If you want the “ultimate” hunting knife your talking custom. I’ve had some, still got a few. You can choose every component in the knife, adjust dimensions and have them build something of their own design or give them your own sketch to build exactly what you think you want.
Now you need to sort out your priorities with blade length, shape, grind and thickness. Figure out what properties you need in a steel for your knife which will depend on your current or future sharpening abilities, what you want to cut and how you want to cut it. Then whittle it down by finding custom makers who builds stuff that you like.
Phil Wilson was mentioned. He’s first class all the way but he uses steels most guys will have trouble sharpening. He grinds them thinner then any other maker which means you better not be to rough with it and he heat treats them to get the absolute most from the steel. That’s not meant to discourage you but his knives require some care. You don’t buy them if your the guy who stabs your knife in the dirt when your not holding it. From what I’ve read is only making 2-3 knives a month. He’s not currently taking orders but still sells a few knives. I’ve got one of his fillet knives and it’s amazing. If you want to try that road send him an email and get in line, they’re worth the wait.
Probably the only factory knife I would recommend is the spyderco southfork. It’s a Phil Wilson/ spyderco collaboration in S90v and from what I’ve read is a great knife.
Nathan the machinist (aka Carothers) was mentioned. I had one of his older fighters in A1 I used for a pig hunting knife. Stuck a lot of pigs with it down in Oz and ended up giving it to one of my old roughnecks down there. He builds nice stuff but what I’ve seen is hard use. He doesn’t grind thin enough to get on my radar for a traditional hunting knife.
Ingram would be worth a look. I had two ordered through him but by the time it was my turn I already had what I wanted from other makers.
Bob Dozier and Dan Crotts made my hunting knives. Dan is Bob’s son in law and manages one of Bob’s shops. His wait time is about 2-3 months compared to Bob’s 3+ years. Dan also does an impeccable job, I have to be very picky to find a flaw on anything he’s built for me. The steel isn’t exotic but the way Dozier grinds and heat treats D2 it’s very good at both cutting flesh and holding an edge. I love a shaving sharp knife and have no trouble sharpening anything but wanted to see how long his edge would last. In 2015 I skinned a bear in the spring and the knife was still perfect so I didn’t do anything to the edge. That fall I gutted and skinned three elk and six deer. The knife still shaved along its entire edge. They’re good enough you won’t ever need a stone in your pack and won’t be struggling with a dull knife.
I leave mine toothy, finished on a 800 grit dmt and stropped with 5 micron diamond paste. You need diamond to properly cut those vanadium carbides and not erode the steel matrix holding them in. Finished that way, sharp enough to plow the hair off my arms they cut flesh and skin effortlessly for a long time.
Now you said you wanted nice wood, there are a ton of options but here are some I’ve owned in wood and other scale material.
African Blackwood
White paper micarta on the bottom, a fairly boring rosewood burl on top
Mammoth ivory, African Blackwood, rosewood burl
Himalayan sheep horn
More of my favorite scale material, mammoth ivory. Imo there’s something very cool about ivory that’s 15,000+ years old. It also gets tacky when wet with blood and your hand doesn’t slide around.
It’s heavy though so go with a tapered tang
Sambar stag
Desert iron wood, one pic from when I bought it and one from this spring which is the only pic of it on my phone.
And now my opinion of the best, most balanced knife I’ve owned yet. I sold it to a member on this forum when I bought that one in Sambar stag. I wasn’t a fan of the blade angle on that straight hunter in stag so I bought the Yukon skinner laying on that bear. It’s very good but I’ll run it through a few more animals before I decide if it’s as good as this next knife.
This skinner I had built in green canvas micarta because I didn’t know if I would like the blade shape. If I knew I was going to like it as much as I did I would of built it in ivory the first time and I would of stopped looking. It was perfect. The ergonomics and size did everything perfectly and I suspect I’ll be having another one built after this hunting season and the Yukon skinner will head down the road. I did all the other things I like, mosaic pins, red liners, jimping and I made the handle longer because I’ve got big hands. I just should of went with ivory and a tapered tang.
Good luck with your search. $2-300 on a nice knife is money well spent. It’ll last a lifetime and make you happy every time you use it.