Best Hunting knives Reviews – Guide For Skinning Knives 2020’s

Looking for the best hunting knife? You’ve come to the right place.

A hunting knife is one of the most important tools when it comes to hunting. A hunting knife is not only used to kill but to process meat after a kill. But the most important usage of a hunting knife is getting the meat field dressed quickly to make it look good on your dinner plate.

Best Hunting Knife – Overview  

The majority of hunting knives are foldable that makes them pocket-friendly. Either you go outdoors or you go for a hunt, a hunting knife can be helpful equipment.

Now the real question that comes in mind is what is the best hunting knife? In 2020 you might end up getting frustrated due to the plethora of hunting knives available in the market by several manufacturers and brands. Similarly, there are tons of options available ranging from cheap to expensive. But the price is only a single factor to differentiate hunting knives as there are several types of them, and many knives offer different features that make it difficult to decide which one you should pick.

That said, I have done the hard work for you and spent days in testing and research to find out the best-performing hunting knives in a range of budgets. It took a lot of time to separate best-hunting knives from hundreds of other hunting knives available in the market.

Without further ado, let’s get started…

5 Best Skinning Knives For The Money

1. Old Timer Guthook Skinner Knife
2. Old Timer Sharpfinger Knife
3. Wyoming Skinning Tool
4. Wild Turkey Skinner Knife
5. ALSTRONG Gladiator Series Skinning Knife

Top 10 Best Hunting Knives 2020 (Fixed & Moveable)

These are all the best-hunting knives explained with pros, cons, features and other options to make it easy for you to make a purchase for your best option.

1) Gerber Bear Grylls Ultimate Serrated Knife – Under $50

If you are getting into hunting then you must have heard about Bear Grylls. His most prestigious equipment for hunting is nothing other than the Gerber Serrated knife.

The Gerber Serrated knife is affordable cutting equipment that not only lasts long but cuts well allowing you to hunt and process the meat efficiently.

Regarding construction, the Gerber Serrated knife is a combination of the molded rubber grip and a saw ground black blade. The grip is designed in a way to provide a firm grip while throwing it for a hunt or processing meat.

The overall weight of the unit is 11.2 oz and the length is 10″ that you can easily place in your backpack or in a side pocket from where you can quickly get it out for use.

That said, it’s an all round hunting knife that offers durability and versatility without spending a dime.

2) Ka-Bar Becker BK2 - Expensive yet Premium Quality

Here we have Ka-Bar Becker BK2 a great hunting knife that offers excellent features and beats its competitors with excellent performance and affordable price tag.

The Ka-Bar Becker BK2 is a truly ultimate survival, hunting and camping blade that allows you to kill instantly and process meat quickly. If you are looking for something that won't miss the target and will surely cut the meat in the first go, then Ka-Bar Becker BK2 is the right choice to go with.

This hunting knife is not only perfect in performance but great in looks. The Grivory built handle provides you a firm grip that ensures the knife hits the right spot and processes the meat efficiently. Plus, the ergonomics are taken care of the design allowing you to hunt as long as you want.

What makes Ka-Bar Becker BK2 more important is the blade built of cro-van steel that keeps its edge for longer than most, Plus, the high-quality of the blade ensures the blade doesn't split apart from the unit.

The blade is tightly fixed in the handle so that it doesn't move while you are using it. The thickness of the blade is of a quarter inch and the length of the blade is five and a half inches. The advantage of this blade is it's drop point shape, with a twenty-degree angle, that allows you to target exact aims while hunting.

3) Buck Knives 119 Review - Fixed Blade Knife 

Buck Knives 119 is another great knife that is manufactured in the USA. The Buck Knives 119 consists of a large six-inch clip blade that is built with 420HC steel that provides enough strength and longer retention that you don't have to sharp the blade after few hunts.

The sharpness of the blade is enough stronger that you can use for almost every task during your survival journey. 420HC translates the blade to be the perfect fit for the hunters. It will take you out of every kind of unwanted circumstances.

The handle of the knife will make you feel comfortable during the cutting. The easy to use and the manipulative handle of Buck Knife 119 bring more accuracy and precision in your cutting. You can choose the handle with wooden or resin finishing.

