Buyer's Guides

Hunting knives should be workhorses and these options are ready to shoulder the load as you take to the field.

Fixed-blade hunting knives are the workhorses of your hunting gear. They handle a lot of the grunt work associated with cutting, including field dressing game after the take-down to various cutting tasks while hunting or in camp. As a result, it is important to choose a hunter that not only has the features and the materials you want but one that fits your budget as well.

Hogue Knives Extrak

With its slender form, the Hogue Knives Extrak takes a minimalist approach to fixed hunters. Hogue President Jim Bruhns designed it to be lightweight and agile. Available in two sizes, the Extrak and its bigger brother, the Extrak XL, both tackle heavy field-dress work while offering comfortable carry minus the bulk of many fixed hunters.

The modified clip-point blade is 3.3 inches of high-performance CPM MagnaCut stainless steel in a stonewashed finish. The peel-ply orange G-10 scales are textured enough so the material is a bit grabby. The orange fits right in with the hunter theme. Despite the handle’s thin nature, slightly expanded front and rear sections help form a guard of sorts to avoid gripping difficulties. Overall length: 7.375 inches.

Thanks to the thin blade stock and full, flat primary grind, think of this knife as a scalpel. Scalpels have lean handles but the blades are thin enough to cut easily with very little applied force. Same thing with the Extrak. The blade bites into meat so easily that the slender handle doesn’t matter.

At first I was a bit apprehensive that the thin grip would affect the knife’s use. The more I cut with the Extrak, the more I saw that the thin blade is where the work takes place. It slices so cleanly and efficiently that you need not apply pressure on the handle to make the cut. After a while, the lean grip doesn’t matter because you are too busy admiring the knife for its extreme cutting power and efficiency. From sausages, steaks and veggies to cardboard and opening mail, the Extrak dispatches all with aplomb. It’s a great candidate for your next restaurant outing. It is a very low-profile design that won’t attract unwanted attention in public, even with its bright orange handle.

The Extrak also makes a great utility knife. However, shy away from rough use and any sort of cutting where you simultaneously twist the blade. MagnaCut is a tough steel but as thin as the knife is, you can damage the edge or break the tip if you use it too hard. It is a precise cutting tool. I rate the knife high on the list for an EDC fixed blade as well.

Due to the knife’s minimalist design, it might be possible to custom fabricate a Kydex neck sheath for it to wear under a shirt for more discreet carry. Don’t try it with the supplied slip cover as there isn’t enough tension to hold the blade securely for such neck carry. The molded ABS plastic sheath features an UltiClip fastener. The setup enables you to carry the knife clipped to the top of a pants pocket, much as you would a tactical folder. The knife rides securely in this manner, with the entire handle sticking out for easy deployment. The sheath is simple but works and is of pretty good quality. Country of origin: USA. MSRP: $199.95.

Spartan Blades Harsey Nessmuk

The Spartan Blades Harsey Nessmuk is the largest knife of the test group. The classic Nessmuk design with its distinctive bulbous tip has proven to be a very effective outdoor knife that excels at many tasks, from field dressing to camp utility chores. The skinner-esque blade is a highly effective slicer. Do an internet search for George Washington Sears and the Nessmuk blade style. The history of how the design came about is a rather interesting read and gives some insight as to why the blade is shaped as it is.

In the Spartan entry, the Nessmuk blade is paired with the handle design of BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-of-Fame® member Bill Harsey. The Creswell, Oregon, knifemaker is widely known for his tough fixed-blade designs for the Special Forces and his work with Cutlery Hall of Famers Col. Rex Applegate and Al Mar. The Nessmuk is yet another Harsey design for Spartan that includes the pair’s tactical and other outdoor collaborations. It is part of Spartan’s Silver Line, aka Professional Line, a mid-priced/made-in-the-USA (KA-BAR factory in upstate New York) series that is less expensive than the company’s flagship Gold Line.

The Nessmuk blade is 5⅛ inches of flat-ground 1095 CRO-VAN carbon steel with a Rockwell hardness of 56-58 HRC. The 1095 offers a great balance of edge retention and ease of sharpening without the need of a complicated sharpener. At .1875-inch at the thickest and with a corrosion-resistant/low-glare black powder coat, the blade is well-equipped for high-performance outdoor work.

The rugged, molded thermoplastic sheath has a fabric-fastener loop to attach to a wide range of belt sizes. A thumb-retention lock holds the knife in place and three slits vent water, making it ideal for wet environments.

The handle is Grivory, an impact and fluid-resistant material that can be molded with various contours and chamfers that aid in attaining a comfortable, secure grip. The durable/usable handle feels as if it were molded to your hand and has no hot spots. At 10.8 ounces and 10 inches overall, the Spartan Harsey Nessmuk is big yet lightweight enough to tackle most any hunting knife chore you throw its way. MSRP: $225.

Fallkniven F1L3GMM Next Generation

The Fallkniven F1L3GMM Next Generation fixed blade was designed as a pilot survival knife but is also a knockout crossover fixed hunter. The blade boasts a laser etching of the JAS 39 Gripen Next Generation Swedish fighter jet, but don’t let that fool you. The Fallkniven entry actually has a hunting knife pedigree.

As the company website notes, the work of BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-of-Fame® member Bob Loveless was the inspiration for the F1L3GMM. You can almost see it in the knife’s lines. The 3.9-inch drop-point blade has plenty of belly to facilitate slicing chores. The maroon Micarta® handle is very elegant and sports the right contours to accommodate your hand, and is very comfortable to hold with no worry of hot spots. The nickel-silver guard fits the tang seamlessly and is a great anchor point to prevent your hand from sliding forward. The handle fastens to the tang with a pair of Corby bolts, and a gold medallion with three crowns decorates the grip’s center. At 8.2 inches overall, the F1L3GMM is sized just right for a hunter. The sewn black leather belt sheath sports quality construction, and the “F1”-stamped flap closure with button snap conceals the entire knife.

The Fallkniven entry is a hard-use beast. The blade slices very cleanly and expediently. If you’ve never used a knife with a full convex edge, you are definitely in for a treat. Fallkniven is known for convex edges that are both sharp and quite durable, not to mention easier to maintain due to the geometry. The convex edge bites in deep and hard, and you can use it a tad rough as well without fear of the edge chipping out. It is also very well suited for general use around camp or the kitchen. The blade is fairly thick but, due to the convex edge, dives into whatever is being cut and propels the rest of the blade through. Just because it’s thick doesn’t mean it cannot slice effectively. This is a knife of heirloom quality that also has plenty of horsepower for getting real work done.

The handle is comfortable, rounded and contoured in the right places and devoid of hot spots during extended use. I have always been a big fan of Micarta® for both folder and fixed-blade handles. It’s pretty much the ultimate user material given its light weight, dimensional stability and imperviousness to most known liquids. Plus, it comes in a wide array of colors, and the maroon adds a nice splash of color without being overly flashy. You don’t see too many maroon-handled knives, so this one is a breath of fresh air.

Yes, it is on the pricey side for a production hunter but in return you get a very well-built cutter executed with the best materials. I don’t think you can find a better knife for the money. If you love European engineering and manufacturing, this is the hunter for you. Country of origin: Sweden. MSRP: $499.99.

Hunting Knives:

• Best Custom Hunting Knives: Is There A Consensus?
• Custom Forged Hunting Knives: Full Spectrum Of Options
• Hunting Knives: What Makes The Perfect Blade Geometry?
• Best Skinner Knives: A Guide to Top-Rated Hunting Blades