Every hunter makes a dependable life so that they can tackle all the hunting tasks efficiently. Not every knife can handle those requirements and the stress of hunting. That is why you should have special hunting knives.
Hunting games and hunting birds are not the same. And you should not use the same kind of hunting knives either. While a deer hunting knife needs to be large and hefty and ideally be accompanied with a rib spreader, it’d be overkilled to dress a foul with it.
Bird hunting knives should be durable but smaller in stature. It’d be more helpful if there’s an accompanying bird hook for cleaning out intros, with that in mind we’ve compiled a list of the best bird hunting knives. As hunting season is fast approaching. So now is the time to get your gear in order.
So what exactly is a bird and trout knife? A bird and trout knife is a specialized tool used for cutting the meat of fish, such as trout. The blade is usually made of steel, and the handle is typically made of wood. It is used to cut through the skin and flesh of the fish without harming the bone.
Read on to pick the ideal knife to take along on your next bird hunting trip.
Top Bird and Trout Knife Models:
1. CRKT Mossback Bird Hunting Knife
The CRKT Mossback bird hunting knife is hands down the best bird and trout knife on the market. This knife is designed with a drop point blade with a powder coat finish. The blade is made of high-quality carbon steel. It is rust resistance and corrosion resistance. This knife features a blade length of 2.8 inches and 2.29 mm blade thickness. The open length of this knife is 6.5 inches. It features a g handle. The g10 handle is incredibly durable and provides a very tough grip. The knife comes in a nylon sheath. The sheat is compact enough to strap easily to your belt. The sheath material is so lightweight, you won’t even know it’s there. The knife blade comes razor sharp right out of the box. It has a great built-in quality. It’s big enough to handle any knife and small for the trout.
2. Ontario Bird Hunting Knife
The Ontario knife company is one of the best knife cutlery and tool manufacturers, operating out of upstate new york for over 125 years. This Ontario bird hunting knife is one of the best knives in Ontario.This knife checks all the boxes of the best bird and trout knives. It is designed by a custom designer and sheath maker Paul Skyer for maximum performance with elegant simplicity. This features a center point blade and is crafted with high-quality 154-centimeter stainless steel. The blade also features special operations capable powder coating for added durability. The hardness of this blade is 58 to 60 HRC. This knife has 5 inches full flat tapered blade. The blade thickness is 0.13 inches and the blade length is 10 inches. So you can say it’s a pretty big knife. The handle of this knife is linen micarta material. It provides a comfortable grip and is secured to the knife tang with stainless steel Allen screws. This knife included a mall-compatible sheath that features a rigid protective insert. The sheath also features a belt loop worn on the hip in the traditional belt mount configuration.
3. Cold Steel Bird And Trout Knife
Cold steel Bird and trout knife is a great little knife to hang around your neck, put in the pack, carry with you. Frankly, this is a pretty decent little EDC neck knife as well. It is made of 420 J2 stainless steel. It’s a great steel for kitchen knives. It cleans up easily, gets away from germs. It features a 2-inch drop point satin finish blade and its full tang. It’s a sixteenth of an inch thick and if you look at the grind, it becomes nice and slicy for everything you need on a hunting trip. The skeletonized handle of this knife fits tightly in hands and provides a fantastic grip. The overall length of the knife is 5.6 inches and weighs 2.2 ounces. It comes with the composite sheath which you can clip in as well as the beaded chain lanyard that allows it for carrying around the neck. If you are looking for a no-nonsense bird and trout knife, this is like a staple you can wear around your neck while bird hunting. And the main kick is, it is the cheapest trout knife in the market. It’s a great knife for its versatility and at this price point, you should be carrying this around your neck on your next trip out into the wild.
