form follows function

[sal]

Hi Joe,

Welcome to our forum.

sal

[skeeg11]

Hi Sal,
On the question of a 2 blade version- one plain and one guthook- Around 2001 I purchased a Buck Crosslock that was built that way. I used it on a few moose while living in Alaska. The guthook worked very well (I sharpened it with a EZ-Lap pocket steel). The main blade was sub-par for the rest of the field-dressing chores, so I mainly carried it for the guthook. It was a good idea, but made the knife fairly thick to carry in ones pocket. It may have worked better on smaller game like deer.
Thank you for being active on this forum, and taking genuine interest in what people would like to see. I admire that about Spyderco, and your business philosophy!

Hi Joe---

So insightful of you to give testiment to the usefulness of the Buck gut hook design.

Back in the eighties when I still considered myself to be almost a young man I felt that Buck's gut hook was the only design worth consideration for big game so I purchased the new at the time wood grain handled Buck Zipper. First critter to test it out on was a Bull Elk. All experienced big game hunters know the importance of incisions in the hide along the insides of the critters legs. Make for easier management of the skinning effort. In days of yore, old timers would often use the spey blade of their trapper to perform this operation exercising due diligence and care not to slice open any flesh beneath the hide. With the Buck gut hook........no worries. Zip, zip, zip, zip. Let's get on with the skinning. Not gonna say it was a great skinner, but it did do yeoman's work. It was, after all, Buck steel.......420HC before Paul Bos heat treat or the inclusion of S30V in their lineup.

I thought highly enough of their gut hook design that years later I picked up one of their CrossLocks on sale to keep in the truck when chasing deer and wild rooters. Upon close examination, it appeared as though the inside edge of the gut hook was more square and angular instead of U shaped. The Buck gut hook had evolved! The question is, "Was this designed for increased performance or for benefit of the manufacturing process?" I suppose the take on this is that no discussion of gut hooks is complete without examination of the evolution of Buck's gut hook. Would a downsized version of Buck's squarish gut hook designed to fit a small game blade be better? I wouldn't be a bit surprised.

[sal]

Hi Skeeg,

Brian Huegel brought me up to date on the Buck gut hook. It is the evolution based on performance, works well, and is patented (Utility and design ). Nothing I'd want to mess with without paying Buck royalties.

sal

[skeeg11]

Hi Skeeg,

Brian Huegel brought me up to date on the Buck gut hook. It is the evolution based on performance, works well, and is patented (Utility and design ). Nothing I'd want to mess with without paying Buck royalties.

sal

Thanks Sal. A definitive answer and confirmation is much appreciated.

[Joefairbanks]

Hi Joe,

Welcome to our forum.

sal

Thank you very much, Sal!