Small game knives

This is the LL Bean knife I got over 30 years ago. I'm guessing it was made by Chicago Cutlery or one of the other US knife companies back then. LL Bean used to have an annual sale and would put all returned items on clearance pricing. Back then the store was open 24 hours and we would go up late at night and avoid the crowds and spend a couple hours looking for bargains. I think I paid less than $10 for the knife. It was cheap. I kept it in a drawer for years without use and honestly underestimated the knife. Now it is one of my favorites and I carry it during bird season along with a pair of poultry shears.
 

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Fiskars game shears. Ran into a couple guides in a cleaning room some 40 years ago. Those guys could clean a Phez before I could get one out of my vest. Clip both wings and one foot off. Rip the skin off. A cut down each side of the backbone. pull out the innards and chuck in a cooler. I do always carry a medium size, one blade lock blade. Cheap stainless. Sharpens quicker and last longer because every time I buy a nice one, I lose it the like the next day.
 
Mosby said:
This is the LL Bean knife I got over 30 years ago. I'm guessing it was made by Chicago Cutlery or one of the other US knife companies back then. LL Bean used to have an annual sale and would put all returned items on clearance pricing. Back then the store was open 24 hours and we would go up late at night and avoid the crowds and spend a couple hours looking for bargains. I think I paid less than $10 for the knife. It was cheap. I kept it in a drawer for years without use and honestly underestimated the knife. Now it is one of my favorites and I carry it during bird season along with a pair of poultry shears.
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That looks very much like CC. Cool little knife.
 
birddude said:
Fiskars game shears. Ran into a couple guides in a cleaning room some 40 years ago. Those guys could clean a Phez before I could get one out of my vest. Clip both wings and one foot off. Rip the skin off. A cut down each side of the backbone. pull out the innards and chuck in a cooler. I do always carry a medium size, one blade lock blade. Cheap stainless. Sharpens quicker and last longer because every time I buy a nice one, I lose it the like the next day.
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Exactly how we do it. Farmer in western Kansas showed us how.
 
birddude said:
Fiskars game shears. Ran into a couple guides in a cleaning room some 40 years ago. Those guys could clean a Phez before I could get one out of my vest. Clip both wings and one foot off. Rip the skin off. A cut down each side of the backbone. pull out the innards and chuck in a cooler. I do always carry a medium size, one blade lock blade. Cheap stainless. Sharpens quicker and last longer because every time I buy a nice one, I lose it the like the next day.
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Same as this?
 
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Obi_Wan said:
Same as this?
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No, he threw away the heart and liver, didn't wear nitrile gloves, didn't remove the kidneys and left sharp wingbones sticking out to puncture a baggie and vac-pack bag. Not that I'm picky or anything! ;)

But yes, I have no use for a knife to clean birds, except for one little trick. I always have a razor-sharp "wonder steel" Spyderco on me and I use it for one thing -- I leave one leg attached, but it just needs to be ATTACHED. To make the leg fold out of the way and not puncture the bag I use the knife to cut partway thru the joint. A huge help in transporting bagged birds.

I find plain Fiskar scissors work just fine and are cheaper and much easier to find than "game shears." However, for cutting thru the wingbone JOINT, you cannot beat a pair of cable cutters, like these Channel Lock's:

 
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Mosby said:
This is the LL Bean knife I got over 30 years ago. I'm guessing it was made by Chicago Cutlery or one of the other US knife companies back then. LL Bean used to have an annual sale and would put all returned items on clearance pricing. Back then the store was open 24 hours and we would go up late at night and avoid the crowds and spend a couple hours looking for bargains. I think I paid less than $10 for the knife. It was cheap. I kept it in a drawer for years without use and honestly underestimated the knife. Now it is one of my favorites and I carry it during bird season along with a pair of poultry shears.
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You've kept a knife for 30 years? I can't even keep a wife for that long!
 
birddude said:
Sort of, only I come in from the rear and cut out the whole backbone. Those are the original Fiskars shears. They were great. The newer ones are pretty good.
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I believe he said those were Gerber Game Shears. I've been using the Gerbers for years, they are great and very reasonably priced.

 
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Dakotazeb said:
I believe he said those were Gerber Game Shears. I've been using the Gerbers for years, they are great a very reasonably priced.

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Yep, I think I have 4 pairs in my “misc” box and dog box. Have had others recommended, but they didn’t have the “notch” close to the hinge, so when yiu go to clip the leg or wing it goes squirting out.

I also enter from the vent and cut up each side of the backbone coming out at the neck. Cut both sides then pull backbone and all the guts come out with it.

For fitting into a bag better, you can hyper-extend the knee joint, the ligaments keep it all attached, but it breaks the joint so that lower leg just flops loosely.
 
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