Pig Killer Cleaver-Blade

[Uath]

It takes 20 seconds for the average mammal to die if their heart is disrupted. That's a long time. I would think a bullet to the head would be better. It would take some time to bleed out of an artery before loosing blood pressure. You might go unconscious pretty quickly though.

 

[KingKoma]

It takes 20 seconds for the average mammal to die if their heart is disrupted. That's a long time. I would think a bullet to the head would be better. It would take some time to bleed out of an artery before loosing blood pressure. You might go unconscious pretty quickly though.

Loss of consciousness occurs in about 2 seconds when blood is no longer reaching the brain. After that, you have no concept of your body.

 

[Ernest DuBois]

I have heard of measurements in the four second range once the blood flow is stopped.
Look, these give plenty of room to speculate over the mindset of the time, I guess 18th cent.http://www.cubra.nl/varken/34alenvers.htm Less room for speculation over the knife used and the technique: long narrow bladed knife and a definite puncture wound, not a cut or slice.

E.DB.

 

[KingKoma]

I have heard of measurements in the four second range once the blood flow is stopped.
Look, these give plenty of room to speculate over the mindset of the time, I guess 18th cent.http://www.cubra.nl/varken/34alenvers.htm Less room for speculation over the knife used and the technique: long narrow bladed knife and a definite puncture wound, not a cut or slice.

E.DB.

Those are some wonderful illustrations.

If you care to, you dont have to use someone elses measurements as it is easy do an experiment on yourself. Either you have someone choke you unconscious or you can find the external carotid artery with your fingers, as you would when checking for a pulse, then put pressure on it. You will notice effects immediately.

 

[bbs_volk]

I am born and rised in what most of you would call "a farm" (for me - a normal bulgarian village ) . So in my opinion the knife you need to kill a pig (or any biger animal in that metter ) is longer and with a thin top for easyer penetration so you can make the deadly strike faster and with as less pain as possible for the animal . something like

 

[Ernest DuBois]

I like this knife very much.

E.DB.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

I am born and rised in what most of you would call "a farm" (for me - a normal bulgarian village ) . So in my opinion the knife you need to kill a pig (or any biger animal in that metter ) is longer and with a thin top for easyer penetration so you can make the deadly strike faster and with as less pain as possible for the animal . something like

That's a gorgeous knife!

I'm quite familiar with "sticking knives" for doing the bleeding work, but just wondered if there was any sort of stunning procedure used on animals back in the pre-gunpowder age and what they used to do it. Some sort of big mallet? I can't imagine that a live and conscious animal would take too kindly to having its hind feet roped/chained and suspended.

 

[bbs_volk]

Nobody chains them ! Just two or three men howding it .
And yes , I am agreed that is beter to use a shotgun or carabine but couple of years ago they was just too rare ( one costed something like 3-4 mounts worth of salary )
About the stuning procedure - some people used to smack the animal in the back of the head with a big hammer .
P.S. now whiwe I'm writing this it sounds to me realy barberian but that's the way people has been doing it for long time .

 

[Shirk24]

Nobody chains them ! Just two or three men howding it .
And yes , I am agreed that is beter to use a shotgun or carabine but couple of years ago they was just too rare ( one costed something like 3-4 mounts worth of salary )
About the stuning procedure - some people used to smack the animal in the back of the head with a big hammer .
P.S. now whiwe I'm writing this it sounds to me realy barberian but that's the way people has been doing it for long time .

I actually think this huge livestock "factorys" with integrated piston machines, where the animals are killed on a conveyor are more barbaric but that's another theme.

I actually think the most humane way to kill a big animal (without the usage of ammunition) is to chop through the nape. These big choppers used with two hands should get the job done. The hardest part would be keeping the livestock calm. To daze such a big animal you need more than a blow to the head with a stick. A proper way would be an arteritomy to reduce the bloodpressure and then tie the head to a chopping block and get it done.

 

[KingKoma]

I can't imagine that a live and conscious animal would take too kindly to having its hind feet roped/chained and suspended.

There is no need for any of that.