The only issue that could happen is in wet conditions. You will not have too much control over the handle under wet conditions. This issue could be overcome by using gloves.

Along with the quality, sheath and the quality blade, the weight of around 7.2 Ounces also encourage the hunters to grab it before moving to the wilderness journeys. You can easily put it in the pocket without feeling any weight and can also hand it around your belt. The size and weight contribute to making it the right choice for hunting purposes.

4) Benchmade – Hidden Canyon Hunter - Extremely Small in Size Under $150

This is most probably the coolest knife we came across. Being the compact design, it is relatively easy to carry out and the perfect fit for the daily routine tasks. You will be loving to have this all the time along with you, without giving it any second thought.

Due to its clean and smooth design, many people love to buy it while comparing with other knives. The finishing of the blade and the handle are the main factors that make its appearance more loving.

The handle has been designed in such a way that you will feel comfortable while holding it, and most importantly its design gives you full control over its use. You will not experience it slipping out of your hand and even will not make you frustrated due to the control.

No matter what you are planning to cut off, whether it’s the joints of the animals or anything else. Everything will be done without putting too much effort with the help of this knife.

Both of these features of having the sharped blade and the longer blade edge also contribute to making it the effortless knife.

It comes with the leather sheath so that you can carry it along with you for your safety. The leather sheath allows you to attach it with your paints or belts. Sheath ensures that you did not get hurt with its sharpness and even when it is not in sheath the jimping on the top prevents you to get hurt with its sharpness.

You don't want to show the protective knife to the whole world but want to take it along. That's why they have made this premium knife a compact option. You can easily hide it under your shirt from the world.

5) ESEE ESLSP-BRK Laser Strike - Fixed Blade 

Most of the knife is claimed to be the survival knives, but there design completely contradict the claims. You will hardly find the all-rounder knife that can do everything with ease and perfection. But that's not the case with the ESEE laser strike knife.

It is completely designed according to the survival knifes requirement. No matter whether you are on the hunting or hiking or on any other adventure, then this is going to be the perfect companion of yours due to the ability of the cutting everything with the ease.

The blade is of around 4.75 inches out of which 4.5 is sharpened. The blade is enough sharp that allows you to deal with any sort of situation. Just keep moving on the way and keep cutting off every hurdle comes in your place.

The weight is of around 9.5 ounces that makes it the best option to carry out. The weight is not too light but not the heavier either. You can easily take it along with you in your pocket without any hesitation.

The handle is comfortable enough to provide you the better control over this knife. Jimping right above the handle helps you to hold it with more perfection. The design of the handle and the jimping are the main reasons for feeling comfortable while holding it.

The sheath that comes with this model is made up of Kydex, which translates to its best quality. The Sheath of this knife firmly holds the knife so that it can't be misplaced during any of your adventures. In addition to this, the Sheath also helps you to hand it out with your belt or paints without any hesitation.

6) Gerber Strongarm Fixed Blade Coyote - Survival knives Under $50

Here’s another fixed blade knife that is easily accessible by everyone due to its affordability feature.  You buy it without even doing the research, as it provides the best value for the money. They provide everything they claim and everything you paid for.

The fixed blade that has been used in this knife is of around 4.8 Inches which is the perfect blade for the survival knives. In addition to this, the blade is made up of 420 HC steel that translates into a high-quality blade. There is no need to let you know more about the quality of the blade after telling the material that has been used in the blade.

The only downside with the 420 HC steel is that it does not offer the longer edge but still, the cutting can be done easily with this blade and recommended for the daily routine tasks. For the rigid and hard cutting, you have to sharpen it before starting.

The total size of the knife is around 10 Inches that makes it the best-hidden knife to choose from. Along with the total size, the weight of the knife also has a contribution in making it the best choice. The 7.2 ounces wait is not very hard to take along. You will not even feel that you are taking something along with you.

Unlike other knives, it offers a great choice when it comes to the blade edge. You can choose from a serrated edge or plain edge as per your requirements and convenience. Now the decision is yours.

