gutting knife recommendations (rabbits!)

bewsher500

Well-Known Member
I have found myself in a thick vein of bunnies and after paunching 30 of them in a row last night I decided I could do with a cheap and cheerful gut hook. Having never needed or used one for deer I am in virgin territory

I have looked online and the problem I see with most of them is they all fall into 3 main categories:

1) dedicated gut hook (on a ring or similar) without blade or point

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2) drop point knife blade with gut hook cut into top of blade

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3) long curved blade with rounded point (often with additional swing blade)

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No.1 looks like I need two blades to get the hook which is a faff and will undoubtedly facilitate me slicing digits off switching around every 30 secs
No.2 is probably closer to what I need but my concern is that a rabbit doesnt leave much room or have the physical integrity for the tip to clear guts without catching and splitting rotten grass everywhere
No.3 requires either another blade or a swing blade to sever what few fingers i have left after trying No.1/additional blade

now I am sure this all works for a large long single cut on a gralloch, but doing multiple bunnies is not the same.

What do people use and what works?
 
I prefer (if possible) to have one tool for everything as it just saves something else from getting lost!

Hence I've never bothered with anything like at 1).

I had a Case Knives version of 2) for a while and the biggest hang up (literally) was when working inside a carcase trimming out the diaphragm etc. when the hook would catch if not careful. It might also be a bit on the large size for unzipping soft rabbit bellies.

The best all-rounder I've ever used is a Whitby Knives folder with a 4" main blade, a slim razor sharp blunt ended gutting blade as you have at 3) and a bone saw blade which, to be fair, was rarely used on anything other than the odd roe chest that needed opening up immediately. I've used that knife on everything - including the big reds we get down here - and sold quite a few to other stalkers, but I'm not sure that Whitby still do them. I still use mine but it's totally non-PC in these hygienic times.

If it's mainly just for wabbits then how about something like the Buck Trapper?

http://www.whitbyandco.co.uk/buck/knives/b384brw-large-trapper

Doesn't have a true blind ended blade but I would guess it would make a fair job of it.
 
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Get down to your local builders merchants and buy a pack of stanley lino blades, they fit in a normal stanley knife handle and when they are blunt just chuck em.

Edit to add the stanley lino blades have a sharp little point on them so you can just pop it through the skin and un zip, have to be a bit careful not to pop the guts too but once you get a knack for it its easy
 
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Plus 1 on the Stanley blade knife.
You can get some nice looking folders out there and I thought they were for carpet cutting but are very good
 
Paunching a lot of rabbits.......scissors...the ones with a round blade and a pointed one. Pop the skin with the pointed one then put the rounded one inside and run it down to the butt.
 
I put a small cut at the base of the gut then use this method. Very clean and very quick.

http://youtu.be/q7trIwVMYZA

impressive.
I have seen the squeeze method before but I need to leave liver and kidneys in for the game dealer (its how he likes them)
thing I cant see is how your man gets a straight cut down the side of the abdomen with the tip of a blade without nicking anything.

his rabbit all in rigor as well, mine on the whole are still flacid as they are paunched in less than 10-30 mins.
its sometimes easier on the stiff ones as the bodies are rigid. but at 2am I am buggered if I am waiting to see how long it takes for rigor mortis to set in!
 
I use a folding stanley type knife with double gut hook type blades which are cheap enough that you can replace them after 2 outings (one for each hook). Tool station do the knives for about £5.50 and a 10 pack of hook blades for about £1.90.

Hope this helps

Rick
 
I use a 50mm mushroom knife,(minus the brush) wicked little thing, keeps a good edge and brilliant for the cut and flick in the bag, never splits anything apart from the skin.

I place the back two legs under a branch taut up the carcase and bingo out it comes , just needs a tweak to clear, pretty fast and cleanish.

Have tried the squeeze method, it's not for me, it can be a bit finnicky and you end up with the entrails coming out where they don't normally go :doh:not ideal finish to a nights rabbiting

Phil
 
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I`ve gutted untold thousands of rabbits in my time and right now I use a Mora clipper.

Enter the point at the base of the ribcage and zip down through the belly. Job done.

Used a guthook for a while but never really preferred it.Used a Schrade old timer Kraton handled.
 
ha, been using a no.6 until now.

Figured it out.
Stanley knife blade and a Mk.1 finger tip!

hold blade between thumb and second finger with index finger extended over the tip.
Expose just enough blade tip with the index finger to puncture then push finger tip back past point.
finger and blade tip in hole...unzip.

have a blade with some electrical tape on the backside now.
shaved valuable seconds off my gutting!
 
Made this little thing for a lad last year, he mainly wanted it for rabbits, but it's become his "everything" knife:

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Converted an old project into something similar, but it had a curved blade. I'll try and find a photo of that
 
very nice.
would like to see the curved one.

what would it cost to make one like that but with a "bill hook" blade?
 
I would have thought the smaller knife with the gut hook on blade of the Deerhunter twin set offered in the classifieds would do rather well for this. Won't break the bank either. Of course the large one of the set would also do the job but it seems people like a smaller knife for this task.
 
Ditto on the Shrade,had mine for 30yrs still in use and holds a super edge (carbon steel) Otherwise use a little damascus blunt nosed grallocker taking a pinch of skin to start the cut flat against the belly just below the sternum
 
havalon piranta does the job for me,cracking bit of kit,also carry an opinel no7 just in case i loose the piranta
 
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