Hunting kinfe Hooks

[Jack Goertz]

There may be some place in the forums that discusses this, however I've not seen this subject. A friend who does a lot of hunting was given a hook as a gift. He described it as having a T handle so it could be pulled. He expected it to operate like a zipper, just a nice smooth draw. Instead he said it required a lot of yanking, binding, and pulling. He couldn't tell whether it was plugging up with hair or what. He bought a more expensive one, and encountered the same problem. He'd be asking this himself but alas, no PC. I've never used one myself but I had envisioned a slick, smooth, low effort slice. Does anyone have any experience with them? Are some better than others? Or is it nice in theory and less so in practice?

Jack

 

[Sid Post]

Edge geometry is pretty critical. I wouldn't expect one to pull through an animal like it does in a feed sack. How thick is the blade at the point where the hook is cut? Does the edge thickness grow gradually or pretty much all at once in a steep angle? Lastly, some of these work very well because of good execution, others are just a poor knock off because the designer/maker didn't fully understand the intended use.

Sid

 

[budman]

I have a swedish knife with a gut hook......man does that knife shorten the skinning process... the hook is about 5/8 in. in dia. and does clog with hair, especially caribou..but for moose it works wonders. my friends just look on with amazement.Appearance is very close to the normark, but without the plating...you can cut about 24 inches before the hair clogs the opening and must be removed.

 

[Athabasca Ed]

I've wondered about the utility of those. I do know a decent drop-point works very well for the opening cut, and doesn't clog with hair. Can't say I see the need for one.