Types of Hunting Knives and What Each One Is For

A hunting knife is a knife made to field dress, skin and butcher game. Most are fixed blades with a 3.5 to 5 inch blade, carried in a sheath on the belt. The type you need depends on the game you hunt and on how much of the processing you do yourself.

If you already know you want a fixed blade for the field, our hunting knives are all 10 inches overall with a 5 inch blade, in drop point or clip point, each with a leather sheath.

What is a hunting knife used for?

Three jobs, in order: field dressing (opening the animal and removing the organs), skinning (separating the hide from the meat) and butchering (breaking the carcass into cuts). Around camp the same knife handles food, cord and small carving jobs. It is not a hatchet: splitting wood or hammering on the spine is how hunting knives get damaged.

The main types of hunting knives

Drop point

The back of the blade slopes down to meet the edge, so the point sits low and strong, and the long curved belly does the skinning. The low tip is easier to keep out of the organs and the hide. It is the most common hunting shape because it does all three jobs well. Our Deer Hunter, Beast Hunter and Predator Hunter are drop points.

Clip point

The spine dips before the tip, as if a piece had been clipped away. That gives a finer, lower point for piercing and detail work, at the cost of a slightly weaker tip than a drop point. Our Bear Hunter is a clip point on a 10 inch frame, and the Leopard Hunter is a 12 inch clip point with a 7 inch blade.

Skinning knife

A skinner has a short blade with a deep, sweeping belly, sometimes with an upswept tip. It exists for one job: long, even strokes between hide and meat. Many hunters skin with a drop point instead, which is why our skinning knives are all drop points.

Caping knife

A small knife with a 2 to 3.5 inch blade for detail work around the eyes, ears and antlers when a hide is being kept for a mount. It is a second knife, carried alongside the main one, not a replacement for it.

Gut hook

A gut hook is a sharpened hook ground into the spine near the tip. You slip it under the hide and pull, and it opens the skin without cutting into the organs underneath. Some hunters swear by it; others open the cavity with the tip of a drop point, edge facing up. None of our knives has one.

Boning knife

A thin, often flexible blade of 5 to 7 inches for taking meat off the bone. It belongs in the butchering kit at home or at camp rather than on the belt in the field.

Bowie knife

A large fixed blade, usually 6 to 12 inches, with a clip point and a crossguard. It is a general camp and butchering knife with plenty of reach. Heavy chopping is still a job for an axe or a saw. If you want reach, our large knives run from 12 to 14 inches overall with 7 to 9 inch blades.

Fixed blade or folding?

A fixed blade has no hinge to clog with blood, fat or hair, cleans more easily and is stronger through the handle. A folder is lighter and pockets flat. For field dressing, most hunters carry a fixed blade in a sheath. Every Bigcat is a fixed blade with a leather sheath.

How to choose the right hunting knife

A blade much longer than 5 inches gets harder to steer around a joint, which is why most hunting knives stop there. Past size and shape, look at the handle (it should sit in your hand the same way every time, including when it is wet), the sheath (it should hold the knife when you bend over) and the steel (it should be easy to keep clean and sharpen in the field).

Looking after a hunting knife

Blood and fat are hard on carbon steel. Clean the blade the same day, dry it completely, and wipe on a thin coat of oil. Let the leather sheath dry on its own before the knife goes back in. Our knife care guide has the full routine.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best type of hunting knife for a beginner?

A drop point with a 3.5 to 5 inch blade. It field dresses, skins and butchers deer-sized game, and the low tip is forgiving.

What size hunting knife do I need for deer?

A blade of about 3.5 to 5 inches. Longer blades are harder to control close to the hide.

Is a bowie knife a hunting knife?

It can be. A bowie is a large clip point with a crossguard, used for camp work and butchering. For field dressing, most hunters prefer something shorter.

Do I need more than one hunting knife?

Many hunters carry two: a drop point for most of the work and a small caping knife for detail. For deer-sized game, one good drop point covers the job.

Written by the Bigcat Knives team. Last reviewed 28 September 2026.