Customs with gut hooks?

M

mtwashingtonhunter

Joined
Aug 4, 2012
Messages
176
It doesn't seem like there are many or any customs being offered with gut hooks...being ignorant to knife making, can someone explain why?
Thank you for any and all replies!
 
I dont know about anyone else but in my opinion the tip of the knife is it's weakest point anyway, why make it weaker? If I have a client who absolutly has to have a gut hook, I offer to make him a seperate tool that I make a spot for in the sheath.
 
Thanks for the reply...it's not that I prefer a gut hook on every knife, but I like to have 2-3 of my hunters with them. Once I used one to field dress a deer, I never went into the hunt without one.
 
I just built one. Just need to heat treat it. A good friend of mine wanted one with a gut hook so I obliged. It is a Loveless kind of outline. Would you like a copy of the pattern?
 
They aren't too bad mad to make, I've not done one for years but I used to forge them with a boss on the tip for the hook, then profile it and cut the hook bit in with a chainsaw file, then finish it with sandpaper around pinstock. Guys that got them seemed to really like them, these were used in Hawaii mostly for fish but sometimes for wild boar.
 
mtwashingtonhunter said:
It doesn't seem like there are many or any customs being offered with gut hooks...being ignorant to knife making, can someone explain why?
Thank you for any and all replies!
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well i dont find the gut hook very useful, there was some chat about this on the aus blade forum and like myself hearing it alot agree the gut hook originally wasnt built as a gut hook but used to be able to take the billy off the camp fire, i dont think people like the look of them all that much
 
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knifemaking01 said:
well the gut hook isnt really very useful, there was some chat about this on the aus blade forum and like myself hearing it alot agree the gut hook originally wasnt built as a gut hook but used to be able to take the billy off the camp fire, i dont think people like the look of them all that much
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I see a lot of people that say it isn't useful but I disagree.
 
Might be useful, might not be. I know I would only use such a thing to remove a hot pot from a campfire. Guthooks are also ugly, IMO.
 
I find them a problem in manufacture, sharpening, normal knife use (other cuts except for opening the belly), and maintenance. That, and they are ugly :)

What I have done for hunters who want one is make a separate knife/tool that has a short blade with a gut hook only. The knife is smaller than the matching skinner/hunter and has a matching handle. There is no other edge beside the hook. One customer put them a two knife sheath as a set.
 
bladsmth said:
I find them a problem in manufacture, sharpening, normal knife use (other cuts except for opening the belly), and maintenance. That, and they are ugly :)

What I have done for hunters who want one is make a separate knife/tool that has a short blade with a gut hook only. The knife is smaller than the matching skinner/hunter and has a matching handle. There is no other edge beside the hook. One customer put them a two knife sheath as a set.
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Good idea...like one of those Gerber sets you can buy.
 
Oh I'm sure they're useful. Lots of things are useful. My son finds the training wheels on his bicycle useful but that doesn't mean I want them on my bicycle.

On a sharp thin knife that can occasionally get hit with a hammer, I don't love the idea of a big notch out of it, but I'd accept it. For me, the deal breaker is they just about require the blade be thick and fat.

It is my own personal opinion that if you're disassembling a deer properly (disconnecting the intestines, reproductive and excretory bits, not severing them) you will want a relatively thin narrow blade that reaches down around the anus and up into the pelvis in a neat controlled fashion. This is no place for a big fat blade. Now, if you're more into the hack and whack and rinse it out with a hose approach there is lots of room for a big fat gut hook. Just don't invite me to dinner.

The first time you skin a deer, you're gonna nick some meat, everybody does. But with a little bit of practice, a nice thin drop point, turned edge out, can unzip an animal with minimal fuss.

I don't put "gut hooks" on my skinning knives because I wouldn't want one on my own skinning knife.
 
Why not put one on a bit of the tang extending out of the bottom of a full tang knife? Get the angle right and you might be able to use it without losing any fingers.
 
I greatly appreciate all the replies...I wanted to hear from the makers.
I find them unnecessary, but love them. I like how they look, how easy they make it to open the gut (which is why they call it a gut hook)...if used to open only guts and not UPS boxes, there shouldn't ever be a need to sharpen them. If you're gonna pick up hot pots off campfires, I would suggest the $20 or less Gerber.
I have customs I take into the field, but my Buck with the gut hook is the first to be used...many guts opened, no need to sharpen...several smaller knives to do all the fine stuff...big ones to do the butchering (quartering)...it's no big deal cleaning 3 or more knives vs. one that is supposed to do it all but fall short.
I've see a few gut hooks for sale on customs, was only wanting to hear the reasoning...so much obliged.
Thanks again everyone!
 
Dont know about using them for fish and game as I always just used a regular drop point or such for that but the gut hooks work really good if your cutting alot of rope/twine type stuff.
 
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