4. Bear and Son Bird Knife
This bear & son bird hunting knife is the perfect knife for hunters, campers, and fishermen. It is designed to be used for tighter spaces such as field dressing small game, birds, filleting fish, and other activities. The blade of this knife is made of high-carbon stainless steel. Blade length is 3 inch and it’s hollow ground. The blade has a nice balance between hardness and corrosion resistance. It comes with a finger groove to help with working in for a more guided accuracy. The blade comes with a full tang design. It is slightly curved for a more comfortable feel. This knife is designed with a stag Delrin handle. This handle material is beautifully crafted and allows for a secure grip. This knife features a leather sheath that allows for leather carry. It makes this knife easy to carry while out camping in the woods.
5. Camillus Finscale Bird & Trout Knife
The Camillus bird hunting knife is the perfect companion for your game kit. The bird also can serve double duty as a great knife for slicing grilled fish and meats. This Camillus bird hunting knife is designed with a titanium bonded 440 stainless steel blade. The steel has great wear and corrosion resistance. It takes a nice edge and is fairly easy to resharpen. It has excellent value-priced steel for its performance. The length of this knife is 3.5 inches. It comes with gimping located on the back of the blade. It provides excellent control while cleaning your catch. It features a durable micarta handle material. The Micarta is a synthetic material and is extremely resistant to water, cold, heat, rot, and corrosion. It is a perfect handle material for bird and trout knives. This beautiful knife comes with a leather sheath for storage. It makes this fin-scale knife a great addition to your hunting lodge.
6. Puma SGB Hunting Knife
The Puma SGB series knives are all handmade by skilled craftsmen. The incredible fit and finished with the handle scales and nickel or brass bolsters would make anyone proud to carry these knives. This Puma SGB bird hunting knife comes with a hollow grind satin finished blade and a hook. The blade is made with 448 german stainless steel. It’s 2.9 inches clip point blade and 6.2 inches overall length. It creates a superior quality knife at a more attractive price point. The blade is razor-sharp and extremely durable. It is proof tested of Rockwell hardness of 55 to 57. the clip point blade will make any hunting and camping task a breeze. The hook will aid in processing game birds another small game. This knife is designed with Jacaranda wood scales with nickel silver bolsters. The wood scales are perfectly textured to keep comfort and control the priority.
7. Rapala Bird Hunting Knife
Rapala takes pride in creating trustworthy knives that are perfect for all outdoor adventures. Whether you are hiking, camping or bird hunting or executing bushcraft, or any other activities, Rapala is the strong performing companion you need. This knife is designed with a German 420 high carbon stainless steel blade. The length of this blade is 3.75 inches. It comes with a terrific balance between hardness and corrosion resistance. This blade offers the balance and precision needed for delicate work. This Rapala bird hunting knife is also ideal for detailed cuts along the bone. The handle of this knife comes with wooden material. The wooden material is baked birch. It provides a secure grip and fits in hand well. This knife comes with a genuine leather sheath with a belt loop. Designed for everyday carry, this knife is a great tool for bird hunting.
8. AishaTech Bird Hunting Knife
If you are a fan of fixed blade knives or want a fixed blade knife for bird hunting, this Aisha Tech Bird hunting knife can be your best choice. It is one of the best budget-friendly knives for bird hunting in the market. This knife features a 100% handcrafted and forged Damascus steel blade. The blade is elegantly crafted with 276 folds. It’s rust resistance and corrosion-resistant. The hardness of this blade is 58 to 60 HRC. It is very durable, feels tough in hand, and at the same time, is very lightweight. It has razor sharp cutting edge that provides effortless cutting. The handle of this knife is made of brown micarta material. The handle provides a comfortable grip to hold this knife easily. The AishaTech bird knife comes in a genuine cowhide leather sheath. The sheath protects the knife well and makes it easy to carry while hunting.
Things To Look For Before Buying a Bird And Trout knife?
Now that you have the list of best bird and trout knives, you need to consider certain things before getting one for yourself.
We will go through the most important features of a bird and trout knife and what to look for when choosing a knife.
Blade
When you’re looking for the perfect kitchen or camping knife, start by looking at the blade first.
We recommend going for the ones between 2.5 and 3.5 inches but don’t go any lower than. These are the best for most birds and trout and will fit well into almost any setup.
