Knife for Veterinarian?

C

celticpride2133

Joined
Jan 30, 2012
Messages
183
So I was lucky enough to be accepted into a school of veterinary medicine recently, so now what should i do ...... get a new knife to celebrate! I'm thinking this knife should be larger 3.5 and up, but other than that I want your help. Price range 100 - 300. It need to be strong and able to take abuse! Thanks boys and girls
 
Congratulations. That's a significant accomplishment given how hard it is to get into a vet school. Which one?

As far as the knife goes, first thing to consider is what you'll be using it for. If you're thinking about using it around live animals, especially injured ones, you're probably gonna want to avoid a sharp tip or long blade. A rescue model of some sort would be a good choice. If you're just thinking about general stuff that might come up, I'd suggest a small FB that you can either pocket or carry IWB. Something like an Izula or a BK12/14 or a Scrapizore comes to mind.

I'd avoid anything expensive or flashy.
 
Are you going to be working with pets or livestock? In either case, a multitool paired with a one-handed folder would be a versatile tool set. The suggestion about a sheepsfoot or other blunt tipped blade is a good one.
 
Busse Battle Mistress FFFBM, depending on the reputation you want to establish.
Me? I'd get a nice slip joint. A stockman, trapper, congress... something like that.
 
benchmade triage 915 FTW has a modified sheepsfoot blade so you can't stab an animal on accident, a rescue cutter, and a glass breaker that I doubt you will need. I just ordered myself one
 
I agree with the suggestions for a sheepsfoot, but there are lots of good options out there that would be appropriate. Some sort of SAK might be a good choice, even. Perhaps a Pioneer Harvester?
 
I'm pretty sure veterinarian's use specialty tools. They'll teach you about those in school.

As for an EDC knife, I think most that are into knives would carry what the rest of us do. Just go with what you like for that.
 
I'm a surgeon and my wife is a vet so I've got some insight.

You will need a good pencil sharpener and some reading glasses for your classroom work. Carry a nice small gentlemans folder during this time, a GEC or something similar.

Carry a small comfortable knife when you get to your clinicals. You will need it to open your peanut packets from the vending machine when up late on call and otherwise won't need it because you will have everything else you need with you at all times. A multitool would be the only real valuable item to always have some tools close at hand, look at the leatherman line of one handed opening tools.

You are going to one of the highest repute vet schools in the country. Don't do anything that will jeopardize that opportunity ( as in make sure you can carry a knife). Also be mindful of your classmates. Many of them will be women. Many of those women are going to vet school because they love animals. That is not what being a vet is all about. It's about caring for animals. That sometimes means you bring pain to heal. These said women will struggle with this. They will also potentially freak out if you whip out a big knife due to their sensitive temperaments. Just be careful.

When you get into practice is when you will need a blade, more for your own character and personal satisfaction than from a need standpoint. As a surgeon, I have everything I need in my hands in a matter of minutes or seconds by asking someone to get it for me. The same will be true for you as well in 95% of your practice choices. What blade you want will depend a great deal on what and where your practice is. Here are some general guidelines:

small animal vet downtown Detroit: Dont carry a knife as it takes up much needed space for spare magazines. I recommend a concealed carry .45 ACP 1911 commander.

Large animal vet in rural Indiana: a loaded truck with X-ray and ferrier capability, multitool and a hard use folder like a ZT 560.

Small animal vet suburbs of LA: silver plated victorinox for fingernail trimming and to cut those nasty bill bands off the $10,000 stacks and impress the MILFs that you are a "rugged and dangerous man".

Equine orthopedic surgeon in Kentucky: your pants will be on a hook in a mahogany locker and you will be in scrubs with every power tool at your beckon call, all in stainless:D you won't need a knife because someone else will be cutting open your money bands for you.

Congrats and welcome to the club, enjoy school because its a blast but it goes by quickly! You have accomplished a huge feat just by getting in. Now get ready for the journey. Do your best, don't tread on anyone else to get ahead and enjoy the ride. You will make some lifelong friends and do some things you never dreamed of in the coming 4 years. And that's just the pre game warm up!!!
 
