I need a knife

[TF3]

What do you suggest?
I keep meaning to ask, in case I need one... today I did.
My kitchen veggie parring knife does a mean c-section :x but really, I need proper tools for emergencies and if I need to butcher.

 

[Zass]

I use a short bladed Case hunting knife, a surgical scalpel with disposable blades
(something like this: http://www.amazon.com/STAINLESS-SCALPEL ... D1R5KRFGN8 , you can usually find boxes of 100 blades for under $10)
and a pair of heavy shears or shop snips.

 

[katiebear]

I use fish knives..J.Martiner Timberland.. I have a 6 inch and an 8 inch..they sharpen up really sharp and hold an edge well... the blade is thin so it does fine work well. Keep a nice point too..

 

[FourRingCircus]

I am still figuring out what I like best. Scissors are great to have on hand, but I don't like them for the whole process. I do like small filet knives. I started with a longer one we had on hand... it was way too long. I bought a shorter one (6"), still too long for my liking. Just purchased a 4" fishing filet knife (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Rapala-Fish-n ... e/21080961) but I haven't tried it out yet. Garden shears are great for cutting bones (neck, legs, etc.). I have wondered about a scalpel... that's something I haven't tried yet.

 

[Zass]

I favor the scalpels because I can hold one kind of like a pen and make feather light cuts in even the tightest places.

I've done entire whitetail and goats with nothing but the short hunting blade and a scalpel.
Just take them apart at the joints..

With my small hands, a longer blade is just an accident waiting to happen. :lol:

I bet that short fillet knife is nice!!

 

[FourRingCircus]

I favor the scalpels because I can hold one kind of like a pen and make feather light cuts in even the tightest places.

I've done entire whitetail and goats with nothing but the short hunting blade and a scalpel.
Just take them apart at the joints..

With my small hands, a longer blade is just an accident waiting to happen. :lol:

I bet that short fillet knife is nice!!

I have small hands as well... for school for my oldest (soon to be 8 ) we were measuring things with body parts and the span from thumb to pinky was one of them... his isn't even 1/2" smaller than mine, and he's small for his age :lol:

 

[grumpy]

If I had to choose just one knife......
this would be it. I've owned a, now discontinued, Chicago 4" knife
for over 20 years. This is the replacement for the Chicago 4.

http://www.minntrapprod.com/4-Comfort-G ... fo/COMF-4/

 

[TF3]

Thank you! I'll check the various ones out. I think short would be better (I have bad wrists) for strength?
I was thinking about the surgical type scissors with the bent blades, but they work when you push them forward rather than pull down, so not good.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Just purchased a 4" fishing filet knife (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Rapala-Fish-n ... e/21080961) but I haven't tried it out yet.

I use that exact knife. We actually have several since I often teach people how to butcher or have multiple people butchering at the same time.

I use garden shears to cut through the neck vertebrae to remove the head.

I don't like cutting the legs off because the splintered bones poke holes in the ziploc bags.

My method is to slice through the skin around the ankle joint of the front paws and twist and pull them off. The back legs need to be bent toward the center of the body to snap the joint, then I simply cut the tendon to remove them.

 

[FourRingCircus]

Just purchased a 4" fishing filet knife (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Rapala-Fish-n ... e/21080961) but I haven't tried it out yet.

I use that exact knife. We actually have several since I often teach people how to butcher or have multiple people butchering at the same time.

I use garden shears to cut through the neck vertebrae to remove the head.

I don't like cutting the legs off because the splintered bones poke holes in the ziploc bags.

My method is to slice through the skin around the ankle joint of the front paws and twist and pull them off. The back legs need to be bent toward the center of the body to snap the joint, then I simply cut the tendon to remove them.

That's what I need to work on more is dislocating the joints... I have only had older rabbits to butcher so far so I am hoping it might be easier with younger ones?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

That's what I need to work on more is dislocating the joints... I have only had older rabbits to butcher so far so I am hoping it might be easier with younger ones?

Everything is easier with younger rabbits.

However, it also seems to be breed dependent. I have some friends that raised rabbits for a while, and theirs were Cals, whereas I raise Rex and Satins.

We always had communal butchering days where we would all work together and process our litters together. Believe it or not, we noticed that their Cals seemed "made to come apart"- the legs of the Cals always came off super easily, and they were also pretty uniformly easy to skin.

Bucks are always harder to skin than does of the same age, and the older a buck is, the harder it gets. White or light colored rabbits are easier to skin than those with darker pelts.

 

[FourRingCircus]

That's what I need to work on more is dislocating the joints... I have only had older rabbits to butcher so far so I am hoping it might be easier with younger ones?

Everything is easier with younger rabbits.

However, it also seems to be breed dependent. I have some friends that raised rabbits for a while, and theirs were Cals, whereas I raise Rex and Satins.

We always had communal butchering days where we would all work together and process our litters together. Believe it or not, we noticed that their Cals seemed "made to come apart"- the legs of the Cals always came off super easily, and they were also pretty uniformly easy to skin.

Bucks are always harder to skin than does of the same age, and the older a buck is, the harder it gets. White or light colored rabbits are easier to skin than those with darker pelts.

That is absolutely fascinating to me! I have only done 3 at this point, so not nearly enough to be able to notice subtleties (is that even how you spell that?) such as those. It will be interesting to see if that proves true for mine as well. I really want to get a Cali buck again (I technically had 2 at one point, both pedigreed. The second one I got had snuffles (unbeknownst to me), and shared it with the fist one. He was my first butchering attempt).

 

[TF3]

I find it fascinating as well!
Thanks everyone for sharing so freely~ I wished someone was close enough to teach me!
I'll have to keep my ears open and hit up some hunter!
(I have a funeral director friend who will help me break one down for learning parts etc but for butchering for meat I need a mentor!)