Conference vmsnet::hunting$note:hunting

    I too like smaller knives.  I started as a teenager with big sheath
    knife and have worked my way down ever since.  My favorite knife
    now is a smallish folding knife.  It has a heavy blade and is made
    (I think) by Gerber.  The smaller knife is easier to handle and
    to keep sharp. 
    
    Mark,
    

    I guess I'm like Bear.   I like knives.  No, I don't have any Rambo
    knives or the Asian kind that look like a pear of nam-chuks with
    mother of pearl in-lays that sort of swing around the blade.  I
    am more fascinated with lock blade pocket knives.
    
    There is nothing like a good pocket knife.  I insist on the lock
    blade because then you can do things that would otherwise be considered
    dangerous.   My sheath, therefore, is my pocket.
    
    My favorite knife is my Buck.  I think it is a model number 65 or
    165 or something like that.  I can check.  I've had this knife since
    about 1974.  I used to always carry it until a few months ago. 
    Now I just pocket it on weekends and carry a smaller lock blade
    during the week.
    
    To sharpen it, I used to use a Washita wet stone.  It took forever
    to get a good edge.  I saw those diamond ones and didn't think they
    looked like they would work.  Too easy or new fangled or something.
    Then a guy sharpened my knife with one last fall before hunting
    season.  It took about 2 minutes, no oil and what an edge!
    
    I went right out and bought a diamond sharpener.  In fact I bought
    it at Bean's on the way to hunting camp.
    
    My Buck knife is great.
    
    I havbe a friend who had one just like it.  He busted the end of
    the blade off trying to open a can.  Even though he had his forever
    too, he sent it back to them.  They replaced the blade no charge...no
    hassles!
    
    I'm not saying my Buck is any better than a Gerber or other popular
    brands, it's just that I've had it forever and it never fails to
    hold a nice edge.
    
    Brett.

    I'll second (3rd?) the smaller is better idea.  I always carry a 
    penknife (2-blades, 2" and 1") that I have had for about 25 years.
    
    When I am in the field, I carry a folding (locking) Buck knife that 
    has a heavy, pointed blade about 3" - 3.5" long.  That knife is a
    bit heavy to carry in a pocket, but it comes in a belt pouch.  It's
    just like a sheath knife, but doesn't get in the way of movement.
    I've had that one since 1979 or thereabouts.  
    
    Prior to the lockback, for about 10 yeare, I carried a Buck sheath 
    knife of about the same length.  There was nothing wrong with that
    one and I still use it from time to time.  Friends gave me the lockback
    as a going away present from a previous job, and I found it a little
    easier to carry.
    
    Both of the Buck's have given me excellent service, and I have never
    wished for anything bigger.  Maybe if I get a moose permit, I will
    have to consider something like a chainsaw, but otherwise they are
    all I think I will ever need.
    
    - Dave
    

     I too, like small knives.  I have a Buck 503 in my pocket right
    now.  I've used this particular knife to gut 4 deer.  I use to carry
    a small Gerber, till I lost it 8*(.  The only knife I carry when
    hunting is a small pocket knife (lock blade).  I have a couple of
    big Buck sheath knives that I use to wear when working on a long
    line boat.  When your setting out gear you want something to cut
    yourself free should you get hauled. 8*).  Other then for fishing
    I like small knives.
    
    Jeff

    Personally, I own 50 or so knives and like the others, when afield
    I usually have a small one (sheath-type) on my belt (with a larger
    back-up in my fanny pack.) My current favorite is an Uncle Henry,
    I have two versions the Sharp Finger and a drop point style. Both
    have about a three inch blade which is adequate at least up to 
    elk. The back-up is also a Schrade product, Old-Timer comes to 
    mind but don't quote me on that. I carried a Buck for years, not
    a thing wrong with it except that when I lost it, I had a hard
    time justifying buying a new one with all those others sitting
    up in the reload room. I have used in the past Gerbers and just
    about anything from Solingen. 
    Recently I have heard distressing reports concerning the current
    quality of Case knives, if anyone has any info on this I'll be
    rechecking this file.
    Thanks,
    Bill 

    
      I don't have as many as I would like to have but there is a personal
    list that I have started of what I would like to add to my collection.
    I got interested in collecting when I was 18 and my father gave
    me a civil war sword that was brought down through our family.
    
    
      For hunting I like to use a Schrade...the nice thing about them
    was there warrenty, If you LOST or broke your knife all you had
    to do was send in  the card that came w/the knife and they would
    send you one free of charge.
    
