Any knife fanatics out there?

Been doing a lot research regarding knives and machetes - for outdoor use of course. I was looking for a blade that could do it all = basically, a "man-knife"  (chop wood, skin animals, gut and fillet fish, open a can of beans and all that other cool stuff )

Here's one that I think can do the job....

Any other thoughts or other opinions ?

http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=248

Here's a Forester....

Mooch get an older made in USA Buck General you can drive them though a 2x4 with a hammer. They are a little hard to sharpen but keep a decent edge for awhile. The Special Hunters are tough also.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.soonerstateknives.com/B-120-Buck-General.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.soonerstateknives.com/olderbuckknives.htm&usg=__lYVPT6e5GelyRuSJfZ5HhePcu40=&h=478&w=820&sz=73&hl=en&start=4&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=eR6pw3cakfk3PM:&tbnh=84&tbnw=144&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbuck%2Bgeneral%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3DHQz%26sa%3DX%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26channel%3Ds%26tbs%3Disch:1

I totally agree with Eric B when he said "you can't have too many knives or flashlights".

Spyderco has a good rep, but I haven't field tested any of their blades. That woodsman looks good though.

Working on our property I have used a few different brush cutting blades, from cheap to expensive. I liked my Buck special very much, but as Mike said it is tough to sharpen. Since I was pretty tough on it I have now reserved it for more "civilized" cutting. It wasn't heavy enough for me anyway.

I used a kit bowie that had a 9" blade for a while & liked it. I then got into cutting mortise & tenon joints for some rustic furniture & went to a classic Coleman bowie my folks got me as a gift. It held up well but the steel rusted if I didn't baby it (this is a field knife though & I'm not known for baby-ing my gear regardless).

I went looking for a machete after a trip to Costa Rica (where every guy you see in the country has one) but then I found the Indian Kukri. This is the knife still issued to Indian military & made famous by their Gurka troops. I got the model still made as a general issue and have been using it for over a year. For chopping limbs (tree limbs, although it would take mammal limbs off equally well ) and such its my hands down favorite knife I've used. I don't think it would do well as a fishing/hunting blade, but that's why I kept my Buck special, my gerber spring assist, my fillet blades, and my CRKT dogfish.
Actually, the CRKT dogfish is a great little blade that fits in my Kukri scabbard (Kukris are usually accompanied by two small blades in the scabbard, the Karda & Chakmak-for camp chores and for burnishing nicks off of the main knife).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kukri

good info fellas - keep 'em comming!

 

  I have the buck knifes, (pictured above in the link) one in 7" and my "Trout knife" in the 5" size.  I like them, and they have a lifetime warranty!  I didn't know this when I broke my very first one, I ended up just tossing it then found out I could have had it replaced! Doh...

Remember when everyone used to wear Buck knives???  Used to see em everywhere.

My favorite is the fixed blade Bucks, like Mike linked to.  Pretty good all around knife.  Walmart has em cheaper than anywhere I've seen.

But I want a kukri, too....

Remember when everyone used to wear Buck knives???  Used to see em everywhere.

The "Dukes of Hazzard" show turned the folding buck knife into a fashion accessory! I wore one as a teen when I worked as a summer help ranger & I thought it was the coolest. Nowadays its all just multi-tools

Mooch, I've heard some good things about Cold Steel blades too, they make all types of knives. Back in the day I remember the Cold Steel "Tanto" was a big deal, the ad showed a guy piecing a car door with one & then yanking it out of the car to slice a tomato or something.

Remember when everyone used to wear Buck knives???  Used to see em everywhere.

My favorite is the fixed blade Bucks, like Mike linked to.  Pretty good all around knife.  Walmart has em cheaper than anywhere I've seen.

But I want a kukri, too....

I still wear a knife everyday.  I have a Benchmade with a nice McHenry and Williams blade. I especially like when I need to use it at work among the office cubicles. As I flick the blade out I give a subtle but forceful Marine Corps style "Kill!" The reactions I get from the women and even some of the men in the office are priceless. 

BTW Mooch, you can't go wrong with the old Marine Corps Ka-Bar. It's what I carry in the woods and the Marine Corps has been issuing the Ka-Bar since WWII. Here's the one I carry:

https://www.kabar.com/product/productDetail.do?productNumber=1218&mode=category&categoryId=1,2,3,7&categoryName=Military/Tactical

It would also make a great Alaska knife. Here's how it originally got it's name:
"The name "KA-BAR" came to be after the company received a poorly written English letter in which the author wrote how the company's knife saved his life after he was attacked by a bear and his gun failed to kill it. All that was legible was "k a bar", and the company adopted that as their trademark."

Mooch get an older made in USA Buck General you can drive them though a 2x4 with a hammer. They are a little hard to sharpen but keep a decent edge for awhile. The Special Hunters are tough also.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.soonerstateknives.com/B-120-Buck-General.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.soonerstateknives.com/olderbuckknives.htm&usg=__lYVPT6e5GelyRuSJfZ5HhePcu40=&h=478&w=820&sz=73&hl=en&start=4&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=eR6pw3cakfk3PM:&tbnh=84&tbnw=144&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbuck%2Bgeneral%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3DHQz%26sa%3DX%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26channel%3Ds%26tbs%3Disch:1

Joel - This is great advise here. Get a fixed blade buck and you will not be disapointed. I've been using a buck knife for about 40 years. Still as good as new. May be a little hard to get a good edge but will hold that edge a long time.

OK, I may be a knife fanatic. I get all excited looking through the Benchmade, Cold Steel, and Ka-Bar web sites. 
I was just looking through the Ka-Bar site and noticed they make a Kukri for $75. It's more knife than I would want, unless I planned on a lot of bush-whacking, but it sure is nice:

https://www.kabar.com/product/productDetail.do?productNumber=1249&mode=category&categoryId=1,2,3,7&categoryName=Hunting/Sporting

Of course, if your looking for an all out basher, there's this:

https://www.kabar.com/product/productDetail.do?productNumber=BK3&mode=category&categoryId=1,2,3,7,8,9&categoryName=Hunting/Sporting

I've opened over 30+ rib cages elk deer hog bear with my buck knives , still nothing beats a fillet knife for boning and cutting meat. 

I've bought a lot of cool looking knives from Gerber, CRKT, leatherman, etc...  All of them turned out to be crap in the end.  What a waste...  Now I have a SOG Seal Pup http://sogknives.com/store/pupelite.html and am holding out hope that I got a decent knife for the price that will last a while.  Probably should have gotten a Buck 

I carried spyderco knives for about 10 years and finally got tired of the steel.  it takes a wicked edge, but dulls up fast so by the time i had some of them for 4-5 years they were getting all used up, as the primary bevel is rather steep.  the steel also tends to be a little brittle, resulting in all of mine having broken tips...

now I carry buck folders and "knives of Alaska" when I hunt 

available at your friendly Cabelas....http://www.cabelas.com/p-0006357513909a.shtml

I have had this knife through 8 deer seasons and use it to split the pelvis, skin out and chop bone for removal of the head and feet....this knife is WICKED and indestructible (the blade and tang are 3/16in thick!)...I got one for my pop to replace his old buck (30 yrs old) and he said last year that it has been one of the best gift he ever received...

I've opened over 30+ rib cages elk deer hog bear with my buck knives , still nothing beats a fillet knife for boning and cutting meat. 

Sorry, I'm realizing my posts are prolific in this thread.  
But, if you want a knife purely for hunting, I think the previous posts about Buck knives are great. I use a Buck Alpha Folder as my skinning/gutting knife. They make a fixed blade version too.
http://www.buckknives.com/index.cfm?event=product.detail&productID=3085