Big Chris Custom Caper in S90V

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Mar 15, 2011
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I have been hunting for years and can honestly count over 500+animals cleaned in that time from deer to hogs and elk. Hunting a friend’s high fence ranch for 7+ years helped when they had an annual quota of 100 to 125 doe's to get the population in check per the biologist. Many times we would shoot two in the morning and two in the afternoon, and then quarter them to donate to the retirement homes and food pantries in the area. Combine this with guiding part time, teaching kids how to shoot and then working with them for their first big game kill I learned to clean a lot of animals. I even perfected a method to not have to touch the guts (a buddy showed me and it is awesome for gut shot animals, more on that later). Needless to say I have been in search of the perfect hunting knife for a long time, which does not exist as I believe each animal based on size and other challenges requires a different blade. Yes, I can make one work successfully; I just prefer to use multiples now that I have gotten older and am not in such a rush. You have to admit the caper I am speaking to is great for deer, but would have a harder time with elk back straps due to blade length IMO. My opinion also takes into consideration my method of cleaning and my personal preferences. I am going to give you a quick run- down of what I have tried over the years and then explain why the Big Chris caper is the best knife I have every used to clean an animal for 95% of the task and that although I prefer two blades I would have no issue at all taking this as my only fixed blade on a deer hunting trip.
I did not provide any photos of the cleaning as I did not want this to turn into a how to document on cleaning a deer; besides once I get bloody, I stay bloody until I am finished.
I feel a two blade system is needed, a small caper size blade and a larger 4-5” blade for back straps and running around the joints to remove the legs, head and pelvis. This review is on a custom caper designed by me (stolen from KOA, yes I admit it) and tweaked by Chris with his experience.
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What I have used and why
List of blades I have used to clean animals- at least what I can remember and why I am no longer using them
6" filet knife- flexed too much and too long
Mora clipper- great handle - blade length is good - scandi grind left odd cuts in the back straps
CABS- close to perfect but I had to have mine mod'd- to much invested to risk losing it so it is sold
Rodent Solution- like it but sold it for a custom caper due to wanting to mod it too much to fit my needs
Kabar 6 1/2 blade given to me by my dad- used it as a kid since I did not know any better and thought I was a bad ass at 13 having huge fixed blade on my hip
Schrade Sharpfinger(two of these)- love the blade shape- a little short for good size deer on the back strap- derlin handle blows when wet and is too small for my hands- still I went through two of them as I sharpened the first to a nub
Schrade with gut hook- derlin handles blow when wet and I started hating gut hooks with this one
Schrade safety with gut hook- learned to hate gut hooks as I could not sharpen them and the blade is too long and wide. The gut hook gets in the way.
Case Blade trader -love it-still have it - used multiple blades every time- hate cleaning it
CRKT drifter- forgot all my knives- this is my EDC
Original Leatherman- seriously I was in a pinch and only had this in my pack
6"boning knife I found in the kitchen- great handle - too long of a blade and flexed
KOA caper- still in use today – handle is too small for extended use of anything. Love the rubber grips they use.
KOA Alaskan- loved the size, but D2 hates me when sharpening so I sold it
Buck 110 knock off - still have it, hate to clean it
Case stockman- broke the tip and cleaning it
Gerber unknown free blade - EDC and never held an edge longer than 15 minutes, I think the knife monster that lives in my truck ate it and a few others I can’t remember
BK16- never used it so I sold it
Spyderco Southfork- have yet to use it on animals – awesome in kitchen
GSO 4.0 Elmax- did not like the handle or blade width/height - sold it
Scrapmax 340- great skinner, but to short of a blade as a caper and not strong or long enough as my only blade- very flexible - still have it
War Dog- had a choil and the blade was too thick
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What I wanted in a hunting blade set:
Stainless for less maintenance - I am lazy and prefer to drink beer than clean up- both blades
4.5-4.75" handle that is thick - arthritic hands- both blades
4.00-4.50" blade that tapers to very skinny at the tip and maximum 1" wide near handle- over 4.75" is too much for deer IMO – larger blade
2.5-3.5” blade very skinny at tip for caper- smaller blade
No ricasso- large blade
No choil unless it is a caper
Full Flat Grind – both blades
5/32 or 1/8" thick steel – both blades
Toss-up between drop point and upswept tip like the sharpfinger- I clean more animals than process wood so upswept or slight drop – depending on your view-
solid pins and g10 on handle –both blades
Tapered tang to reduce weight- both blades
Moonglow liner so I can find it when I set it down- lost the Kabar that way
no lanyard hole- I don't need to chop- I can push cut/whittle any up to wrist size and that is all I will ever need to cut down to build a shelter or a fire- If bigger is required the BK9 or machete goes with me.

