- Joined
- Feb 23, 2002
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- 3,674
Yesterday my youngest son killed his first whitetail, and I brought the JKM-1 along to see how it would perform in the hunting field. Here's a summary of its performance:
Field dressing: I was able to completely and easily perform the field dressing process with the JKM-1. This was a small yearling doe, yet the knife was not too large or unwieldy for cavity work and the larger blade was easy to keep track of when working blind - smaller, pointier blades often bite me when working inside the cavity.
It very easily split the sternum just by pulling up and outward. I also used used the JKM-1 with a baton to split the pelvis bone. It performed this task flawlessly. The spine of the blade is not quite as pretty as before, but no damage or deformation occurred and the edge showed no wear or loss of sharpness as a consequence. I would not have tried this second procedure on a larger, heavier-boned animal, I normally use a hatchet or 18" AK.
Skinning: Successful, however a bit too large for an animal this size. I would have preferred a shorter, thinner blade with a more backswept profile.
Butchering: The JKM-1 took apart this small deer every bit as efficiently as the Pen-knife did the larger ones last year.
I did not perform any sharpening at any time during the process and after cleanup it's ready to go again, edge still keen.
My intent was to see if this knife could perform the entire process from beginning to end. It was not necessarily the best tool for each individual step along the way, but it proved itself adequate for the whole job and an all-around winner.
Greatest strengths: Splitting sternum/ribcage; filleting out backstraps.
Weaknesses: Initially opening up the belly and skinning. I would have preferred to use my Schrade drop-point for the former and my Swyhart karda for the latter.
The Sarki Shop sheath was a real asset as well, allowing me to carry it securely attached to the outside of my daypack.
Field dressing: I was able to completely and easily perform the field dressing process with the JKM-1. This was a small yearling doe, yet the knife was not too large or unwieldy for cavity work and the larger blade was easy to keep track of when working blind - smaller, pointier blades often bite me when working inside the cavity.
It very easily split the sternum just by pulling up and outward. I also used used the JKM-1 with a baton to split the pelvis bone. It performed this task flawlessly. The spine of the blade is not quite as pretty as before, but no damage or deformation occurred and the edge showed no wear or loss of sharpness as a consequence. I would not have tried this second procedure on a larger, heavier-boned animal, I normally use a hatchet or 18" AK.
Skinning: Successful, however a bit too large for an animal this size. I would have preferred a shorter, thinner blade with a more backswept profile.
Butchering: The JKM-1 took apart this small deer every bit as efficiently as the Pen-knife did the larger ones last year.
I did not perform any sharpening at any time during the process and after cleanup it's ready to go again, edge still keen.
My intent was to see if this knife could perform the entire process from beginning to end. It was not necessarily the best tool for each individual step along the way, but it proved itself adequate for the whole job and an all-around winner.
Greatest strengths: Splitting sternum/ribcage; filleting out backstraps.
Weaknesses: Initially opening up the belly and skinning. I would have preferred to use my Schrade drop-point for the former and my Swyhart karda for the latter.
The Sarki Shop sheath was a real asset as well, allowing me to carry it securely attached to the outside of my daypack.
Measure twice, cut once!