German, Swedish, or Japanese steel is best for the blades on these knives. There are several choices for making the best steel for the job: SK-5 carbon steel, 1095 carbon steel, and 6A stainless steel are some excellent choices for cutting birds or trout.
You don’t need to get a heavy-duty bird or trout knife. The blades should be light, so you don’t have to drag them around. This is an ideal thickness for this knife set. A thickness of around 0.1 inches is ideal and recommended for these knives.
Size & Weigth
The sizes of the knives for trout and small game birds should be smaller than those used for larger birds, and the weights of these knives should be lighter.
The best knife for bird hunting is a blade of about six inches in length. They’re easy to carry, compact, and versatile, which makes them ideal for all kinds of skinning and cutting that they need to do.
The recommended weight for this type of knife is 1-2 ounces. We recommend you keep your product weight below 3 ounces for the best hunting experience.
Handle
There are several materials used for knife handles for fillet knives and birds. The most common ones are plastic, wooden, and leather. In this video tutorial, we’re going to show you how to build the same type of wooden box using the dowels and glue method. This type of box will be easy to assemble and make your gift-giving super simple!
More important than the material of the handle is how you hold the handle. Whether the grip is strong or not, you will have control over the knife, if you can hold the knife properly.
Another thing to look for is the length of the handle. If it’s full, or partial, then there’s more to grasp on the bat and it’s easier to swing the bat effectively. This is a knife that everyone should have in their tool kit. A full tang means it’s fully enclosed to prevent splitting.
Sheath
Knife sheaths provide you with safe storage of your knives. To be safe, keep your knife inside a knife sheath that holds it securely. This will keep your knife from slipping out of the sheath and causing an injury, or getting lost.
Make sure that the knife sits perfectly in the sheath so that it doesn’t fall out of the sheath.
For hunting knives, the sheaths are made from leather, and that makes them pretty durable. A true leather sheath is the ultimate travel companion and will serve you well as a first-class leather wallet. A plastic or nylon sheath is also quite durable, but it won’t look nearly as nice when it gets worn down.
Safety and Maintainance Tips for Your Hunting Gears
Here’s a list of some of the things to take care of when maintaining your bird and trout knives.
1. Keep Your knife Sharp
Dull knives are just as dangerous as sharp ones. You should keep them sharpened at all times. You should get a sharpener for your knife because they keep it sharp so that it cuts more predictably. It also reduces your chances of injury because when a knife is predictable, it’s easier to control.
Dull knives are great for making swift, powerful cuts. If you have dull knives you’ll need more force to cut and slice than with sharp knives. Make sure you sharpen your knives using a wet stone. This will give your knives the sharpest edge, and ensure that you never have to buy replacement blades again.
2. Keep Your knife clean
Most of the time, this is the main cause of corrosion on knives. The quality of your knives will deteriorate over time if you let them sit in water for extended periods.
You should clean your knife after every use. If you do, your knife will last a long time. Using it for longer than it’s expected to last makes it easier to use and more comfortable. No matter how expensive your new knife is, you can’t have an expensive knife that will not stand up to normal use and will end up discarded in the garbage when you are finished.
Final Verdict
For beginners and more experienced anglers alike, there’s nothing better than a good knife for fishing. These are some of the best knife recommendations for any fisherman or angler.
If you go camping, you’ll need a good knife. These simple knives are great for camping out under the stars, whether it’s for cooking, camping, or any other outdoor activity.
Make sure the knife that you get for hunting birds should be lightweight, compact, and durable. There are many models that are similar to the one you’ve selected, and all are excellent options.
Hope this Trout & Bird Fish and Game Guide makes it easy to identify and prepare your catch.
Hi, my name is Taras Kulakov and I’m a knife enthusiast. I have been collecting knives for over 30 years and I’ve owned literally thousands of different models over that time. My goal with this site is to share some of what I’ve learned about knives. You can find more info about Taras Kulakov here.
