Venison has fed my family since before I could walk, a tag filled meant there was money in the bank for a tank of gas to get to work instead of the grocery store. My Dad’s knives were utilitarian and simple, a Buck 422 and a 119 took care of things just as well as my stag scaled custom made slip joints have... but they didn’t look as good doing it.
They took a beating and kept on ticking, season after season; field dress, skin, quarter, repeat.... etc.
Times aren’t as tough for my wife and I as it was back then,but the blessing of venison is still more than a change in table fair. It’s a dollar saved and a dollar earned. My knives that cost as much as my dad’s old hunting rifle earn thier keep and decrease thier cost of living to be in my stable, but lately I’ve fallen into a habit, or rather, I’ve just now come to the realization that “lately” is nearly a full decade of habit.
Since late 2008 I’ve been using a #73L Great Eastern Cutlery Scout. A decade of deer cleaning with the same model. Two knives have split the lion share of work, a pumpkin bone Tidioute and a stag scaled Northfield. These knives just work for me and they do it without causing a headache. I know satisfaction saves me money as I haven’t searched for a new “hunting” knife in years... now if I could just find the perfect pocket knife....
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.... thankfully there is venison in the chili and money in the bank.