Drop Point vs. Clip Point blades

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 19:52:27 GMT

Ever wonder why a knife was called a drop point knife? Well, there is a very simple reason for that. It's the way the blade is shaped.

On the dull side, the blade comes straight out from the handle to about the middle of the blade length. From there the blade starts to gradually slope down until it gets to the point of the blade. Thus, it is called a "drop point blade." Example of a drop point --> Cold Steel Mini Hunter.

These kind of knives are currently the most popular for hunters. Because the point slopes down at a gradual rate it makes the tip very sturdy and strong. This kind of tip makes a great skinning tool and can take quite a bit of abuse (if the quality of the knife is good). They are mainly used for skinning and slicing things up. I have read around and they are supposedly one of the better survival knives if you aren't a hunter.

The above reasons should be plenty to let you know why they are a great survival as well as a hunter knife.

Don't get these knives confused with the clip-point blades. The clip point is similar but you should be able to easily tell the difference.

The clip-point, from the dull side of the blade, will come straight out from the handle and go about 1/3 of the blade length out. Then it will start to rapidaly drop until it gets to the point. That is why it is called a 'clip-point,' because it's as though somebody clipped part of the blade off. Example of a clip point --> Cold Steel Recon 1.

These types of blades are usually used as a pick, for piercing, and cutting in tight places. Unlike the drop point blades, the clip-point can not take as much abuse or the tip will break and the knife will nearly be useless.

One knife isn't better than the other. It depends on what the job you are doing is and what you prefer. If you are inexperienced, and you know that you're going to be hacking away at things, get a drop point blade. It will last if the quality of the knife is good.

What knife to choose

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 19:59:00 GMT

I have seen a lot of questions asking, "What is the best type of knife to get?" or "I'm getting a knife for my husband/boyfriend and I don't know what to get them. What should I get?" I'm going to (try to) answer these questions in this post.

There are two major types of hunting knives; fixed blades, and folding knives.

First off, the most common hunting knife that is used is the folding knife. The reasons being, they don't require a sheath to cover the blade, they slip right into the owners pocket, and the size is relatively favored. They can be used for nearly every task while hunting and the blade/handle combination has comfortable grip/leverage. The blades are usually around 3 to 4 1/2 inches long which is highly favored among most knife users. There are different types of blades out there, but I'm not going to get into that in this post.

Now the drawbacks. I said that they can be used for nearly every job. Although that is true, they're not always the best knife to be used for the job at hand. For example, if you or the person you're buying the knife for hunts big game and is going to gut it, the folding knife is far to small to get the job done efficiently.

So if you are getting someone a knife and have no clue what type they want; either ask them, their friends, or go with a folding knife. Regarding the brand/expense of the knife - This usually depends on personal prefference and how much you have in your budget. Just remember one thing. You get what you pay for. If you spend $15 on a knife and expect it to last you ten years; you're going to be disappointed after the first year using it. A good knife for a relatively decent price will be somewhere around $80 - $120. Such as this BlackHawk CQD Mark 1. This is one of my favored brands in hunting knives and always will be. The price is decent and the quality is great.