Spyderco hunting folder

[tomi12]

Hello, I am new to the forum and I really like Spyderco knives for years. I am also a hunter here in Europe and in my place we primarely hunt roe deer and wild boar. I would really like to see somekind of Spyderco knife with saw for gutting purposes and to cut thru chest and pelvis bone, because here this is the correct way to gut an animal and saw is essential tool. Also we almost do not use fixed blade knives like hunters arround the world. We mostly use Victorinox hunter or hunter xt. But the problem with this knives is that they get dull pretty quickly. I would really like to see Spyderco knife with bladeshape of Stretch or Siren with magnacut steel with good edge retention and rust ressistance and olive green or orange G-10 scales. What do you guys think about that? Also I wont mind to carry two tools saw and knife separatly but Spyderco does not make saws anymore.

P.S. Sorry for my english, I am not a native speaker and I tried my best.

[sal]

Hi Tomi12,

Welcome to our forum and thanx for the interest and support.

I'll watch the thread for interest. FYI, Silky makes a number of folding saws, in Japan, that I have tested and found they work well.

sal

[xnmw]

I’m not a hunter, but aggressive serrations wouldn’t do it? I can maybe see how you’d want a dedicated saw—did Spyderco ever make a saw? Using a SAK for that kind of work seems crazy—slippery scales and so many areas to trap contamination. Like Sal said, Silky seems to be the saw to beat. Never heard of them being used to process game, though

[Coastal]

Hi tomi and Sal, I often used a Browning 3-blade folder to field dress deer. It was a decent compromise when the truck was a good distance away, it was getting dark, and I had to use whatever I had with me. The blades were a trailing-point locking main blade, a blunt-tipped blade for slitting the body cavity open, and a bone saw. Honestly, though, if it was possible to get to the truck, I much preferred a clip-point fixed-blade hunting knife, a frame-type bone saw, and the folder's blunt-tipped blade.

Based on my experience with a number of blade types for dressing deer, I would instantly vote for the PE Stretch 2 XL Salt as the basis of a modernized version of my old folder. I would definitely want the second blade to be of the blunt-tipped variety. As I said, I'd prefer a separate saw, but I wouldn't turn down a saw blade.

I would want linered orange FRN all day every day, and I'd want the knife to be a full-blooded Salt. I'd probably choose H2, but based on other forumites' experiences it sounds like MagnaCut might be more popular. The Stretch's 3mm blade thickness would be fine, but I'd sure like the gutting blade to be thinner, maybe 2mm, to save weight and slice better. I would also want as many blades to lock as the design would allow.

I no longer hunt, but just thinking about this knife makes me wish for the old days!

[JoviAl]

I second what Sal said - Silky makes fantastic folding (and field serviceable) saws that make very short work of bone. I use them almost daily for arboriculture and occasionally for making bone broth. They are surprisingly well made for their relatively meagre price. Most (if not all) Silky saws come with multiple tooth size options for their blades, the smaller teeth generally performing better on bone in my experience. They also make high visibility colours for their handles as well as more muted tones depending on what floats your boat.

For a hunting knife you can’t go wrong with a Stretch 2 XL Salt and a double stuff for touch ups.

[Erich]

Hello, I am new to the forum and I really like Spyderco knives for years. I am also a hunter here in Europe and in my place we primarely hunt roe deer and wild boar. I would really like to see somekind of Spyderco knife with saw for gutting purposes and to cut thru chest and pelvis bone, because here this is the correct way to gut an animal and saw is essential tool. Also we almost do not use fixed blade knives like hunters arround the world. We mostly use Victorinox hunter or hunter xt. But the problem with this knives is that they get dull pretty quickly. I would really like to see Spyderco knife with bladeshape of Stretch or Siren with magnacut steel with good edge retention and rust ressistance and olive green or orange G-10 scales. What do you guys think about that? Also I wont mind to carry two tools saw and knife separatly but Spyderco does not make saws anymore.

Why not use a fixed blade? A large fixed blade is best.

There's tons of folder options. How much money do you have? A well sharpened s30v blade is a solid choice. "Magnacut" is just the steel of the month. It won't have better edge retention than s30v and you'll get price gouged for the hype, no offense to Larrin.

