On Ricasso design..

Now that's the cats meow:

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Rodger your point about the one inch shorter blade is very true. I was simply trying to point out that there are legitimate uses for this type of blade and grip. to answer your question about deer although a big game animal I don't really consider them large animals. where an average deer will feild dress 150 to 200 pounds an average elk will be 4 to 5 hundred pounds and a moose will be nearly twice that.

It is also true that two guys will have two different favorite ways of using a knife.
 
Bill Burke said:
Rodger your point about the one inch shorter blade is very true. I was simply trying to point out that there are legitimate uses for this type of blade and grip. to answer your question about deer although a big game animal I don't really consider them large animals. where an average deer will feild dress 150 to 200 pounds an average elk will be 4 to 5 hundred pounds and a moose will be nearly twice that.

It is also true that two guys will have two different favorite ways of using a knife.
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I don't think anyone said that it wasn't a legitimate use for the blade and grip, Bill, and I own one of your knives with this very setup...still can't see holding the knife that way MYSELF.

I did a couple three deer when younger, don't recall being up to my armpits, but I have short arms anyway... also did fish fillet work with a hunting knife because that was all I had...not the best tool for the job.:o

As I cannot STAND the taste of moose meat other than sausage/jerky/salami, can't see shooting one, and I have never seen a sillier looking mount...it looks like a cartoon, and pretty much out of place amongst elk, rams, bear........the antlers look like antennae...if you have a good recipe for moose that doesn't taste gamy, send me an e-mail.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Steven, thanks for replying to this. I guess legitimate was the wrong word to use I was just trying to point out that this grip like some others have a place in the outdoors. If you read my last post again you will see that I was not considering deer as a large animal. Hell I can feild dress one of them and barely get any blood on me at all. I am also not saying that if someone does not want to use their knife in this way they are not using it the correct way there is just different ways of using a knife. I have my index finger in front of the guard alot and have not cut myself not even once. But when using this grip I am doing delicate cuts not anything that needs power. As always I value your opinion and always consider your thoughts this one is different than mine. I agree with you about the taste of moose. But still manage to have a buddy that needs help with his. I will Take an elk steak, that has been properly cared for from field to table over beef.

Kohai999 said:
I don't think anyone said that it wasn't a legitimate use for the blade and grip, Bill, and I own one of your knives with this very setup...still can't see holding the knife that way MYSELF.

I did a couple three deer when younger, don't recall being up to my armpits, but I have short arms anyway... also did fish fillet work with a hunting knife because that was all I had...not the best tool for the job.:o

As I cannot STAND the taste of moose meat other than sausage/jerky/salami, can't see shooting one, and I have never seen a sillier looking mount...it looks like a cartoon, and pretty much out of place amongst elk, rams, bear........the antlers look like antennae...if you have a good recipe for moose that doesn't taste gamy, send me an e-mail.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
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I don't appreciate your deprecating moose, Steven.
 
I can't remember when i first came across this sort of design, except it was one of Ed Fowler's knives. And i found it a novel idea, from the outset. Just an interesting thought, design. The knife can be used in a variety of positions, in safety and comfort. I have tried to find where the idea might have been inspired, from earlier custom makers, but so far i havent found it. There isnt anything exactly like it that i've seen. I would be interested if anyone can show something close from a previous era.
Great conversation here, thanks guys! Once again, thanks to Stuart for using his knife. Harry, that's a beauty too! I love it
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(my hands are farmer porkers, not nearly as photogenic as Lorien's);)
David
 
Lorien said:
I don't appreciate your deprecating moose, Steven.
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Dumb looking animal is a dumb looking animal and not a tasty one at that.

Three friends or so have related stories of moose standing in the middle of the road as a car crashed into them with lethal results to the drivers....not much love for the moose here.


Now, I ask you, is this a regal looking beast?

If you were funnin' you should have used a smiley!:)

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
It is not simply a recessed ricasso vs a straight blade from ricasso to edge or a guard vs no guard, it is a total package that makes it work best.

A guard blended to a friendly fit for the hand between the guard and the handle, a rounded bottom edge of the ricasso and rounded spine for comfort of the fingers touching it, developed with the hand size of the owner in consideration and providing the opportunity to index the knife absolutely. Guards with sharp edges are not friendly to the hand, at least that is my experience after living several months with one.

