Western Whitetail

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Havalon Knives

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Havalon Knives

by Tom Claycomb III

Havalon Knives As most outdoorsmen are, I’m into knives. I have penned over 40 articles on the subject. As I write this review, I also have to submit two knife articles to two other magazines—deadlines approaching rapidly. After that, I have an e-article titled “Knife Sharpening” due out on Amazon Kindle. Additionally, each year I teach a several knife-related seminars. Most recently, I conducted one at the Dallas Safari Club Convention & Expo. So, when I say that I like knives, I really like knives. This past year, I put my hands on a couple of unique knives from Havalon.

If you’re not familiar with Havalon Knives, you may recognize them as the replaceable-blade-knife with the mantra, “The World’s Sharpest Hunting Knives.” Havalon blades are surgically sharp and when one dulls, you simply replace it with a new one. I timed a replacement—not that skinning should or ever will become a Olympic speed sport—you can take the blade off and put a new one back on in under 2 seconds. It’s possible to change the blades with your fingers, but it is much safer and recommended to do it with a pair of pliers.

THE MODELS

The Havalon, Piranta (~3-inch blade), is good for skinning and caping big game and comes in several models to fit your individual needs, and is available in several blade types. If you like a little fancier-knife, take a look at the Piranta-Whitetail, with scrimshaw engraving of a trophy-class, whitetail buck.

Over the last several years, many taxidermists have turned to scalpels for their skinning and caping needs. For these jobs, the Piranta is the ticket. When I was a kid, I used a small pocket knife to skin out beavers and other unlucky trophies that I trapped. A Havalon would have worked twice as nice.

The larger Baracuta (~5-inch blade), comes in three different models and works well for filleting fish and skinning/boning big game. The Baracuta is available in various blade types as well.

I backpack and hunt in Idaho’s remote wildernesses, so I’m always trying to cut weight to be more efficient. The Baracuta is an excellent choice for a lightweight, fold-up knife that takes up little space, whether you throw it in your pack or strap it on your belt. A perfect choice for an all-around hunting knife.

ABOUT HAVALON KNIVES

The World’s Sharpest Hunting Knives: Never lose your edge with Havalon’s quik-change Piranta and Baracuta knives, with “crazy-sharp blades;” the sharpest knives for hunting, field dressing, skinning and filleting. Hunters, professional guides and wildlife officers rave about our lightweight field dressing and skinning knives with the surgically-sharp blades—blades that taxidermists have been buying for over 25 years. For more information visit, www.havalon.com.