Like there was ever any doubt......

T

TwinStick

Joined
Jan 21, 2011
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:D LAME STORY FOLLOWS------:p

So, not only do i SUCK at hunting, i also SUCK at getting up early. Seeing as how i have been on 3-11 pm shift all my life (since i graduated high school) & the fact i turned 50, i just can't seem to get up early any more.

But alas, all is not lost. I have friends that are deer killing machines. One was nice enough to call me up today at 9:30 am & wake me up & ask if i wanted a 7 point Buck. Well, naturally, i said HELL YEAH !!! I LOVE it when opportunity knocks. (NOTE: Buck was tagged & called into D.E.C, I have the tag with the meat----totally legal)

I carefully chose my cutlery & tools for this project. Becker BK11, BK14-both modified with jimping almost all the way to the tip, 11 w/micarta & 14 w/handle kit, BK15, KaBar GameStalker, & my Ontario 12" machete-modified with Bowie tip, 2 finger choil, 3 1/2" of jimping & handle mods, a cheap a$$ filet knife, a Dexter-Russell medium 14" butchers sharpening steel & a Case XX 12" fine (read WORN DOWN) butchers sharpening steel, safety glasses, pot of killer coffee, great music.

So, i made the cuts in the back legs & inserted the gambrel deer hanger, hooked it up to my super handy dandy HF 1100 lb elec (120v) winch that i mounted up in the rafters of garage about 10 yrs ago. :thumbup: :D Money WELL spent there ! Pressed the up button & got to work. Now the LAME part: I still can't figure out how to post pics with this new computer! :o Sorry.

So, I started off with the BK11. Made the leg cuts. Deer hair & bone dulls a knife quicker than anything i have seen. I suspect all wild animals (moose, elk, bear, wild boar, etc) do this. It is best to pinch & pull the skin out, use the point to pierce the skin & then get in behind it & cut outward to keep your knife sharp as long as possible. I am kinda a clean/neat freak (well, as much as one can be doing this). So after the leg cuts & up the legs to center cavity, i stopped & brought the knife inside, washed the gunk off with hot water & cleaned the knife. Went back out & gave it a swipe on each side on both steels & was good as new again. I have found that for me, keeping things clean & sharp make for less mistakes & injury. LOVE my butchers steels ! BK11 worked great. Did not absolutely need sharpening but i am only taking maybe 10 seconds to touch it up. The micarta made it MUCH more ergonomic & gave me MUCH better purchase, even when bloody. I'm not gonna lie. I tried hard to like the BK11 in it's bone stock form. Just wasn't happening for me. The micarta handles & the jimping almost to the tip made ALL the difference for me. This knife ROCKS now! :thumbup:

Next up was the KaBar GameStalker. I used it to skin the deer. Again, this knife worked GREAT too. It also has jimping by the tip. Gives your finger great purchase when skinning, wet, bloody. I did the entire deer, being carefull to not hit bone with the blade. When done, went in & washed it with hot water & gave it a swipe on each side of the 2 steels.

Elec winch makes it so much easier to do this alone. Raise & lower deer at the push of a button ! :thumbup: :D Next up, i used the BK14 to start removing meat. This knife also ROCKED OUT this task. Again, the handle & jimping almost to the tip made ALL the difference for me. Once i got into the hard to reach spots, i used the BK15. Its very pointy tip worked GREAT for this. Felt like i had a surgical laser in my hand (not that i would ever even know what thats like but you get the idea :D)

So, after all the meat was removed, it was time to downsize the carcass. :D Enter the Ontario 12" machete & safety glasses. Used it to remove the head, disarticulate the front shoulders & rear hind quarters, rib cage & then half the rib cage again. Even choked up on it to remove some more meat. It worked great as well. Chopping & splitting bone, spine, neck. No rolling, no issues. It fit perfectly in 2 garbage cans. Not too heavy.

There was never any doubt in my mind & this deer confirmed it. BK&T's, KaBar GameStalker & machete ROCKED OUT dressing this deer. You could certainly do it all with any one of them but as a knife enthusiast, why would you miss an opportunity to use a bunch ? :D

When trimming the meat for the freezer, i got to the point that the filet knife was not holding a good edge anymore. Too steep of an edge grind. Trip to the garage & plugged in my 4"x36" belt sander & thinned out the edge. Came back in & swiped the edge on the butchers steel & wicked sharp again. Then i thought...hmmm, would this work on the BK15 ? :confused: I finally went for it. BK15 is scary sharp now. It is mostly a kitchen/meat processing knife for me, so thinning the edge should pose no problems.