I'd say get a Resilience in s35vn. It has a good steel, a large blade and you can still get it 50% off msrp at some places online.

As for sawing through bone, use a machete! I always use a cheapo Ontario or Cold Steel 2 handed machete to hack apart animals. It's much faster and easier.

[Wartstein]

... I can maybe see how you’d want a dedicated saw—did Spyderco ever make a saw? ...

[jmj3esq]

Here is my hunting setup. Spyderco Shaman CTS-XHP and a very small Browning bone saw. The saw has very aggressive serrations and zips thru bone with ease. The heavy blade of the Shaman is perfect for deer and large game. The blaze orange G10 is a must as I’ve had to use a metal detector to find a misplaced knife on more than one occasion. There is no losing these 2, The steel seems pretty solid as well and have had no corrosion and it holds a good edge.

The saw is pretty cheap and can be obtained on eBay for about $25.

[Wartstein]

Well, my thoughts on a Spydersaw and / or a Dyad (Double bladed folder) featuring a saw (the latter could very well be designed as a great hunting tool too) :

- viewtopic.php?f=2&t=82630

- viewtopic.php?f=2&t=87504

[Dnwrghtsr]

I use a police 4 LW serrated k390. You don’t have to split the pelvic bone. It is long enough to cut out the rectum. I’ve never had an issue not splitting the chest either just reach up in and pull everything out. Are you worried about cooling? They’ll cool just fine if it’s cold enough. If not pack them with ice.

[Doc Dan]

Spyderco makes some good hunting knives. The Stretch drop point is a hunting knife design, and so is the Delica. Plus, there are a number of fixed blades. Forgive me for pointing this out, but I don't think Spyderco does as good a job marketing to hunters as they could. Buck and Benchmade, for example, go heavily after that market even though they make knives for other things. I would like to see Spyderco step up its game in this area.

Silky makes a fantastic lightweight folding saw and a Pocketboy model (2 sizes) will fit into a back pocket or sheath.

[SaltyCaribbeanDfly]

I personally like to use a fixed blade and a fixed saw for processing game because they are so much easier to clean, but if I were to use Spyderco folders it’d be these…I’ve actually used the Chef and Siren on whitetail as an experiment and they did just fine however cleaning them was nowhere near as easy as a fixie…

[tomi12]

Here is my hunting setup. Spyderco Shaman CTS-XHP and a very small Browning bone saw. The saw has very aggressive serrations and zips thru bone with ease. The heavy blade of the Shaman is perfect for deer and large game. The blaze orange G10 is a must as I’ve had to use a metal detector to find a misplaced knife on more than one occasion. There is no losing these 2, The steel seems pretty solid as well and have had no corrosion and it holds a good edge.

The saw is pretty cheap and can be obtained on eBay for about $25.

Woow very nice setup but I have a problem finding this knife in Europe. I also lost my brown FRN delica two years ago and could not find it. I am still missing this little knife.

[tomi12]

Hi Tomi12,

Welcome to our forum and thanx for the interest and support.

I'll watch the thread for interest. FYI, Silky makes a number of folding saws, in Japan, that I have tested and found they work well.

sal

I agree Silky is very good.

[tomi12]

Hello, I am new to the forum and I really like Spyderco knives for years. I am also a hunter here in Europe and in my place we primarely hunt roe deer and wild boar. I would really like to see somekind of Spyderco knife with saw for gutting purposes and to cut thru chest and pelvis bone, because here this is the correct way to gut an animal and saw is essential tool. Also we almost do not use fixed blade knives like hunters arround the world. We mostly use Victorinox hunter or hunter xt. But the problem with this knives is that they get dull pretty quickly. I would really like to see Spyderco knife with bladeshape of Stretch or Siren with magnacut steel with good edge retention and rust ressistance and olive green or orange G-10 scales. What do you guys think about that? Also I wont mind to carry two tools saw and knife separatly but Spyderco does not make saws anymore.

Why not use a fixed blade? A large fixed blade is best.

There's tons of folder options. How much money do you have? A well sharpened s30v blade is a solid choice. "Magnacut" is just the steel of the month. It won't have better edge retention than s30v and you'll get price gouged for the hype, no offense to Larrin.

