Every sportsman needs a knife.

In reality, you need more than one.

We use knives for everything. Hunters use them for skinning and cleaning game, and for processing venison. For big tasks like those we use our big field knives. We also use knives for cutting rope and stripping insulation from electrical wires.

Of course, a wire stripper is more appropriate for that task, but only visionary, highly organized and efficient sportsmen keep wire strippers in their kits. Those are the people that also have ratchet and socket sets in their trucks, boats and ATVs. The elite of that bunch have them in 3/8- and 1/4-inch drive.

Most mortals use pocketknives for these and other household camp tasks. You can judge a person's experience using knives for menial tasks by watching. A savvy pocketknife wire stripper knows just how deep to cut into the insulation without hitting the wire. Hitting the wire will dull your blade. It demonstrates lack of acuity, and worse, it's disrespectful to the knife. The trick is to make a circular cut that stops just short of the wire. Wedge your fingernails into the crease and pull the insulation free.

A skillful knife user can do this in one deft movement. That takes experience, which betrays that such a user is accustomed to electrical malfunctions and impromptu repairs that are probably never formally corrected. They go through life one repair at a time.

The point is (see what I did there?) is that you need a knife for all kinds of things. You also need the right kind of knife. The discussion begins with the blade type.

The drop point is the most common blade used for hunting knives. As suggested by the name, a drop point knife has a spine that angles downward. This aligns the point with the blade's center axis, which allows the blade to penetrate more easily than a straight blade or a blade that angles upward.

Originating as a combat blade, the clip point is optimized for quick, deep insertion. It looks like a straight blade that has had a huge chunk clipped from the forward half of the spine. The "clip" curves sharply downward to form a severely depressed spine that sweeps upward at the point. Its point is weaker and more fragile than a drop point and is prone to break under stress.

Like a small scimitar, a trailing point knife has a back edge that curves upward. Because the edge is usually higher than the handle, a trailing point blade is excellent for skinning and filleting. For that reason, it is most commonly seen in filleting knives.

The multi-tool is one of the most versatile devices for outdoors life. Victorinox Swiss Army is the eponymous avatar of the genre. It contains a folding blade knife and other tools, depending on which model you get.

Leatherman is the modern standard, and like a Swiss Army Knife, which tools you get depends on the Leatherman you buy. All Leathermans have a sturdy pair of pliers, wire cutters and strippers. Some have scissors. Most have a screwdriver, bottle opener and saw. Most important, they all have a folding blade knife. So vital is the Leatherman Wingman and Leatherman Wave to my existence that I have one in every kit I own. That way I never misplace it. I never forget to take it, and I never have to search for it.

Gerber makes a great multi-tool, as does SOG. You won't go wrong with any of them.

Folding blade knives are probably the most commonly used knives for hunters and anglers. Even the large ones are compact and convenient. You can carry them in a pocket, on a clip or in a sheath. Schrade, Buck, Gerber and Case are the most prominent brands.

You can get them in drop point, clip point, trailing point and even tanto. They are available in a wide range of steels. If you care about that sort of thing, some steels hold an edge for a long time but are hard to sharpen. Others take an edge easily but dull easily. Sharpen your knife regularly, and it won't matter.

Serious knife people prefer fixed blade knives, which are the domain of custom knifemakers. Some have variable hardness from the spine to the edge, allowing them to flex under pressure. This is desirable for deboning large animals like elk.

Many custom bladesmiths specialize in certain steels. Bob Dozier of Kingston, for example, specializes in D2 stainless steel.

Others, like Ron Duncan, specialize in Damascus steel. Damascus is a versatile steel made by folding near molten layers into a single billet that can contain 80 or more layers. Muriatic acid erodes carbon from the layers and creates the signature patterning for which Damascus is famous. Damascus is a versatile steel for all hunting applications. When mated to a high-quality, attractive handle, a Damascus knife is an heirloom.

Many knives are made to be disposable. They are inexpensive, but they work well enough and long enough. If you lose or break it, it's easily replaced.

An heirloom knife is its owner's appendage. It will last several lifetimes. Every sportsman should have at least two knives, but one should be an heirloom if for no other reason than they joy of owning it.

Print Headline: Grade of the blade

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