Recommendation? Knife design for hog slaughter and dressing.

My friend who runs a BBQ place uses a blade identical in size and shape to the Victorinox Kuraki posted. That one gets probably 95% of all his knife tasks. He has others of that shape in smaller sizes for different trimming and boning tasks. I bet he has cut up 3 tons of pork a year (a tad over 100# a week) for 30 years with it. That would be about 180,000# of meat.
 
KnuckleDownKnives said:
I don't think he's actually killing it, but one of the questions that remains to be asked and answered. Pretty sure it's already dressed as he lives in the city.
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I see.... we do things a bit different here where I am!

Last weekend:
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Take a look at the Condor Pipe knife which was apparently made for sticking in the side of a hog which then turns the pipe knife into a spout the blood drains out of. It can also very easily be mounted to become a spear for those hogs you don't feel like approaching too close.

Sadly it has zero field dressing ability, but paired with a dedicated skinner, you're golden.

(Wonder how well this actually works)
 
Hogs are a nuisance everywhere these days, but I would want to know if the pig is wild or farm raised and if he is doing whole hog or not.

Aside from the stabbing part, we would use a skinning knife and a large butcher or scimitar style. Typically everything is left in big pieces, hams, shoulder, ribs. Some guys are really hard on the large knives when quartering and use them like a machete. Will destroy a weak edge quickly. Like was said, the skin and fur on the wild ones is nasty, so a few quick cuts to start skinning.

We pretty much gave up smoking anything but the smaller ones and you can't teach the dogs to leave the boars alone :( not worth running the smoker all day for a bunch of meat no one will eat. You know the nasty swamp hogs...
 
Finally got another reply. Apparently they do kill the pig.

we string him up and slice his throat so we can use his heart to pump out the blood
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He's also just said (thanks for some input bud .. lol) he's thinking something right inline with Kuraki's first image... He originally told me to come up with my own design, but been pushing hip to give me something to go on since it will be used by him...
 
Hoping for something I can HT myself. Don't have a HT oven, just a gas forge with PID and thermo couple, not actually controlled by PID yet but have good accurate temp.
 
That's why I've been using 15n20, and trying 80crv2. I don't have an oven yet either.
 
I second 15n20. Heat treat it to Rc60/61 if you think you will be banging up against bone a lot, and Rc62 if not. A buddy of mine hammered 15n20 at Rc60 through an elk pelvis with no problem. It'll wear pretty quickly (Rc60) if you try to skin a muddy, hairy carcass, but that's not your task here. If you have time, and want to try z-wear, I'll heat treat it for you with the cryo and low temper I have been using. Just pay the shipping and I'll cook it for you.
 
If you are dead set on doing it yorself, 1095, 80CrV, 15N20 will all be possible.

I would recommend you do it in CPM-S35VN and send it out for HT. After all, this is a knife that will need a top grade edge and HT.
 
kuraki said:
Or this. I've only roasted a couple hogs but I think I'd prefer this.

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One knife for skinning AND butchering will not be efficient. You need a regular hunter/skinner for skinning & gutting, a saw and something like the pic above for quartering, the same knife shown above for breaking down the quarters, & a boning knife. I would hate to be limited to one knife but if I were, I would have to choose the hunter/skinner.

Edited to add that these breaking knives are made from thicker stock than people think. My dad has been a butcher since 1964 and his old breaking knife like the one pictured above is 3/16" thick at the Ricasso with an extreme distal taper. The extra weight is needed when making the heavy cuts necessary to break down shoulders and hind quarters.
 
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You might as well build 2 like Darrin said. One in 15n20, you can heat treat it, the other in s35vn like Stacey recommended, and send it out to peters.
 
made a skinner for a hog hunter and he was blown away by edge holding of rc62 cpm3v. if i wass building a new one i wouodl use 204P but thats cause i have it in house and like how the edge holds up. if going all out i might order in 10V or M4 for the skinner blade and XHP or 204P for the butchering blade
 
butcher_block said:
made a skinner for a hog hunter and he was blown away by edge holding of rc62 cpm3v. if i wass building a new one i wouodl use 204P but thats cause i have it in house and like how the edge holds up. if going all out i might order in 10V or M4 for the skinner blade and XHP or 204P for the butchering blade
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204p sounds a lot like m390. I just bought 18x18" of m390 and I'm looking forward to trying it.
 
I would say try out Zwear.
Willie71 seems to have really done great with his heat treat on it in other posts. It has the wear resistance and toughness that you need. Stuff can take a thin edge and still be tough.
 
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