Hope you enjoyed. Sorry for no pics. :grumpy: :D
 
Good post.:thumbup: Were any of the knives stripped? Any problems with rust? Pics would have made it even better...:);)
 
Out of that entire post, the only thing that stuck with me is that it's important to wash the gunk off.
 
Nice post, knife mania at its finest lol.

And to think, we used to get along with a single knife and a hacksaw :thumbup:
 
B.Mauser said:
Good post.:thumbup: Were any of the knives stripped? Any problems with rust? Pics would have made it even better...:);)
Click to expand...
As I understand it, and I hope I'm correct, Twinstick has some pictures and just can't figure out how to post them.

GSO1962 said:
Good story! My lesson is that I need to get some good butcher's steels.
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At least one, at any rate. For my kitchen knives, used frequently, it means much more time in between sharpenings. By frequently, I mean before every kitchen task. Takes 15 seconds. Unfortunately, I'm the only on that uses the steel, but not the only one that uses the knives.

stvpourciau said:
Nice post, knife mania at its finest lol.
And to think, we used to get along with a single knife and a hacksaw :thumbup:
Click to expand...
"We" used to get along with a stone tool....and we were very efficient at that; using nearly every single part of the animal. There's a great Ray Mears primitive bushcrafting video Dubz posted a couple of months ago....here's a a link; warning: contains deer butchering with stone tool: Ray Mears stone tool butchering.
Good on ya Twinstick for using all of your knives....IMO, that's why you have so many, so you can use them. No safe queens!
Thanks or the post. I hope you figure out how to post up pics soon, even if you don't have any from this venture.
 
Thanks. Yeahhhh....no pics were taken. Had to call in sick to butcher it up. Was way too warm here to leave it for any amount of time. FYI, that was about 1/30th of my knives. Last time i used my Old Hickory knives. They sucked....UNTIL i also thinned the edges.....THEN wicked sharp. They patina-ed from the blood. All my Beckers have factory coating, in varying states of wear. I like the factory coatings. No rust issues for me.....ever......regardless of knife or steel. 2 words is all you need to know for keeping rust at bay: Fluid Film. Magic in a can, or gallon, or 5 gal pail, or 15 gal drum, or 55 gal drum. Seriously, look it up.

I wash the knives before using, then just wipe with a clean rag sprayed with Fluid film before storage, in the basement. No rust issues, ever. :D
 
Twinstick

Yes, pictures when you figure that out. There is a thread to help.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...AL-Displaying-your-photographs-on-BladeForums



granitestateofmind said:
As I understand it, and I hope I'm correct, Twinstick has some pictures and just can't figure out how to post them.


At least one, at any rate. For my kitchen knives, used frequently, it means much more time in between sharpenings. By frequently, I mean before every kitchen task. Takes 15 seconds. Unfortunately, I'm the only on that uses the steel, but not the only one that uses the knives.


"We" used to get along with a stone tool....and we were very efficient at that; using nearly every single part of the animal. There's a great Ray Mears primitive bushcrafting video Dubz posted a couple of months ago....here's a a link; warning: contains deer butchering with stone tool: Ray Mears stone tool butchering.
Good on ya Twinstick for using all of your knives....IMO, that's why you have so many, so you can use them. No safe queens!
Thanks or the post. I hope you figure out how to post up pics soon, even if you don't have any from this venture.
Click to expand...

I do have one steel, a Zwilling/JA Henckels that came with the set we got as a wedding present. I probably only use the steel every other time or so, but I've not yet trained my wife (we've only been married a little over a year). I have convinced her not to put them in the dishwasher though! I was thinking I should perhaps pick up a steel with diamond or tungsten carbide to use in addition to the grooved steel that I have.
 
Great story. I am hoping to butcher up my own deer soon (going out again Monday, wish me luck). Heck I'll at least field dress my buddy's if he gets one just to get my knife in there HA!
 
Arkanian said:
Out of that entire post, the only thing that stuck with me is that it's important to wash the gunk off.
Click to expand...

last season I field-dressed, skinned, and butchered (skinning/butchering with a buddy who brought the other knife) a deer with two 3" knives. Granted, one was A2 - the other O1, but neither needed sharpening. They just needed *cleaning* every so often to get the sticky gunk off the edges.
 
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