Almost Geared Up!

[bru]

Picked up some new equipment on a shopping mission today. Got some awsome Scarpa GoreTex boots and an Under Armour hood and some good gloves. Scored a diamond blade sharpener for the camp kit. Little stuff. Every year or so you gotta fill in the gaps. It was fun to shop and feel all excited for this years hunts. Just need a few more camp supplies and we're set.

Any rex on a field knife? Midway has a few affordable ones with a gut hook. I've always used a more generic blade but I want a slick piece this time around. Nothing fancy.

Bought a new hatchet a while back and the edge hasn't been made into a razor yet. I guess thats the consumers responibility. I have a couple of sharpening tools but I'd like the first edge to be really nice. Should I take it somewhere or will a stone and a half hour do it?

[L. Cooper]

I like several of the Gerber or knives. I think they offer very good value for the dollar.

I think gut hooks are a pain in the a**. I've seen a couple of gut hooks that worked and some that didn't, and any gut hooks will get used only about .5% of the time the knife is in use. They are useful for only one short cut in the whole process of gutting a deer. The rest of the time they are awkward and in the way, dangerous at times, and spoil the lines of the knife.

I don't know if they sell in the U.S. but my very "best" knife is a D.H.Russell/Grohmann eliptical bladed knife with (I think) a 4 1/2 inch blade. Never buy a serrated edge. Less than $100 CDN too.

I sharpen my axes with a file and a stone to "finish" it if I have time. I don't use a hatchet because I think they are very dangerous and almost useless compared to a small axe.