Buck's 539 working poultry

David Martin

David Martin

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I processed some old Delaware hens this morning using Bucks model 539 Trublue. These are 6 lb. Dual purpose layers. Plus they are 3 yrs. old. So, dog food. A good size hen.
This model has a 5 7/16" blade of 425m steel with a sure grip handle. With a full flat grind blade. It works great on processing these. If you ever come across one, get it. As they are a good kitchen knife and filet knife. I would use it to quarter a buck. I good model. DM
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539. appears Bucks used that number again for another model. some of these true-blue ones used the sawby lock, i think i saw.


you could make a decent soup with these 3 year old birds couldn't ya? lower heat slower cooked. so maybe a soup or dog food as ya said.
 
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I’m glad they don’t go to waste. The people I know who have chickens for eggs wont eat the birds. One even raised rabbits and didn’t eat them either.

Makes no sense to me.
 
Yes, eveled, they become a pet and few men know how to do it. And fewer women will. Strange, I was shown by my Grand mothers. I never saw either of my Grand Fathers process a chicken. Raising poultry was done by the women back then. My Grand Fathers would build all the pens and housing. Nice shelter and just like she wanted. They fed them scratch & scraps. Not a balanced ration like today. I had to catch them at night and trim one wing. Or doctor them. I was trained early. A great way to grow up and I'm still raising poultry. 3rd or 4th generation. DM
 
jb, yes a mid- lock model. And some we'll put in enchiladas. I don't grill these old birds. So, there are other ways to utilize them.
Yes, the newer one reused this model number. Still, I think the blade length is a good size for boning, trimming a brisket and dividing up a chicken. I don't think a 7" is needed, especially for the 4 lb. Whole fryers found in meat markets today. DM
 
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David Martin said:
Yes, eveled, they become a pet and few men know how to do it. And fewer women will. Strange, I was shown by my Grand mothers. I never saw either of my Grand Fathers process a chicken. Raising poultry was done by the women back then. My Grand Fathers would build all the pens and housing. Nice shelter and just like she wanted. They fed them scratch & scraps. Not a balanced ration like today. I had to catch them at night and trim one wing. Or doctor them. I was trained early. A great way to grow up and I'm still raising poultry. 3rd or 4th generation. DM
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I never thought about it that way until ya said it, but yeah. raising poultry was done by women back then...very true.........my great grandmother raised Rhode island reds. my great grandfather had nothing to do with them day to day from my memories and stories I heard as a small child before they passed on.
 
The 539 TruBlue Sawby appears for a short while in 1988 then reappears as the 539 TruBlue mid-lock from 1990-1991 (David's knife). The 1992 catalog introduces the 549 gray plastic handled version. The first 549's can be found with 539 blades installed. The handle becomes black in the 1996 catalog. The lineage comes to an end in 2001 with the China invasion as the 559 FishLocker.
 
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I worked occasionally during high school and college on a family friends poultry farm. In all those years I can't say I ever saw a chicken processed. When their laying days were over they were shipped off... probably ended up in a can of Campbell's soup.
 
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DeSoto, that's exactly the route old layers went. In 1991-94 as a agriculture inspector I was stationed in Albuquerque. Back then there were rows of huge laying houses down along the Rio Grande River as you you entered the city from the south along I25. I would go there and purchase old layers for .25 cents each. Take them home and process them and put them in the freezer.
My wife didn't care for chicken hearts, livers or gizzard. So, I used them for fish bait and caught catfish along the river. Man we had ate a lot of catfish. I used a Buck 107 to process all of them. I raised my kids on fish & chicken and some Mule deer. DM
 
I have Buck's 1989 catalog and this model is in it. Named as the Trublue, showing a mid-lock. Some good history. DM
 
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