More Sharpening

Stu Farish

Director / Webmaster
Staff member
OK, whatcha do about guthooks???

I wrote Outdoor Edge & asked how to sharpen theirs. "Send it back to us. We'll sharpen it free for as long as you own it."

I just bought a Cold Steel Master Hunter Plus, which has a guthook. I still need a furry volunteer to try this knife out on, but anticipating the future and wanting to touch up that hook, I wrote & asked them for their advice the other day. No reply yet.

But I am curious what others have done about this?
 
I though a crock stick should work well. Unfortunately, the pair I have is just a bit too big to fit. I also pondered using my Dremel.
 
I've actually found that a gut hook does not need to be all that sharp to work well and as a matter of fact I believe that a gut hook can easily be too sharp. The very nature of the hook makes it cut. If you think about it the hook is already under the skin, lifting it away from the meat. The sharp part of the hook has the skin trapped and the action of pulling or dragging it through the skin brings quite a bit of cuting force to the only location that will cut. If the edge is too sharp you can easily dig deeper than intended or pull the hook completely out of the skin requiring you to relocate it and basicly start again. The big game gut hook is not a delicate piece of equipement and it is not intended for fine work. Its a quick and dirty method of splitting hide so you can get down to the real work of skinning.

Edit: I have also used a Dremel tool with on of those long eraser like polishing tools. This works well. Another thing to consider is a plane old chain saw file. THe teeth on these files are fine enough to do a good job.
 
True, but they do need to be reasonably sharp. My Whitetail Skinner is about 15 years old, I think, and while still works reasonably well, it's not working quite as good as it used to.

Based on how sharp the Master Hunter is, I doubt I'll have to touch the guthook part for at least 50 deer, but I like to be prepared.
 
Make it real sharp because that will reduce the work.
The hook should always have a nice rounded and smooth tip to insert into the critter and if you are using it right it will always stay in the critter and not pull out.

May you get to use one many more times yet.

mick
 
I know this sounds crazy, but it works. Roll your pickup window down 'till about 4 or 5 inches is above the door and pull the guthook down the length of the glass. Auto glass is laminated and will work like a fine crockstick! This trick is also good for touching up the edge on your skinning blades as well. It will also sharpen your serrated knives.

'Remember, if your're driving, don't forget yer truck!'
 
2Rope Having worked in the auto galss bussiness the only laminated glass now is the winshield. All the other glass is tempered. Just not the really old cars had laminated glass. What are you driving?

Not trying to be a smart@$$ here.

Do gut hooks really work that well I have never saw one in use. I use the blade inside two finger method myself?

Skinner 2
 
My huntin' rig is a '52 Studebaker one ton, pulled the six cylinder and replaced it with a Cummings. It has a 6" lift with superduper mud swamper coyote squshing radial tires, has more lights than the Griswald's Christmas. Painted her sky blue pink all by myself. Amazing what you can do with a mop and a bucket! I've got a Coyote/Roadrunner radar unit ordered for it from the ACME CO......OK, OK, You got me. Thanks for the info on the glass. It'll still sharpen yer knives, give it a try. The pickup is usually pretty close when I'm skinning and a few passes on the window edge sure touches up a blade!

"I was born at a verrry early age!"
 
For the various leather working tools that I use that have an edge similar in size and shape to a guthook, I use a piece of round nylon sash cord and rub it full of Jeweler's Rouge. It costs about a buck and you should be able to get it at a hobby store. Tie a bowline knot in one end so that you can loop it over some thing stationary, pull the string tight with one hand and rub it full of the Rouge, then strop your knife edge on it. It'll work like a champ and weighs almost nothing. I carry a peice of an old stirrup leather about a foot long rubbed full of jeweler's rouge to strop a skinning knife too. Roll it up, tie it with a string, throw it in a daypack and forget it.
 
Real educational post about knives!

Now for Cummings conversions in Studebakers. Which Cummings was that? A 400 Big Cam? Ha Ha!!

Mark
 
Yup, she's the BIG CAM 400, had to use the transmission out of a Toyota Crayola and the transfer case fron '62 IH Scout. That Cummings is pretty good sized, you know! Weighs a bunch too, so I added dually's to all four corners to carry the weight. Kinda hard to steer at slow speed without powsr steering....Hey Dillon XL650, I build a few saddles and tack myself. Drop me an E at 2rope@acrnet.com Mabe we can get together and call a dog or rope a steer or something.

"It's hard to say with any degree of acuracy without actually knowing!"
 


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