I use an outdoor edge for past 2 years and really like however I also have a gerber fixed blade and a Case XX in my pack at all times too with a diamond and ceramic sharpener.

Gord

Just a surgical scalpel , blades are 1.25$ I use 1 per deer 2 for elk / moose

I really like the outdoor edge knives. I hope that everyone that uses these knives use care in how and where they dispose of used blades.

I had the Havalon to begin with, never tried it on a big game animal but love it for grouse. I too use a multi tool to switch the blades out.

Have the Outdoor Edge one now too and used it on a moose and was impressed. As Dick284 stated earlier, I am going to get a glove like one uses for filleting fish as I did donate some blood to the gods that day.

I also carry the "old" style and a stone as well just in case.

Got my S30V Buck Pro Hunter from States :sHa_shakeshout: diamond sharpener from Lee Valley and

Scalpel blades #22, #23 with red plastic handle.

Tried Outdoors Edge replacable blades... Blade holder is to thick, Fat gets in a gap and blade is not sharp anymore.

Havalon
 

Been using the Havalon for a couple years now with no issues. If you need to change the blade its pretty easy to do that on the hide of the animal. I usually carry one of these with another 'real' knife.

I have carried one for a couple of years, a small Havalon (not sure what one). Just got to use it over the last week. I do like how sharp they are and how small and light they are. They have a purpose. I also use a multitool to change blades. Found the blades lasted pretty long on a moose and a couple of deer. Over all I was impressed with it.

I also carry a fixed blade Cutco hunting knife. It does brisket work and joint work on legs as well as some of the skinning and initial gutting.

I have the havalon set that comes with skinning blade , gut hook blade, fillet blade and bone saw , can do anything from fish to moose. Extremely happy with it.

I have the Havalon Barracuda,I have had no complaints with it other than the cost of replacement blades and the last batch I bought don't seem as sharp as the originals.I like the fillet blades for fish also.

I'm using a Havalon once the animal is hanging in my shop. Love it.

Now this guy "gets it".

There is no substitute for high end steel. A hard steel will easily do 2-3 animals with no sharpening.
Those Havalon replacement blades can be sharpened easily, with a hand held style Lansky-quick edge - hand-held, sharpener....3-4 pulls and a razor sharp knife again.

I wouldn't call myself a knife snob but I've always like a good knife and have never been tempted by the replaceable blade knives. Of course it's a personal thing so everybody's view is going to differ but I don't care for them.

It's worth noting I worked in a slaughterhouse or two back in the 80's and 90's and am rather skilled with a blade. On top of that I've been filleting fish and dressing/skinning/butchering game for about 40 years.

I have quite a few hunting knives at the moment including a Cutco drop point, two Damascus blade knives (forget the mfg), a Buck and my personal favorite, a Schrade "Uncle Henry"

While not a super high quality knife I'm able to put a seriously good edge on the Uncle Henry. I used it for years and then started buying some of those other knives to try out and didn't use my Schrade for 3 or 4 years. None compare to the Schrade for edge retention once I've sharpened it so I went back to it this year (btw, I replaced the original formed handle for an antler that fits my hand perfectly whether edge up, or edge down in my hand)

This year I dressed all the animals we got. That's one cow elk, a calf moose and 3 mule's. I also helped skin the elk, the calf moose and two of the deer.
I didn't even have to touch the blade to the small diamond steel I carry in my kit once and it's still razor sharp.

Oh, the one mule deer (my buck) I happened to notice the time when I started and again when I finished. I had him dressed in 8 minutes.......and I wasn't hurrying or anything but I had put my Wyoming saw together and put the tag on before starting the main dressing job.

If you're interested, I posted a pic or two of that knife and the Japanese made Damascus blade on this thread:

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showt...=206080&page=2

Just an FYI comment on the Japanese Damascus....it was crazy sharp out of the box but halfway through dressing the first deer I used it on, I needed to touch the edge up so it's been sitting at home ever since......LOL

Where did you get them and do you consider them to be sufficiently tactile enough to use a knife handily? I guess you must considering that you use them but I had a brief look on the interweb and they look bulky. I'm probably not looking at the same gloves you have. I am interested though :) I'm nursing a trigger finger knife cut that I got 5 stitches in a couple months ago and it's not the same finger any more.

How did the Cutco work out for you? I have had two and won't be going in that direction again. Don't use it for prying/dismembering knee joints or deflecting the blade on anything. The blade will warp/bend or even chip I used the warranty to get a replacement after one chipped and the new one now looks like a serrated blade with all the bends in it after dismembering an animal.

My sister gave me a Havalon Titan for my birthday this year - It looks to have the best of both worlds.

Now I need to actually put it to use. :D

The problem is you're not getting it.

My custom with L6 will easily do 15-20 animals with a little leather stropping a time or two if I do the old gut and skin method.

