I have a lot of knives,many are "just knives" and I see 'just knives' in a lot of blokes kit or on belts.

I thought I knew enough about knives until I stepped into my role as a knife hand on a mutton chain doing the 'opening up' role that was unzipping 3200 sheep guts going past at 15 a minute on an 80 man chain. Yep 3200 a day.

Didn't i have to learn it all in no time and a $15 Green River or two were the blades for me.

One learns very quickly and graduated from knife hand to slaughterman where knife skills and sharpening methods were even more important. I utilise those learned skills today in my hunting. Number 2 outlined above is what I use my hunting knives for and I would never whittle a stick or cut a rope or even a hard cheese.Cigar? Bite the fucking end off! I have a few of the 'just a knife' variety for that.

I am a real carbon steel fan btw. Adding to the carbon steel mix was that I worked on a shark boat between San Remo Phillip Island Vic and Tassy and with 2.25 miles of net on a huge drum the school sharks never seemed to stop coming on board as the net was robbed. Only up to a 6' length they stillhad a fair gut line to open.

My knife ah lah the skippers home made job was one half of a sheep hand clipper that had a wooden dowel taped into the 1/2 round ' spring handle. All the shark boats had the same knives due to the wonderful high carbon steels in them "and they are the only one`s that stand up to the job on a shark boat" was the mantra.
Now when it comes to unzipping sharks and taking their heads off a quality steel was in order as shark skin is abrasive as.I went with the flow of course and used what was supplied and looking back I would love a knife blade made/shaped from one of those blades as something a little different.

Of those three above number three would do for my kit and it wouldn't cut anything other than game.

2.) Fit for use as a Standard Hunting Knife. Can the knife dress a large game animal at least to the point of quartering, removing loins and backstraps, basic bird/fish cleaning and other standard and customary hunting duties.