Gut Hooks

i4Marc

i4Marc

Joined
Oct 19, 2011
Messages
5,050
I have a potential customer who saw my latest skinner on IG. He is very interested in having one made but he asked if I could do something like that with a gut hook. Well, I know there are those of you who like them and some who don't. My main objection is that it ruins the look and flow of a knife you spent the time designing to be as beautiful as you can. I wouldn't put a gut hook on a spec knife. But if the customer requests it I suppose that is different. Should I offer to make a separate gut hook tool, or say "I'm sorry, I'm not set up to do gut hooks"? Part of the issue is also that I'd be using a blade from inventory which is already heat treated and ground. I can't go back in now and put in the hook. I'd have to make one from scratch.


So, my question is for those of you who hunt. Do you like gut hooks or not and why? Does the gut hook get in the way of choking up on the blade or placing a finger on the spine while skinning? Do the aesthetics of a gut hook turn you off? I would appreciate your thoughts.


This is the design I'm talking about:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1382397-Nessmuk-style-skinner
 
Luckily so far I've managed to talk people into a dedicated gut hook. Other guys that I've made skinners for don't want gut hooks. That's a great looking knife you make. I wouldn't put a gut hook in it. Just my opinion.
 
Josh,

can you post some pictures here of one of your dedicated gut hooks?
 
Yeah. One of my first ones was for a buddy who wanted textured g10.

Another one I made. I tried to do it on my 1" wheel. Sharp as can be, just too big.
 
I hate making gut hooks but I have a local customer that always has me make one when his wife pops out another boy . So far I have made him 5 , 3 sons and 2 gifts , he says no more children and I thank him .
 
Getting the angle consistant was difficult for me. Then i rolled sandpaper and then some leather around a dowel rod and stropped it. I'd love to see how some other guys do it.
 
Josh Rider said:
Getting the angle consistant was difficult for me. Then i rolled sandpaper and then some leather around a dowel rod and stropped it. I'd love to see how some other guys do it.
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I am actually working on one of these myself per request from an old friend and it may be my last for a long while. All I did was start by leaving a large burr on the spine by taking it down by 0.25" then taking down some pallet planks to assemble a dirty looking jig to use a chainsaw file at roughly 20* as my starting profile before HT. The biggest problem I am having now is it looks like garbage and it binds easily so in desperation I'm creating a partial bevel leading into it. As I have been going along I'm noticing much less bind though the hours spent filing to make the transition seamless is the part where I am going to pass from repeating the process anytime soon. As far as stropping (mind you this is a theory at best I have considered) I have seen MDF used for buffing wheels so I wonder if a dowel rod sanded to 80-120grit would work when put in a medium speed hand drill and loaded up with compound. I could be crazy with the idea and please do someone step in and clear me of such delusions, I will gladly hush and retreat to my corner. -Brian
 
From a hunters perspective, I don't like them. I'd rather have a knife that's a knife, not a hook.
 
I have a lansky round sharpener that I used in a hand drill like you mentioned. It yielded ok results. If i could lock it all in some type of sled jig, it would help.
 
Nic. said:
From a hunters perspective, I don't like them. I'd rather have a knife that's a knife, not a hook.
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I very much agree Nic
Josh Rider said:
I have a lansky round sharpener that I used in a hand drill like you mentioned. It yielded ok results. If i could lock it all in some type of sled jig, it would help.
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I believe it would help to a large degree as well and even with the sled some may run into the issue I would with the setup is shotty wobble in the drill chuck. When working as a framer the only good drill with smooth action was a busted looking Makita I purchased secondhand and haven't been able to afford anying handheld to match those results. This being said is why I feel medium to low speed may be the closest thing to the answer with this type of method. Not perfect but much easier to control the outcome.
 
Good thoughts people. I think I'll try to talk him into a separate gut hook if he feels he really needs one.


When I get to the point of needing to sharpen the hook I might try an idea that just popped into my head. Tell me if this sounds like a bad idea. I thought I could chuck up something like the Lansky rod into my drill press. Then use a bearing, maybe from a Rollerblade wheel, mounted in a Micarta block clamped to the work table to locate and stabilize the rod at the bottom. Is that dopey?
 
Personally, as a hunter, I hate gut hooks. They do a grand job of dragging hair and debris into your cuts when field dressing moose and caribou. I imagine it would do about the same to a whitetail. Aesthetically its a take-it-or-leave-it for me. The practicality is what really kills it for me. At best I find them marginally effective for their intended purpose, at worst, a severe hindrance. I can't comment from a makers perspective, as I have never tried to make one (and likely lack the skill to do one well), but there is this hunter's opinion.
 
As a hunter I'd never want one on my knife. I prefer to have all the sharp areas on one side of the blade:-)
Plus I've heard they're a real pain to sharpen especially in the field.
 
A gut hook on the spine of a blade is a horrible idea. I don't know who came up with it. It puts the tip and edge facing towards the guts. Not really optimal lol.

It's not rocket science to gut and animal with a knife. Ive never wasted my time on a gut hook.
 
Do something like benchmade does on their triage! It would work great on a fixed blade I think!
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JG Custom Metal Works said:
A gut hook on the spine of a blade is a horrible idea. I don't know who came up with it. It puts the tip and edge facing towards the guts. Not really optimal lol.

It's not rocket science to gut and animal with a knife. Ive never wasted my time on a gut hook.
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No, just the opposite. At least the one time I used one (like others have said, not needed). I held the knife inverted and pulled the hook up the cut like a zipper. The only way the edge and tip would be towards the body cavity is if you put the entire knife, and your hand inside to drag it up. Awkward as all get out.
 
This may be a stupid question but I was just wondering. For sharpening the gut hook what if you lapped or honed the flat side of the gut hook and left the bevel alone? Would that be easier? I suppose you could grind the flat side of the gut hook in some way as to reduce the size of the flat that gets lapped or honed, as in grinding the gut hook flat at a slight angle in relation to the rest of the flat of the blade?

Just thinking.
 
I have been a hunter for 40+ years, and I have used gut hooks on knives and dedicated hooks. I much preferred the dedicated hooks in actual function. I am fan of leaving them off of a knife--I'm in the camp that thinks the ruin the aesthetics of a knife--they do in fact work well, and speed up the process of 'unzipping' a big game animals cavity. If I had a heat treated blade, as long as it didn't exceed the hardness of my files, I would just fix a simple jig to keep the position on the blade fixed, and with a small round file, cut it in. IME gut hooks stay sharp a very long time without any maintenance--in fact I've never sharpened one. As far as nowadays, I just use an appropriate sized knife for the animal I'm working on, and 'get 'er done!'
 
ONeill said:
I hate making gut hooks but I have a local customer that always has me make one when his wife pops out another boy . So far I have made him 5 , 3 sons and 2 gifts , he says no more children and I thank him .
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Why does he need a new one for every kid? He could just sterilise before the next delivery.
 
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