7) ESEE Knives 5P Fixed Blade Knife - Field Dressing

If you are the one who usually involves in the heavy-duty tasks or if you are the professional cutlery then ESEE Knives 5P Fixed Blade Knife is the right hidden knife that you should purchase. There are very few highly effective knives that fulfill your professional needs.  ESEE Knives 5P Fixed Blade Knife is one of them that must not be ignored by the professionals.

The blade that has been used in this knife is made up of high-carbon 1095 steel that makes it capable to deal with the rigid stuff easily. After having this knife you will not be disappointed at any level of usage. Although, you might still need to sharpen the blade before the usage for more convenience.

In general, the design of this knife is well planned and the user-friendly. From the top to the bottom every part has been designed in such a way that it can become favorable for you in every sort of the situation.

The sheath has been crafted by the Kydex material, which translates it to be the best sheath. Along with the best knife, the best sheath makes it more appealing to the customers. You can't afford to rely on the cheaper sheath because it could cause you to be attacked by the knife while hanging around your belt and pocket.

The sheath allows you to hang the knife only in the vertical direction. This does not cause any issue because you are safe and the rigidity of the sheath will not allow the knife to fall.

8) Buck Knives 124 Frontiersman - Extremely Budget

Being the hunter and adventurous you need to have the knife that can be used in almost every sort of the use in hunting, then this product is for you. The lightweight, interesting features, and the design also assist the versatility to make it the recommended knife.

Buck Knives 124 Frontiersman got a positive response from the users due to its higher quality. You can't doubt the quality that you are just about to get in return for your paid money. The claim that we are making about this product quality is not just the marketing gimmick. The manufacturer provides the warranty of the forever which proved the confidence of the manufacturer on the material quality and forced us to make this claim.

Like some other well-known knives, it also used the 420HC steel to build up the blade. The blade due to this steel becomes a more sharped blade that provides a great level of strength to cut off anything. Keep sharpening the blade before the usage for the convenience.

The design of the handle also helps you to chop things and to hunt easily. You will have a firm grip due to its ergonomically designed handle.

Including the handle and the blade, the total size of the knife is around 11.75 Inches. The size is relatively larger than other survival knives but still can be taken along with you easily. The weight of around 13.3 ounces makes it the right portable knife for the hunters and adventurous individuals.

9) Buck Knives 390 Omni Hunter - Heavy-Duty Nylon Sheath

Knives that comes at the affordable price also brings a lot of issues along with it. But that’s not the case with Buck Knives 390 Omni Hunter. The right bet is to have the knife at an affordable price without compromising on the quality. After analyzing many different options, we end up with this knife that provides the real value for the money.

It has been a compactly designed knife so that you can hide under your shirts or put it in the pocket and can reach it quickly whenever you feel any sort of danger. Let's break down the total size of 7.7 inches, the blade is of around 3.25 inches and the rest inches is for the handle. Being the smaller in size the weight of the knife is also that too much. Around 4.6 ounces weight makes it the lightweight knife which is the top priority of every hunter.

For hunting the control over the knife is the most crucial thing, and they have paid the real attention to this segment. The handle of the knife is equipped with the Camo rubberized material so that you can grip the knife with more ease and rigidity. After touching the handle you will get an idea of the handle’s quality. You will never lose your control over this knife due to its outstanding handle.

Again, you will find out the 420 HC steel blade above the handle of this knife to keep cutting the things for you without getting broken and damaged.  Periodically sharpening the blade edges is the best approach to avoid any hurdle in the future during chopping the stuff or during cutting the joints of the animals.

Both of the features including the blade and the handle encourage the reach this knife in any kind of situation. It will never disappoint you due to its bad performance.

10) Havalon Piranta Edge Blaze - Additional Crazy Sharp Blades - Multipurpose 

Here's another best choice for the hunters. Although, it is different from other recommended knives and different from all other traditional knives. It does not comes up with the fixed blade but can take you out of the difficult situation.

More importantly, it could not be used for every purpose. If you are looking for the knife that can be used in every situation then stop reading it and have a look at other recommended knives. It is only crafted for lighter task usage.

For instance, you have hunted an animal and just about to skinning it, then it should be the top priority. But don’t even think to use it for chopping the wood.

The blade works effectively on the less rigid objects and can't be re-sharpen for future use. You have to remove the used blade and have to insert the new one for the next use, which makes it easy to use and effortless less knife. It reduces most of the time that you have to spend on sharpening the blade edges.

