Reluctant gut hook

William Schrade

William Schrade

Joined
Jul 30, 2012
Messages
632
Have you ever been asked to make a knife you had no interest in making? I went to my 40 year reunion and a guy whom I never associated with in HS, begged me to make him a hunting knife with a gut hook. He also wanted a mirror finish. No way was I going to stick a gut hook into a buffing wheel. In a week moment I relented. Just about done. Shaping the handle now. It took almost 6 months to finish this one knife while I made 2 dozen at the same time. Never again.
 
Funny... I was thinking of making one with a gut hook. Not sure I'll actually do it, but I was thinking about it.
 
Yes I have. Makes me feel a lot more prone to passing on projects that come along that I don't really want to do. Careful on the buffer!
 
Gut hooks have their place... and IMO they are not on a knife. There is nothing wrong with making a knife for someone that you don't 100% agree with or like, but you need to make the price worth your time.

Photos would be cool
 
Unless you absolutely hate it or it is a real money loser, you can look at something you would rather not do as a learning experience. I am not a fan of guthooks either. Having dressed a lot of game I can not understand the why anyone thinks they are needed. Opening them up is the easy part. Now show me a special edge to cut the diaphragm loose without getting bloody and you will have my attention.
 
ib2v4u said:
Unless you absolutely hate it or it is a real money loser, you can look at something you would rather not do as a learning experience.
Click to expand...

I agree. Challenges can be good for you. I now know how to deal with features like jimping, serrations, compound grinds, "sawteeth", powder-coated blades and other stuff... and I got paid to learn. Better yet, in some cases those projects resulted in repeat orders that are much more what I really like to make :)
 
RyanW said:
Gut hooks have their place... and IMO they are not on a knife. There is nothing wrong with making a knife for someone that you don't 100% agree with or like, but you need to make the price worth your time.

Photos would be cool
Click to expand...
I couldn't have said it better. I don't really care for gut hooks myself.
 
I have made a few gut-hooks over the years and the avid deer hunters swear by them. They are difficult to pull off right.

They, like all other blade designs, have their place (I guess), but I don't enjoy making them. You have to educate the owner on how to sharpen the "hook", and even then, most don't understand.

Here is one that I made for my neighbor. He has used it for a couple of years and swears by it...... (still not my thing)

Robert

440COrangeG10.jpg
 
Hi William,
These two I made 10 years ago and are long gone. They were made out of the same A2 flat stock I gave you. I don't call it lost time but rather a learning experience that I do not have to repeat.

GOODweb2-10_zps4cd350e0.jpg


GOODweb2-2_zps24d4e0a9.jpg


See You at the Show!!!

Sincerely,
Dave
 
DSC01552.jpg

i know the feeling ! I hate them as a guide on the Sambar deer here in Australia, but some blokes just insist that they are the best ever.
I made these two as a order came in from one bloke and wanted one for his best hunting friend. Most people imo, that like them have never learnt to harvest game with a smaller sharp knife.
 
Guthook request generally come from the inexperienced. I make skinners for several outfitters and guides, none of those guys ever request a guthook. I have dressed dozens of Whitetails never needed a guthook.
I will say this, for the initial opening up they can be quicker. I just don't like it on a knife, maybe as a separate tool. I would rather call it a zipper.
 
Robert Dark said:
I have made a few gut-hooks over the years and the avid deer hunters swear by them. They are difficult to pull off right.

They, like all other blade designs, have their place (I guess), but I don't enjoy making them. You have to educate the owner on how to sharpen the "hook", and even then, most don't understand.

Here is one that I made for my neighbor. He has used it for a couple of years and swears by it...... (still not my thing)

Robert

440COrangeG10.jpg
Click to expand...

Sorry for bringing up an old thread but at the request of a friend I made a knife with a gut hook. I am having a hell of a time figuring out how to sharpen it correctly. Right now I have been using sandpaper on a rounded edge of aluminum. I think it is working. Any better ideas?
 
If you set the initial bevel with a file, then take sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel the same diameter of the file. Work through finer grits evenly from side to side until you get the final results. You can then polish the edge with rubbing compound on a piece of dowel.

That is one method. Others may do it differently.
 
I've been asked to make a few skinning and hunting knives for people, and every now and then the suggestion/question about putting a gut hook on the blade comes up. So far, I've been able to talk everybody out of it.

I'm not saying there's never a place for one, but I just don't think they're necessary on an otherwise well designed knife. Sure, they are more convenient for the average hunter, but that's only if they're properly sharpened and kept sharp in the first place.

If somebody absolutlely had to have one, I'd probably make it for them, but I do like to continually challenge myself.
 
Robert Dark said:
If you set the initial bevel with a file, then take sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel the same diameter of the file. Work through finer grits evenly from side to side until you get the final results. You can then polish the edge with rubbing compound on a piece of dowel.

That is one method. Others may do it differently.
Click to expand...

Thanks. This is sort of what I have been doing so it is good to know I am on the right track.
 
I too did make a couple in the past. I've been told that the "zipper" knives are becoming popular. Often they are two blades in one knife, but not always. They most often look like the old ones made even thirty or more years ago. Frank
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top