Hunting is a leisure activity for many people. Whether hunting is done for pleasure or survival, having a good hunting knife is a must. Hunting knives are basically used for hunting and butchering. However, they are also used to cut tree limbs and plants and as a safety weapon against wild animals while camping out in the field.

Hunting knives are available in variety of designs by various manufacturers. Hunting knife should be selected based on personal preferences of the hunter such as method of hunting, purpose of hunting and the size of the animal to be hunted. A perfect knife eases the entire process of hunting and makes it more enjoyable.

Hunting knives are basically of two types; fixed blade knives and folding blade knives. Fixed blade knives have an immobile blade that makes the knife much sturdier and secure. Since fixed blade knives do not involve any complex folding and locking features, they are very easy to handle.  Cleaning and maintaining of fixed blade knives are easy when compared to the folding knives. The static blade and handle does not allow clogging of any particles and cleaning of the knife can be done by a gentle wipe and a simple polish. The open position of fixed blade could lead to accidents and hence are dangerous to the user and the carrier. In order to avoid potential danger, fixed blade hunting knives are usually carried around in a custom sheath usually made of nylon. Hunter revolver knife is an advanced version of fixed blade knife. It contains more than one blade and by just depressing the locking lever, blades can be swapped to perform various tasks.

Folding knives are not as strong as fixed blade knives. They are very easy to carry around due to their small size and light weight. The locking mechanism of the folding knife prevents unwanted accidents. Folding knives can be either lock back folding blades or pocket knives. These knives are basically folding version of fixed blades. Folding knives work based on spin and lock mechanism. They are designed in such a way that user can easily and quickly open the knives using one hand. The thumb stud and finger flip opening is ideal while hunting alone in the wild. However, the moving parts of the folding blades can clog with organic and inorganic materials when used in hunting and makes the cleaning process very difficult. Folding knives are ideal for skinning and dressing a small game.

Blades of hunting knives have various designs. Clip point, drop point, gut hook, capping knives and skinning hunting knives are some of them. Drop point knives have curved body and are made of thick stainless steel. This allows skinning the large animals using entire edge of the knife with minimal damage to the meat and bone. Clip point knives have thin blade and more defined point when compared to drop point knives. These knives are highly suitable to hunters who use the knife for general purposes. Gut hook knives have a hook on the main surface of the knife for easy cutting of the abdomen. One drawback of gut hook is the requirement of frequent sharpening of the hook. Some of the manufacturers like Gerber have come up with an alternative for frequent sharpening. It involves replacing blades upon blunting and hence totally rules out the process of sharpening. Skinning hunting knives are designed to skin large animals with minimum effort. Skinning knives minimize the damage to the flesh. These knives can also be used to clean the big games. Capping knives have relatively smaller and finer blades and are mainly used to cap the game animals for mounting.

Blades of the hunting knives are usually made of high quality stainless steel that is built to last for a life time. Handles of these knives are made of wood, leather, stainless steel, bone and animal horn. The design of the handle makes the knife more appealing and gives them a classic look. However today, handles are available in rubber and other composite materials. They enhance the grip and make the knife usage more secure even when the hand is wet. Some of the knife handles are designed ergonomically and they make the usage of knives more comfortable over an extended period of time.

Hunting knives demand frequent sharpening in order to maintain them in a good condition for a long time. Diamond stones, oil stones and water stones are some of the hand sharpening methods that can be used at home. Blade sharpening is very easy. All that has to be done is wetting the stone with water or oil and drawing the blades across the stone surface. This helps to keep a good edge to the knife.

Some of the manufacturers of hunting knives are Gerber Legendary Blades, Case, Kershaw, Buck and Benchmade. High quality, reliable and efficient hunting knife is essential while one goes for hunting and it makes hunting more successful and rewarding.