I remember seeing a Sebenza with the dog print graphic. You may want to check that out. Also, a CASE XX Doctors knife may be interesting.

Congrats btw. My wife is a vet.
 
Have to say this is one of the best reply's in a thread i have read in a while. Good info and great insight.

bigjuice said:
I'm a surgeon and my wife is a vet so I've got some insight.

You will need a good pencil sharpener and some reading glasses for your classroom work. Carry a nice small gentlemans folder during this time, a GEC or something similar.

Carry a small comfortable knife when you get to your clinicals. You will need it to open your peanut packets from the vending machine when up late on call and otherwise won't need it because you will have everything else you need with you at all times. A multitool would be the only real valuable item to always have some tools close at hand, look at the leatherman line of one handed opening tools.

You are going to one of the highest repute vet schools in the country. Don't do anything that will jeopardize that opportunity ( as in make sure you can carry a knife). Also be mindful of your classmates. Many of them will be women. Many of those women are going to vet school because they love animals. That is not what being a vet is all about. It's about caring for animals. That sometimes means you bring pain to heal. These said women will struggle with this. They will also potentially freak out if you whip out a big knife due to their sensitive temperaments. Just be careful.

When you get into practice is when you will need a blade, more for your own character and personal satisfaction than from a need standpoint. As a surgeon, I have everything I need in my hands in a matter of minutes or seconds by asking someone to get it for me. The same will be true for you as well in 95% of your practice choices. What blade you want will depend a great deal on what and where your practice is. Here are some general guidelines:

small animal vet downtown Detroit: Dont carry a knife as it takes up much needed space for spare magazines. I recommend a concealed carry .45 ACP 1911 commander.

Large animal vet in rural Indiana: a loaded truck with X-ray and ferrier capability, multitool and a hard use folder like a ZT 560.

Small animal vet suburbs of LA: silver plated victorinox for fingernail trimming and to cut those nasty bill bands off the $10,000 stacks and impress the MILFs that you are a "rugged and dangerous man".

Equine orthopedic surgeon in Kentucky: your pants will be on a hook in a mahogany locker and you will be in scrubs with every power tool at your beckon call, all in stainless:D you won't need a knife because someone else will be cutting open your money bands for you.

Congrats and welcome to the club, enjoy school because its a blast but it goes by quickly! You have accomplished a huge feat just by getting in. Now get ready for the journey. Do your best, don't tread on anyone else to get ahead and enjoy the ride. You will make some lifelong friends and do some things you never dreamed of in the coming 4 years. And that's just the pre game warm up!!!
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JB, thanks for that. I did put some thought into that post and wouldn't routinely do that but what celtic has done means a lot and is worth it. I have a close friend who went through that vet program and is finishing a Phd at CSU.

Celtic, I have waxed poetic enough in your thread but here is one more. I wanted to go to vet school to be that equine Orthopaedic vet and wound up becoming a human Orthopaedic surgeon. I thank this pursuit to meeting my wife and don't regret the detour for one second. i have spent time hanging out with the Anheuser Busch Clydesdales, going "backstage" with some of the best race horses in the world, checking out an anesthetized giraffe and meeting some great characters.

The most important part was when I realized I would marry my wife. We had only been dating for about 6 months. She was working in the large animal necropsy unit at Auburn over the summer for some extra money. I was finishing grad school and getting ready to move away for med school. I pulled up to the loading dock to pick her up for lunch. A horse had just arrived for examination and was hanging from the I beam. She pulled a 12 inch butcher knife off her belt and quartered the horse with surgical precision in about 2 minutes right in front of my car. She quickly washed her hands, pulled off her apron and skipped out to my car like she had been dancing in a field of daisies.

I realized I had a decision to make. I should either put it in reverse and never look back or I had found the person I would spend the rest of my life with ( and would never ever ever cheat on based on how she deftly maneuvered through that horse). And so the story goes.


A lot will happen over the next four years, you have made a great choice and your job opportunities are WIDE open! Lemme know if I can help at all.
 
An SAK with saw, scissors and blade, like a Fieldmaster or Outrider? Ranger adds a file.
 
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