Posted: 3/26/2013 1:20:18 PM EDT
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What should I look for to be able to cut and process a tasty dead animal? I've been using the kitchen knives, when something comes up, but they don't seem we'll suited to taking apart a goat or half of a cow. I'm sure practice is a big part, but I would like to start collecting the right tools to do the job, starting with what you think will make the biggest difference...
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| I think the best thing would be having someone show you how to do it. When I grew up we would butcher cows and pigs every year so when I shot my first squirrels an rabbits I took the same approach to butchering them (big mistake). Having someone knowledgeable show you how clean an animal is the most valuable thing in my opinion. Knowing what I know know I would tackle most small animals with just a sharp pocket knife and a set if snips. |
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This is what i got for father's day last year
stainless, durable, inexpensive to start with. |
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Quoted:
Having cut meat professionally and processed hundreds of game animals that is all you need. Pruning shears for lopping lower limbs off if you don't want to saw or seperate joints. +1 I prefer smaller knives, straighter blades. They are easier to keep honed. Anything that I needed to saw, in the past, I now shear. TRG |
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http://www.knivesplus.com/FO-40517-Forschner.HTML this for most everything
http://www.knivesplus.com/FO-40538-Forschner.HTML this for quickly turning large cuts of meat into steaks. very good for cutting rib eyes and new york strips, a single smooth drawing motion gives you a steak. You can also leverage against the blade to chop through chicken breast for halving chickens etc. |
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$1 disposable razor blade knife things from the $1 store are great for skinning. Instead of sharpening I just break the sections of the blade off. They usually come in a pack of 3 so for $0.33 I get a "knife" that will skin 5-6 deer. Plus if I drop it while hunting it's no big loss.
Second is a 6" buck knife for cutting the meat off bone and cutting it into sections for freezing. This is being replaced this year, it's a little too large for the job and has been bugging me the last couple years. Third is a hacksaw with a (I think) 12 TPI blade on it. You want the largest teeth you can find or they'll just get gummed up with hair and junk. Like MTN said, you don't need anything fancy to get the job done, but a saw makes a world of difference. |