Blog

Down To The Nitty Gritty: Caping Knives

January 31, 2024

189

Video what is a caping knife

Caping Knives, Or Capers, Are Necessary For The Finer Parts Of Creating Taxidermy. They’re Also Capable Carving Knives Or A Great EDC.

Caping knives, a.k.a. capers, aren’t mentioned very often in the grand scheme of all things cutlery—though don’t tell that to those who like to mount their trophy game. The caper is a huge part of skinning game in preparation for taxidermy where preserving the fine details is absolutely essential.

Tasks such as trimming around the animal’s eye sockets and mouth area are particularly critical, and the blade must be sharp and small enough to get down to the nitty gritty. That’s not to say a caper can’t handle other functions, such as fine carving and cutting cord. Heck, it can even be used as an EDC.

WEB Pocket Hunter-Caper

The A.G. Russell Knives Pocket Caper cut nice, tight circles in the suede thanks to the sharp tip and thin blade geometry. The two cutouts at lower right were made with the Russell blade, and the one on the lower left by another blade that didn’t fare as well.

The WEB Pocket Hunter-Caper is produced under the War Eagle Blades division of A.G. Russell Knives, hence the WEB in the name. We’ll just call it the Russell Pocket Caper for simplicity’s sake—and what a simply utilitarian knife it is! The hidden-tang fiberglass-reinforced-nylon (FRN) handle comes in black or bright orange. The blade is a straight-back style with a V-grind from edge to spine. The snap-lock FRN color-coordinated sheath has a tubed hole in the base to hold a lanyard or neck knife cord/chain.

Since one main function of a caper is precision cutting, I wanted to see which of our test knives could turn on a dime—or in this case, a nickel. Using spray adhesive, I tacked a square of suede to a smooth wood surface and drew a group of circles using the perimeter of a nickel as a guide. I then hand-cut each circle to see how precise I could be in removing it from the base. The Russell Pocket Caper, with its much thinner blade, allowed the tip to glide around the outline of the nickel with precision and cut the suede with very little effort. As you might guess, the thinner the blade, the less resistance I encountered.

See also The Only 3 Lures You Need To Catch Redfish In The Summer

Bear & Son Rosewood Caper

Two nice features of the Bear & Son Rosewood Caper handle are 1) the choil adds excellent purchase and 2) the gimped thumb rest on the spine enables you to choke up on the blade.

The Bear & Son Rosewood Caper is a modern take on the classic trailing-point knife many of us grew up with. The upswept blade is devoted to cutting chores. The knife’s weight is very manageable and a natural leather belt sheath is included.

The Bear & Son has the second thinnest blade of the test group and placed second to the Russell in cutting out suede circles. I also tested the knives on slicing graceful curves and upward pull-through cuts and found the Bear & Son to have its own advantages.

The generously gimped thumb rest enables you to choke up on the blade, which allows more precision and force to be placed on the task at hand, and, just as importantly, with great comfort. Similarly, the index finger has a nice place to land in the reverse grip while executing pull-throughs, which makes skinning—an equally important part of caping—easier.

Puma SGB Smooth White Bone Caper

The Puma SGB Smooth White Bone Caper slices like a house afire, cutting strips of tanned leather with ease. Drop-point blades are skinners at heart and this little gem does the job well.

The Puma SGB Smooth White Bone Caper is the smallest of the test subjects but makes up for anything it may lack in size with stylish good looks. The decked-out caper boasts a hollow-ground recurved blade in a drop-point pattern. Like most all of the more budget-friendly SGB models, the blade is made in Germany and the knife is assembled in Asia.

The handle is curvaceous, tapering upward from the base to a bolster that serves as a guard. A round Puma shield graces the scales and a hole in the base has a leather lanyard attached. (I removed the lanyard for photographic purposes.)

Utica Shoehorn Elk 1

The Utica Shoehorn Elk I is the bull of the woods among the test capers. The blade is 4 inches long, 3.75 of that in cutting edge. Though similar in blade configuration to the Bear & Son offering below it, the Shoehorn Elk I dwarfs it in size.

The Utica Shoehorn Elk 1 is by far the largest of the test knives. The drop-point blade has a healthy choil and a two-inch dip on the spine that serves as a thumb rest. The handle sports ample, curvaceous scales. The knife weighs over twice that of any of the other review capers. Considering the knife’s size, the price is very reasonable.

The Shoehorn Elk 1 is not billed as a caper but it has a blade configuration very similar to that of the Bear & Son test model. The Elk in the name is a dead giveaway that the knife is meant for caping and skinning large game.

I deviated from the suede leather in testing the blade and went to something tougher. I glued together three layers of tight-patterned, corrugated postal board—stout stuff—and gave the knife a go at slicing it the hard way: across the grain. It took some pressure but the blade severed 5.25-inch lengths in single strokes. I have no doubt the Shoehorn Elk 1 could take on tough hide—even alligator scute. While the tip mauled the circle in the nickel-size precision test, it would perform much better on game proportionate to its size.

