Portland Grallocher..?

[Stuart Mitchell]

There is a lot of great feedback in here, thank you for it all.

I wonder if it would be a lot of hassle to offer a straight design in upward or downward sharpened formats?

This does seem to be a good option, maybe difficult to design something that works in both guises with both also being aesthetically pleasing?

Maybe there is an argument for two?

 

[Tim.243]

There is a lot of great feedback in here, thank you for it all.



This does seem to be a good option, maybe difficult to design something that works in both guises with both also being aesthetically pleasing?

Maybe there is an argument for two?

From what I read anything bigger than a Roe people would not be hanging up and splitting with a curved knife.
A friend who uses my chiller makes a first class job of a greens/HL gralloch but then uses my big bone saw to split the chest
(as he likes the neater cut line) also takes the heads and feet off at mine, "they all go in his bin" and he takes them away.

Nice looking knife but making both types you will have more of one type under the bench. Have a few of the opposite to what you have made cut but your one in the picture is what will sell.
Tim

 

[Danny Fireblade]

I use a curved one at the moment, never used a straight edge but I’m sure it would do the same job.

The curved can be a biatch to sharpen tho.
I use mine on muntjac, roe and fallow and it does the job brilliantly, be it hung or on the floor.

Looking forward to the finished article

 

[Stuart Mitchell]

Top one is edge down.

Bottom one is edge up.

Please ignore the colours, scales are only mock ups and to show the position of the handles to the blades.

 

[FISH BOY]

Bottom orange one.

 

[Tim.243]

Edge up?

Edge down?


View attachment 401031

The power stroke is down, the limp wrists are the rest..

 

[Stuart Mitchell]

Bottom orange one.

Ignore the colours, they are just scale material I had to hand.

 

[Danny Fireblade]

Seeing that I prefer the top one.

 

[terrier1]

Bottom one in ultralite. Get one made and I will come over to Sheffield next week. And I will get out stalking with it and give you some hands on feedback.

 

[DamaDaz]

I think they are both great possibly leaning towards the bottom one.

This is clearly a question from a non knife maker. Is there any world where the handle profile could be shaped to allow you to use it either way?

 

[VanGogh76]

Bottom one

 

[Stuart Mitchell]

Clearly both of these designs will need to go into production somehow

 

[Mungo]

This may reveal a lot about my stupidity, but how do you make the initial incision with a grallocher? Do you use a different knife to open a cut, then use the grallocher to unzip?

 

[VSS]

This may reveal a lot about my stupidity, but how do you make the initial incision with a grallocher? Do you use a different knife to open a cut, then use the grallocher to unzip?

Why would you need to use a different knife for the initial incision?
No different from gralloching using a blunt tipped knife like a mora roeing, I wouldn't have thought. Easy enough to make the initial cut and do the whole lot with one of those without changing knives.

 

[Mungo]

Why would you need to use a different knife for the initial incision?
No different from gralloching using a blunt tipped knife like a mora roeing, I wouldn't have thought. Easy enough to make the initial cut and do the whole lot with one of those without changing knives.

But if the tip is rounded, how do you get it through the skin?

 

[Tim.243]

This may reveal a lot about my stupidity, but how do you make the initial incision with a grallocher? Do you use a different knife to open a cut, then use the grallocher to unzip?

You can pinch the belly and cut across at a right angle to the pinch, that will make a hole.
Bleeding a deer is my first action so a pointed knife to open the hocks for a gambrel while it is bleeding (often head down by a ditch or slope) With a big deer then working out a recovery fix be it on my cart or getting the truck.
I like them and skin deer with a couple of mine especially with a small curved knife I was given by Russ aka @FISH BOY
with me rounding the sharp tip of it off.

 

[Mungo]

You can pinch the belly and cut across at a right angle to the pinch, that will make a hole.
Bleeding a deer is my first action so a pointed knife to open the hocks for a gambrel while it is bleeding (often head down by a ditch or slope) With a big deer then working out a recovery fix be it on my cart or getting the truck.
I like them and skin deer with a couple of mine especially with a small curved knife I was given by Russ aka @FISH BOY
with me rounding the sharp tip of it off.

Ah!

That makes perfect sense. Thanks!

 

[VSS]

But if the tip is rounded, how do you get it through the skin?

You can pinch the belly and cut across at a right angle to the pinch, that will make hole.

Like this ^^^
I just assumed that was the way everyone made the initial incision, whether using a pointy tipped knife or a blunt one?
No risk of sticking it in a bit too far and bursting something that you really don't want to burst!

 

[Mungo]

Like this ^^^
I just assumed that was the way everyone made the initial incision, whether using a pointy tipped knife or a blunt one?
No risk of sticking it in a bit too far and bursting something that you really don't want to burst!

You would be amazed at the number of different ways people make the first cut!

 

[FISH BOY]

Ignore the colours, they are just scale material I had to hand.

I get that - I unzip on the deck before sawing the breast and suspending.

This may reveal a lot about my stupidity, but how do you make the initial incision with a grallocher? Do you use a different knife to open a cut, then use the grallocher to unzip?

Hocks, then undercarriage removal and a small slice across the lower stomach muscle lining using main knife - then little finger poke to get the unzipper in.

Unzipper I’ve found is so much quicker when you have multiple on the deck working with someone (not to mention I don’t come home with numerous holes in my index finger from the main knife protected finger unzipping technique. )