Before you head out to hunt your deer or wild turkey or whatever is in season, you need to decide on a hunting knife. Which knife is best for you? That depends on if you want something lightweight such as a folding knife or something sturdy and robust like the fixed-blade knife. Being prepared is what hunting is all about and having the right hunting knife is part of being prepared.

Folding Knives

Folding knives are more compact and easier to carry with you as you go along through the woods. Fixed-blade knives are sturdier and larger which adds to the safety of the overall knife. You must figure in their weight when calculating your packing and hiking materials. Do you want to carry something that heavy?

If you decide on a folding hunting knife, there are two options here. You can have a dedicated folding hunting knife, which means you only use this knife for hunting. It's best for butchering and field dressing. If you butcher your own animal then you need a knife that easily allows you to remove the hide. If you are only concerned with dressing the animal and allowing someone else to butcher it, then you don't need such a big hunting knife.

Fixed Blades

If you've decided on a fixed-blade knife, the same two options apply. Are you going to get a dedicated fixed-blade knife and only use it for butchering and field dressing or are you going to get a multipurpose knife that you can use for other things while you are camping and fishing? Let's say you only do the field dressing and let someone else do the butchering. You would choose a hunting knife that is more of a general purpose hunting knife and can multi task instead of only being used on the animal.

Hunting Knife Uses

If you are going camping and fishing and a multitude of other things you will need to do with your hunting knife, then we recommend an all-purpose hunting knife. This will allow you to field dress you animal, cut the line on a tangled fishing wire, cut the rope of the tent if needed and a host of other things. Whereas if you were just going hunting and field dressing and butchering your animal, you would want to go with a straight hunting knife.

Choosing the Best Hunting Knife for You

Two important things to remember when choosing your hunting knife and that are the handle length and the blade length. When you grip the handle, you should have approximately one-quarter inch on each side of your hand. This space allows for maximum comfort, especially when using the knife for extended periods of time. The length of the blade is usually preferred to be no longer than 4 inches long.

Blade Material

You might want to consider the blade material when choosing your hunting knife. Many blades are made of stainless steel to help prevent rust. Others are made with carbon steel because it makes sharpening the blade easier. Then there is the titanium nitrate coated on the blade to make it harder and sharpening easier. However, this requires a lot more care on your part.

Handle materials are also important when choosing your hunting knife. Traditional wood handles provide grip and is pleasing to the eye, other manufacturers wrap their handles with a tape to give you a better grip. There is now the rubber handle with texture that adds to your grip and the folded hunting knives are usually plastic and have a molded grip that comes with texture for a more durable handle and gripping comfort.

Hunting knives can have straight edges, serrated or hooked edges. It depends on what you are hunting and what your taste in knives is before you can clearly choose which knife you want. There are many places to shop for hunting knifes, on-line, the big sports super store or the department stores. Take your time and make sure you get the hunting knife that you are comfortable with and are going to be able to use. You don't want to get out in the woods and be stuck with a knife you can't use.

Last, but not least, make sure to check the tang before purchasing hunting or any knife. The tang is where the blade of the knife goes all the way into the handles of the knife and goes to the bottom. This gives the knife more stability and helps prevent breaking of the knife when you are using it constantly and heavily for something.