See also .225 Winchester for Whitetail Deer Hunting? Best Ammo (Round, Load, Cartridge) for a Successful Whitetail Deer Hunt Hunting Calibers 04 Apr, 2020 Posted By: Foundry Outdoors Is the .225 Winchester a viable caliber/load/round/cartridge for whitetail deer hunting? The accurate answer is “it depends”. However, the goal of this article is simply to address the question of whether the .225 Winchester is within the ideal range of suitable calibers to harvest whitetail deer. As with anything, the devil is in the details. To answer the question completely, we would need to evaluate the downrange distance to the whitetail deer, the bullet type, the grain weight of the bullet, the physical condition of the firearm, the size of the whitetail deer in question, the shot placement, the local wind conditions, the expected accuracy of the shooter, the ethics of the ideal maximum number of shots – the list goes on. [Click Here to Shop .225 Winchester Ammo]What we can do is provide a framework to understand what average conditions might look like, and whether those are reasonably viable for a shot from the average shooter to harvest a whitetail deer in the fewest number of shots possible, i.e., ethically. Let’s dive right in. In the question of “Is the .225 Winchester within the ideal range of suitable calibers for whitetail deer hunting?” our answer is: No, the .225 Winchester is UNDERKILL for whitetail deer hunting, under average conditions, from a mid-range distance, with a medium grain expanding bullet, and with correct shot placement.Let’s look at those assumptions a bit closer in the following table. Assumption Value Caliber .225 Winchester Animal Species Whitetail Deer Muzzle Energy 1560 foot-pounds Animal Weight 210 lbs Shot Distance 150 yardsWhat is the average muzzle energy for a .225 Winchester? In this case, we have assumed the average muzzle energy for a .225 Winchester round is approximately 1560 foot-pounds. What is the average weight of an adult male whitetail deer? Here we have leaned conservative by taking the average weight of a male individual of the species, since females generally weigh less and require less stopping power. In this case, the average weight of an adult male whitetail deer is approximately 210 lbs. [Click Here to Shop .225 Winchester Ammo]What is the distance this species is typically hunted from? Distance, of course, plays an important role in the viability of a given caliber in whitetail deer hunting. The kinetic energy of the projectile drops dramatically the further downrange it travels primarily due to energy lost in the form of heat generated by friction against the air itself. This phenonemon is known as drag or air resistance. Thus, a caliber that is effective from 50 yards may not have enough stopping power from 200 yards. With that said, we have assumed the average hunting distance for whitetail deer to be approximately 150 yards. What about the other assumptions? We have three other primary assumptions being made here. First, the average bullet weight is encapsulated in the average muzzle energy for the .225 Winchester. The second important assumption is ‘slightly-suboptimal’ to ‘optimal’ shot placement. That is to say, we assume the whitetail deer being harvested is shot directly or nearly directly in the vitals (heart and/or lungs). The third assumption is that a projectile with appropriate terminal ballistics is being used, which for hunting usually means an expanding bullet.Various calibersA common thread you may encounter in online forums is anecdote after anecdote of large animals being brought down by small caliber bullets, or small animals surviving large caliber bullets. Of course those stories exist, and they are not disputed here. A 22LR cartridge can fell a bull elephant under the right conditions, and a newborn squirrel can survive a 50 BMG round under other specific conditions. Again, the goal of this article is simply to address the question of whether .225 Winchester is within the ideal range of suitable calibers to harvest whitetail deer - and to this question, the response again is no, the .225 Winchester is UNDERKILL for whitetail deer hunting. [Click Here to Shop .225 Winchester Ammo]This article does not serve as the final say, but simply as a starting point for beginner hunters, as well as a venue for further discussion. Please feel free to agree, disagree, and share stories from your own experience in the comments section below. Disclaimer: the information above is purely for illustrative purposes and should not be taken as permission to use a particular caliber, a statement of the legality or safety of using certain calibers, or legal advice in any way. You must read and understand your own local laws before hunting whitetail deer to know whether your caliber of choice is a legal option.Foundry Outdoors is your trusted home for buying archery, camping, fishing, hunting, shooting sports, and outdoor gear online.We offer cheap ammo and bulk ammo deals on the most popular ammo calibers. We have a variety of deals on Rifle Ammo, Handgun Ammo, Shotgun Ammo & Rimfire Ammo, as well as ammo for target practice, plinking, hunting, or shooting competitions. Our website lists special deals on 9mm Ammo, 10mm Ammo, 45-70 Ammo, 6.5 Creedmoor ammo, 300 Blackout Ammo, 10mm Ammo, 5.56 Ammo, Underwood Ammo, Buffalo Bore Ammo and more special deals on bulk ammo.We offer a 100% Authenticity Guarantee on all products sold on our website. Please email us if you have questions about any of our product listings. Leave a commentComments have to be approved before showing up Your Name * Your Email * Your Comment * Post Comment

Finding The Best Caper

All of the knives brought something to the table in the tests. For tight precision caping on small-to-medium game, the Russell and Bear & Son capers were virtually neck-and-neck—the former slightly more geared to precision, the latter a tad more versatile. The Puma SGB excelled more in slicing and a bit less in precision. The Utica can handle the tough hide of larger game the others can only dream of.

Bottom line, it’s really just a matter of choosing which caper fits your needs the best.

Read More

The Best Knife Handle-To-Blade Ratio