I have a bit of a different opinion regarding the scraper and Mora issue. Yep.. I wear a great custom fixed blade knife made by Jerry McDonald. Yep.. I steel it and sharpen it with loving care and either a sharpmaker or apex system. But.. (I'm embarassed to say) it just isn't the one I grab for in camp. I grab one of my Mora-style (Ragnar's cheapest!) of which we have 1/2 dozen lying around the old shack we call a cabin. I may slide it through my Sterling sharpener (OUCH, Chris.."Duller") once or twice.

In spite of the good advice in this thread about blade profiles, Scandi-style blades, etc. my approach is that this is a great inexpensive (damn cheap) blade, and if the scraper wears it down to a toothpick I just don't care. I get another one. I just use the heck out of these knives (actually, use them up!) and I don't care about the fine points of proper profile/sharpening with "good" sharpeners. I care only for convenience, not longevity of the knife.

Now, if well out in the field, I'll carry and use my custom fixed blade: It has field dressed and butchered up to 5 Whitetail deer without a whimper. I'd do a number on anyone who came near it with a carbide scraper/sharpener! But, if the guys drag their harvest into camp, and I have my "Bucket-o-knives" at hand, I'll go through the job with Mora after Mora scrape/sharpening as needed.

My crew this weekend (seven deer hunters) sported a selection of fine custom knives (Randall, Hibben, McDonald, etc.) They know good sharpening "hygiene." But I watched them: they inevitably reached into the pile to grab one of my "junky" (their words)Moras and the Sterling sharpener.

But, each to his own. Just my $0.02.