Need a starting point on knives

[Pushbutton2]

So I want a hunting knife not a typical Walmart knife.

I know little to nothing about knives.

I want to learn.

Here are some of my ponderings.
Convex grinds vs concave grinds.
I know the concave grind caves in.
Why is that good or bad?
What's a hollow grind?
What are fullers for?

What's an rc hardness?
Is cryo treating better?
Which is best?

What are the benefits if the different profiles and points?

Is Damascus just for looks?

I have little to no desire to make my own knife. Looks like too much work.

When I reply to arrow building questions and broadhead selection threads, btw I'm no expert, I always ask what is your intended use.

Here's my intended use.
One knife that will easily
Field Dress deer and pigs.
Skin deer
Draw and quarter pigs.
Maybe remove the head for a trophy.
Without having to be resharpened after 2-3 cuts.

I have a havalon. The blade is skinny and I'm worried about breakage.

I also have a Victronix (sp?) It's sharp but felt kinda stiff when I was trying to cut along the spine to get the backstraps.

I have a Jero with a 6.25" blade. I am nervous using it when I am field dressing a deer. Big blade big hands

[Phdan]

So I want a hunting knife not a typical Walmart knife.

I know little to nothing about knives.

I want to learn.

Here are some of my ponderings.
Convex grinds vs concave grinds.
I know the concave grind caves in.
Why is that good or bad?
What's a hollow grind?
What are fullers for?

What's an rc hardness?
Is cryo treating better?
Which is best?

What are the benefits if the different profiles and points?

Is Damascus just for looks?

I have little to no desire to make my own knife. Looks like too much work.

When I reply to arrow building questions and broadhead selection threads, btw I'm no expert, I always ask what is your intended use.

Here's my intended use.
One knife that will easily
Field Dress deer and pigs.
Skin deer
Draw and quarter pigs.
Maybe remove the head for a trophy.
Without having to be resharpened after 2-3 cuts.

I have a havalon. The blade is skinny and I'm worried about breakage.

I also have a Victronix (sp?) It's sharp but felt kinda stiff when I was trying to cut along the spine to get the backstraps.

I have a Jero with a 6.25" blade. I am nervous using it when I am field dressing a deer. Big blade big hands

Outdoor edge.

[Jason Fry]

Here are some of my ponderings. (This is a lot to ponder....)
Convex grinds vs concave grinds.
I know the concave grind caves in.
Why is that good or bad? - Personal preference. Thinner behind the edge on a hollow, which means better slicing, but may sacrifice durability. Convex means thicker, more durable, slightly less slicey.
What's a hollow grind? The primary grind of the knife is done on a wheel, often an 8 or 10" radius. Compared to a flat grind ground on a platen.
What are fullers for? Show, lol. Technically lighten the blade. Not super useful.

What's an rc hardness? A measure of the steel's indention under a calibrated force. Basic measure of "hardness." 57 is minimal, 58 is ok, 59-60 is good, 61-62 is hard, but may be chippy.

Is cryo treating better? For stainless steels, yes. Lots of debate here. Cryo can add to a good heat treatment, but won't save a bad one.

Which is best? More knives is always best

Here's my intended use.
One knife that will easily
Field Dress deer and pigs.
Skin deer
Draw and quarter pigs.
Maybe remove the head for a trophy.
Without having to be resharpened after 2-3 cuts.

Any reputable custom knife will do that easily. 3 whitetails without sharpening should be no problem.

Some factory knives will perform that well also, but that's not my area of knowledge.

[txpitdog]

I know you’re after a knife with more technical specs, but to be perfectly honest, this is all I’ve ever needed, from piglets to nilgai.

https://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/gerber-myth-field-dress-kit?a=1834464&pm2d=CSE-SPG-15-PLA&utm_medium=PLA&utm_source=Google&utm_campaign=CI&gclid=CjwKCAjwhqXbBRAREiwAucoo-2wF3Tt_nArY76JJZZygMvQtGu3TlVzVnAmff4O62s0dpoSZtE8uRRoCfw0QAvD_BwE

[Briar Friar]

I visited with a knife forger recently and requested a knife be made...one that I designed and will be a daily work use. I wanted it to skin, chop, strip wire, pry, scrape, etc.

He responded...appropriately as follows...edited:
Looking at your unique design and it's intended uses, i don't see it functioning at the steel's full potential at any of it's tasks. The reason i think that is because knife shapes are specialized for optimum performance at a specific task. Skinners should have a thin profile and the hardness should be high so it can hold an edge, such a blade profile would break under prying or chopping stress. Change either of those features and it's no longer a great skinner.
The opposite goes for a chopper, you want it robust enough to let the heft of the blade do a lot of the work. To thick for fine detail work. And, the edge hardness needs to be lower so the cutting edge doesn't chip out.
I can make a knife to your specs but i don't think it will not be the miracle knife you have in mind. I think that it will not perform the intended tasks to the steel's full potential and it will end up just being a novelty.

My response:
Thank you for sharing the various knife edge hardness differences. All things I didnt consider.
Im not looking for a skinner...Ill skin with my skinning knife. Im not gonna chop...Ill chop with my machete or axe. Im not gonna pry...Ill pry with a pry bar. Im not looking for a miracle knife...just a daily scraper and cutter...that will hold an edge.
Is there a middle of the road hardness and steel? Say run-of-the-mill store bought pocket knife hardness?

We settled on a 58-60 hardness and my design. 6” long by 1” wide double edged blade...boot knife ish...tanto one side and round edge on other. 1” serration on tanto side. 1/4” ish steel and a mix between convex and straight edge. $150. Im excited. After I procure my knife I will post my design in a thread...in several weeks.

I hope this helps. If you want to know the forger...PM me...he is a TBHer.