A hunting knife is a

knife A knife (: knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least Stone Age, 2.5 million years ago, as e ...

used during

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

for preparing the game to be used as food: skinning the animal and cutting up the

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

. It is different from the hunting dagger which was traditionally used to kill wild game. Some hunting knives are adapted for other uses in the wild, such as a camp knife, which hunters may use as

machete A machete (; ) is a broad blade used either as an agricultural implement similar to an axe, or in combat like a long-bladed knife. The blade is typically long and usually under thick. In the Spanish language, the word is possibly a dimin ...

s or

hatchet A hatchet (from the Old French language, Old French , a diminutive form of ''hache'', 'axe' of Germanic origin) is a Tool, single-handed striking tool with a sharp blade on one side used to cut and split wood, and a hammerhead on the other side ...

s when those specific tools are not available. In this case, their function is similar to a survival knife.

Design

Hunting knives are traditionally designed for cutting rather than stabbing, and usually have a single sharpened edge. The blade is slightly curved on most models, and some hunting knives may have a blade that has both a curved portion for skinning, and a straight portion for cutting slices of

. Some blades incorporate a gut hook. Most hunting knives designed as "skinners" have a rounded point as to not damage the skin as it is being removed.

Types of knife

* Fixed-Blade Knife – Fixed-blade knives have the practical advantage of their simple design. If the game you hunt is large and the terrain more rugged, a fixed-blade knife is often a better option for its strength and dependability. * Folding Knife – Folding knives have the advantage of being easier to carry and to conceal. They are also considered safer. They can be kept in a pocket easily. * Out the Front Knife – OTF knives are usually used by military personnel. * Replaceable Blade Knives – Knives having interchangeable blades or ones with a handle that may carry a separate blade are known as replaceable blade knives.

Type of blade

* Clip Point – The clip point knife blade is thin with a well-defined point. The blade itself is relatively flat. This type of blade is used for dressing and skinning. * Drop Point – The blade of a drop point knife is thick and curved. It is used for dressing and skinning. * Skinning Blade – This type of blade is specially designed for skinning. The blade quickly and neatly separates skin from meat.

Examples

Hunting knives include the puukko, the Yakutian knife, and the Sharpfinger. Most American designs are based on a smaller version of the

Bowie knife A Bowie knife ( ) is a pattern of fixed-blade fighting knives created by Rezin Bowie in the early 19th century for his brother James Bowie, who had become famous for his use of a large knife at a duel known as the Sandbar Fight. Since its fir ...

. Knifemaker Bob Loveless popularized the

drop point Drop point is a style of knife blade that slopes on the spine of the blade from the handle of the knife to the tip of the blade. This allows the spine of the blade (where the blade is thicker, and thus stronger) to continue forward to the tip of ...

hunting knife and William Scagel popularized the Camp knife.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunting Knife Knives Hunting equipment Fur trade

Design

Types of knife

Type of blade

Examples

See also

References