It has been a while since I hunted, but for small game I always used whatever pocketknife I was carrying at the time. I did try to keep it sharp, and I have always preferred carbon steel to stainless.
However, a fellow who is familiar with his knife can make it work for just about any cutting chore. I ran across this interesting passage in
Saskatchewan and the Rocky Mountains, by the Earl of Southesk:
From the description, I am pretty sure Antoine's knife was a Hudson's Bay Camp Knife, like this one:
I thought it was pretty cool that he could skin a ground squirrel with it, and sharpen it on a river stone.
These are big knives. I have one that was made by Dean Hazuka of
Montana Americana. He makes about the most accurate reproductions of these that I have seen. This photo is from his website, but my knife looks just like it:
Caspar Whitney illustrated and described this type of knife as it was used by the Dogrib First Nations people who accompanied him in his travels, documented in
On Snow-Shoes to the Barren Grounds:
These knives were apparently very popular among the northern natives. Good for everything from chopping firewood and cutting lodgepoles to skinning ground squirrels and musk oxen, for people accustomed to using them, and Whitney seemed to think the blade shape was perfect for skinning. I'm not sure one of these would be my
first choice for cleaning a squirrel, though.
Best regards,
Notchy Bob
