Inner peace is having a good knife in your pocket and an equally good spare in your pack.
And which knife, you ask, excels at bringing about said inner peace? The one that gets the job done best for you.
There’s a knife for every season and reason, along with a plethora of quality brands from which to choose these days. In buying the perfect knife for yourself, all kinds of factors come in to play (hand size, primary purpose, type of steel, and handle design, just to name a few), so I’m not going to get into all those nitty-gritty details. But here are some of the knives we love for everything from cutting to gutting and why we like them.
Note: Links are provided for your convenience, but we ain’t got no sponsors and are simply sharing the brands that work well for us.
Hunting
The Havalon Piranta is razor sharp and super lightweight. We’ve gutted lots of animals with it in the field and appreciate the ease with which the replaceable blades snap on and off and save time on sharpening. The blaze orange handle makes it easier to find when you leave it lying on the ground (we might know this from actual experience). 
The CASE Leather Hunter Knife is a great little made-in-the-USA, fixed-blade knife that’s great for small hands like mine. It’s smooth, sleek, and fits my grip really well. It’s also the perfect size for field dressing turkeys, although I’ve used it on deer, as well. It gets bonus points for being pretty and easy to clean.
My husband’s grandfather gifted this knife to my husband, so its sentimental value, coupled with all the memorable adventures it has seen over the years, makes it extra special. It sports a 1940s steel blade and a custom antler handle that my husband chose as a replacement for the original.
I obviously don’t have a link for this one, but if you’re interested in getting an old knife reworked or a custom knife made for you, our friends at Lovely Knives and Leather in Corvallis, Montana makes gorgeous knives and can probably help you out.
Everyday Carry
The Spyderco Native is my husband’s go-to knife and a frequent flier in his pants pocket. Its ergonomic handle, ability to hold an edge, and convenient thumb hole opening are just a few of the features he appreciates. He also likes the tough handle material and serrations on the blade’s spine that facilitates better cutting control.
The Spyderco Dragonfly frequents my husband’s pocket almost as frequently as the Native. Despite its small size, the Dragonfly can do the work of a much bigger knife. The thumb hole makes opening it a breeze, and the orange color (which, you may have noticed, we totally dig) provides for greater visibility.
Butchering
The knives we love for butchering are Victorinox, specifically the Victorinox flexible boning knife and 8” breaking knife. They are shaped well for meat processing, have non-slip handles, are easy to wash, and offer good overall value. Here’s a related article for more on what we use for butchering.
What are some of your favorite knives?
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