Five Knives I’m Considering Adding to My Vest This Fall
The upland knife market has quietly gotten serious. Here are five blades — from a folder you'll forget is there to a purpose-built bird knife — worth a look before October.
An upland knife doesn't need to do much — breast out birds cleanly, open a lunch apple, maybe skin a rabbit if the day goes sideways. But the right blade makes each of those tasks feel effortless, and the wrong one makes all of them worse. These five are worth your attention this fall, ranging from a purpose-built bird knife to a folder that clips into a vest pocket and disappears until you need it.
MKC Knife
Montana Knife Company - Sharptailed
Steel: MagnaCut Type: Fixed blade Sheath: Kydex
The knife MKC built specifically for upland hunters — and it shows. A thin, precise blade geometry designed for breasting quail, pheasant, grouse, and chukar, in MagnaCut stainless that handles field moisture without complaint. This is the only knife on this list built from the ground up for the task at hand, and it's backed by MKC's Generations lifetime service program.
New West knife
New West Knives - Bird and Trout 2.0
Steel: CPM MagnaCut Type: Fixed blade Sheath: Kydex
Jackson Hole-made and field-tested by the region's hunters, anglers, and trappers. The leaf-shaped blade gives an unrivaled point for clean punctures on smaller birds, and the 2.64" length is purpose-sized for detail work — breasting grouse, cleaning snipe, caping. Available in Ironwood or all-weather SureGrip, with free lifetime sharpening. The compact format is a vest pocket natural.
Winkler Forest Edge
Winkler - Forest Edge
Steel: 80CrV2 Type: Fixed Blade Sheath: Leather
Daniel Winkler's production line carries the DNA of his hand-forged custom work, and the Forest Edge is the most field-versatile knife in the lineup. The spear point profile — closer to a spear point than a traditional drop point — excels at general cutting tasks, the 80CrV2 carbon steel takes a screaming edge and sharpens easily in the field, and the tapered tang keeps the balance right. The leather-over-Boltaron sheath is one of the nicest in this price range. Note: Winkler operates on order lead times of 2–4 months from the shop directly.
winklerknives.com →
Benchmade Steep Country
Benchmade - Steep Country
Steel: CPM-S30V Type: Fixed Blade Sheath: Boltaron
Three ounces. That's the whole knife — a full-tang, fixed-blade S30V drop point with a Santoprene handle that stays grippy when things get slippery. The Steep Country is built for the backcountry chukar hunter who doesn't want to think about their knife: light enough to forget, capable enough to handle any processing task from quail to a late-season valley pheasant. Boltaron sheath included. Made in the USA.
Benchmade Mini Tagged Out
Benchmade - Mini Taggedout
Steel: CPM-154 Type: Folder, AXIS lock Handle: Olive Grivory
The folder option on this list. Benchmade's Mini Taggedout takes the ultralight carry philosophy of the Bugout and rebuilds it for hunting — CPM-154 clip point blade, AXIS lock, hi-vis orange handle that doesn't disappear in a vest pocket. At this size it's genuinely pocketable without sacrificing anything you'd use a hunting knife for in the uplands. LifeSharp service included for life.