     I've always had one problem though, even with all the knives that
    I have I have never found a technique(sp) for sharpening them to
    a good edge
    Can any of you guys/gals give me some advice
    
    thanks  Steve

    I carry a Schrade Old Timer around where ever I go.  "I never leave
    home without it."  It is a smallish knife with double blades (clip
    and pen styles I believe).  I lost one once and had to go right
    out and by another.  I also own one of those big monster Shrade
    hunting knives with the lifetime guarantee.  It comes with a leather
    sheath which attaches to the belt.  I never use it anymore.  Can't
    keep my pants up with it on my belt.
    
    Dave

    	This is great stuff. Steve if you lived near me I would gladdly
    sharpen that knife for you. I really enjoy sharping and it is not
    at all difficult. Knives that I own usually can be brought to rasors
    shaving edge in a few min. 
    
    I do this the old fashion way. I used several arkansas stones and
    a few drops of honing oil. When I use to go to deer camp I would sharpen
    everyones knife.
    
    In the begining it takes a while longer because of the different
    angles that people use either with stones or ( ugh ) a grinder.
    After a few times the exact angle that you use comes in contact
    with the stone and it can be brought back very quickly.
    
    This assumes that you are consistant in the angle that you hold
    the knife at from time to time while you sharpen it.
    
    Scarade are excelent knives and I have  at least 6 of them among
    others. Bucks are also great and I own several of those. The
    only complant I've heard about bucks are they are hard to
    sharpen but my own experience is it ain't so. As a matter
    of fact I found the opposite to be true. You can really
    put a dangerous edge on a buck. Bucks are hollow ground and
    can be brought and hold an extremely sharp edge.
                                                                   
    Since I enter this note several days ago I have been reading
    several articles and I have pretty much altered some of my
    views on the large knife cyndrone.
    
    There are uses for knives that in the mid west where Qaurtering
    an animal is the rule that never occured to me because I never
    experienced a elk or mule deer hunt on horseback.
    
    Knives like the Case XX changer folding hunter I understand are
    great for this since they include saw blades.
    
    I have never had the neccessity for such a knife but maybe ( fingers
    crossed ) I would draw a N.H. Moose permit. I will have to check
    rules first. Purhaps these Yankees expect/require us to remove
    said animal whole.
    
    Also the other uses for those large knives were for hand to hand combat.
    That is when you run out of bullets you grab you knife and fight
    to death.
    
                                        
    Here is a list of  some manufactures and or retailers
    
    Buck,Boker, Browning, Camillus, Case,Cold Steel, Condor, Explorer,
    Eye Brand,Frost,Gerber,Henckels, Kabar,Kaicut, Kershaw, Military
    Knives, Pacific,Parker,Puma,Rigid,Schrade,Solingen,Spyderco,Taylor,
    Tekna, Valor, Vicktorinox ( swiss army knives ) Western, Maxam
    
    Cripple Creek, Winchester, Remington and the list go on and on. 
    
                                                                   
    Bear
    

    I have a Gerber knife that I got for my 10 yrs. at DEC. It has a
    3" blade that locks. Its been great for cleaning pheasants, and
    if I ever get a deer I bet it'll be good for that also. I tried
    to get another one at my 15yrs. but its a no go. DEC should let
    us get one at every anniversary. 
    	As far as chef knifes I think that Chicago, makes a real great
    knives. The cooks file probably has at note on chef knives.
    
    Jim

    	I for some reason have always had a fascination with knives.
    I have one knife I bought just because it was nice looking, unique,
    and a steal at $8. It is solid stainless (handle and all) and is
    a fixed blade about 6-7" in length with ducks on the handle. It came 
    with a leather sheath. The knife is so heavy you could pound in
    16d nails with it (which I obviously wouldn't do). You have to see
    this thing to appreciate it.
    
    	Other than that I have the 10 year gerber, a kabar of the same
    size and style, a smaller no name folding knife that was a freebe
    and makes a good pocket knife, and I forgot who makes my fillet knife. 
    
    	The fillet knife I sharpen with the hand held knife sharpener
    that has 2 sets (course and fine) of the ceramic sticks set in it. 
    That gets this knife razor sharp in less than 30 seconds.
    
    	For everything else I use the old fashoned hand held sharpener
    with the round stone in the middle (can't think of any other way
    to descibe it). This I use on the kitchen knives as the set I got
    seemed to have to shallow an edge to hold one. This type of sharpener
    is good when you basically have to start from scratch as it can
    take metal off fairly quickly if used properly. It also takes a
    bit of practice to get the hang of.
    
