Cutlery
When I got my first deer, years back, I had sat in a tree stand so long my hands were ice cold, I feared they’d get frostbite and I’d lose fingers.
At the time, the knife I had was a Schrade Sharpfinger. It did a very good job of opening up the deer, and I immediately sat on the ground in the snow and jammed my hands into the deer up to the elbows. It took a good long time for the feeling to return to my fingers, but they did, and eventually I got the deer dressed and home.
The Sharpfinger is a great blade, because it’s shape was such that with even frozen fingers I was able to get the deer unzipped and into it without cutting the gut.
Had I not purchased the White Hunter a couple of years back, I’d still be using the Sharpfinger. As it was I gave it to a friend who uses it still. it’s a knife I highly reccomend for it’s shape and size and quality. Better still if you can find one of the early carbon steel ones.
16 comments Og | Uncategorized
Aye. The Sharpfinger is my hunting knife of choice as well. It and a small stone reside in my belt pack.
Yes, mine is old, and yes, it is carbon steel and will rust. It will also take an incredible edge.
I get a snicker at folks who take an eight inch, two pound machete into the woods as a ‘hunting’ knife. The best animal cleaner-outer guy I ever met carried only a disposable razer knife.
Og…
Please, no more Schrade talk. Different knife now. Cheap crap made in Asia. I bought about 30 different Schrade knives as soon as I heard the plant in Ellenville, N.Y. was closing a few years back. I like them all. But new Schrade knives just ain’t the same.
Keep blogging, you are a God!
I’m not happy about the schrade thing myself. I tend to buy used knives I find at shows. Worth looking for old “old timer” stuff.
What do you guys recommend as a sharpening system? My knives are duller ‘n Joe Biden. Thanks.
Spyderco (http://www.spyderco.com/) is right up the road from us, about 15 miles. They have two different lines of knives. The ones they manufacture right here and their “off brand” that they have made in Taiwan.
Me, for a field knife, I carry an two blade “Old Timer” folder that I found in an estate sale box. Its carbon steel, takes and holds an edge with a little touch up in the field. I use a skinner that fits these old arthritic hands very well. I found it in the Spyderco factory outlet sale about 15 years ago.
I’ll get pics posted on http://theprairiemelts.blogspot.com/
in the next few days.
DUH!!!
N5, the reason I mention Spyderco is that they also manufacture some great sharpening systems.
n5: Now that I’m home and can type, let me say that I am with you 100 percent, other than the quality. The quality of the chinese Schrade knives is, sadly, better than the American made knives of the last few years. It’s the quality of the steel that’s lacking, and I’m always a fan of the old carbon steel blades. So I look for them at yard sales and on ebay and etc.
Look, also at Buck. The Buck 313 Muskrat may be the nicest knife of it’s type and can often be found on Ebay and at gun shows. They have stainless blades but they’re better than avarage.
As for sharpening, that’s a good subject for a post of it’s own. I’ll go there in a while.
My hunting and fishing knife is a Buck 102 that I bought in 1963. My dad taught me how to field dress, then butcher animals, he used to laugh at the guys carrying what he called “Cavalry Sabers” as hunting knives, preferring a small stockman’s knife for field dressing, and a selection of honest to Pete commercial butcher knives for skinning and butchering. He could get the running gear out of a deer or antelope in about three minutes with his pocket knife.
I also have a Victorinox Super Tinker, and a First Generation Leatherman tool bought from Early Winters in 1983. I’ve dressed critters from itty bitty bluegills to deer sized four leggers with all three.
My “sharpening system” is a Norton Fine India stone and a small squeeze bottle of pharmaceutical grade mineral oil.
Gerry N.
Gerry, I use the same thing, I love my Norton stones
I have trouble holding the angle just so, so I got one of the Lansky sharpening systems. 3 stones and a jig. Works pretty god.
My old man- squared away and stowed for sea if there ever was one (we had to shine our shoes for church if we went w him…when we were in college) gave me nothing but grief for the lamentable state of my knives. Thanks Fellers!
A while back I picked up a couple of DMT pocket hones: they’re diamond-surfaced on one side and about the size of a credit card. Do a damned good job for a handy-sized hone.
Yeah, Schrade went to hell. Not just made in China but made of cheap stainless. Dad always has his eyes open at gun shows for Schrade knives made before they went east.
N5,
Try the Lansky stones and you’ll never come away disappointed.
http://tiny.cc/6youh
I’ve had my set for almost 30 years.
Whip em on the inside of a leather belt after ya sharpen them and the edge seems to polish, and last a bit longer.
The Lansky stones are a great way to keep a pretty knife pretty, because they prevent the stone from touching the blade, only the edge. They’re also a great way to learn how to sharpen knives. Good quality too.
I use my glove whenever I use my mandolin slicer. In the course of using the glove I have slipped and had my fingers impact the sharp blade with no adverse effects to me or the glove. I really can’t imagine using the slicer without it. It seems to me that the gloves will protect from most any slicing cut but it won’t provide complete protection from a sharp knife tip punctures since the material is relatively thin.