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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
Muskrats
- Thread starter xbxb
- Start date
xbxb
Basic Member
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2005
- Messages
- 1,618
Just did a search and found this so I guess I answered my own question. Is this how they got their name? see below.
Pretty much my understanding too. Muskrat trappers tend to run some large traplines that weren't as spread out as lines for larger, more diverse furbearers, or did at one time. "Rat" trapping tends to be a bit more of a volume operation than some other types of trapping. A rat trapper may have traps covering several ponds and creeks on a number of properties, but in an area more easily covered than say a bush country trapline in Alaksa or Canada. If he's lucky a trapper will have a large number of "rats" to skin out and need to do it quickly. The thin clip blades are excellent for that purpose. Since he may have a large number to skin in a short time, it's good to have a duplicate blade so, as Bartelby pointed out, as the first quits cutting smoothly you can just close the first and open the second blade and keep skinning. Then after the skins are fleshed, stretched, and hung you can sharpen both blades up for the next day.
Naturally, this works for skinning a number of small game and even fish.
The Muskrat is truely a specialized pattern, or as I like to call these and other specific use patterns, purposeful. Harness Jacks are another knife that strikes me as purposeful.
Pretty much my understanding too. Muskrat trappers tend to run some large traplines that weren't as spread out as lines for larger, more diverse furbearers, or did at one time. "Rat" trapping tends to be a bit more of a volume operation than some other types of trapping. A rat trapper may have traps covering several ponds and creeks on a number of properties, but in an area more easily covered than say a bush country trapline in Alaksa or Canada. If he's lucky a trapper will have a large number of "rats" to skin out and need to do it quickly. The thin clip blades are excellent for that purpose. Since he may have a large number to skin in a short time, it's good to have a duplicate blade so, as Bartelby pointed out, as the first quits cutting smoothly you can just close the first and open the second blade and keep skinning. Then after the skins are fleshed, stretched, and hung you can sharpen both blades up for the next day.
Naturally, this works for skinning a number of small game and even fish.
The Muskrat is truely a specialized pattern, or as I like to call these and other specific use patterns, purposeful. Harness Jacks are another knife that strikes me as purposeful.
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2006
- Messages
- 2,171
<GRIN> Hmm, that looks familiar!
To tell you the truth, I can't quote sources like other esteemed fellas on here, so while I believe the above to be true, I don't claim it to be something you would site in a term paper.
To tell you the truth, I can't quote sources like other esteemed fellas on here, so while I believe the above to be true, I don't claim it to be something you would site in a term paper.
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2003
- Messages
- 2,556
When I was a kid my Cub Scout camper knife was great for every thing I could think of doing with a knife. Time moved on and I found more useful configurations for my daily carry and the little cub was lost to time. LT recently gave me a copy of that same knife which will be refurbished this winter and I'll bring it out for display. Funny how such a little knife will bring back such strong memories.
Good posts.
TTYL
Larry
Good posts.
TTYL
Larry