    	For the most part, I get the most use out of my fillet knife.
    Aside from just filleting fish, I used it to cut up fruits, vegetables,
    bread, meats, and just about anything around the kitchen that isn't
    moving. It's almost a challenge for me to see how good of an edge
    I can put on my knives. There is just something really satisfying
    about having and using an incredibly sharp knife. I think this is
    something that most guys are born with in their genes or something :-)
    
    RAYJ
    
    

    Pocket : Swiss Army
    Hunting: Small Buck fixed-blade (don't like the folders 'feel{)
    Fishing: Rapala filetting knife
    
    Also have a Gerber rotary-lock sitting home locked away. 
    Too expensive to carry :-)/2

    
      I use the small Schrade "Old-Timer" drop point for deer these
    days. It's the same size as the "Sharp Finger" but has a much better
    blade for dressing a deer (That sharp finger blade looks like a
    "gut-nicker" for sure)...
    
      Fillet knives are great for boning out a deer. Nothing I can think
    of works better. After using a fillet knife for this work everything
    else will feel like you've got a club in your hand!
    
    
    Joe

    re:12
        I don't seem to remember you using that Schrade for cleaning
    out any deer. I seem to remember your last deer was gutted with
    that almost axe size Olsen blade. 
    	I know you used a fillet knife on my deer last year though :^).
    	I gutted my deer with a fixed blade Case XX knife last year.
    Although I really like the knife I have aquired a four inch Buck
    fixed blade to do the dirty work with. I just hope I use it to clean
    my deer and not just use it to help Joe with his :^).............
    
    sjn

    
    Does anyone have any information on a "Wyoming Knife"?  
    
    I was thinking about buying one as a gift and am curious if anyone
    has ever used one or has any information about them.
    
    I heard it was a "useful" knife.  Then I was told that the concept
    of the knife was great - but the knife itself was useless.
    
    Any information would be appreciated.
    
    Thanks
    
    SC

    Great icon, Brian!
    
    Mark.

            I just  ordered a Wyoming Knife from Cabelas in Nebraska.  It
         costs $22.95 with  leather  sheath & extra blade, w/cordura case
         is $19.95 - ($3.95 shpg).

             V
            .o   ,
              OOO
              ^ ^
             Brian

    And then, boredom set in.......so the knife note was revisited.
    
    But seriously, I just picked up a new gismo that has knocked my socks off.
    A friend was out here on vacation and we did lots of fishing and 
    consequently, we did lots of cleaning.  He complained that his fillet
    knife was dull and so was mine.  He claimed that those little hand
    held tools they sell in Bass Pro and Cabellas are great.
    
    I always thought they looked like another gismo that wouldn't work.
    However, this friend of mine has analyzed *every* product in the
    world dealing with fishing, hunting or trap shooting and usually gives
    an expert report.
    
    I ordered one.  I sharpened my fillet knife.  I was *impressed*.  I
    sharpened one of the good wedding shower knives in the kitchen. Great
    edge.  Then another and another and another and another and at 10:30
    my wife said, "Are you gonna sharpen every knife in the house?"
    
    "I think I already did.  Do you know any more?"
    
    She gave me her sewing scisors.  No problem.  This tools is too good to be
    true.  I just pull the knife through about 4-5 times and it's sharper
    than it's ever been.  I even took out this old, old pocket knife
    with a real black blade (from age) and gave it a try.  I've been
    trying to get an edge on this thing for two years with everything
    under the sun with no luck.  6 pulls from the new tool and the thing
    is razor sharp.
    
    Has anyone else had any experience with these tools (positive or negative?)
    
    I just can't believe I've sat around with those knife sharpening kits
    with the angle of dangle and all that when all I have to do is slide
    it through this little wonder device once or twice.
    
    Okay experts, waht's the hidden gotcha?
    
