Thread: small knife design , your input.

Ahh, noting like a good old fashioned knife (design) fight!

Personally I have never figured out the whole "trout and bird" blade design …….. it doesn't spin my wheels.

My take on it is that the bigger the game/animal being processed the more you can tolerate a non-optimal blade shape. For an extreme example, if you really had to you could field dress a deer with an axe. Not so much when the game fits in two hands (or one).
The smaller the game, the more specialised the blade design needs to be if its going to be efficient at its job and maximise the recovery of meat.

To me, fish are such a specialised game to be processed, and a thin, narrow, flexible/nonflexible, upswept blade is really the only design that does them justice. I have also found that breasting game birds fall into the same category, and a fillet knife of around 200mm blade length is about spot on. The very best blade I have used for that purpose is the Buck Silver Creek folding fillet knife. Super safe to carry in your pack, no added weight of a sheath, good quality steel.
However, not the best knife in the world if you want to pinch grip the tip of the blade and scalpel cut the pelt of a rabbit for skinning. For that you need a short 50-60mm blade, which is bloody useless for filleting a fish.

I think the blade you are designing @viper is probably the hardest to get right, and small variations, even in blade thickness, make a big difference in how the blade performs. Its a great challenge.
Personally, I don't think you can cover all the bases with one knife.

My suggestion for what its worth, go for a pair of knives as a kit.
One blade shape is specialised towards boning big game, filleting, breasting small birds, and the other blade is specialised towards skinning and gutting. Keep the handles compact with thin scales so that they stack well together in a double knife sheath.

This very challenge is what led me to make my three knife kit.

Looking forward to see what design you settle on.