Unlike other knives, it does not need to be kept in the sheath. You can easily put it in your pocket along with other things without any hesitation.

7 Best Manufacturing Brands for Hunting Knives 2020:

There are seven top brands according to Wikipedia update manufacturing different kinds of hunting knives in 2019-2020 & these are:

1- Cutco Hunting Knife

Most of the companies are competing hard to provide you the knives with the best blade that can serve you in the longer run. Cutco is one of them and prominently achieving its goals.

Whenever it comes to the long performing blades, Cutco is the brand that instantly comes into the mind. Their knives are the coolest and most reliable ones in the market. Even after many times use, the blade remains sharpened and you will feel as you are using it for the first time.

No matter what nature threw at you during your journey, it will get you out of this situation.

2- Buck Hunting knife

Being the hunter you might have come across the Name "buck Hunting Knife". They have been in the market for so long and mainly got widespread fame among the hunters due to the high-quality material and the User-friendly design.

Every feature ranging from the handle to the blade has been designed as per the hunter's requirements. For the real quality knives, Buck Hunting Knives are the ones that should be considered. The knives from this brand will help you in almost every sort of use and provide great comfort with the ergonomic design.

3- Benchmade Hunting knife

Benchmade is the well-renowned brand known for producing the top in class products. They have a large variety of knives to offer you. Specifically for the hunting, their knives are outranking many of the previous players.

For the well-crafted knife, there would not be any other best option other than Benchmade Knives. Along with the quality of blade, they are working hard on the design and the finishing of the knives.

They captured the market only because of their hunter oriented design, producing lightweight knives, and because of ergonomics handle. Without any doubt, you will get more than what you have paid for.

4- Kershaw Hunting Knives

Kershaw is a brand that focuses on every price point users. No matter, you are looking for the affordable option or for the premium quality knives, you will find out all of them under Kershaw's name.

Although, the quality that they descend in all of their knives is undoubtedly the best one. Buying the cheaper knife will also serve you in a better way but obviously comes with some limitations.

If you don't want to lose your hard-earned money, then Kershaw is also the best option to consider. Ranging from the design to the blade quality, everything is going to impress you. Even the smaller and affordable knives will amaze you either.

5- Cold Steel Hunting Knives

Cold Steel has narrow down their focus, and make their name in producing the most affordable options for the hunters. The hunters have to carry a lot of things along with them for survival. Keeping this in mind, they have started reducing the total cost by introducing affordable alternatives.

Hunters named this brand due to their ability to provide the best price knives with all the possible stunning features. For the real value of money, Cold steel hunting knives are the first priority of the hunters.

Relatively lower price does not translate into the bad quality, you will be amazed by looking at the quality right after the unboxing.

6- Case hunting knives

Case Hunting has established its name in the household industry. More specifically, in the hunting knives industry, they are known for providing the user's access to the most sharpening knives.

The look and the handle are cleanly finished but it does not look fancy like other brands. Although, control is the main concern in the handle where it satisfies everyone's needs. You can easily cut off the things and the animal joints from their knives, just have to choose the right knife as per your purpose.

We are loving it because of being the handcrafted knives with great sharped blades which assist you in every situation.

7- Gerber Hunting Knife

Gerber brand offers a different range of knives and all of them have something interesting to offer you. In the hunting knives industry, they are becoming part of the most loving & admirable brand's list.

And that’s all just because of providing the knives which can give persistent quality even after the usage of years and years. And more importantly to avail their premium designed and high quality knifes you don’t have to break the bank.

The knives that they are producing literally making them different from the competitors. The claim of getting the best quality knives from them is backed up by the lifetime warranty. Now you can get their knives even blindly due to the risk-free investment.

What Makes Good Knives? Most Searching FAQ's? 

1. How to sharpen your knife?

Your safety depends on the sharpness of the edge of the knife. You may have to apply more force with a dull edge blade to cut which can lead to serious injuries. If the knife blade is unexpectedly freed from what you are cutting, chances are you can slash yourself with the ongoing momentum.

