I'm really looking forward to this!
I worked in a slaughterhouse for 5 years, sticking hogs.
We didn't make enough money for beer & a custom sticking
knife...
So we just used the knife they supplied us with.
Very cheap simple sticking knife.
There was no guard, and plain wood grip.
It would last a few months, and when it was down to
4 1/2" or so, from 6" the foreman "might" get us a new one.
That knife now costs about $15.
It was probably cheaper 30 years ago, but they would sure
bitch when we asked for a new knife...
Since it was considered a "skill" job, we were payed
a bit extra. Each job was
We tried to keep "back up" knives, and actually had to lock them up
or hide them when we went for coffee or lunch, or home...
There were a lot of fights on the Kill floor, and jerks tampering
with other guys knives was common.
You would come back to work, and find someone has either
run it across a brick or steel, or rammed the tip of the knife
into the wall...
Those feuds could last years...
The company was pretty cheap with honing stones too...
We would be down to using the best pieces of broken
stones, they would get so worn down in the middle...
The company began having maintenance install
D-guards on our sticking knives, because of the
number of self mutilations.
Yup, dudes cut themselves for time off.
Witnessed it myself 3 times.
I didn't like the D-guard back then, it interfered...
Or, maybe we just weren't used to it...
The guy who complained the worst, was one
of the guys who cut himself.
But now, a dual guard is almost a must for me...
And I really like the D-Guard.
There is a stupid Canadian law (one of thousands) that make
then D-Guard knife prohibited.
I'm sure they are after the trench style knife.
And I do have a D-Handle knife, maybe someone with common sense
was at customs the da my knife came through...
Well, just some www ink, thinking out loud about having a
Busse sticking knife!!