Best all in one gralloching knife?

[Jacko_roe]

I currently have a couple of normal knives, a cheap Mora which i love as I never worry about it and a Buck hunter pro. I have had a couple of instances of nicking the stomach this year and was considering a swing blade.

Does anyone have any suggestions on a swing blade knife for under £100.

Cheers!

 

[sunndog]

Outdoor edge clip n zip maybe. Good for the money

 

[Limpet]

Depending on how many deer you open up, a Judge sabatier fruit knife (small and curved blade) can be had for around £2 and do the job very well.

 

[geoffw]

EKA swingblade (I think the same brand as Outdoor Edge- or certainly same factory)

 

[75]

Cheapest option (and apologies for sounding sanctimonious!) is to learn how to guide the tip of the blade properly with the fingers of your other hand. If you're protecting the tip with your fingers then you can't nick the stomach. £100 is better spent on other stuff (and there's plenty to chose from in the stalking world ) in my very humble opinion. And I'm not usually one to shy away from spending money on "stuff"

 

[muddy42]

No offense, but if you do it correctly and take your time, you should avoid nicking the stomach with any blade. I find the blade itself doesn't need to be that sharp, but it really helps to have a sharp tip. You hear stories of people gralloching deer with broken rocks or the used bullet case.

For the first cut, I insert the knife tip into a pinch of skin and cut away from the body with the knife tip. If your knife tip is too blunt, you can always cut gently in to the bottom of the breastbone. Thereafter I get your fingers in to keep the knife away from the stomach. All cuts away from the stomach.

 

[Scandially]

Mora Roeing knife. £15 and made for that job. A small ball on the tip for the hapless.

 

[Jacko_roe]

Thankfully I do know how to Gralloch the issue has been time when i have made a mistake. Rushing to get it done due to large numbers of deer that need to be reduced and not being able to go out as much as i would like. Also by doing a suspended gralloch i think the stomach is forced forward meaning more likely hood of nicking it. Although it does help in order to get everything out in one go with ease.

Maybe i should rephrase and say what is the best swing blade knife that anyone has used.

 

[T.eddie]

Outdoor edge razor blaze has the interchangeable blades that can be sharpened if needed can get a blade carrier so you can have a selection on you, i.e. gut blade, drop point or boning

 

[bullet chucker]

Rod Stewart's says, 'THE FIRST CUT IS THE DEEPEST'

 

[Tim.243]

I currently have a couple of normal knives, a cheap Mora which i love as I never worry about it and a Buck hunter pro. I have had a couple of instances of nicking the stomach this year and was considering a swing blade.

Does anyone have any suggestions on a swing blade knife for under £100.

Cheers!

I have the eka swing blade which is good, however i use a f dick tripe knife which has a good size handle, with practice I can sheer fallow and red ribs so the lot comes through the gap....

 

[BigPat]

I currently have a couple of normal knives, a cheap Mora which i love as I never worry about it and a Buck hunter pro. I have had a couple of instances of nicking the stomach this year and was considering a swing blade.

Does anyone have any suggestions on a swing blade knife for under £100.

Cheers!

I tend to do quite a lot of deer (mainly fallow) and despite owning many very nice custom knives when I know its going to be a busy day I always grab my EKA swing blade. I have a pair of them, one with the blade open and the other with the gutting blade open (I am sure someone will correct me on the terminology). I can do up to 3 big beasts then swop the blades around and do another 3 without needing to stop to sharpen. I don't cut down the sternum/ribs (which I do with a saw) but I do everything else including leg and head removal. I bought a simple drag sharpener which takes 60 seconds to use and other than cleaning that is all the swing blades get.

Simple, effective, easy to clean, good grip when covered in blood and cold, and compared to my custom jobbies cheap as chips!

 

[willie_gunn]

I have the EKA Swingblade and like it a lot, other than it's a folder. It's the only swingblade I've used, so can't compare to the Outdoor Edge (though I thought the OE uses a different steel?).

I also have the F DIck Tripe knife in the larder (and in a double sheath with a bone saw) which is better, but perhaps a bit OTT for muntjac and roe.

Although I've not used one, I see Bushwear are currently doing a special offer on the Mora version of the tripe knife (other vendors are doubtless available): https://www.bushwear.co.uk/products/progrip-gutting-tripe-knife-6

 

[Fabnosh]

Another vote for the EKA swing blade here.

FN

 

[Koenig]

The EKA swing blade is the knife I would choose if I could only have/take one.

An old toothbrush is good for cleaning the hinge.

 

[bfltd0]

Orange Outdoor Edge.

Got to work hard to lose this one.

 

[Mike_E]

New swing blade available that disassembles for easy cleaning. I dont like the shape of the blade on the swing blades as its more of a skinner but love the unzipper. That said I don't use the knife much in the field.... just the green comes out in the field and the rest is done in the larder with a different knife.
EKA Swedblade G4 Knife

Mike

 

[Heym SR20]

I just like the Mora’s - excellent blade that is easily sharpened, blade size small enough for fiddly work, but big enough for tough work, and a really grippy handle for when its cold and wet. I use them for gralloching, skinning and butchering. I would like a narrow bladed boning one, but have stripped enough joints with the normal ones that I don’t really need one. They are also pretty good all round bush / camp knives. Perhaps not the toughest for say splitting wood, but still does the job.

I like the orange and pink ones - they glow in the dark and not easily lost. Their plastic sheaths work and the whole lot does in the dishwasher. And the cost £10 to £15 each.

I also have a buck Alpha and a couple of other knives. They stay in the drawer

 

[ChesterP]

Eka swing blade is great but as an all round gralloch knife I find the Hella Harding's atom shredding surgical sharpness a great boon. Very little pressure needed and its shape and relatively thin blade makes dexterous cuts needed around reproductive area and back end a breeze. It is not one you want to even brush the blade against your hand as it's absolutely razor sharp. Stacked handles benefit from a wrap of elastic tape to help grip the otherwise smooth surface.

 

[Klenchblaize]

Also by doing a suspended gralloch i think the stomach is forced forward meaning more likely hood of nicking it. Although it does help in order to get everything out in one go with ease.

No doubt I will be roundly condemned for a lack of professionalism and straying from the path of DMQ correctness but here goes anyway: I first open up the chest all the way to where the head was having carefully inserted my Stratton rip saw. Only then do I make the upwards cut to release the green-stuffed football but not before attending to the back end tunnelling and release work. This way you aren’t presented with a stomach that wants to hug you and trap your hand when opening the chest.

K