Horse hoof knives .

K

Kevin the grey

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Aug 26, 2005
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We,ve all seen them sometime . A sturdy handle with a curved blade which ends in a tight small curl . I think the curl is used to clean out dirt from the inner edges of the hoof . The length of the blade is used to pare away the edge of the hoof into the proper shape .

They look a little like a crooked knife and in truth are proabably a version of one . Can they be used for other purposes such as carving ? The curl looks a little too tight to scrape out a bowl but may serve a similar purpose .

The reason I am asking is I found a small store with them for less than five bucks .
A tough handle and a very nice blued steel blade . They even have left handers for the same price which is rare .
 
OK second attemp at a post. Since I have a horse I have a hoof knife. It wasn't until maybe 3 years ago I started using it to carve spoons with and it does work great for that. Stay away from knives made in Red China or Taiwan. Make sure you buy the correct knife for your dominant hand.
 
2dogs said:
OK second attemp at a post. Since I have a horse I have a hoof knife. It wasn't until maybe 3 years ago I started using it to carve spoons with and it does work great for that. Stay away from knives made in Red China or Taiwan. Make sure you buy the correct knife for your dominant hand.
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Thanks 2dogs . Thats the funny part . They are well made knives with as may lefties available as righties . Usually there will be one lefty in a pile of righties .
Either there are lots of left handed horsemen or I lucked out .

These knives have about a 4 1/2 inch blade . Is that the same length as yours and did you find this easy to manipulate when gougeing out spoons .
 
You need a left hander for one side of the hoof (or claw, if it's a cow), a right hander for the other. You should always pull-cut, that's why you have to buy one of each kind.

The curl is not really meant for scratching out dirt but for modelling the frog (hope, it's the right word, part of the hoof in the middle) or for opening up hoof/claw abscesses &c.

Aren't these knives a bit to sturdy for carving? I would prefer something with a finer blade - except if American hoofknives are absolutely different from ours :p
 
scharfeklinge said:
You need a left hander for one side of the hoof (or claw, if it's a cow), a right hander for the other. You should always pull-cut, that's why you have to buy one of each kind.

The curl is not really meant for scratching out dirt but for modelling the frog (hope, it's the right word, part of the hoof in the middle) or for opening up hoof/claw abscesses &c.

Aren't these knives a bit to sturdy for carving? I would prefer something with a finer blade - except if American hoofknives are absolutely different from ours :p
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Now I know why there were almost equal amounts of both hands .

I also found out that a hoof pick is used for scraping out dirt and debris not this knife .

They may be a bit sturdy but real hook or crooked knives cost six or seven times as much for a half decent one .

I will only be scraping.gouging out a spoon or two with it and I prefer a sturdy tool even if it gives a slightly cruder outcome . It will also be a nice addition to my kit .

Thanks
 
The only carving I do with a hoof knife is hollowing out a spoon. I think it would be way to thick for real carving but I'm not a carver so that is only a guess. You will need a shapening rod to keep the hook sharp though most farriers just use a file. There is also a type of hoof knife where the blade loops completely around and comes back into the handle. I have no experience spoon carving with one of these but this type may work also.

You buy the knife for your dominant hand and pull/scrape the blade back toward your body. The action is really just a rotation of your wrist and is very safe as the blade will probably move no more than 1/2" to 3/4" at a time at the most.

Scharf are your hoof knives made in Germany? Mine are all Erik Frost Mora Sweden.
 
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