Brian77
Gold Member
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- Nov 27, 2014
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See Pic of knife close up in post # 12 at bottom....
EDIT. Many of you are familiar with Nathan's work... He does have sales here on BF at times...
I asked my son to share his thoughts on his latest knife. Here it is
I have never done a review and did not set out to do so. But this was a great experience and eye opening for me and so I thought to share I apologize in advance for the lack of writing structure a good review should have This is more just me sharing some memories and thoughts as I experienced them.
On a recent elk hunting trip, after much discussion with my dad, and trying to decide which knives to take, I took 2 primary knives for field processing elk if we were fortunate enough to get one. My Nathan Field knife had only arrived in the mail 4 days before I left. The day I got this bull, not by design, my other knife was left at the cabin. I would by habit usually have 2 quality knives along on a hike or hunt this far from the road . After the bull was down and pictures were taken, we started in on the processing to break it down to pack size. The bull was shot in the burned out timber, and the dry logs and tops were brutal on legs and feet. So it was decided to remove the primary meat parts and leave some of the quarters intact.
First to the opening up of the hide. This elk had just left a wallow and was stinky and had gravel and mud in his hide. I have often observed during skinning of deer with winter coats on how fast the hair can take the edge of a normal knife. I was taught to try to cut from the inside out and avoid hair contact, after the primary opening cut to avoid dulling the edge from hair contact.
So the first cut was up the outside of the rear leg. Wow. It was like unzipping a zip lock bag. ZIP! Slide and slice. After we removed the one quarter we started on the other. Then on to the removing of the backstrap. Wow. This was something looked forward to and dreamed about. Standing on a mountain in the morning sun, holding an excellent knife. The knife handled like a dream come true. Almost too sharp for skinning if that is possible? This part of the hunt should be enjoyable, and it was. If the tools are quality and able to handle the job with ease, it adds to the enjoyment. The fun part is always removing the back straps and the tenderloins. We did it like Dr Waco (Virtuovice) does on his YouTube channel when he field processes his stags in Japan. The bull was positioned on its knees and hocks, and upright. So we started on top. And the sound of the knife scraping on the spine and ribs as the back strap came out was making me nervous. If you have ever done this you know that there is significant contact with the bone on the point and along the belly of the knife. I was being careful and trying to protect my edge, but at the same time knowing we had a lot of miles to cover before dark with a heavy load. My uncle was paired up with me for this hunt, and he was helping me with the cutting up. His knife went dull within the first 5 minutes, and he kept borrowing mine. That wont happen next time! But back to the review The edge just kept cutting and cutting. Even when hair was cut down the legs, it just flew off in clouds like it was being ejected. And the edge held through it all.
Popping the joints, made me wince. I had to use the very point, and stick it into the large shoulder and hip joints, and lever it to cut the inner tendon and pop the joint apart. It handled it and shrugged. Once the main quarters were separated and the loins and the heart set aside, we looked at what other meat could be taken of the remaining bone structure. Have you ever removed the neck meat from an animal laying in the field? This bull was at the end of the rut, and his neck was swollen and huge. There is a lot of scraping of steel on bone in this part of the process as well. Also we used it to separate the skull from the neck and that required significant bone contact as well. My uncle was twisting the rack for leverage and I was underneath prying and cutting and wedging the knife tip into the vertebrae hard to cut the tendons
All this took about 3 hours, with an awesome knife. If I had been using a knife like me uncle had, I dont know how long it could have taken. When he borrowed" my knife, I resorted to using my Leatherman with S 30v because it was better than his knife. This Nathan Field knife when coated in blood and dirt and gore form this job never was uncomfortable or slippery or awkward. It fit the hand perfectly and never fatigued the fingers or the wrist. And back at the cabin, when tested on paper, it still sliced packing paper. To me, that is very impressive. This is different than butcher shop work. There is no carcass hoist, and no hose to constantly wash away hair and mud and field dirt. The edge has constant exposure to things that dull an edge on the knives I have used for many years I actually dont know what the steel is in some of these older knives I have been given or purchased. But this hair popping sharp knife from Nathan came truly that, and stayed almost that sharp through this entire cutting up of this bull elk.
I appreciate the opportunity to own and use something this well thought out and designed. Thank you to Nathan the Machinist for selling me this knife. Regards, Austin.
