Knife recommendation

[PSFAngoras]

My question is: What should I use on the stone? The store said water or oil. Oil being preferred. So which is better? And if oil is better, what type? Can olive oil be used? :? I keep a gal of olive oil around the house for home use. Seems like over kill I know but it has soooom many uses, from bathroom to kitchen.

I would think olive oil would be too heavy, though olive oil can be used to keep a carbon steel blade from rusting, though most blades are stainless anymore on store bought blades.

Water would be your best bet with the stone if you don't want to buy honing oil from your local sporting goods store. Though your stone works well with both, there are some stones that should be used water only. DH builds custom bushcraft and survival knives and he's got a set of Japanese wet stones for honing his blades and they only use water. He gets razor sharp blades with them, too! (Wanna ask me how I know? ) <br /><br /> __________ Wed Jan 07, 2015 7:12 am __________ <br /><br /> As far as knife, my go to processing knife is a cheapie Walmart special J.Martinelli (or something like that) Rapala fillet knife. It holds it's edge well when used properly (using the part of the blade closer to the handle for cutting through fur and near bone or separating joints) and is easy to sharpen when it does get dull. I have the smallest model, I think the blade is 4", and it is easy to manouver on even the smaller grow outs and quail.

I also have used a basic Mora with a Scandinavian (single angle) bevel, and it works well, but I find the larger handle isn't as comfortable. Holds an edge very well, but maybe I just got spoiled with my Rapala. Finding knives that are comfortable for me is hard since I'm not a very big person. I've tried the knife DH and I made together, and though it's sharper than anything and takes forever to go dull, it doesn't have a fine point like the Rapala does for the detail work. I did design it to be a wonderful skinner, and it will more than do just that for larger game, but it's certainly not a rabbit knife!

 

[wamplercathy]

PSFAngoras- how ya know? :twisted:

 

[TriumphTriple]

I use Havalon Bolt Knife. It uses large replaceable razor blades. I don't have to worry about shapening anything. When the knife gets dull, just swap blades. It has made butchering so easy and precise. I think it is a little over priced for what it is. The blades aren't horriblely priced either @ $1 per blade. I just got it, and only butchered 2 with it yet. Blade is still like new. Comes with 12 blades and a case that holds about 3 extra razors that are individually wrapped.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BGD ... UTF8&psc=1

Another tip is to use a hook razor or carpet hook razor. Great way to not knick and organs on your belly cut. Very cheap.
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Hook-Bl ... hook+razor

 

[II Arrows]

I have an outdoor edge razor blade knife and I cant say enough great things about it. Much like the havalon I never have to worry about sharpening the blade, I simply replace the blade and continue on. the blades are SUPER SUPER sharp. I might have to replace the blade one time on a deer so I can only imagine how many rabbits one blade will last me.

 

[WildHeartsSanctum]

I don't butcher my own rabbits (I only have 1 doe and 2 kits anyway) but I've been gutting and skinning for years.

I first worked at an exotic sanctuary (lions, tigers, wolves, etc) and we would feed out everything from chicken, geese, deer, cows, goats and the occasional horse. I would just use my trusty pocket knife.

Then I took a mammalogy course and we had to prepare museum specimens, so I did squirrels and some foxes. Again, just used whatever pocket knife I had on hand (usually Sog or a cheapie from tractor supply).

However, when I finally started hunting, using the pocket knife on deer and hogs just wasn't getting the job done. So now I have a nice skinning set made by crush. The small caper is good for small critters (really good on wild rabbit) and it's good obviously around the heads if you want to preserve the skins for mounting/taxidermy. I find it works excellently on the delicate tissue around the eyes and ears (gets real close to the bone so you don't end up with gaping holes in the ears and the eyes).

I also have a larger skinning knife for bigger critters and a knife with a gut hook on it which saves me a good bit of time on the large animals.

I also like sog a lot, I have several of their knives. However, my last purchase, a combo machete tanto came really dull and I was less than pleased. I stink at sharpening, so anything that I have to spend so much extra time on trying to sharpen right at the get go really irritates me.