Bear Bums - Bear Hunting

I just read this review of the Bear Skinner Suregrip Cleaver by Knives of Alaska. I repeat myself in saying, I love knives! When I pack for a hunting trip I have a dilemma as to which knife, knives I pack. It does matter to me what I’m hunting.

Bear Skinner Suregrip Cleaver by Knives of Alaska

For example, on a moose hunt I know I’ll need a lot of blade and I don’t have to worry about cutting up the hide very much as the hide is so thick. Different for an antelope hunt…frail, fragile skin, hide, with hair that slips easily. This requires a tiny blade and no putting off the skinning or rushing through the job. Bear hides, which I also love, are probably in between moose and antelope somewhere.

If I’m flying or backpacking each day, or go on a hunt from a remote tent camp or hotel room, I choose my one knife to take. With few exceptions, I now, after trial and error, make the knife decision when I pack at home. My advice, take one knife with you on a hunt, and it will never be the Skinner Cleaver knife.

I own a Knives of Alaska knife, the Cub Bear. I love it and it ends up on most of my hunts. It is small, handy and holds an edge very well. This knife seems easy for me to put a new good edge on as I’m skinning. If I want a bigger blade as with moose I really like the Grohmann knife in the original design.

Cub Bear by Knives of Alaska

This said, I still love knives and if at home I would want the small, easy blade of the Cub Bear knife, the bigger palm fitting style of the Grohmann and the huge weighty blade of the Knives of Alaska Brown Bear Skinner Suregrip Cleaver. But not in my backpack or even in my suitcase. Here I’ve learned to take the one I will really use.

Mostly I thank the knife makers who provide us with rabbit, coyote, deer, bear, and moose skinnin’ toys. Remember as hunters, our hands are different and our minds are way different and we support a huge array of knives, guns, ammo, camo, and the list goes on. Thanks onlyknives.com for the review and keep it up.