Venturing the woods or wilderness is more than just an activity, and many effects used in the wild become heritage items passed onto the next generation of adventurers or hunters. If you plan to do the same, you deserve knives from the world’s famous producers of antique hunting knives.
Since the early days, these eight brands have been creating hunting knives. Getting old hunting knives for sale from them is still possible in thrift shops or garage sales. But to make your search easier, let’s check out their modern hunting knives still made with the signature technology they use in producing vintage knives.
Let’s start!
Marbles is the first producer of hunting knives in the United States, with Webster L. Marble masterminding the creation of its first models—the Ideal, Expert, Campcraft, and WoodCraft—from 1899 to 1915. America's boy and girl scouts even used the knives back in the days because of their practical designs.
Today, the Marbles Safety Folder model from the historical knife brand is still available.
The Marbles Safety Folder is a folding hunting knife with a 6 ¼-inch drop-point blade excellent for preparing bigger game like a deer or wild boar. The blade is longer than the handle that houses it, so you might ask, “How is the edge secured?”
A folding guard flips out at the butt end of the handle, so when the blade closes, the extended tip is still covered.
The stag bone handle gives the knife a natural, customized, and authentic look. Just be careful when handling it wet as it might be a bit slippery. Still, you are assured this handle material can stand the test of time because of its durability.
Puma is a brand from one of the world’s famous producers of knives—the City of Blades, Solingen, Germany.
The Puma trademark came to life in 1769 after Johann Wilhelm Lauterjung registered the brand to Solingen’s knifemakers’ guild. Yet, it was only in 1956 that Puma produced its famous hunting knife—the White Hunter, which they still manufacture today.
Puma has a plethora of hunting knives, but what else would you better get than the historical White Hunter?
The White Hunter’s 6-inch, drop-point fixed blade is made of stainless steel, ensuring that the blade remains corrosion-free and sharp despite skinning and gutting countless rabbits, fowls, or hogs. It doesn’t matter if you have a small, medium, or huge game; you can count on the White Hunter to assist in your preparation needs.
Equally robust as the blade is the knife's staghorn handle. The natural details of the staghorn make each handle unique.
The leather sheath also perfectly matches the natural-looking, white-and-brown handle, and it comes with a lanyard you can easily tie on your backpack or belt.
Another brand coming from the City of Blades is Hubertus Solingen, which even bears the city’s name. The first catalog of knife models created by Hubertus, mostly outdoor knives and hunting knives with fixed and folding blades, dates back to the 1950s and is now a historical piece.
We recommend the Classic-Style German Knife because of the practical ways you can use it when you are outdoors.
You can use the Classic-Style German Hunting Knife’s 4.13-inch stainless steel fixed blade not only in gutting and skinning your game but also in performing practical camping tasks like cutting ropes or wood for making fire, thanks to the blade’s saw spine.
Do you need to skin and gut a deer’s or a hog’s intricate parts with preciseness? Do you want to saw branches and tough ropes with more rigid and stable force? Both are possible because of the solid grip the Classic-Style German Hunting Knife’s staghorn handle provides.
In different tasks, the nickel silver bolster and leather sheath ensure your safety as they keep your fingers away from the sharp blade.
The Case brothers—William Russel, Andrew, John, and Jean—are the people behind the foundation of Case Knives. The brand boasts the inclusion of their knives in America’s key historical events like World War II and the flight of Apollo 11, which carried the first man to ever step on the moon.
With these milestones already marked on Case’s history, you will surely want to have a knife from the brand. Thus, we recommend you get the Case Arkansas, a winner of Blade Magazine’s “Collaboration Knife of the Year.”
Hunting knife experts advise not to get knives with long blades, and the Case Arkansas Hunter caters to that with its 3 1/2-inch blade. The clip-point blade is made of 154CM stainless steel, making it robust and sharp despite endless puncturing and general slicing tasks outdoors.
Antique Case hunting knives of this model have a jigged bone design on the handle, which makes them impressive externally. Once the blade is folded, the Case Arkansas Hunter measures 4 ⅝ inches. If you are ready to prepare your game or any ingredient, you can easily slide the folding pocket knife in and out of your pocket.
This brand has been manufacturing knives since 1818, and along with Case, it is one of the US brands collectors covet. Although Dexter Russel today sells all sorts of kitchen utensils and knives, it still manufactures knives you can use outdoors.
We recommend this knife because of the gut hook incorporation making it stand out from other knives.
This blade from Dexter Russell stands out as a hunting knife because of the gut hook design, which ensures that in the preparation process, the innards and intestines of the game you are preparing stay intact and do not get punctured. As a result, bacteria inside the guts do not contaminate the meat.
The handle of this knife is made with modern SofGrip technology, which gives you a comfortable and solid grip. The black handle perfectly matches the silver blade and overall contributes to the visual appeal of the hunting knife.
From swordmaking in 1829, Boker moved to forge hunting knives. The blade designs they manufacture have evolved but not the signature strength of the blades that can cut through a knight’s steel shields. You can still expect the same blade strength from Boker’s hunting knives.
We recommend the Boker Arbolito Venador for its visually pleasing vintage look matched with blades that you can use with practicality.
Boker’s Arbolito Venador is a 5.51-inch drop-point, fixed-blade knife made of N695 stainless steel, so strength in gutting and skinning larger game is right within your hands. The satin finish of the knife makes it less glossy but still visually pleasing.
Adding to its beauty is the brown ebony wood handle with specially shaped pins to keep the tapered tang intact to the handle. Aside from being beautiful, the handle design ensures you get a solid grip and sure cuts. It also comes with a cowhide sheath that keeps you safe from injuries and makes it a joy to carry because of its classy color.
Vintage hunting knives need not be hard to find, especially if you know the brands that have been manufacturing them for the longest time. Marbles, Puma, Hubertus Solingen, Case, Dexter Russel, and Boker are only some of the oldest brands, but more are still out there! With that, you’ll find more antique knives to add to your collection faster.
We know that having just one vintage knife does not make a collection, so keep in mind the knives we listed just in case you are planning to collect them one by one.