There's why you should sharpen the buck knife to let it perform how it's intended to do. Now the next questions that come in mind are where you should sharpen your knife? Many people use a power-driven grinding wheel to sharpen the knife that does a good job of sharpening the blade but it's the specifically designed tool for sharpening. You could burn the temper from your blade making the edge brittle which can sometimes crack your blade as well. Number of manufacturers of knives stop you from attempting to sharpen your knife this way and recommend getting a sharpener

Now that you know you should use a sharpener, let's see how you can use a sharpener to sharpen your knife. Beginners can feel awkward with this process for the first time, but it's a simple process that anyone can follow.

Sharpening involves two steps: grinding and honing. Grinding requires extra metal from the edges. Honing is a precision abrasion process where the smallest of materials are removed from the blade to make the surface plain from one end to another that enables the blade to cut with less power. Once you have the right sharp, you can cut meat with less force.

2. How To Choose The Best Bunting Knife?

When going for a hunt, a hunting knife will be the one and only tool that you can use from skinning the animal to splitting through its ribcage and bone. Therefore, the selection of a hunting knife involves a lot of factors that you should consider as well as the types of hunting, Skinning & folding knives to choose the right tool that will suit your requirements and budget.

Several factors like the size of the knife, types of knife, the type of hunt, and your budget range are involved when you making a decision. We will see each factor in great detail to make it easier for you to choose the right hunting knife for your hunting campaign.

Ready? Let's get started...

3. Difference between Fixed or Folding Knives?

The most important factor for the selection of a hunting knife is the type of blade you want. Either you want a fixed blade or a folding blade? A fixed blade contains a fixed blade and lacks moving parts that makes it more precise, strong, and reliable. On the other hand, the shortcomings to the fixed blade are that you should be careful while using a fixed blade as the open blade can get your injured quickly. Therefore, stealth is required where you can put the blade and use it easily. This can be bulkier as well but safety should your priority.

A common case with both knives is the blade replacement. Both fixed and folding knives can be used with several blades to serve different purposes. Therefore, whenever you are choosing a knife, make sure to choose your desired blade. Now for serious hunting, a fixed blade knife is more suitable and ideal because of the precision, strongness, and reliability. But for an occasional hunter, a folding knife is an ideal option to choose which you can easily put in your pocket and use anytime you want.

4. How to Choose a Hunting Knife?

Now that you have decided which hunting knife to choose, it's time to decide which hunting blade you should pick. The selection of a right hunting blade is another challenging task as there is a number of hunting blades available in the market, and you can choose the blade according to your preferences and the type of hunt you are going to perform. The most common types of hunting blades are clip point, drop point, and skinning blade.

The clip point knife blade is thin with a well-defined point and it's a flat blade that is strong and reliable enough that you can use it for general camp and tough hunting jobs like processing and skinning the meat. If you are experienced hunter looking for an all-round knife then there's no better option than a clip point blade.

The most important task while hunting is skinning the animal and for that, a fine blade that neatly separates the skin from the meat is required. Therefore, it's recommended to use only the specialized blades for such a task. And, the specialized blade for skinning can be used for other hunting chores as well so you don't have to worry that a second blade would be required for other cleaning chores which might involve more investment of your money.

The only thing to investigate while choosing the type of blade is that whether you want the blade to have serrations. Serrations enable a blade to be used for more difficult tasks like splitting through a rib cage.

5. How to determine the quality of a knifes?

When you are choosing the best blade for hunting, it's necessary to choose only a high-quality blade.

Most of the time you will see carbon steel or stainless steel blades. Both of these blades have their pros and cons. Let's see how to choose the high-quality blade that will be the best bang for your buck!

Carbon steel is a strong material that is used for manufacturing hunting knives. It's coated to prevent rust and sometimes forming to prevent rust. You can coat the blade yourself to prevent from rust. It requires you to clean the blade thoroughly, and let it dry for some time. Once the blade is dried, use wax that contains silicon. You can get specific waxes for this job. Once the blade is coated, the blade can avoid rusting and will be easier to use on for skinning or processing to meet with less power and will last longer than a stainless steel blade.

Now, for the fixed blade, you should look for the sturdiness of the blade. As a fixed blade won't fold like a folding knife, you can use stealth which you need to wear as long as you want to carry the blade with yourself.