Tag Archives: pocket knife

Knives For Hunting Also Have Many Other Uses

If you are gathering together the things you will need for an extended journey into the great out of doors, then any experienced outdoorsman will tell you that proper knives for hunting are essential. This is because having a quality knife near at hand will be very useful during your journey and not just for the obvious uses of cleaning and skinning any of the game you successfully bag. A good knife will also be very handy if you encounter a wild animal that might attack or for trimming branches in order to set up camp.

As with any other type of instrument for cutting, hunting and fishing knives must be well cared for and maintained in order to extend their life and to make them as useful as possible. When one is out on a hunting, fishing or camping expedition, it is important to be sure that the fixed blade hunting knives or folding hunting knives that you take along are ready at a moments notice to do their job. This means they should be clean and recently sharpened. In the instance of folding or pocket knives, they should be oiled so that the blade can be accessed easily and quickly.

For those who use their knives for hunting on a daily basis for other purposes, it is a good idea to clean the knife daily or after every use. This helps to keep not only the blade in the best condition possible, but the entire knife as well. If the hunting knife is properly cleaned, then you can see if there are any nicks or damages to the blade.

If you do see that the blade has been nicked, it is important to hone out that area as quickly as possible, and most certainly before using the blade again. This will keep the blade from becoming even more damaged and will also assure that you always have the sharpest cutting edge on your knife at all times. A dull blade can be dangerous to the user, as more pressure is required and in such circumstances the blade is more likely to slip and cause an injury to the user.

Hunt and fish knives typically end up being used to skin, gut and clean animals and fish that has been killed or caught, and as a result they can become very dirty, very quickly. Out in the wild it is not always possible to thoroughly clean a knife that has just been used, but at the very least the blade and handle should be wiped down to remove as much blood and tissue as possible.

Upon returning to camp, it is best to completely wash the knife with soap and water to rid it of any residue and dirt left on the blade and handle. There are also a number of cleaning solutions on the market which can be very useful in keeping the knives for hunting in good condition and which can easily be taken along on your next hunting trip. Visit www.lightsandknives.com/hunting_knife_sharpening.htm for tips on how to maintain your knives in good condition.

Want to find out more about knives, then visit Tim Frazier’s site on how to choose the best folding knives for your needs.

Also see what you should look for in a hunting knife.

Pocket knife introduction

When I was growing up I was rarely without my pocket knife. I carried it everywhere, even to school, and never thought twice about it because it was such a basic tool to have available. Of course, today, I would guess that schools take a dim view to kids carrying pocket knives, and do not even think of carrying one through the airport security check. It is unfortunate that such a useful tool is getting left out of people’s lives more often these days.

Because of this perhaps, I find fewer people with experience in using and selecting good pocket knives. The choices are overwhelming: there are so many kinds of blades and gizmos you can get; so many gimmicky kinds of things; and so many down-right impractical bits of advice. As I read around the web in preparation for writing this article I saw some bits of “wisdom” that really made me wonder. Some people suggested you might want your pocket knife to cut wire, or hack up tree limbs that fell in your back yard(!), neither of which I would recommend to say the least.

There are many uses for a good knife and thinking about how you are likely to use it will be a good indication of what to look for. Most everyday uses fall into the light-duty category, cutting tape on boxes, opening those ridiculously hard-to-open plastic product packages, cutting string, etc. Everyone should have a good general-use pocket knife for these uses. Many women carry them in their handbags; men often carry them in a pants pocket.

For almost all these uses you will not need a blade longer than about 2 inches. A 4 inch pocket knife is about the largest you would want to carry in my experience. Please avoid the “Rambo” temptation to get a large, nasty looking knife simply for the macho factor. That might be cool when you are 12, but most of those knives end up too heavy to carry and too big to be really useful in everyday life.

I have several knives that I routinely carry depending up my mood. The one I carry most I have clipped to my keys. It fits easily into my pocket and has a very effective blade of just 1.5 inches. This knife, made by Kershaw, has two blades. The main blade folds out like a typical knife—the second folds out with the sharp edge toward the first, turning both blades into a handy scissors. This little knife has kept its edge very sharp through lots of use, and I highly recommend it for most basic needs.