Camping blade cleaning

[theblacksheep]

After cleaning an animal after a hunt my father in law boiled some water and put the blade of his knife into the water for about a minute to sanitize the blade. Anyone else do this? What other ways to sanitize the blade out on a hunt.

 

[MolokaiRider]

I just use judicious amounts of water, and then thoroughly wipe my knife down with a rag. I try to do this immediately after butchering, as I don't want to muck up the inside of my sheath.

Sometimes I carry a small bottle of Dawn soap in my pack, which makes clean up (especially greasy bits) much easier.

I also have been using surgical gloves over the last ten years. Makes a big difference in keeping my hands clean, and saves water.

Boiling water would work pretty good too, but I don't always have a fire going near me when hunting in the bush.

 

[catspa]

I’ve made PVC plastic scabbards for my meat cutting knives, so in the field or on the farm I just wipe them on my pant leg. Later at home, I usually rinse the carbon steel ones in hot tap water and dry them, soak and/or rinse the stainless ones, and rinse out the scabbards.

Parker

 

[gadgetgeek]

Unless you are doing a lot of cutting in and around spinal and brain tissue, a good wash will be enough. boiling water for a minute is about 40 seconds of overkill, but whatever makes you comfortable. The thing you want to be getting rid of (prions) with game meat doesn't get broken down by heat, so you want to clean it off, flush it away. So long as you are not right near a water source, a good liquid dishsoap without antibacterial is safe. The antibacterial will do nothing for you, but will kill the bacteria in the soil, which is not ideal. I think the US is one of the only places where triclosan is still in use, but it may be phased out by now. You are better off focusing on making sure your hands are clean afterward and watch for the animal's condition, know what illnesses they may be carrying which can impact humans, a lot of folks hunt in areas with anthrax, plague, and TB without knowing it. It's all about prioritizing risk. Sanitizing your knife afterward does nothing if you handle a bunch of infected lung tissue, or something more serious.