Hoof Knife

Y

YDNAR88030

Joined
Feb 23, 2005
Messages
172
Can anyone recommend a good "hoof knife". Got a friend with horses that complains he can't keep it sharp. I told him he probably got one with soft steel. He said price didn't really matter. Told him I'd check with the experts, that's you guys. Please give me your recommendations...Thanks
 
Moore Maker makes a good one that my vet uses. He says it is the best one he has found. http://catalog.mooremaker.com/viewProduct.cfm?item_id=646138

Also, I should add that the hoof pick is not supposed to be real sharp because you don't want to go too deep. I think most of them are made out of steel that is softer that will come to a point if you want it to but not take an edge for this reason. Most of them are rounded off at the tip to keep from injuring the horse. At least that is my understanding based on my limited knowledge of them.
 
Smoky Mtn Knifeworks has some knives with hoof picks on them, so does Frost (owned by Jim Frost, who owns SMK), but the brand isn't particularly good, and I really wouldn't recommend them for any use, let alone hard use. If it's all your friend can afford, I would say go for it, but if he can afford more, I would say that they can look at a tack stores order books, they should at least have the option to get a hoof knife. Or, you can make the mistake I did, buy boat knives thinking they were hoof knives, when you were 15 as a gift for your sisters, only to be told by your dad that they are in fact boat knives. Oh well, at least my father and uncles like them, and use them on their boats...

Also, if your friend has not grown up around horses or has not handled them all his/her life, talk to the vet before they go playing around with a horses hoof. Y'know what, ask a farrier, they should know where to get the good stuff!
 
The knives listed so far aren't hoof knives. If your friend is wanting an actual hoof knife he needs to check with a farrier supply. I can't remember what brand my farrier uses. None of them are really made to hold an edge like you'd expect from a regular user knife. They get beat up and have to be soft enough not to chip easily. Most farriers just buy them a dozen or so at a time and sharpen them down to nothing then throw em away.
This would be a good place to find a good one. http://www.ken-davis.com/
 
Bronksknifeworks.com He sells all kinds of sharpening equipment and has written a book on sharpening. What he started life as and still is, is a knifemaker, specializing in Hoof Knives.
 
Matt is right. I read your post and immediately thought of a hoof pick. Missed that you typed in knife. Of course if your friend really wants a pick and not a knife then what was posted is correct. I have never heard of a 'hoof knife' per say but then again I haven't been around horses since I was young.
 
abkcr.jpg


Thats a hoof knife. Its only use is trimming a horses hoof. Hooves constantly grow and wear away. You have to trim them (every 10 weeks or so, if they have shoes on its about every 6 weeks) to keep the proper shape so that the horses foot hits the ground at the right angle.
The bottom of the hoof has a V shaped groove in it and the sole should be slightly cup shaped. A hoof knife has a special bend (you have to specifically buy them right or left handed) to clean up the sole of the hoof. The bent over tip is used to gouge out the bars (v-shaped grooves) in the hoof and clean them up. That gives the horse better traction, and trimming away the dead stuff helps the hoof adjust to moisture changes and keeps it from getting rot or infections.
So there ya go. Probably not a knife you'll see in too many knuts collections, but important none the less :)
 
Thanks Matt that is good info. Now I've seen one. Actually I had seen one before but didn't know that was what it was. I thought it was a wood carving tool. In fact I think that is what it was labeled as in the second hand shop I saw it in.
 
Matt shade, fount of information. I thought When I read this,"Does he really need a hoof knife?" Do what matt says-ask your farrier. Tack supply catalogs have them-State line tack, and smith brothers.


On the subject of hoof pick knives:
AG Russell makes one, Moore maker makes one very similar to AG's. Queen has a stockman with a hoof pick and a punch in place if the sheepsfoot and spey blades, and you can read my review of the vic equestrian in reviews.
 
On the subject of lnives, etc., with hoof picks, Gerber makes, or made, a very nice version of their MultiTool called the TrailRider that had a hoof pick, among other horse-oriented tools, included in it. My sister, who rides, raises, and trains the beasts, likes her's.
 
Thanks Matt,

That picture you posted is exactly what he's looking for. I'll get him to join the forum. Thanks again

Randy
 
YDNAR88030 said:
Thanks Matt,

That picture you posted is exactly what he's looking for. I'll get him to join the forum. Thanks again

Randy
Click to expand...

Great :)




Side note, there are wood carving knives that have a bent up tip similar to this, but when you see them side by side they aren't much alike. Only company I remember making the bent carving knives was north bay forge or something like that, and I haven't seen any in awhile.
 
I have a couple antique hoof knives, but they have longer blades than the picture posted. One has a bone handle, the other is stag. IIRC, the stag one was made in Sheffield.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top