Thread: Why are kiwi knives more curved?

Thinking butchering and skinning here.
Just wondering (as you do) why in NZ the knives tend to be more curved.
Most British knives are straighter. Given that NZ has/had a background originating (in some ways) from Britain.
How come the difference and what are the advantages to either?
FC

Curved allows skinning and butchering with the same knife thats often carried for days/weeks in the field

Because we are always little bit bent.

Would not a drop point do as well.
Also they are used in meat processing where that doesn't apply.
Just interested to know where the influence came from.
No it's the Aussies who were bent. That's why they got deported (I assume you're referring to bent as in crooked and not in a sexual connotation. After all that would be so non PC)

we dont really give a shit about pc here i guess the curved blades are easier to process game with using a dagger type of blade doesnt work all you tend to do is use the tip but a curved blade you can use more of the blade thats my thoughts anyway

the knives we used in the past were mostly all made somewhere else .. . Green River etc so probably it was about cost and what everyone else was using . . it was a great day when custom knife makers arrived and showed a better way

curved blade no good for field work though. Can't really do around the arsehole.

Take a look at the design of a pukkobknife from Scandinavia : theses nomadic tribes have been using those blades for centuries , to do pretty much everything around camp and rein deer ( lots of castration as well). Their blade are not particurly curved.

I don't own any curved blade knives and mine are all NZ made by a member of this forum.

As mentioned above they are not great for certain tasks if time is an issue.

I don't like spending to much time processing a carcass on the hill and worked for years in an industry where speed was money.

Clients don't like standing around waiting for their head skins to be removed either.

My do everything, except bone knife by John Worthington.

Had one for years. Would have it a little longer in the blade if I could get the bugger to agree to it😆



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I believe the curved blade comes from the freezing works industry as a skinning knife
look to our rural past we had sheep farmers who wouls slaughter and skin sheep nearly daily for food and dog tucker,deer cullers and private shooters skinned deer in the thousands so we sort of grew up/got used to using them.
personally I prefer a straighter blade the green river "bushmans friend" was a great knife now thats just their boner knife.

Hard to go past the Mora. Less than 40 bucks great steel easy to sharpen very light hygienic plastic sheath little long for some tasks but basically brilliant

These short skinners i made seem to do most jobs ok .

I have no problem doing arseholes with a skinner. I carry this knife everyday for work. It's what u get used to. Sorry no photo. It's a Svord farmer knife. It's straighter towards the haft than the traditional skinner.


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Originally Posted by WillB

Hard to go past the Mora. Less than 40 bucks great steel easy to sharpen very light hygienic plastic sheath little long for some tasks but basically brilliant

Or a Bahco