The replaceable blade knives excel for back packing or wilderness hunting where the gutless method and boning completely are more common.

I don't think the surgical blade knives had replaced good old steel. It just better at certain things.

I bought the following Cutco hunting knife:

https://www.cutco.com/products/produ...11az2jeguixy9k

It worked OK and is quite sharp but I prefer the clip point (my Uncle Henry) over the drop point (the Cutco). What I disliked the most about it was the formed handle. It works ok when you're say, skinning, and you're edge down all the time. But when I'm field dressing an animal my blade is edge up most of the time so that formed grip actually makes it harder to hold onto. That's why I put the antler on my Uncle Henry, so it fits my hand perfectly either way (edge up or down)

If I were buying a Cutco hunting knife again, I would buy the straight edge, not the "Double-D" I would also go clip point, not drop. But, short of doing something horrible to my Uncle Henry, or losing it, I'll keep using it as it has a good handle and just works so well for me.

I used a gerber vital and did my buddies entire white tailed buck
-field dressed
-skinned
-butchered

I got the field dressing and skinning done with one blade, as for the butchering I used the vital to break down most of the meat into the primal cuts and then muscles. Only used my boning knife when needed or to cut steaks. Couldn't have been happier with it. I am for sure going to get another to put in my fishing kit and perhaps the model with the larger blade.

I forgot to mention I did manage to break one blade during the butchering process. Just watch out they seem to like to spring back towards your face...

Yeah, this sums up my luck with the Havalon. The blades are way too flimsy for me.

I use a Havalon, used it on 4 deer so far and haven't had any real issues. Last deer I did was the coldest, as previously mentioned getting the blade off once blood/fat was frozen to it was a little more challenging but overall not something that I would condemn the knife for. I also have yet to break a blade, maybe I have the magic touch lol

I took 90% of this deer apart with a havalon. I could have done it all. I also know what a good knife is and how to sharpen one. I had a razor sharp Ingram knife in my pack as well. If you are rammy and ham fisted you may have problems.

https://i.imgur.com/JI9WDbr.jpg

I have used a havalon piranta for a number of years now. It does take some time to get used to though. If you use it as a conventional knife, you will break blades, but once you learn that there is no need for prying, the knife works great. I have used it on over a hundred big game animals in the last 5 years and to be honest, I don't even carry another knife with me while hunting. It can do everything you need and weighs practically nothing. That being said, I agree that it shines on backcountry hunts where weight is an issue. The other day I found myself using it to clear shooting lanes for an evening on a new lake(not recommended). This year I used it on 2 deer, 3 elk, 4 bears, a mountain goat, and a moose so far. I'm used to it now, so probably will stick with it.

Didn't need to know about your sex life!:fighting0030:

No doubt they work and many people really like them. In a nice scenario like pictured (slightly cool weather, clean mule deer, nice grassy meadow) yeah you can play around getting your animal caped and butchered. Now if you flip the script where you have 20+ degree weather a bull elk or moose that has been wallowing and has some nice muddy sandy legs, 3/8" tough as nails neck hide an a km pack out.....time is of the essence I don't have time to take an extra 45 min getting an animal out of the bush because I had to play around with a little flimsy knife that doesn't stay sharp.
To me a small nice like a havalon serves absolutely no advantage over a quality fixed blade like your ingram or what I am use to using so tell me why did you use a havalon if you had something superior to use?
Do you use a 2 blade disposable razor to shave instead of a quality 4 blade when you have both?

stop adriatico
 

I've only tried Havalon and the Gerber Vital. The Gerber Vital is hands down my choice. Its simple button press blade release some far safer and easier to remove and swap the blades. I've hand my eyes on the Gerber Vital Big game as it has a larger handle and longer blades, however, I have not seen one for sale in Canada yet.

I went out to help a buddy gut a deer. He wasn't too sure on what to do and I'm always down to go help retrieve game!

I ended up using his knife, one of those Havalon knives with the replaceable blades. Wicked sharp and solid knife. I enjoyed using it but I am definitely not going to buy one. Too sharp for me, I'd probably end up losing a finger... or two. haha

I prefer a larger/longer/sturdy blade to work with, I find it easier to gut, skin and quarter an animal with larger blades.

Nope, no luck at all in that department. I did connect with a nice whitetail elsewhere though.

I'm pretty sure the Havalon blades are literally just a certain type of surgical scalpel blades.

Did my elk in early october solo with my Piranta. Did snap two blades, but was able to go gutless method and completely debone the whole thing.

I've added a small bone saw to the collection and have done 3 deer since then. The combo works great. Never touch a bone with the havlon, and it will be your best friend. Can easily do a whole animal with one blade.

I’m far too rammy in the field for the havalons, gave them a try though.
They are nice for skinning a hanging animal.
Buck 119 for my money on my belt.