    /brett

      Funny, I don't remember reading this note.  Oh well...  I got
    a kick out of some of the responses.  I for one am afraid of knives
    especially if they are in someones hand (mine included).  I've had
    a lot of bad luck with respect to sharp edges so I don't pick one
    up unless I have to.  The thought of collecting them has never crossed
    my mind.  One time I dropped a broadhead after cutting myself on
    it and my new pup charged across the room to pounce on it.  So I
    dove for it and grabbed it about 1/10 of a second before the dog
    jumped on my hand.  Ouch!  8^)  Funny now but not then.  I've cut
    myself so many times while dressing animals that I sort of "invented"
    a safer way of doing it.  I only use the knife to open the body
    cavity.  I then fold it up and put it away rip everything out with
    my hands.  Sounds crude but its effective.  Lafosse has also adopted
    this method.  You get compliments from the butcher who thinks you
    are of his profession because there isn't a mark on anything  8^)
    
    I've had, used, got cut by, and lost: buck folding knives, gerber
    folding knives, a couple of Schrade Old Timer straight blade knives,
    and a bunch of garbage generic stuff.  I don't like straight blade
    knives after an incident when I fell and the blade cut open the
    sheath ..... I was lucky it didn't do an appendectomy on me.
    I'm currently using a couple of buck folding knives (one for hunting
    the other for knocking around with, I like the knocking around knife
    because its dull and is less apt to cut me)
    
    One time a guest was brought to our camp in Vermont.   I nicknamed
    him "the Edge" because he always played with a knife.  He didn't
    have any hair left on his arms cause he always shaved it off to
    test the edge of his work.  I thought he was kind of strange.  He
    had one of those enormous 12inch+? bladed bowies in a sheath that
    had another smaller straight blade knive sheathed over it along
    with another pouch that had a folding knife and yet another pouch
    that held a sharpening stone.  I thought that this guy was born
    about a thousand years late.  He belonged in one of those old Kirk
    Douglas movies "the Vikings" or something like that.  I never slept
    well knowing this guy was in the same camp.
    
    Ah..... you know what really hurts?  Its when the calender says
    its only May and you've already received some of your August Hunting
    Magazines.
    
    Dave

    	Dave, using a dull knife is generally a bad idea. If you slip
    with a sharp knife, you may cut yourself, but a similar slip with
    a dull knife could result in a ragged tear of the skin; much more
    painful and damaging.
    	A friend was carving a duck decoy, when his knife slipped. The
    result was nine stitches across the top of his left hand. The doctor
    said that lucky it was a sharp knife, since a dull one could have
    torn muscle and done permanent damage. As it turned out, the only
    long term indication is a thin,straight scar. His hand functions
    perfectly.
    
    	George

       I can relate to what Dave has said about guys with RAMBO knives.
    You know, the kind of knife that can double as a machete or a paddle.
    These are the same guys that wear bandoleros crisscrossed on there
    chest.  They usually hve enough "survival" gear to out fit an army,
    along with aproximately 12 compasses, a sidearm, 50 yds of rope,
    a portable generator, and a Winnebago.
      The only knife I carry when hunting is a small Gerber folding
    knife that is durrently in my pocket.  Haven't met a deer yet that
    couldn't be gutted easily with a small knife.
    
    Jeff                                         
      

    Jeff,
    
    Last year it was a Buck 503.  See .3 or .4.
    
    Ever tried one of those sharpeners?
    
    /brett

    re: .18
    
    Is there is NAME, or part number that goes along with the name "gismo"
    that you have mentioned, or mabe even a better description.....
    
    Thanks,  Tom
    

    Brett,
      Your right it is the Buck 503.  The Gerber was lost I think about
    5 years ago.  I haven't tried the gizmo you described.  I have a
    Lansky sharpener that works pretty good.  Takes time, but does 
    produce a good edge.
    
    Jeff
    
    How are Fluffy and Muffy doing?  
    
                 8*)

    
     I purchased one of those **gizmos** from Cabellas about 2 years ago.
    In fact I have 2 now, and I swear by them. I carry one in my fanny pack
    while in the field and leave the other one in the kitchen. While
    skinning a nice forked horn last year, whenever the blade would drag
    I would hit the blade with the sharpener and I was back on my way.
     I could never get a real good edge on my folding buck, but with this
    sharpener 5 or 6 passes (~10 sec) look out because it is definitly
    SHARP. I have used it on knifes with high carbon steel blades and
    stainless it doesn't really seem to matter, they all end up sharp.
    
                                                      Mark 
    
    

    re: 26
    
    The Lansky angles ARE 17 to 25 degrees.  Once the edge is made on
    your knife (at least on my Buck 422, 426, 110 etc..) it should be
    good enough for at least 3 deer field dressings - My did !
    
    As for the *gizmo*, I'll have a look in my CABELLO's catalogue to
    see if I can find it.
    
