What's the right tool for the job?

A

alinla

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Feb 23, 2016
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So I have a silly question. I have these doggy bully sticks and rawhide sticks for my furry friend that I need to cut down to proper size since they arrive too big. They are roughly an inch thick and tough. I cut them in half or thirds so she can have one everyday. Up until now I was using a branch cutter but just realized the blade on that chipped pretty good due to the rawhide sticks. I need a better tool for the job.

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So I thought the good folks at BF would have some suggestions. Do you think a knife is the right tool? If so what kind? I'm not sure if a thick heavy scandi grind bushcraft type knife is the right type or maybe a thin slicing hollow grind would be better. There's about 40-50 cuts per bag of sticks. I figure a strong tool steel like A2, M4 or 3V is probably the right steel type to keep sharpening to a minimum but I'm open to suggestions.

BF, what are your thoughts? Do you have a specific knife in mind?

Photo of the grateful recipient of treats:

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Bandsaw if dry. You can soak them in water and rawhide will cut with any knife.
 
Horsewright said:
Bandsaw if dry. You can soak them in water and rawhide will cut with any knife.
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A bandsaw is a little more elaborate than I had in mind but I bet it would work great. But maybe a hacksaw would work just as well for my purpose. Thanks for the suggestion.


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I cut Zoe's rawhides into bite size pieces almost every night with my edc pocket knives, I have for years. It is her favorite thing.

 
Advice from somebody with a vet in the house. Don't cut them to bite size. This is the number 1 thing we pull out of dogs stomachs and throats. If you're going to cut them anyways a hacksaw or even a sawzall if you have one will work.
 
Amoo said:
Advice from somebody with a vet in the house. Don't cut them to bite size. This is the number 1 thing we pull out of dogs stomachs and throats. If you're going to cut them anyways a hacksaw or even a sawzall if you have one will work.
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Thanks for the tip. I usually keep them a decent size (4-5") so she can chew on them for a while. But good to know that they shouldn't be short either.


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I use a fine tooth Silky saw on sinewy branches and bamboo. It'll probably do the job for you too.

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only thing we allow in our house in nyla bones and they get taken away once they get down to bite size. Not trying to start a war here on raw hide because I'm sure "many folks have been giving raw hide for years with no issue". That said we have had more dogs die to raw hide then snake bites and we live in SW GA where there are tons of rattlers. Just some food for thought, feel free to do your own research and make your own decisions.
 
grybsh7 said:
I cut Zoe's rawhides into bite size pieces almost every night with my edc pocket knives, I have for years. It is her favorite thing.

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Wow. I've had almost no luck with my regular S30V pocket knife. Your manual strength must be impressive. Or I don't know what I'm doing, which is likely. Or both.


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Amoo said:
only thing we allow in our house in nyla bones and they get taken away once they get down to bite size. Not trying to start a war here on raw hide because I'm sure "many folks have been giving raw hide for years with no issue". That said we have had more dogs die to raw hide then snake bites and we live in SW GA where there are tons of rattlers. Just some food for thought, feel free to do your own research and make your own decisions.
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I've also come to believe that weight bearing bones of cattle are to hard on dogs gums and teeth. I'm talking about the large dense femur bones and such commonly sold in feed stores.

I chopped into one with a busse ash1 and was surprised how tough the bone was.
 
Amoo said:
only thing we allow in our house in nyla bones and they get taken away once they get down to bite size. Not trying to start a war here on raw hide because I'm sure "many folks have been giving raw hide for years with no issue". That said we have had more dogs die to raw hide then snake bites and we live in SW GA where there are tons of rattlers. Just some food for thought, feel free to do your own research and make your own decisions.
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Heard. Unfortunately Nyla bones are completely ignored in our house. Might as well be a pet rock. We've consulted our vet and moved away from the rawhide with knots to the straight rolled stick variety. And we only give them when we are there to supervise.



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Mister X said:
I use a fine tooth Silky saw on sinewy branches and bamboo. It'll probably do the job for you too.

SISKS34217a.jpg
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I don't know much about these, but it looks like a good option. Thanks. Off to the internet for research.


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As mentioned, for rawhide a bandsaw works best.

Some bones also splinter and aren't good for dogs as they can puncture their guts. Rib bones and chicken legs seem particularly bad.
 
alinla said:
Heard. Unfortunately Nyla bones are completely ignored in our house. Might as well be a pet rock. We've consulted our vet and moved away from the rawhide with knots to the straight rolled stick variety. And we only give them when we are there to supervise.



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This is always good advice and we tell people the same thing. In regards to those saw things, I have one in my gardening bag, they work great too.
 
From what I understand from my vet the problem with rawhide is a dog tearing their esophagus from swallowing pieces
too large. Zoe's almost 8 with no ill effects so far.

Alina the trick is to unroll the bone into a sheet and cut. It helps to keep your knives razor sharp.
I start cutting on one end until I can start unfolding it into a sheet. She'll eat the whole bone most nights.


 
grybsh7 said:
From what I understand from my vet the problem with rawhide is a dog tearing their esophagus from swallowing pieces
too large. Zoe's almost 8 with no ill effects so far.

Alina the trick is to unroll the bone into a sheet and cut. It helps to keep your knives razor sharp.
I start cutting on one end until I can start unfolding it into a sheet. She'll eat the whole bone most nights.


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Not entirely. Often times when a dog swallows too large of a piece, it can be too large for them to pass it and becomes lodged in the exits causing a backup, to try to keep things in leyman terms. Rawhide has been around for years and plenty of dogs eat it their entire life with no problems. We've found if we start our dogs out on ice cubes and nylas from the time they are puppies, we never have any issue and all 5 of our eat/chew on both willingly. The tougher part is switching one who has been used to eating raw hide. It's not like switching from canned food to dry food, where the dog will eat it eventually rather then starve to death, often times the dog will just find something else to chew.

Either way to stay on track, check your local gardening section for those little saw things. I have one made by Friskars and it's tits for sawing tasks.
 
Honestly? I say a sharp cleaver and cutting board.
Just watch your fingers.
Band saw was a good suggestion but not everyone has one.
 
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