I see more an more of my hunting buddies carrying a gut opener in their belt. A natural development as this tool really makes the field dressing of the game easier. A regular blade tip might damage the internal organs when opening the stomach of for instance a Deer. A gutter's special shaped blade with a rounded tip is also an excellent tool when doing the initial cuts to the games legs when skinning it. One of the most popular knives with a gutting function here in Sweden right now is the EKA Swingblade; a folder with a two function turnable blade. An alternative to these modern multi function knives is to carry two different fixed blades in your belt. My choice right now is to use the Double Knife Jägaren 3595 from Karesuandokniven. In this package you get a double sheath holding one Boar Exclusive 3509 and one Gut Opener 3525.
Design
The Boar Exclusive is a really nice medium fixed blade with a drop point blade made of Sandvik stainless steel. The 24 mm wide blade works great when skinning and taking care of game. The comfortable handle is made of curly birch, reindeer antler and brass. The smaller gut opener is fitted in a separate pocket just on top/outside of the bigger knife's pocket in the brown leather sheath. Only the big knife's pocket has a drain hole on the bottom of the sheath. But I haven't noticed any problem with the undrained gut opener pocket yet. The double sheath has a nice and practical design making it comfortable to carry the two knives.
The gut opener also has a fixed blade and the handle is made of the same material as the big knife, except for the reindeer antler inlay. Perhaps the handle of the gut opener could be a bit bigger, but on the other hand the small handle makes the Double Knife less bulky to carry.
Specs
Blade Material: Sandvik stainless steel 12C27, HRC 57
Blade Length: 99 mm / 78 mm
Blade Thickness: 3,3 mm
Knife Length: 213 mm / 174 mm
Handle Material: Curly birch, reindeer antler and brass
Handle Thickness: 18,7 mm / 18,1 mm
Knife Weight: 100 g / 71 g
Total Weight: 281 g (knives and sheath)
Total Length: 244 mm (knives in sheath)
Price: 1970 SEK (Sweden 2013)
A Nice Hunting Partner
I've now been hunting Roe Deer and Moose together with the Karesuandokniven Double Knife Jägaren for about a year and I'm very satisfied. Of course I've needed to sharpen the blades several times, but not more than reasonable. The big knife is perfect for any initial sticking of the game and later skinning and taking care of it. The gut opener makes the gutting real easy and as I mentioned earlier it's an excellent tool when doing the initial cuts when skinning and also separating knee joints.
I'll gladly continue to bring the Double Knife Jägaren (the Hunter) in my belt or my backpack on future hunting adventures.
Welcome to Jonas Vildmark Bushcraftcenter, we offer classes in Bushcraft - Survival - Jägarexamen and Motorsågskörkort.