    
    ...Tom
    

    RE:.19
    
    "LAFOSSE HAS ADOPTED THIS METHOD ALSO"  Only because your always
    using my knife and then when I really need it, its dull!!!   8^)
    
    Butcher did compliment me on the least deer he did for me, said
    it was one of the better gutting jobs he's seen this season, didn't
    want to tell him how I really did it, he might have passed out. 8^)
                                                                   
    THE EDGE!!!  boy was he a nut.... could sharpen a knive though!!
    after a night of sharpening everyone in the camps knife, he had
    no hair left on his arms. The Jav was the one with the rambo knife,
    carried all his knives on the same sheath, they just kept getting 
    progressivly smaller, you'd think he was gonna be carving up
    brontosaurus steaks or something.  
    
    Me, i'll stick with old faithful a 2 1/2" drop point folding schrade,
    don't need anything else cept maybe a "mondo sound system" ;^)
    
    fra
    

    Mark's right.  The gizmo is small and is shaped to fit your hand.
    It has indentations for you fingers and then there is a place for your
    thumb on top.  There is a shield that comes around to cover your
    fingers (which is needed judging by all the slices in the coating
    of the shield already).  All of this is the support system for two 
    carbide blades that face each other at the tip.  It is basically
    the same idea as the two ceramic rods only much more compact.  PLus
    I never got much satisfaction out of the ceramic rods.
    
    You hold the gizmo in one hand and simply pull the edge of the knife
    through the slot, against the two carbide blades.  It is a real simple
    procedure even if your knife has a lot of curve and flexibility (fillet
    knife).  Man, what an edge.  It is so much easier than using a sharpening
    kit and I think the edge is as good or better than I've ever been
    able to produce with one of those Lansky kits.  But the angle of
    sharpness cannot be changed as previously mentioned.  So what?
    All I want is a sharp blade.  Is the science about slicing vs.
    chopping really relevant?
    
    Jeff,  Muffy is in heat and all the stupid black labs sit outside
    the door 24 hours a day hopiong to get a wif.  Nothing the Louisville
    Slugger 38 oz. can't handle.
    
    /brett

    
    
    	Have any of you used a sharpening steel.  I carry one in my
    	day pack and find that it's really great for restoring an edge.
    	Also, it's good for splitting pelvic bones of elk sized animals.
    
    	I have read, though, that prolonged use of a steel will ruin
    	a blade.  Any comments?

    I saw something that looked pretty neat last night in one
    of the rags; outdoor life, I think.
    
    Schrade is making a DU commerative knife.  It comes in a wood
    presentation case and it comes with a gold ingot of the duck
    stamp (I imagine it's this year's duck stamp which I think is a 
    teal or a scaup).  It said they are making something like 1600 and the 
    price is around $120.  Nice gift for the guy that taught you to hunt
    like Dad or Uncle Harry.  Or if your kid has a real job and doesn't 
    know what to buy you for some special occasion.......
    
    /brett 

    I saw a similar article in a knife magazine and it said that
    the only way to get this knife is thru D.U.
    
    I guess after they are out you may get also get one 2nd, 3rd
    person removed but the original sale will made thru many of the
    D.U. Banquets.
    
    Bear

    
    
    Has anyone had any experience with Sears Craftsman knives.
    They seem to be fairly well built knives at reasonable prices.
    Two other pluses are 1) if you break them, you can get them
    replaced free, and 2)  There are Sears stores everywhere.
    
    I have a Craftsman pocketknife.  It seems to be a good knife.
    Unfortunately, I broke one of the blades.  Sears will gladly
    replace it but it has sentimental value (my grandmother gave
    it to me) and I don't want to part with it.
    
    Anyway, I would like to hear from anyone who has had any
    experience with these knives.
    
    Jerry

    HAS ANYONE TRIED THE NEW COLEMAN HUNTING KNIVES???
    
    THEY MAKE A 4 1/2'' LOCK BLADE, 6'' SKINNER, AND A 6'' DROP POINT.
    ALL HAVE STAINLESS BLADES AND SOFT BUT DURABLE RUBBER HANDLES THAT FEEL
    GOOD IN YOUR HAND BUT WILL NOT SLIP.  THE BEST THING IS THEY CAN ALL BE
    HAD FOR LESS THAN $20.00 EACH

    Has anyone heard of BTS?  I was recently given a beautiful, single
    blade, folding, lockback knife.  On one side of the blade are the
    three letters BTS and on the other is "stainless steel   made in
    Japan".  The knife appears to be well made and is very sharp.
    It has a 3" drop point blade.
    
    If anyone has heard of these knives, I would appreciate hearing
    from you.
    
