Hogue Knives

What Hogue knives covers for hunters and campers

On this site, Hogue covers two product types: fixed-blade knives and folding knives. The grid above also carries a few Hogue sheaths. Inside those, the lineup splits into groups:

• EX-F01 fixed blades: drop point or tanto, two lengths, G10 or cocobolo handles
• EX-F02 and EX-F03: a mid-size clip point and a very short hawkbill
• Extrak and Extrak XL: small clip-point fixed blades in bright or black finishes
• Bone Flex: a boning knife for meat work
• Flipper folders: the X5 and the X1-Microflip with button locks
• Thumb-stud and other folders: the Deka, K320 and Mysto families
• Specialty folders and sheaths: the Expel folding scalpel, a first-response tool, slim sheaths and a pouch

Hogue makes other products too. They fall outside what this site covers, so you won't find them here.

The grid filters by type and changes as listings come and go. So I'll write about the groups and what separates them, not about this week's count. Most specs here come from Amazon listings, and the grid marks those values. Where a listing doesn't say, the grid shows a dash.

Lineup notes: the Hogue fixed blade

EX-F01: the workhorse in two lengths

The EX-F01 is the fixed blade that shows up most in the grid. The listings describe:

• Blade lengths: 5.5 inches and 7 inches
• Blade shapes: drop point or tanto
• Steel: A2, which one listing calls a tool steel
• Handles: G10 on most versions, cocobolo wood on one
• Sheath: nylon on the versions that list one

The drop point is the all-round hunting shape, with the tip in line with the spine. The tanto has an angled, reinforced tip. It's a strong point, but a straight edge with a corner in it is not what I'd pick to open a deer. Pick the shape for the work, not for the photo.

Rule of thumb on length: the 5.5-inch version is the one most people can control in a body cavity. The 7-inch version is a bigger tool for camp chores. A long blade with ambition is still harder to steer than a short blade with control. The fixed blade knife page covers the trade across brands.

A2 is a tool steel, not a stainless one, so treat it like carbon steel at the cabin. Morakniv's steel guide says carbon steel needs careful drying and oiling after use to prevent rust. Wipe it dry the same day.

EX-F02 and EX-F03: one mid-size, one very small

Two smaller fixed blades fill out the EX-F family. Both list 154CM steel, and the EX-F02 listing calls 154CM a stainless steel.

• EX-F02: a 4.5-inch clip point, polymer handle on one version, sheath on another; some listings carry the Elishewitz name
• EX-F03: a 2.25-inch hawkbill, a hooked blade, with a sheath; the Piranha version lists a G10 handle

A clip point has a thinner tip for detail work. The hawkbill is a different animal. Its edge curves down like a claw. It's a specialty shape, and it's not a skinning knife. If you can't name the job you'd give a hawkbill, you probably want the clip point. (My shop students used to buy tools the same way. Then they'd ask me what the tool was for.)

Extrak and Extrak XL: small clip-point hunters

The Extrak comes as a 3.3-inch clip point, and the Extrak XL as a 3.9-inch clip point, per the listings. They come in orange or black. The listings don't name the steel in the grid, so check the exact listing if steel matters to you.

The orange finish earns its keep. A small knife set down in brown November leaves is a knife you'll look for later. A bright one you'll find before your coffee gets cold. Small fixed blades for field work are on the skinning knife page and the hunting knife page.

Bone Flex: the boning knife

The Bone Flex is the odd one in the fixed-blade grid. Its listing gives a 7.125-inch blade in MagnaCut steel. A boning knife is a processing tool. It's for taking meat off the bone at the camp table or the garage bench, after the deer is hanging, not for field dressing in the woods.

Lineup notes: the Hogue folding knife

X5 and X1-Microflip: flippers with button locks

The X5 is the flipper of the lineup. A flipper is a small tab on the back of the blade you push with a finger to open it. The listings describe:

• X5: 3.5-inch or 4-inch spear point blade, CPM 154 steel, aluminum handle, button lock
• X5 Emperor Scorpion: a 3.5-inch spear point version, CPM 154 and aluminum
• X1-Microflip: a 2.75-inch Wharncliffe blade, button lock on the aluminum version, G10 on another

A Wharncliffe blade has a straight edge and a spine that drops to meet it at the tip. It's a good shape for opening boxes and feed sacks. The X1 is small enough that you'll forget it's in your pocket, and a knife you forget about is a knife you still have at 9 p.m.

On a button lock, you press a button on the handle to release the blade. The listings list CPM 154 as a powder steel, made from powdered metal instead of a single cast ingot.

Deka: thumb studs and three steels

The Deka is a 3.25-inch folder that opens with a thumb stud, a small post on the blade your thumb pushes. The listings describe:

• Blade shapes: Wharncliffe or clip point
• Steels: CPM 20CV on one version, CPM MagnaCut on others
• Handles: G10 or FRN, a fiberglass-reinforced nylon

The Deka's lock is listed as "other" in the grid's lock field. So read the exact listing and learn how that lock releases before the knife goes in your pocket.

