchangeable scalpel blade. Heavy blade is good for splitting the sternum and stuff that requires more force. Scalpel is great for skinning.

I have a couple Outdoor Edge knives as well. They're really nice. Heavier blades than Havalon, so durable. They collect bits of meat in the channel that holds the blade though, so a little more of a pain to clean.

Then I have an old Schrade that has a Bowie-ish blade with a rubber handle. It's a great knife for butchering. Not great for carrying in a backpack, but nice in camp.
 

ScottR

Eastmans' Staff / Moderator
Staff member
Feb 3, 2014
7,679
2,570
www.eastmans.com
I honestly still use both styles, just depends on what I feel like taking with at the moment when I am packing.