    Thanks,
    
    Jerry

	A bunch of questions to all you cutlery experts out there:

	- I've read that the steel called 440C is supposed to be
	some of the best steel available for knife blades (not
	counting some of the steels only used in custom knives).
	Is this your impression as well? What are the qualities
	of this particular steel?

	- what is the difference (if any) between steel 440C and
	440 (there seems to be a 440A as well)??

	- With all the steels I've looked at, they are advertised
	to be hardened to Rockwell, say, 56-59. Does that mean
	that it does not matter what steel is used as far as hardness
	is concerned??

	- Will a hard steel hold the edge better but be more difficult
	to sharpen??

	- what are the properties you are looking for in a steel
	to 1) be easily sharpened (hair shaving edge) 2) hold
	the edge well. Or are the two really opposites and thus you
	have to look for a compromise between the two properties??

	- what effect does tempering have on the steel ??

	- knives that are hollowground... does this simply mean that
	when you have to resharpen them, you don't have to remove
	as much metal as you would have to from a non-hollowground
	blade, or is it more involved than that??

	- The Buck Folding Hunter I have seems to be of pretty hard
	steel - I tried sharpening it on my kitchen steel without
	much success (my Lansky sharpener did the job) compared to
	my kitchen Zwilling knife which only required a few strokes to
	be nicely (not razor) sharp. Is that your experience as well?

	- anybody have a knife from Camillus (sp?). They have a nice
	drop point fixed blade (4" blade) knife I've been looking
	at. Steel is 440, handle is Zytel - anybody try this? Is
	Zytel a non-slip material or is it just another plastic 
	to feel? Any comments on the Camillus knives (the drop point
	I looked at was advertised as "Best Buy of Blade Magazine 1991,
	and it only was something like $23, not too expensive).

	I know that is a lot, but I was wondering whether there might
	not be an expert in these matters out there? If not, is there
	a better place to post these questions?

	Cheers
							- Mike

>>         <<< Note 165.36 by DECALP::HOHWY "Just another Programmer" >>>
>>                             -< Knife knowledge?? >-

Mike,

I don't have many answers for you, but you might try ABACUS::SURVIVAL.
Most of the folks I've seen in there also frequent either this conference
or the firearms conference, but you might get some additional information.

As for Camillus knives, I can tell you that the company is one of the
US' (probably world's) largest, and oldest, knife makers.  I have had 
some of their cheaper knives, and wasn't particularly impressed with the
quality.  However, I do believe that they make a better line in
which the quality is much higher.  I have seen Camillus knives that
appear to be high quality.

One of the best sources for knives that I have ever seen is the
Smoky Mountain Knife Works.  They publish a mail order catalog
that features just about every brand of knife you can imagine.  And,
their prices are good.  Their current catalogue lists several pages
of Camillus knives.  Their US toll free number is (800)327-5871.
I don't know if they have a special international number, but I did
verify that they will ship to Europe.

If you like knives, their catalogue is really nice to have.
I have just about worn my copy out just by thumbing through it.

Jerry

P.S.  If you're interested in getting their catalogue, but are having
trouble reaching them, contact me via mail and I will help you out.

    Mike
    
    I'm not sure of all the things you were asking but I can speak for
    Buck Knives. That's the only knife I will buy/use. I own 3; the #110
    (I'm not sure of the name they have for it) I've owned for 20 years &
    have only had to sharpen a few times & it was used for all outdoor
    activity, I have the folding hunter and I have the 6" Buck filet. I've
    been thoroughly satisfied with all 3.
    
    To sharpen them I use the ceramic sticks. It does a good job. You can
    find them at the local cutlery store.
    
    Alan
    

    I carry a Morseth, but there are not many around anymore.  Mine was
    a gift from a hunting buddy who gave up the sport.  He originally received
    the knife as a Xmas gift in 1947.  Anyone interested in collector
    knives has probably heard of the maker, Harry Morseth.
    
    The blade has been honed occasionally on a barber's hone, but has
    never been "sharpened", that is, has never been touched by a 
    sharpening stone.                                                 

It's nice to see the Hunting conference back on line.  Does anybody have any 
    inputs on Browning knives?  I looked at one (model 504) that seemed nice.
    It had three blades, a 3" saw blade, a 3" field dress blade with a 
    protected tip, and a 3.25" standard blade.  I will be using it primarily 
    for field dressing deer (hopefully).  Any comments on Browning knives in 
    general or the model 504 specifically would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Bob