What I wanted in a Caper:




Since I had good luck with the KOA caper I wanted to have a custom built one that would fit my needs and hands better. I spoke to Chris a few times and I knew he understood what I wanted and I forwarded him some diagrams and measurements. He recommended S90V or CHP20X (I may have that name wrong). I had not heard of the 20X steel and after reading Ankerson's review and using Phil Wilson's Southfork in the kitchen; I felt S90V would meet my needs. I could sharpen it on the WorkSharp; it should last for 2 animals and was stainless. I traced the original KOA caper and made changes based on my needs, primarily a larger handle both in length and girth and a slightly longer blade to allow for larger choils as the originals are to small.

Chris recommended an increase in both the top and bottom choils. This was great as it fits my hand much better. He absolutely nailed the handle shape and size. I discovered over the years I need a large meaty handle for more control. I would normally have to take a minimum of two breaks while cleaning a deer due to my hands cramping up. Age, arthritis and diabetes blow. Chris exceeded by requirements as my hands did not cramp once and I had increased control over previous blades I have used. The execution of the quality workmanship is outstanding. All lines are clean with no sharp edges. The attention to the choils impressed me as they felt great and the best way to describe it as “worn in”.




While removing the hide, tenderloins, back straps and cleaning out the pelvis this blade worked better than any other I have ever used. I received the blade as hair shaving sharp and it stayed that way after this animal. I believe the RC is 60-61 and Chris did the heat treat. I am very rough on an edge and have no concerns about running up against bone to obtain the best cut possible. Now I will see if it makes it through a few more animals before needing a sharpening. After this deer there we no visible nicks or damage to the edge and it would still shave hair. I am waiting to shoot something big enough to cape out, however, I have caped enough deer with the KOA to know this one will work exceptionally well. The skinny tip and choils allow you to work around the delicate areas of the eyes and lips.

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Sheath….
I normally would not say much about a sheath as long as it keeps the blade from cutting me. I have to say I am impressed with the sheath as it is the best sheath I currently own and on par with those from full time sheath makers I have owned from this forum.

The blade is the perfect length for everything on a deer save two items, removing back strap (running along the spine) and cutting through a heavily muscled neck to remove the head. The blade will do it, but it is limited by the length and you have to get bloodier. These are the two items I reserve for the larger blade and you can see I am trying out the Rodent Trail for that one.


Overall, I cannot say enough good things about Chris and his attention to details. I believe I will have him make two more identical to this one to give as graduation gifts.

By the way the buck was 5 1/2 yrs old, scored 128 5/8 gross, 175lbs and only the third time we had seen him all year. The first in person, the other two on game camera.
 
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Thanks for posting this in depth review. It's nice to see some real world use of a well designed and crafted blade. I think Chris did a great job on this blade, and the steel choice is good for this type of use IMO.
 
great review, and many props to Big Chris for Doing It Right. Please post an update later in the season to let us know how it holds up!
 
Thanks for a great review with excellent pics. I'd love to see a pic of the sheath & how this handle-heavy blade fits in it.
 



So I let me nephew use it last night to clean this deer. It still shaves hair. More to follow.
 
Update on the blade. Cleaned a hog with it a few weeks ago. So far all I have done to it is was it with soap and water. Still hair shaving sharp. More to follow as my next hunt is in late October. No deer this year as we are off our old place.
 
Great review. When I first saw the picture of your knife, the first thing that popped into my head was the Buck Cabelas Guide model Caper. I was always going to get one because I really liked the design, but somehow always forgot about it.
 
Great review. :thumbup: :cool: :thumbup:

And some serious food for thought when it comes to hunting knife design.


I have gravitated to smaller blades as time ticks past,

...and find a blade in the 3" range more then enough to do 90% of the work.


Like you, I also favor a larger handle then is normally seen on smaller knives.


I like it! ;)



Big Mike
 
Wonderful to see someone with experience put together a knife that really fits his needs. I can see exactly where your emphasis comes from, and it’s a very interesting approach compared to my own. I also ended up with a two-knife solution, with the emphasis on the larger blade for most chores and carrying a folder that does the rest—kind of like looking through the other end of the telescope.