Years ago I had to preform a fetonomy on a 900 lb heifer on the range with a dead calf inside her, she could not walk, it was 40 miles to a Vet. and no way to get her there or the vet to her. I used my 5" Pronghorn reaching into the heifer shoulder deep, room for only one arm, and cut the calf up and took it out of her one piece at a time. Calf probably weighed over 100 lbs, there was no other way to save her, and she did live.

I knew exactly where the cutting edge and tip of the blade were the entire time. This is only possible with a total package you understand and know well.

I have a friend who lost use of his left index finger when his hunting partner got aggravated and tried to jerk a blade that was hung up in a deer on the beloved recessed ricasso. He jerked the blade hard, pulled the leg my friend was skinning on out of his hand and he cut his finger seriously. Big surgery that was unsuccessful could not restore use of his finger and lightened his banking account seriously.

If you hang up and have a full blended guard, it will turn the cutting edge away from any fingers behind the guard as well as fingers in front of the guard as it slides through the hand.

If any of you are around one of Bill's or my field knives at just ask and we will demonstrate what I am trying to explain.
 
Kohai999 said:
If you were funnin' you should have used a smiley!:)
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I knew you would get it right:)
Moose are kind of dumb looking. Most dangerous animal in the North too.
If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough!
 
Kevin: There is another book in the works titled "Mouse Stew and Guard Coyotes" it is all written and waiting on the publisher to put it together.
 
Have to put my two cents in. I have had my shirt off and up to my shoulders in moose cavity. I use a Fowler style Dunkerly and currently use a Bill Burke pronghorn. I use a knife the way Bill describes and have never cut myself while feild dressing big game. I like the long ricasso when I choke up on a blade when working inside where you are working by feel. Moose is not the best tasting but a big bull mounted European style is impressive.
Gary
 
In fairness to both views, I have to say that Bill's holding method while working inside the cavity of large game, is one often used in my part of the country even if for deer sized game. I personally like my knives kind of short so I dont have to hold it by the blade, much in the way Harry Matthews described. I do hold the index finger on the spine as well.

I do believe that our environment will influence design and preferences to a great extent. Bill and Ed live in the part of the country where there is indeed large game and an average hunting knife blade might longer than one for, say Arkansas.

I made this little hunter with a 3 inch blade. OAL of 7". Not big, but works pretty well.

Even though I used a dropped edge on this knife, I readily see the benefit of the straight at times. Lin

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I like that ricasso, particularly on larger knives. Ed has a solid design that works for him, and people seem to like it. I use it on bowie knives to allow choking up.

my family has never been real picky about knives for processing game, for the most part- me being the exception- we use whatever we happen to have on us. Admittedly, we do a pretty quick job of it, and not the surgical art some insist on. Its not really all that complicated on deer, as one guy can handle the carcass. Moose, beef cows ect...are more fun.
 
Maine1 said:
Admittedly, we do a pretty quick job of it, and not the surgical art some insist on. Its not really all that complicated on deer, as one guy can handle the carcass. Moose, beef cows ect...are more fun.
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I think most who insist on "the surgical art" a)have pride in their knife handling skills, and b) don't want to waste any edible meat.

I talk to hunters(golf course superintendants) all over the country every day, and many wingshooters just breast out the birds....would be cooking down the carcass and picking it over for edible meat, if for no other reason to feed my cats....Have NO problem eating my own kill, but don't want that taken life to be half waste because I'm too lazy to properly cook and eat it.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Ed Fowler said:
Kevin: There is another book in the works titled "Mouse Stew and Guard Coyotes" it is all written and waiting on the publisher to put it together.
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Great, I have a lot of reading to do between this and the two Steven mentioned. :thumbup:
I always enjoy your Blade articles.
 
Kohai999 said:
I don't think anyone said that it wasn't a legitimate use for the blade and grip, Bill, and I own one of your knives with this very setup...still can't see holding the knife that way MYSELF.

I did a couple three deer when younger, don't recall being up to my armpits, but I have short arms anyway... also did fish fillet work with a hunting knife because that was all I had...not the best tool for the job.:o

As I cannot STAND the taste of moose meat other than sausage/jerky/salami, can't see shooting one, and I have never seen a sillier looking mount...it looks like a cartoon, and pretty much out of place amongst elk, rams, bear........the antlers look like antennae...if you have a good recipe for moose that doesn't taste gamy, send me an e-mail.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
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This is too funny, I think you may have gotten a bad moose STeven, I have liked some and disliked others (the one I'm eating my way though right now ainte so good), the problem is, your not allowed to throw them back if you get a bad one.
 
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