Looking for a GOOD caping knife

is caping like a dickfer?
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a scapel will work great, and its cheap, but the two steels I mentioned above will hold an edge 100x longer.
 
I agree with Tom about 52100 and 420V being ideal steels for this job. 52100 in particular is a very fine grained steel that takes and holds very sharp edges.

ABS Mastersmith PJ Tomes makes great little skinners/capers like this one in 52100 with flat, thin jigged bone scales. 3 7/8 inch long blade, 7.5 inch OAL, 1/8 inch stock. Although not specifically a caper, it does have a very useable point. The knife was designed to be held with the thumb and forefingers far foward on the blade so that the tip of the knife can be used delicately. It is a very nice thin knife with a tapered tang, spun pins, and PJ's own jigged bone. Price is less than $200 shipped. Email me for PJ's contact info.

Paracelsus

[This message has been edited by Paracelsus (edited 05-20-2001).]
 
Here ya go...Buy this

4-7R.GIF


And have someone filework it and attatch the scales of your choice....lol.



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What's wrong with talking to yourself?? It's sometimes the best conversation and eitherway your always right... -Me-
Formerly Endura Duck
 
The best "caper" is your good friend who also helps you pack out your animal
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Seriously, if you go with a scalpel please use a small hemostat or needle nose pliers to change the blades as they can sometimes be very hard to get off and if your hand slips, well, you know.

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It is better to light one candle than curse the darkness.
 
Ok, I am the last one to say it, but the Spyderco Wegner is one of my fav's. However, if a fixed blade is what you are looking for, then go with the new Gerber Gator fixed blade at $40.00. It holds a sharp edge, and I have used mine to skin up a couple of wild hogs. Also, a Spyderco Moran would be a good choice at about $55 to $60.00. I think you would like the Gator's non slip handle, and it comes with a pretty sturdy sheath.

Thanks,

RattlerXX
 
So here's a couple oddball suggestions that may not be elegant, but might be real handy.

I was thinking of what I used to use in biology class when the other students were struggling with second-rate scalpels, the answer is my Christy slide blade knife. Christys use a thin surgical stainless type blade that you can slide out between .75-inch and 2.0-inch projection. The handle is a little small, but it worked pretty well for fine work:

http://www.christyknifeco.com/

The other solution is even cheaper, but still seams pretty handy. Stanley corportation makes a miniature sliding blade utility knife (you know the general type with the trapezoidal blades that slide out the front) that is sort of a key chain size. This is a nice small blade size for detail work. There are also the pen-sized utility knives with the break-off tips that don't cost much, but might work better than larger knives. It really helps to work with a blade shorter than one inch with a slim handle.
 
I recall some years back reading an article about the knives taxidermists use (it was either field and stream or outdoor life, I can't remember). Surprisingly, a couple of them swore by SAKs. I've been using a two bladed SAK for whittling for quite awhile now and it does a great job. I do a lot of skin preps for our mammal collection where I work and the small sebenza works well for skinning small rodents and such but for really fine cutting, I will typically grab a scalpel or even an exacto knife.

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Hoodoo

I get some pleasure from finding a relentlessly peaceful use for a combative looking knife.
JKM
 
Well, big surprise, I would suggest using a Dozier. The small models are perfect for caping, plus useful for other jobs as well, they cut better than the rest, hold an edge, look great, and have top notch sheaths. They won't break the bank either, at around $150 for most hunting styles.

If you want to stick to less expensive production knives, a friend who harvests caribou, around 100 per year, swears by the trout and bird model by Grohmann, for caping, skinning, gutting and everything else.
BTW, as per your question re the Kodi-Caper, by Outdoor Edge, I find it uncomfortable when choking up for delicate work. The finger cutouts are sharp, and the knife likes to roll onto the flat side between your fingers. A little too akward for me.
Scalpels work fine too, but they look pretty lack-luster to me.
 
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