Learn how to craft and use the Hunting Knife
A knife is a lifesaving tool when it comes to survival situations. The Hunting Knife in 7 Days to Die is used for far more than just skinning animals and carving wood. This lightning-fast weapon is capable of rapid, accurate attacks that can quickly stack up bleeding effects on enemies. It’s also perfect for lethal attacks from stealth if you can get close enough to your enemy without alerting them.
This guide will walk you through crafting a Hunting Knife in 7 Days to Die and offer advice on utilizing it best.
How to craft a Hunting Knife in 7 Days to Die
The Hunting Knife is a more sophisticated bladed weapon; players will need some skills and sturdy metal to craft one. You’ll need to have reached the second tier in the Blades crafting skill before you can successfully assemble this weapon. The amount of materials required will depend on the quality of the knife being constructed:
| Material | Quality 1 | Quality 2 | Quality 3 | Quality 4 | Quality 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forged Iron | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 24 |
| Wood | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 |
| Leather | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Duct Tape | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Blades Crafting Skill | 11 | 17 | 24 | 31 | 38 |
- Forged Iron can be crafted at a Forge or salvaged from machines like construction equipment and rusted cars.
- Wood can be harvested from trees and shrubs or reclaimed from wooden structures.
- Leather may be obtained by salvaging furniture and vehicles or harvested from animal carcasses.
- Duct Tape may be crafted by combining Glue and Cloth Fragments or scavenged from household or parts containers.
- The Blades crafting skill can only be improved by finding and reading issues of the Knife Guy skill magazine.
Hunting Knife Overview
Base Stats
| Property | Quality 1 | Quality 2 | Quality 3 | Quality 4 | Quality 5 | Quality 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melee Damage | 12.1 | 13.3 | 14.7 | 15.2 | 16.6 | 17.9 |
| Power Attack Damage | 36.1 | 38 | 40.1 | 40.8 | 42.9 | 44.9 |
| Sneak Damage | +400% | +400% | +400% | +400% | +400% | +400% |
| Block Damage | 6.5 | 7.2 | 8 | 8.2 | 9 | 9.7 |
| Stamina Cost | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.2 |
| Attacks / Minute | 120 | 120 | 120 | 120 | 120 | 120 |
| Max Durability | 500 | 600 | 700 | 800 | 900 | 1000 |
| Mod Slots | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
Mods
The Hunting Knife accepts the following mods. Note that only one mod of any category may be attached at a time except accessory mods.
- Blade: Serrated Blade, Tempered Blade
- Accessory: Structural Brace, Wood Splitter, Bunker Buster, Grave Digger, Iron Breaker, Diamond Blade Tip
- Tech: The Hunter, Rad Remover
- Grip: Fortifying Grip, Ergonomic Grip
Tips and tricks for using the Hunting Knife
As a member of the Blades weapon class, the Hunting Knife scales in power with the player’s Agility attribute and the Deep Cuts perk. The attack speed of this weapon can also be increased by investing in the Whirlwind perk.
Hunting Knives leave behind a bleeding wound from each hit that penetrates armor. Power attacks leave behind additional wounds dependent on what level of Deep Cuts you have reached. Bleeding wounds deal damage over time that ignores armor and can apply additional debuffs depending on your perks. Additional levels of Deep Cuts allow more bleeding wounds to be stacked, increasing damage and further debilitating enemies.
Though capable of being used in open combat, the Hunting Knife is better suited to hit-and-run tactics. Inflicting bleeding wounds and then retreating can weaken or kill enemies while you avoid taking hits. This is especially useful for ranged-focused characters or more vulnerable melee fighters.
The Bone Knife and Hunting Knife both utilize a precise stab for standard and power attacks. Standard attacks have a very short range and deal little damage but can be performed rapidly and cost minimal stamina. This can be used to quickly stack up bleed on a target. Power attacks deal much more damage and have a longer range. In fact, players will be able to see the blade of their weapon visibly extend toward their target when performing a power attack.
The Hunting Knife excels at rapid and accurate strikes as a blade weapon. These attacks are only useful for striking one enemy at a time but are precise enough to make aiming for headshots and exploiting gaps in armor much easier. Knives are also useful for harvesting resources from rotting remains and animal carcasses.
Hunting knives deal incredible amounts of damage to unaware enemies and can often kill enemies that haven’t noticed the player in a single hit. This damage can be further increased by investing in the Hidden Strikes perk.
The challenge is getting close enough to use the Hunting Knife this way. Because of this, the Hunting Knife is best used by players specializing in stealth. We recommend using a power attack for stealth kills, as it is a far more effective method of multiplying damage for a single strike.
Final thoughts on the Hunting Knife
The Fun Pimps picked an interesting design for this knife, to be sure. It has the hinges and thumb tab that imply it’s a folding knife, but the blade appears too long to fit inside the handle. Whatever it is, this wickedly sharp weapon is ideal for mid-level mobility and stealth-focused characters and can be used to lethal effect by those with the right skills.
Looking for some more pointers to help you survive 7D2D? Check out our 10 Tips for Getting Started or our in-depth Beginner’s Guide.
