Henry Rifle Forums

many if not most of us who have hunted and cleaned big game animals have come to value a solid blade with a gut hook .... we've also learned that to thoroughly clean a folding skinning knife can take a good bit of effort .... with those realities in mind, I'm pretty sure I've found the next blade to add to my collection .... specifically a Buck Knives Alpha Crosslock Knife Black (link below) .... its most certainly not a fancy knife but the bottom line for me is, its a Buck that's specially designed for the use I have in mind ....

https://www.amazon.com/Buck-Knives-Alph ... merReviews

Can I learn what your planned use is? "its a Buck that's specially designed for the use I have in mind ...."

Here is why I ask. You noted these two points:
~~~a solid blade with a gut hook.
~~~to thoroughly clean a folding skinning knife can take a good bit of effort ....

I have a suggestion as seen on the two links below. Buck has another knife (I bought two of these, different blade lengths), which is a 3.5" fixed-blade knife with a guthook. Solid knife, and extremely easy to clean. Also carries a good steel in 420HC. I'd suggest also that if you wanted an even more substantial handle grip on this fixed-blade with less slippage when cleaning a harvest, a paracord wrap is easy-on/easy-off. If the paracord is too dirty to re-use, really inexpensive to replace.

Finally, looks like this is a better price than the one you're considering, if that is important.

Buck web site description: https://www.buckknives.com/product/pakl ... 0141SSG-B/

Knife Center, where I bought mine at good price: https://www.knifecenter.com/item/BU0141 ... ter-sheath

Thoughts worth about two cents.
PT7

JEBar wrote:many if not most of us who have hunted and cleaned big game animals have come to value a solid blade with a gut hook .... we've also learned that to thoroughly clean a folding skinning knife can take a good bit of effort .... with those realities in mind, I'm pretty sure I've found the next blade to add to my collection .... specifically a Buck Knives Alpha Crosslock Knife Black (link below) .... its most certainly not a fancy knife but the bottom line for me is, its a Buck that's specially designed for the use I have in mind ....

https://www.amazon.com/Buck-Knives-Alph ... merReviews

PT7 wrote:Can I learn what your planned use is? "its a Buck that's specially designed for the use I have in mind ...."

Here is why I ask. You noted these two points:
~~~a solid blade with a gut hook.
~~~to thoroughly clean a folding skinning knife can take a good bit of effort ....

I started out using fixed blade knives for cleaning big game and they did well .... overtime I found that wearing a fixed blade knife got in my way in some hunting stands so I went with a folding knife .... because of the various places "stuff" can get into with a folding knife, the problem was getting them really clean after being used .... for me having a gut hook is the only way to go .... with the gut hook, there is much less likelihood of cutting into the stomach or intestines while field cleaning .... been there, done that, don't want to do so again .... the link above to the Buck Alpha addresses both issues