K320: the 3.5-inch folders

The K320 family lists 3.5-inch blades in CPM S30V steel. The versions differ by handle and shape:

• Nitron: drop point or tanto, FRN handle
• M17 and M18: tanto with a partially serrated edge, FRN handle
• AXG Classic: drop point, aluminum handle

A partially serrated edge has teeth near the handle and a plain edge toward the tip. The teeth are for rope and webbing; the plain part does the rest. If you'd rather sharpen one kind of edge, the plain-edge Nitron versions are there. The K320's lock is also listed as "other," so check the listing.

Mysto: MagnaCut and carbon fiber

The Mysto is a 3.4-inch folder. One version lists a clip point in CPM MagnaCut steel. The Collector Series version lists a drop point, a carbon fiber handle and a thumb stud. Its lock is listed as "other" too.

Jess's take: "The best pocket knife is the one you didn't leave on the kitchen counter." She says that about every knife I own, which is fair, because that's where most of them are.

Expel and the first-response tool

The Expel is a folding scalpel with a 2.5-inch blade and a G10 handle; its listing names a carbon steel class. A scalpel blade is very thin and very sharp. It's for small, careful cuts, not for prying or heavy work.

The Trauma First Response Tool sits with the folders in the grid, but its listing doesn't give blade specs. Read the listing for what it does before you count on it as a knife.

Pocket and everyday-carry choices across brands are on the pocket knife page and the best EDC knife list.

Sheaths and the zipper pouch

The grid also lists Hogue Slim Sheaths sized for fixed blades of about 10.5 or 12 inches overall length, per the listings, and a zipper knife pouch. Overall length means tip to butt, not blade length. Measure the whole knife before you order a sheath.

How to choose within the Hogue lineup

Fixed or folding first

If the knife's main job is field dressing, start with the EX-F01 drop point or an Extrak. If it rides in your pocket every day, start with the X5, Deka, K320 or Mysto.

My one opinion on this page: whichever you pick, clean it before it goes back in the drawer, not next season. AKTI's maintenance guide recommends a toothpick to clean dirt out of a knife's handle and around the blades, and a folder has more of those places than a fixed blade does.

Then the blade shape

The grid's shape field does most of the sorting:

• Drop point: the all-round hunting shape (EX-F01, K320, Mysto Collector)
• Clip point: a thinner tip for detail work (EX-F02, Extrak, Deka, Mysto)
• Tanto: an angled, strong tip (EX-F01, K320)
• Spear point: tip centered on the blade (X5)
• Wharncliffe: straight edge, dropped tip (X1, Deka)
• Hawkbill: hooked edge for cord and webbing (EX-F03)

Then the length

Blades in the grid run from very short on the EX-F03 to long on the 7-inch EX-F01 and the boning knife. Pick the length for the job you'll do most, not the one you'll brag about. If you want a light folder for the pocket, the lightweight pocket knife page covers that across brands.

Then the steel

The listings split the lineup into three kinds:

• A2 tool steel: the EX-F01; dry and oil it after use
• 154CM stainless: the EX-F02 and EX-F03
• CPM powder steels: CPM 154, CPM S30V, CPM 20CV and CPM MagnaCut on the folders

The practical split at camp is the same as anywhere: a tool or carbon steel wants drying and oil after every wet day. The stainless steels ask for less, but AKTI says even stainless can be harmed by water and some chemicals, and that salt water is especially hard on it.

Then the lock and how you'll carry it

Button lock, thumb-stud folder with a listed "other" lock, or fixed blade in a sheath. Each one closes or comes out differently. Benchmade's mechanisms guide makes the general point for several lock types: closing some of them puts your hand near the blade's path, so the release has to be learned, not guessed. Whatever the lock, read the listing, then practice with the edge pointed away from you.

Try the sheath on the belt you actually hunt in, over the coat you actually wear in November. Most of a hunt is sitting down. A knife you can't reach seated gets set on the truck dashboard, where it stays until April. More on tactical-style knives and how they carry is on that type page.

Care that applies to the whole lineup

A knife is a tool, and tools want three things: clean, dry and oiled. AKTI's maintenance guide recommends:

• A toothpick for dirt in the handle and around the blades
• A light oil on the folding mechanism of a folder you use often
• A cool, dry place for storage, not a damp basement or garage
• A look every few months, and a cleaning when it needs one

After field dressing, wash the blade and handle, dry them, and oil the A2 blades before they go back in the sheath. Let a wet nylon sheath dry open, not with the knife in it.

Cut away from your body. Keep your fingers out of a folder's closing arc. AKTI warns that every folder has a bias toward closing, and the blade can snap shut once it passes that point.

Hogue facts

Here's what I could verify from a published source:

• Founded: in 1968 in California, by Guy Hogue, per Wikipedia's entry on the company
• Based: now in Henderson, Nevada, per the same entry
• Knives: the company started producing knives in 2011, per the same entry

Where each knife is made and the warranty terms aren't covered here. Read those on Hogue's site or the exact listing before you count on them.

Write the model number and the steel in the logbook when the knife comes home. Next November you'll know which oil it wants.