The two things you apparently do a lot of that I don’t are gutting and caping. I started out gutting deer like most, but growing up hunting mainly in south Texas (Hidalgo/Brooks/Webb counties), we so often encountered weather too warm to hang deer that we started taking the meat off the animal in the field to put it directly on ice. In doing that, we found there was no need to open the animal up—which is a nice thing to avoid if the guts have been penetrated by a bullet, as you say. But for that kind of work, we found a little more length of blade worked great. Over the years, I’ve used blades as long as 6” in the field to butcher deer/elk, but that is the maximum, with 5 to 5 ½” blades ideal for my tastes. I was in a family with two brothers, a mother, father and grandfather who all hunted, as well as cousins and uncles, so we were pretty much our own processing plant. But we were meat hunters to a man (sorry, mom :)). I never got much experience caping, as I’ve only mounted one buck in my lifetime and only a handful in our family. Typically we would skin the cape to the base of the skull and take the head off whole for the taxidermist to work over.

So our emphasis is different, and the outcomes in terms of blades we prefer are also, but if you trace out the basics, they are parallel.

The one thing I was a little surprised to see was that you like to skin with your caping blade. I’ve always preferred a deep belly rather than a skinny point for skinning most of the hide, in order to make broader sweeps, and with a small, narrow-pointed blade for me it seemed I was more likely to accidentally pierce the hide than with a broad point, but I do like a sharp point to get into the nooks and crannies and around joints. I’m thinking the experience you’ve acquired through guiding and processing a lot of trophy animals has made that task second nature to you, and your abilities have been honed to a much greater degree in that area than mine—makes sense.

Anyway, I also have an S90V blade that is one of my absolute favorites for the same reasons you list—edge lasts forever, nicely aggressive, and the low maintenance of stainless goes a long way with me as well. If anyone would like a peek, here's a thread with some pics:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/900617-Hunter-by-Stuart-Branson

Congratulations on that Big Chris caper, and thanks for a very fun read. :thumbup:
 
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Will York. I read your thread on your blade and it is beautiful. Interesting I noticed most of you knives have a large ricaso. I find it enjoyable the difference we each need to be satisfied. Similar to finding a wife. You know once she is in your hands that you are a match.

Regarding field dressing or gutting, I actually avoid it all together. The technique I mentioned involves hanging the animal from the hocks with the head down. I then cut away the anal cavity and skin down all the way to the neck. If it is a deer worth caping out I will remove the head and work the rest of the skin off sitting on the tail gate. Most times I severed the head and let the person who shot the animal take it to the taxidermist. Once the skin is removed I cut the abdomen cavity just enough to reach in and cut out the tenderloins. I never touch the guts if I can help it. This comes from working with numerous children and some bad hunters that gut shot an animal. If I can avoid the guts all together I will. I then remove the back straps, neck meat and front shoulders. At this point I lower the animal over a bucket and use tree loppers to cut the spine where the tenderloins were. The ribcage with all of the intestines falls as one unit into the bucket. I am left with two quarters hanging.
This method keeps me from having to deal with any of the intestine and limits my exposure to gut shot areas.

The only time I have had to really field dress an animal is when hunting in the mountains of New Mexico and Wyoming where we had to pack the animal out on foot or horseback.

I found regardless of what I was doing with an animal I always gravitated back to the KOA caper. This lead me to having Chris make this one and it is as close as I have found to one blade I can do almost anything with.
Let me know if you are in or around Austin anytime. I am always good for an enchilada plate.
 
Thanks very much for your gracious reply. I realized after my long-winded post that I was getting away from the subject of the thread, which was the thinking behind the caper design--a very special knife. Sorry about that.

I also realize after reading your post above that our methods are much more similar than I thought. The only differences I can see are that I bone out the hams while the deer is hanging, leaving the rear leg bones attached to the carcass for disposal. And I go in blind under the last rib along the spine with a pocket knife to remove the tenderloins. I'm not sure where you go in, but sounds very much like the same kind of operation.

Also, thanks for the dinner invitation! Hard to turn down an offer like that, and if I get the chance, I'll certainly take you up on it. :D I don't get back to Texas as much as I should, having moved to Washington State.

Will
 
Will,
Send me a PM if you like. I am in Seattle a few times a year visiting Ft. Lewis customers.
 
Nice review and photos! Good lookin buck too :thumbup:

Gotta say I really like that kit! I think you guys did a great job bringing out the best practices of that KOA into something even better. A lot of small things done very well, including the moonglow! Is it 1/8th thick?

I've got some friends I need to show this to, they have all year to save for one.
 
Moonglow when you can find it is awesome and yes it is 1/8. I also added the moonglow pull tabs to my back pack from Flea bay. Worth every penny.
 
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