I'd say get a Resilience in s35vn. It has a good steel, a large blade and you can still get it 50% off msrp at some places online.

As for sawing through bone, use a machete! I always use a cheapo Ontario or Cold Steel 2 handed machete to hack apart animals. It's much faster and easier.

I only need to gut a deer in the field and I dont’t like carrying a fixed blade knife. I have different set of knives for butchering.

[tomi12]

I use a police 4 LW serrated k390. You don’t have to split the pelvic bone. It is long enough to cut out the rectum. I’ve never had an issue not splitting the chest either just reach up in and pull everything out. Are you worried about cooling? They’ll cool just fine if it’s cold enough. If not pack them with ice.

I know this tehnique but we have rules to do so. Because all of the meat is sold to company that requres spliting bones. This is why we need saw. And if you want to carry just one tool the Victorinox is one of the rare options. I know the spyderco could make much better quality knife in combination with saw.

[tomi12]

Spyderco makes some good hunting knives. The Stretch drop point is a hunting knife design, and so is the Delica. Plus, there are a number of fixed blades. Forgive me for pointing this out, but I don't think Spyderco does as good a job marketing to hunters as they could. Buck and Benchmade, for example, go heavily after that market even though they make knives for other things. I would like to see Spyderco step up its game in this area.

Silky makes a fantastic lightweight folding saw and a Pocketboy model (2 sizes) will fit into a back pocket or sheath.

I totaly agree with that. But I still prefer Spyderco.

[tomi12]

I personally like to use a fixed blade and a fixed saw for processing game because they are so much easier to clean, but if I were to use Spyderco folders it’d be these…I’ve actually used the Chef and Siren on whitetail as an experiment and they did just fine however cleaning them was nowhere near as easy as a fixie…

Nice combination. It is very sad that they do not make this saws anymore. Cleaning is not easy but I still like a folder for this job. It is probably easier to clean a Spyderco than Victorinox.

[mokele]

I will be interested in one. Silky is great but I prefer Victorinox saw (have both). Of course, Victorinox knife blade is not adequate for the purpose. I wish Stretch XL salt was made from something harder, Magnacut or at least LC200N, sharpening in the middle of butchering or skinning is not always feasible, but I am still considering buying it, as the design is almost ideal for the hunting folder.

[aicolainen]

I use a police 4 LW serrated k390. You don’t have to split the pelvic bone. It is long enough to cut out the rectum. I’ve never had an issue not splitting the chest either just reach up in and pull everything out. Are you worried about cooling? They’ll cool just fine if it’s cold enough. If not pack them with ice.

I know this tehnique but we have rules to do so. Because all of the meat is sold to company that requres spliting bones. This is why we need saw. And if you want to carry just one tool the Victorinox is one of the rare options. I know the spyderco could make much better quality knife in combination with saw.

I use the above method as well. There are no rules against this here in Norway, even when selling the meat to a commercial actor - the “only” requirement is that at least one person participating in gutting and further processing is certified to ensure proper handling of the meat.

Because of this I’ve never needed a saw in the field, so I can’t give advice on that part of your question. As for a folding knife for gutting my choice is a Native 5 Salt. Some, even quite a few hunters will recommend a large knife - and while it’s probably right for them, I’ve always preferred a smaller knife where I have more control of the tip as to not unintentionally puncture any intestines when removing the guts. I mostly hunt moose, deer and roe deer and never had any problems with my small knives. Milage varies, I guess.
The native 5 LW/Salt carries easily, does not rust (easily), has no liners which makes it easier to clean, and if something still sticks it’s a super easy knife to disassemble / reassemble. Not to mention the knife being absurdly solid and tight for a “plastic” knife.

There might be better options out there, I never specifically went looking for a folding knife for hunting, I already had the Native 5 salt back when I realized that I didn’t really need a fixed blade for all the outdoor stuff where I’d previously used fixed blades exclusively. My favorite hunting fixed blade up to that point was the Fällkniven WM-1, and while there are some significant differences it’s not that hard to see why I found it very easy to switch to the N5.