SALTY
Gold Member
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2000
- Messages
- 5,790
Hi, I'm Salty and I'm a Knife Knut.
OK, you probably knew that already because I'm here on BF.
So, I just returned from a week long Colorado elk hunt where we had guide hands tending to the things that happen before and after harvest; it certainly makes things easier for us old, banged-up folks.
When I travel, I generally do not bring my "good" knives - mainly for fear of loss. That being said, I do not want to be in the wild (or anywhere, for that matter) knifeless. In my daypack was a Cold Steel SRK in case I had to make a fire or do whatever to spend a few hours or night in the mountains. In my pocket was a RAT-1 in D2 with orange handles and I had a lower end Leatherman (Wingman) on me as well. The outfitter's hands tend to field dressing and the like so this is where the point of this post goes.
A fellow hunter got a bull and the hands went to field dressing. I myself prefer a fixed blade for this work and anything between 3 - 6" will do with 4" - ish being the sweet spot for most large game. By way of reference, the Becker Tweener Series (BK 15, 16, 17 or 18), Cold Steel Pendleton, Master Hunter and/or Drop Forged Hunter are my most used unless I feel like having a "fancy knife" with me. When I was yonger I did countless deer with a Buck 110. I've also used an older Marbles knife in 52100 many times. Now, back to the elk and the guide hands.
I watched as two men situated the elk with it's head uphill and everything else downhill and thought they would tie off a leg or two at adjoining trees with cord as I've done - especially when by myself, but one guy held a leg while the other tended to the task at hand. Now the long awaited moment of "the knife" comes wherein the guy doing the field dressing whips out his 3.5" (+/-) Kershaw folder. I don't know what model it was but it had a skeleton SS handle and a really beat up blade, especially near to the tip with the grind being pretty far down towards the edge. The rest was as per usual, including doing what cleaning of the knife that could be first on the elk's hair, then in snow and finally a rinse from a water bottle. They did use a saw for the pelvis but everything else was normal and actually took about the same amount of time and effort as one would expect.
The next morning when he arrived at camp for breakfast, I asked to see his knife. It was very well used and not terrible sharp - especially within an inch or so of the tip. I dressed it up for him as best I could on the bottom of a ceramic coffee cup ... mind you he was more than happy with the edge beforehand.
I've field dressed, skinned, quartered and butchered many a critter with functional knives in "common" steels that cost less than $150 (much less, in fact) and have not been in want for more performance. Of course if I was in a spike or outcamp doing multiple animals I may desire "better" steels, but some basic sharpening stuff can also save the day - or week.
Every one of my not-so-high-end field knives are waaaay better than what this guide hand field dressed that elk with and he was not in a state of want for anything more than that beat up Kershaw folder.
This little episode does bring to the fore whether or not we are over thinking this notion of $500+ hunting knives in super-steels. Lest anyone think I'm being value based or hypocritical, I do where a Rolex or three that don't tell time as well as my G-Shocks and certainly cost more to acquire and maintain; so I'm in no position to judge.
OK, you probably knew that already because I'm here on BF.
So, I just returned from a week long Colorado elk hunt where we had guide hands tending to the things that happen before and after harvest; it certainly makes things easier for us old, banged-up folks.
When I travel, I generally do not bring my "good" knives - mainly for fear of loss. That being said, I do not want to be in the wild (or anywhere, for that matter) knifeless. In my daypack was a Cold Steel SRK in case I had to make a fire or do whatever to spend a few hours or night in the mountains. In my pocket was a RAT-1 in D2 with orange handles and I had a lower end Leatherman (Wingman) on me as well. The outfitter's hands tend to field dressing and the like so this is where the point of this post goes.
A fellow hunter got a bull and the hands went to field dressing. I myself prefer a fixed blade for this work and anything between 3 - 6" will do with 4" - ish being the sweet spot for most large game. By way of reference, the Becker Tweener Series (BK 15, 16, 17 or 18), Cold Steel Pendleton, Master Hunter and/or Drop Forged Hunter are my most used unless I feel like having a "fancy knife" with me. When I was yonger I did countless deer with a Buck 110. I've also used an older Marbles knife in 52100 many times. Now, back to the elk and the guide hands.
I watched as two men situated the elk with it's head uphill and everything else downhill and thought they would tie off a leg or two at adjoining trees with cord as I've done - especially when by myself, but one guy held a leg while the other tended to the task at hand. Now the long awaited moment of "the knife" comes wherein the guy doing the field dressing whips out his 3.5" (+/-) Kershaw folder. I don't know what model it was but it had a skeleton SS handle and a really beat up blade, especially near to the tip with the grind being pretty far down towards the edge. The rest was as per usual, including doing what cleaning of the knife that could be first on the elk's hair, then in snow and finally a rinse from a water bottle. They did use a saw for the pelvis but everything else was normal and actually took about the same amount of time and effort as one would expect.
The next morning when he arrived at camp for breakfast, I asked to see his knife. It was very well used and not terrible sharp - especially within an inch or so of the tip. I dressed it up for him as best I could on the bottom of a ceramic coffee cup ... mind you he was more than happy with the edge beforehand.
I've field dressed, skinned, quartered and butchered many a critter with functional knives in "common" steels that cost less than $150 (much less, in fact) and have not been in want for more performance. Of course if I was in a spike or outcamp doing multiple animals I may desire "better" steels, but some basic sharpening stuff can also save the day - or week.
Every one of my not-so-high-end field knives are waaaay better than what this guide hand field dressed that elk with and he was not in a state of want for anything more than that beat up Kershaw folder.
This little episode does bring to the fore whether or not we are over thinking this notion of $500+ hunting knives in super-steels. Lest anyone think I'm being value based or hypocritical, I do where a Rolex or three that don't tell time as well as my G-Shocks and certainly cost more to acquire and maintain; so I'm in no position to judge.
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