The Different Types of Hunting Knives and Their Distinct Purposes

They say that no hunter is truly prepared without a hunting knife. From skinning your catch to cutting up its meat, the knife is one of the most versatile and important pieces of predator hunting equipment anyone can take out in the wild. Even after centuries of use, hunting knives still remain as important as ever. With that said, today, there are many different types of knives, all of which serve a specific purpose. While the various choices can be great, they can also make selecting the best ones for you quite hard.

When we talk about hunting knives these days, we’re not talking about knives that are used for killing animals. While using a knife is an option for some types of hunting, such as hog hunting, that’s usually done using a dagger which is particularly designed for stabbing. The modern hunting knife is optimised for slicing and cutting instead of stabbing, and most hunting knives are multi-purpose. Some of the purposes include skinning, boning, gutting and butchering. When shopping for hunting knives in predator hunting equipment stores, you’ll come across several different types, all of which differ in their design and purpose.

The first type of hunting knife that most people picture when imagining a hunting knife is actually the camp knife. Camp knives are multi-purpose tools designed to do a bit of everything. Then, there’s the caping knife, which is ideal for creating trophies, as you want the neck to be preserved. Caping knives feature an upturned point on a relatively small blade which can be used for various tasks besides caping. Further on, there’s the skinning knife, which features a short and thin blade that slightly curves. These knives should feature a grippy and ergonomic handle, and you should sharpen them after a few uses.

Then, there’s the boning knife, which is typically used to remove meat from a carcass. These knives feature a narrow blade that’s generally flexible and similar to a fillet knife, except the fillet knife is also meant to remove fish scales. Speaking of fillet knives, most boning knives double as both a fillet and a boning knife. Lastly, there’s the buck knife, which is a large folding knife used for hunting. They usually feature clip points, but some off-brand knives don’t. Although now buck knives are commonly used as all-around pocket knives, they were initially designed for hunters. You can also decide to get a hunting knife set if you want to be covered on all grounds, but this would only be an appealing option for frequent hunters and outdoor enthusiasts who tend to spend a lot of time out in the wilderness.