I'm looking for a new field dressing knife (primarily for deer). I'd prefer a fixed blade. The Benchmade Saddle Mountain Skinner and the Steep Country models currently have my eye.

I was curious what everyone else is using or if anyone has used either of these knives.

When backpack hunting and running light, I use an Outdoor Edge Razor Lite. I really like the guthook/skinning blade. When weight isn't as much of a concern, I carry a custom knife made from an old sawmill bandsaw blade and the antlers of my first elk. I have not used either of the knives you mention in your post. Probably my favorite commercial fixed blade is a Knives of Alaska Elk Hunter.

Update - I ordered the Saddle Mountain Skinner and received it. Both the knife and sheath seem very top notch. I hope to give an actual review soon.

Let us know how it works for you!

I recently started using the Outdoor Edge knives. I like being able to swap out the blades with a new razor and have an extremely sharp blade. I also bought the kit (just today) that has the gut hook knife and the bone saw and a smaller knife. I just wanted to get the saw but it was just a few dollars more for the three piece set.

My buddy bought that same knife kit and helped me skin 2 deer with it. It was surprisingly very sharp. He threw the blade out after each deer because of how cheap and replaceable the blades were.

As for the Saddle Mountain Skinner with guthook, I highly recommend this knife if you're looking for a higher end gutting/skinning knife. The handle is super comfortable, it cleans up easily, the blade it super sharp and held up through 2 deer no problem. The sheath is top notch, very high quality leather as well, which is an added bonus.

Big fan of gut hooks here. I have an Outdoor Edge Whitetail Skinner that's awesome for gutting & skinning. I also have a hunting knife / gut hook by Cold Steel, forget the model, that's great.

I use a Cold Steel Mini Pendleton

i used a buck 110 for a long time, then switched over to a Morakniv Stainless.

have a new bandsaw blade custom from here (budget bushcraft skinner with a thin profile) but didnt have a chance to get it bloody this year.

Get yourself an old bone handled 1960's-70's German made Solingen knife off ebay, they are around $60-100
Some of the best steel on the planet.

Back in the 60's-70's maybe so. Nothing special in today's world of knife steels. Solingen is a city in Germany that had several knife making factories. Solingen is not just one company, it is a city with several companies all stamping their knives as "Solingen." When referring to "Solingen steel" that could be one of several different steels from any one of those factories. Most Solingen steels used in the knives made there used basic 1095 carbon steel. The same steel as most U.S. knife makers used in their blades in that time frame. The stainless used was 440C. Modern knife steels and heat treating procedures are a huge step up from those older knives.

Second the cold steel pendleton.

Cutco has some very nice knifes with great steel in them.