LAST UPDATED: May 1st, 2015
Written by Bowhunting.com contributor Tom Claycomb II.
I met the Outdoor Edge team at the 2013 SHOT Show. One thing led to another and soon I was testing their SwingBlaze knife. I do a lot of knife related seminars every year and at a couple of the seminars people had told me that they really like this knife. This made me want to try it for myself that much more. And, after using it, I can see why it has become a popular knife.
Let’s look closer at a few of the positive features that I see in this knife. To begin with, in the back of my mind I’ve always wondered how a foldup knife can hold up to the stress that we outdoorsmen put them through. Think about it. The knife spine doesn’t extend all the way to the back of the handle like a straight blade knife does. The blades on the cheaper fold-ups that I bought as a kid routinely got loose and eventually wobbled. However, with a swing blade, the blades rotate something like a windmill so I would think that this design could take some rough treatment.
Operation of the SwingBlaze is simple. Just push the lock button and the blade changes from a drop-point skinner to the ultimate gutting blade to open game like a zipper. This innovative blade cuts under the skin eliminating the chance of cutting hair or internal organs.
Next, the SwingBlaze has a rounded edge designed for skinning and it is of adequate length. The thing that makes this knife unique is that instead of making it a two bladed fold-up, Outdoor Edge made it a swing knife which incorporates the other end into a gutting blade. The gutting blade has a ball on the end so you won’t pop the intestines when you are gutting your animal. It’s easy to slip and pop the intestines when you’re gutting your animal, especially if your animal has bloated up a little. Besides stinking, it’s actually not a good thing if you get the paunch on your meat as it will spoil 100x faster. The paunch also contains salmonella and E Coli which are pathogens (Pathogens are bad bacteria that makes you sick or kills you).
The SwingBlaze is hand finished shaving sharp from AUS-8 stainless steel and subzero quenched for superior edge retention and performance. Rubberized Kraton handles ensure a non-slip grip, even when wet. Each SwingBlaze comes complete with a quality nylon belt sheath and is lifetime guaranteed.
Have you ever noticed how the meat in the round area where you split them has a tendency to turn green and sour faster? That’s because you didn’t do a sanitary job of skinning the animal in this area. It’s easy to contaminate it with the fecal, dirt and hair associated there. You can also use the gut blade to stick under the skin and cut the pattern after the hide has been marked. Then flip back to the drop point skinning blade and remove the hide. To switch blades is simple. Push the button and flip to the desired blade. That’s it.
There has been a craze the last decade to paint everything camo. I don’t care if it’s a cell phone cover on down to your underwear. I know that it is a cool fashion statement but when you’re skinning an animal up in the mountains in the dark it’s easy to lose your knife. Think about it a minute. You have a little flashlight and are trying to skin out your elk or deer in the dark. You lay your knife down and haul a quarter over to lay on a log or hang in a tree so the bears and wolves don’t get it. You’re trying to hurry so you can get back to camp and somewhere in the mist of all this you misplace your knife. If its camouflage it’s going to be hard to find but lucky for you, Outdoor Edge made the SwingBlaze hunter-orange so you can easily spot it. I like that feature. In my overall opinion the SwingBlaze is an economical knife and is gaining popularity.
