Ditto on the cheap knives I leave them all over the place, I throw them in the back of my truck and find them a year later. About 3 cheap ones will get me thru deer season. Tractor supply whatever they got in the case for $12.

just ordered the buck 192br vanguard

I have alot of knives,30yr old Rigid,Knives of Alaska,Hollett Customs,Buck,Old Timers but the best is a 20.00 Kershaw from Wally World that my ex give me for Christmas. Holds an edge much longer and easier to sharpen.

Kershaws are great.

Sticshooter or Kimmo enough said

Expert? Nah. I've been carrying and using store boughts for a long time. About 12 years ago I became interested in making my own. I'm not a custom maker per se, but I have made a few. Actually, I'm more interested in the heat treat than I am in making them. If you like store bought knives with cheap metal and plastic handles and if they serve you well, there's nothing wrong with that. However, I would bet if you had a good custom made one, you would chunk the cheap stuff in the trash. One more thing, just because it's custom made, doesn't mean it's great. You could take one of the knives I've made and put it next to someone who does real good work and mine would pale in comparison.

I've got LOTS of hunting knifes, folding, fixed, both with and without gut hooks, short stout, or flexible blades, wooden handles to rubbers handles.

I keep a couple of the favorites in the truck, and a couple in a fanny pack (that I only take 50% of the time, antway).
When I'm in Colorado, or some other big hunt, I'll take a bigger pack and a few more knifes. Usually the ones from the door of my truck.

But my "best all around" that is with me 365 and has probably cleaned more game than any of 'em is:



My keys and my knife are THE TWO things that I just DO NOT loose. And if I do I will turn the world upside down to find 'em.

Kershaw Scallion Half Serrated stainless (K1620FLST)that I carry everyday regardless of what I'm doing.

case pocket knives, timeless

I primarily use a Winchester Walmart special with a guthook. It's been my do everything knife for a while now.

I carry it in the field most of the time.

Carry for everyday is my Case XXchanger that I had for sale for a day but realized I actually liked it too much to get rid of it.

I have a Puma Hunter's Pal that I use for cleaning, but I haven't been able to find it since we moved, so it's either here or still at my dad's house. I'll find it one day.

I love mine, I prefer it to be a plain blade though! Mine has lasted quite well and I use it for random stuff pretty much every day.

Sog Fieldpup

Benchmade Griptilian fixed blade works great for me!! I also carry the Griptilian folder on my belt, but prefer the fixed blade model for the real work.

I've probably owned & used a couple hundred knives over the years, but have pretty much quit buying new ones the last few years. My all-time favorite hunting/skinning knife is a Gerber Magnum Hunter fixed blade that I've had for 30 years. I've never found any knife - store bought or custom - that would hold an edge like it does. It's tool steel with chromed faces. The newer stainless knives just don't match up, in my experience. I've dressed & butchered elk, deer, hogs, squirrels, and armadillos with it, and quit carrying a steel to the lease many years ago... just no need.

For my daily carry knife, I've pretty much settled on a Victorinox (Swiss Army Knife) Tinker. Light, holds a pretty good edge, and has enough tools on it that I don't screw up the cutting blade doing something a blade was never meant to do. It's cleaned it's share of deer, squirrels, and armadillos, too, and an extra benefit is that when it gets nasty, I can pop it in the dishwasher to clean it. Cheap enough that if I lost it, I wouldn't be out too much money (although I haven't actually lost a knife in many years).

thinking of getting me a SOG EDC knife...

I've got one of their Flash assisted opening knives. Fairly good blade (probably AUS8). Holds an edge pretty well (better than the 440 stainless Gerbers & Cold Steel, but just doesn't "feel" right in my hand.

I love the Outdoor Edge Kodi-pak. A caper, skinner, and a saw.

The SOG Seal Pup as well and the Old Timer Gut Hook. The SOG holds an edge unbelievably well IMO.
It's had a rough life from being my dive knife, cutting silt fence, hay bale strings and plastice drain pipe. Broke off a tiny bit of the tip but that may have saved me from puncturing a gut or two..LOL.

I love my 4" fixed buck knife also, but this year I bought a kodi pak made by outdoor edge that is pretty tough to beat. Its is as sharp as you can get straight from the factory.

I use a benchmade 585 mini-barrage, but I also carry a couple of f. Dick German 5" flex blade boning knives with the blue handles in my truck. Them F. Dick are cheap, but they hold a edge good. I have big hands and the big blues grips fit like a glove!!
http://www.instawares.com/f-dick-boning.fdi-8298013.0.7.htm

I suggest Moore Maker hunting knives, 1095 high carbon steel. Hammer tested to a 57 +/- 1 rockwell. They hold an edge, They'll sharpen on a rock. If any body's looking foe one check; http://shop.docsknifeworks.com/category.sc?categoryId=30

Kershaw for me.

4 inch drop point folder, Buck or Gerber.

Nobody has mentioned my favorite. It is a Camillus double lock blade model #716. They are out of business now so they are very hard to find. These are great knives that were made in the good ole U S of A. Awesome knife.

mine is a Buck sheath knife with a skinner hook. Simple, inexpensive, sharp, and multi-purpose