Caping knife

[Eric Cleland]

What angle would U use for sharpening a caping knife because of the small or shortness of the blade

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[Zamfir]

I am no expert by any means but what I am learning around here it really depends on the type of steel and what you are using it for. Some people like a real sharp knife for skinning and I have heard other like them a little more dull and obtuse so they do not cut through the hide. So it would depend on your style of what you like and what kind of steel it is made of. I would think a caping knife would be delicate cuts to remove the hide and any contact around bone would be light. So if you had a good hard steel you could go with a thinner angle. What knife is it? What kind of steel? Are you using it for skinning only or for other things?

[Mark76]

Sorry I don’t understand. English is not my first language. What is a caping knife? Or do you mean a camping knife?

Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge

[tcmeyer]

Mark: A caping knife is a knife used to do the delicate skinning work around an animal’s face (eyes, lips, etc.) It usually has a sharpened point and has a slender blade. Skinning knives normally have long, sweeping curved edges and normally do not have a sharp point. An exception to that rule is the skinner depicted in my avatar here, which does have a sharp, clipped point.. I was pleased to hear recently that the Wyoming rancher who owns it still uses it for skinning and treats it like a prized possession. Now that I have my WEPS, I wish I could sharpen it for him.

[Mark76]

Ah, thanks! Learned again something today :cheer: .

I obviously don’t know this knife, but in general, when I’m in doubt I put an angle of around 20 dps on it. Then I use the knife and see whether a more steep angle works. If this is a very delicate knife, you also could try to put a steeper angle on it (depending on the steel) and then put a 20 degree or so microbevel on it.

Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge

[Eric Cleland]

Its a knife of the alaska caping knife and I believe its D2 steel. Now with the 20 DPS is that the setting of the individual arm or the combination of the 2 arms. so setting number 10 on each arm.

[Mikedoh]

20 degrees on each arm (Degrees Per Side).
Inclusive angle = (DPS)x2 = (20 x 2) = 40

So set each arm to 20 as measured by angle cube

[wickededge]

Taxidermists generally use scalpels for caping because it’s helpful to have a very sharp knife, especially if you’re going to be turning out the ears and lips. If you’re just caping to get it out of the back country but you’re not salting and storing the hide, then you don’t need to turn the ears and lips. In that case, you can go a little wider. I’d recommend 17 dps on your Knives of Alaska blade. Their heat treatment of the D2 results in a very hard blade that chips fairly easily, so you don’t want to go too acute. You’ll be doing a bit of prying around the bases of the antlers and you don’t want the brittle edge overly thin.

-Clay

[Eric Cleland]

This kinda follows my topic but on other hunting knives, fillet knives etc how do you determine what angles to set your arms to be able to start sharpening.

[wickededge]

This kinda follows my topic but on other hunting knives, fillet knives etc how do you determine what angles to set your arms to be able to start sharpening.

This is always a tough question to answer quickly because there are so many variables e.g. steel quality/hardness, technique, frequency of touch-ups etc… If I had to pick a one-size-fits-all angle for hunting knives, I’d go with 20 dps, especially for skinning. Then again, I don’t just use one knife for field dressing and quartering. My set up is a short drop point at 20 dps for the initial slits to open the hide, then a hide blade that has a round, blunt tip for splitting the hide along the insides of the limbs to the chest and down the center of the chest which I sharpen at 15 dps. I use the drop point for skinning and then a folding filet knife sharpened at 17 dps for quartering/de-boning. These three blades are all made from very modest steels. With higher quality steels, I can go to lower angles for the drop point for the skinning portion but have determined that I don’t like the skinning blade to be too sharp because, even with good technique, the risk of cutting holes in the hide too great.

-Clay

[Eric Cleland]

so is a lower angle ie, 15-20 going to give a sharper feeling to an edge and run the risk of poking a hole in the cape as compared to a larger angle ie 20-30 deg.

[wickededge]

so is a lower angle ie, 15-20 going to give a sharper feeling to an edge and run the risk of poking a hole in the cape as compared to a larger angle ie 20-30 deg.

Yes, it will be sharper and more easily able to put a hole in the cape though the technique in caping involves stretching the hide away from the bone and only working on the connecting fibers with very light pressure. With a sharper and and lighter pressure you have more control and you don’t have to worry so much about errant cuts due extra pressure that you might see with more obtuse angles.

-Clay

[tcmeyer]

Mark76:

I should have explained further the root of the term “caping knife.” Taxidermists refer to the “cape” as being the skin of an animal, removed completely intact from the shoulders forward. Think of Batman’s cape – the shroud worn over his shoulders. Specifically, relative to taxidermy, “caping” is the process of removing the skin wholly intact from the eyes, ears, nose and lips, so as to preserve the elements necessary for the realistic construction of a complete “shoulder mount.” Of course, you’d use the same tools to remove the skin of any animal whose head you wished to mount. Hence, you’d use a caping knife to remove the skin of a animal for which you’d want a simple head mount, even though you were not doing a shoulder mount.

But generally, if you ask your outfitter or guide to “cape” your animal, it is clearly understood that you want a shoulder mount.

Being a midwesterner with only six or eight western hunt trips in my CV, I’d appreciate any contribution by anyone who thinks I’m not completely right on this.

[Mark76]

Ah, the Batman comparison (Zorro over here) makes it clear! It’s even called a cape in Dutch :cheer: . Now I get an idea of the kind of knife you need for caping. Thanks!

Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge

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