With a blow to the head
[video=youtube;JR8-gFcBX6Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR8-gFcBX6Y[/video]

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Nobody chains them ! Just two or three men howding it .
And yes , I am agreed that is beter to use a shotgun or carabine but couple of years ago they was just too rare ( one costed something like 3-4 mounts worth of salary )
About the stuning procedure - some people used to smack the animal in the back of the head with a big hammer .
P.S. now whiwe I'm writing this it sounds to me realy barberian but that's the way people has been doing it for long time .

In terms of the chains/ropes I was referring to suspending the animal for bleeding. Earlier posts mentioned suspending the animal, but not a stunning technique used beforehand, which is what I was getting at.

There is no need for any of that.

With a blow to the head
[video=youtube;JR8-gFcBX6Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR8-gFcBX6Y[/video]

No need for any of that with something the size of a goat perhaps, but larger animals like a pig, cow, horse, etc. is a different story I should think? Like I said, I'm really only familiar with dispatching rabbits, which are super easy to do.

 

[Sidehill Gouger]

Never heard of anyone chopping a hog to death. The normal way when I was growing up was a .22 to the brain followed by a quick throat sticking but there were some that hit the animal with a hammer rather than shooting. And there were a few that just stuck them in the throat. I have a book put out by the USDA back in the 30's showing how to hold a hog down and shove a curved beef skinner into his throat to kill him. Tough people in those days.

 

[KingKoma]

I'm really only familiar with dispatching rabbits, which are super easy to do.

I have never done that myself but the processing of the animal fascinates me, from a knife use perspective. I have seen it done in widely different ways, with widely different tools but none as impressive as this at the 42:25 mark

[video=youtube;Iq0rZn8HFmQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Iq0rZn8HFmQ#t=2546[/video]

 

[Ernest DuBois]

Should you choose to suspend the caucus it's not for draining the blood because most of that will have run out right away. As far as I know suspending has three advantages. It's convenient for the butcher, the guts can be easily contained and dropped out, and it limits contact with other surfaces that can cause contamination. Can anyone add anything?

E.DB.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Should you choose to suspend the caucus it's not for draining the blood because most of that will have run out right away. As far as I know suspending has three advantages. It's convenient for the butcher, the guts can be easily contained and dropped out, and it limits contact with other surfaces that can cause contamination. Can anyone add anything?

E.DB.

If the animal has been actually KILLED before hanging (rather than stunned) then the hanging process does help blood more fully drain from the carcass. If the animal's heart is still pumping at the time of bleeding then it's of little consequence since the heart will effectively exsanguinate the body completely.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

I have never done that myself but the processing of the animal fascinates me, from a knife use perspective. I have seen it done in widely different ways, with widely different tools but none as impressive as this at the 42:25 mark

[video=youtube;Iq0rZn8HFmQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Iq0rZn8HFmQ#t=2546[/video]

North American wild rabbit species are actually genetically different enough from domestic rabbits that they can't interbreed. Domestic rabbits are descended from European rabbits, and domestic breeds do not skin nearly so easily as the wild variety does--neither in Europe nor in the US. They're still very easy to process, but much more involved than with wild ones. The tradeoff is a very high feed conversion rate, excellent meat-to-bone ratio, and a personality that makes for easy handling. A good rabbit of one of the commercial breeds (we raise Californians) will hit 5lbs in only 8 weeks, and will dress out to 2.5-3 lbs. of meat with very fine texture and clean taste. After eating domestic rabbit, chicken tastes funky and weird by comparison.

 

[Shirk24]

Nice Video.That's how my dad taught me to dispatch rabbits and bunnys (middle european ones).
I actually think the way how he kills it isn't brutal at all, it's a kinda quick death (in comparison how foxes kill them often), but just breaking its nape works even better, just a quick spin of the head.

 

[Square_peg]

Millions of head of cattle were dispatched with the killing axe. A blow to the head with the poll was how it was done.

 

[Shirk24]

Never seen such an axe, would instantly order one.

 

[Sidehill Gouger]

I wonder why they bothered with the axe part of it. Seems like you could design a hammer head specially for the task that would be better.