EDIT. Many of you are familiar with Nathan's work... He does have sales here on BF at times...
I asked my son to share his thoughts on his latest knife. Here it is
I have never done a review and did not set out to do so. But this was a great experience and eye opening for me and so I thought to share I apologize in advance for the lack of writing structure a good review should have This is more just me sharing some memories and thoughts as I experienced them.
On a recent elk hunting trip, after much discussion with my dad, and trying to decide which knives to take, I took 2 primary knives for field processing elk if we were fortunate enough to get one. My Nathan Field knife had only arrived in the mail 4 days before I left. The day I got this bull, not by design, my other knife was left at the cabin. I would by habit usually have 2 quality knives along on a hike or hunt this far from the road . After the bull was down and pictures were taken, we started in on the processing to break it down to pack size. The bull was shot in the burned out timber, and the dry logs and tops were brutal on legs and feet. So it was decided to remove the primary meat parts and leave some of the quarters intact.
First to the opening up of the hide. This elk had just left a wallow and was stinky and had gravel and mud in his hide. I have often observed during skinning of deer with winter coats on how fast the hair can take the edge of a normal knife. I was taught to try to cut from the inside out and avoid hair contact, after the primary opening cut to avoid dulling the edge from hair contact.
So the first cut was up the outside of the rear leg. Wow. It was like unzipping a zip lock bag. ZIP! Slide and slice. After we removed the one quarter we started on the other. Then on to the removing of the backstrap. Wow. This was something looked forward to and dreamed about. Standing on a mountain in the morning sun, holding an excellent knife. The knife handled like a dream come true. Almost too sharp for skinning if that is possible? This part of the hunt should be enjoyable, and it was. If the tools are quality and able to handle the job with ease, it adds to the enjoyment. The fun part is always removing the back straps and the tenderloins. We did it like Dr Waco (Virtuovice) does on his YouTube channel when he field processes his stags in Japan. The bull was positioned on its knees and hocks, and upright. So we started on top. And the sound of the knife scraping on the spine and ribs as the back strap came out was making me nervous. If you have ever done this you know that there is significant contact with the bone on the point and along the belly of the knife. I was being careful and trying to protect my edge, but at the same time knowing we had a lot of miles to cover before dark with a heavy load. My uncle was paired up with me for this hunt, and he was helping me with the cutting up. His knife went dull within the first 5 minutes, and he kept borrowing mine. That wont happen next time! But back to the review The edge just kept cutting and cutting. Even when hair was cut down the legs, it just flew off in clouds like it was being ejected. And the edge held through it all.
Popping the joints, made me wince. I had to use the very point, and stick it into the large shoulder and hip joints, and lever it to cut the inner tendon and pop the joint apart. It handled it and shrugged. Once the main quarters were separated and the loins and the heart set aside, we looked at what other meat could be taken of the remaining bone structure. Have you ever removed the neck meat from an animal laying in the field? This bull was at the end of the rut, and his neck was swollen and huge. There is a lot of scraping of steel on bone in this part of the process as well. Also we used it to separate the skull from the neck and that required significant bone contact as well. My uncle was twisting the rack for leverage and I was underneath prying and cutting and wedging the knife tip into the vertebrae hard to cut the tendons
All this took about 3 hours, with an awesome knife. If I had been using a knife like me uncle had, I dont know how long it could have taken. When he borrowed" my knife, I resorted to using my Leatherman with S 30v because it was better than his knife. This Nathan Field knife when coated in blood and dirt and gore form this job never was uncomfortable or slippery or awkward. It fit the hand perfectly and never fatigued the fingers or the wrist. And back at the cabin, when tested on paper, it still sliced packing paper. To me, that is very impressive. This is different than butcher shop work. There is no carcass hoist, and no hose to constantly wash away hair and mud and field dirt. The edge has constant exposure to things that dull an edge on the knives I have used for many years I actually dont know what the steel is in some of these older knives I have been given or purchased. But this hair popping sharp knife from Nathan came truly that, and stayed almost that sharp through this entire cutting up of this bull elk.
I appreciate the opportunity to own and use something this well thought out and designed. Thank you to Nathan the Machinist for selling me this knife. Regards, Austin.
Last edited:
Mike
