What is a hunting knife?Many will find this question strange, because the answer to it, it would seem, is obvious. However, it is enough for a novice hunter to apply for advice on the Internet, as in his presentation the hunting knife will appear like a super weapon that, with one stroke, cuts off the head of a moose or cuts silk in the air and simultaneously can chop a nail on even rings. This, of course, is a joke, but, nevertheless, advice to buy a knife from Damascus, Damascus or other superstyle simply hypnotize the inexperienced person. Therefore, before making a choice of a hunting knife, one must firmly understand that it is, in fact, such and for what it is needed.
Если нож не украшение и не ценный подарок, а is acquired for real hunting, then this is not a weapon in the narrow sense of the word. This is a tool. And, naturally, as to the instrument, absolutely different requirements are imposed on him, rather than on weapons. Of course, they can be slaughtered, but you can also kill a sewing machine. Choosing a hunting knife, you should pay attention to its performance, not to "killer" opportunities and the presence of blood.
Итак, каким общим требованиям должен отвечать hunting knife. Firstly, the overall size and shape of the knife is selected on the hunter's hand, it should be equally comfortable with its knife: cut bread, open canned food, prune branches or freshly carcass the beast. Of course, the concept of "equally convenient" is very conditional and, of course, narrowly specialized knives will cope with the listed tasks much better, however, do not carry the "table set" with you. Precisely because the hunter's knife is his only tool, he must be universal and allow to do everything. Let it not be easy and convenient, the main thing is that it was possible.
Proceeding from the above, it is logical to raise the question ofWhat is the best steel for a hunting knife? And here many are deceived, believing that they have become very firm with perfect firmness. Yes, such steel better grinds, but it rusts and, most importantly, no matter how good the blade is, it will still be blunt, and it will be very difficult to sharpen such a knife in the field. In addition, knives with blades of great hardness, as a rule, are much more expensive than their "soft" brethren, and this is an important detail for a hunting knife. Agree, opening a can or repairing a stone with a knife costing 300-500 dollars is just blasphemy. Experience shows that a stainless steel blade with a hardness of 52 to 58 HRC fully meets all requirements.
Not much less important than the blade, arematerial and shape of the knife handle. As already mentioned, the hunting knife is a universal tool, which means that the correct shape of the handle is smooth, without any inclusions under the fingers, necessarily with a guard that protects the hand from being torn to the blade and, of course, it should not slide in the palm of your hand (under any circumstances ). Traditional wood can be considered a traditional material, however, modern plastic or rubber-plastic does not yield anything to a tree, but it outperforms it in terms of cheapness, durability and mechanical strength. Of course, the handle of the hunting knife should be complete, without any pencil boxes and kits for survival.
In the end I would like to say a few words about the scabbard.Despite the appearance of new excellent materials, many prefer skin. Based on aesthetics and traditions, maybe it's right, but from a practical point of view, it's probably better to use a sheath of synthetic materials. The skin, with all its virtues, becomes wet and dries very long, which, of course, is not good for the knife, but synthetics, on the contrary, do not let moisture pass.
