Knecker Knife

Some have a sharp side and a dull side. the sharp side for starting the fleshing and the dull side to push the fat off. I use both but prefer using a cheap dull one for most fleshing jobs. I never cut holes and don't flesh too much cutting hair roots.

 

In baseball, the catchers mitt and mask were referred to as the "tools of ignorance". As a kid, I felt the same way about sling blades, scythes, and hoes. When I became a taxidermist, I added the necker knife to that list. I had a fleshing beam stand in the corner of my shop for over 40 years as a reminder to myself.

 

I have one that is semi-sharp that I use for fleshing off the fat and flesh only. As said, mostly to push the material off using a beam. I touch mine up with a stone occasionally, or a grinder would probably work ok. Shaving for tanning is whole different ball game.

 

No matter what George likes or doesn't like they work great for fleshing especially on thin skinned critters. As a trapper and a taxidermist I use mine for most things with fur. I have used a fleshing machine for rough fleshing but it makes a mess and the potential to cut holes or ruining a blade on a chunk of copper jacket from a bullet isn't worth it to me. The key is to use a beam with a similar shape as your knife and have it set at a comfortable height and angle. I do use a ULU knife for getting around the head and then push the rest off.

 

I sharpened mine with a stone and then honed it with a steel until I was able to shave my arm with it. From then on out, I just run a steel on it to keep it razor sharp just like my hunting knife.

 

George doesn't like ANYTHING that causes more backbreaking work for any reason, including "we, we always did it that way". The modern professional fleshing machines will do ANYTHING BETTER than the drawknife, I don't care if your grandmother was an expert at it. If it were truly great, I can't imagine why the professional tanneries no longer use them. I have fleshed wild boar, American bison, moose, bear, deer, wolves, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, otters, mink, squirrels and chipmunks on my machine without ever cutting through. To demonstrate the model, I wet down a Sunday paper and then showed the students how I could shave single sheets off the newspaper once you learn "the touch" of the blade. I will write a check for $100 to anyone who can clean one complete sheet of wet newspaper off a sheath of pages without cutting through. It took be almost 40 years to make myself learn how to use the double action airbrush, but I would be damned before I let anything mechanical beat me. I learned early on that to be a professional you should use professional tools and keep abreast with the changing times. When the round knives became commercially available, the beam went into the corner and the knife went into the back of the cabinet.

 

Here we go, just what I thought. It is your way or no way George. I respect you and your methods but they are not for everybody. Maybe it is I just plain suck at rough fleshing with a fleshing machine, I can own up to that, but for you to insinuate that a fleshing beam and knife are are tools of ignorance kind of proves my point. In the end it doesn't matter how we get to the same destination, only that we get there. The term fleshing machine is misleading for many. It is actually a shaving machine meant for thinning a pickled skin or cape.

 

Us rednecks use a pressure washer! Works years round if you live south of I-20!

 

A beam and a knife are a hell of a lot cheaper than a fleshing machine and that probably matters to a lot of people.

 

Once I decided to raw flesh on my wheel my beam also went into the corner.

 

I own and use both in my process and I can say that I have less pain rough fleshing with a beam than doing it with the machine. Keeping the bloody, messy cape tight, is hell on my arms and hands. Now when it comes to thinning, machine wins hands down.

 

Ive been fleshing between 750-800 deer capes a year with a necker knife for years , no issues. I take mine to a guy that sharpens mower blades he does it with a machine @ then ill use a steel on it. Using one is as hard as you want to make it.

 

3bears, you need to stop that sh-t. I've listened to that line of crap ever since this forum began. It's not MY WAY. It's the way of the industry and modernizing both techniques and methods. No one said it was "cheaper" but you are the same guys who'll cry us a river when you talk about Bubba down the road charging less than you do. Though we talk about many things on this forum, I remind everyone of the title" THE TAXIDERMY NET FORUM. It doesn't say the "trapper/fur forum" or the "skull cleaning forum" or even the "brain tanning forum". It says TAXIDERMY! And if you intend on doing TAXIDERMY, you should use the tools that professional taxidermists use. No one was any poorer than I when I started and I used an old butcher knife on a 2x6 and an Exacto-Knife to flesh my animals. Then I used the beam and necker until so fool put a dull saw blade on a air rotary tool and called it a "Mini-Flesher". Then my work load began to blossom and I simply wasn't going to be able to keep up. It was either find a better way or fold the business. Man I could have used those 40 years afterwards. If you truly want to be a taxidermist, it's going to cost you and you have to set your priorities. You can do small game and birds till the cows come home with nothing more than a wire wheel, but when you make that step into big game, you should have made a commitment. I don't blow roses up anyone's ass and when I lie about something, I appreciate it being pointed out so I can apologize. You're certainly not the first one to say this to me and I'm sure as long as I hang around, you won't be the last, but I'm not going to buttercoat truth just so someone doesn't feel a "microaggression".

 

Andy, where do you live/work. I need to add your address to my bucketlist. I need to see you in action. REALLY, 750-800 A YEAR? You're one bad dude and must have arms like Popeye.

 

George, I don't get butt hurt that easy. I am not looking for anyone to sugar coat anything and you should know that.
You are correct that this is a taxidermy forum but some of us were trappers before becoming taxidermists and by being such just maybe we learned how to be proficient with hand tools.
I not once mentioned anything about a beam and knife being cheaper than a fleshing machine, as I said I own both. They both have their place in my routine.
The industry is not all going mechanical, yes many are and that is fine for them but when I see nice deer mounts lacking most of the whiskers that are typically present on a deer it makes me shutter.
Many folks seem to also agree with me. Why do you suppose that is? Probably because it works for us in our situation.
How long does it take you to rough flesh a deer cape with a fleshing machine ? Once I rough flesh the face with scalpel and ulu knife past the ears which takes about 20 minutes, I tend to get pretty anal here and remove more flesh at this stage than many but, it is on to the beam and in another 10 minutes it's into the salt. So 30 minutes per cape, if you are/were surpassing me by a large amount of time, my hat is off to you but, I'm guessing not.
I guess I'll never be a "Professional taxidermist" in your eyes. Dammit, that was my dream. Thanks for pissing in my cornflakes.
Happy Thanksgiving any way George.

 

The main reason I liked the round knife for rough fleshing is that as rough fleshed I also thinned the cape down to the blue. Since I was a home tanner, this worked well for me. It needed very little touching up during the pickle on round knife. If one was to use a no pickle form of preservation, this would be your thinning process, since there is no pickle to plump the hide for thinning.

 

I used to use one, as sharp as possible no need to be pushing, always slicing. You can do the face with it as well. That said I stopped fleshing years ago, if you got the skills to be mounting or finishing keep your hands doing that.

 

George Im in Ohio . Ive been fleshing capes for 25 years. All the taxidermists I work for
does the dp method. Theres been several years ive done over 1000 capes , no big deal.
Ive worn out several necker knives. If theres anything left of your old one let me know what you want for it.