Preventing Knife Cuts in the Field

[AlaskaHunter]

An inexpensive fillet glove on the non-knife hand prevents cuts from a knife slipping while butchering.
Loaned mine to the youngster in the photo skinning out a bull moose for the first time....4 hours of work in waders.
The glove on his left hand is a coated steel mesh fillet glove.

I throw mine in the washer with my meat TAG bags, hang to dry, and good to go for the next fall's kill kit.

 

[WestKyHunt]

I've been throwing around the idea of these for several years. For whatever reason I've never bought one

 

[Gellar]

Good idea! Had a young hunter cut himself pretty bad in our deer hunting group. I used paper towels and electrical tape to apply enough pressure to stop bleeding but he had to be done hunting for the day to go get a couple stitches. That option is not possible on a remote moose hunt.

 

[blackdawg]

I also use the cut-proof glove on the off-hand, standard equipment the last few years. You can find a variety of the for cheap, I do recommend putting the glove in your pocket and pre-warming it. Just like steel toed boots in the cold weather on my hand.

 

[BrentD]

There are very inexpensive carving gloves that are kevlar I believe. Lighter and warmer than steel?

I like the idea of a glove on my off hand. I've cut myself plenty of times. Even if not requiring stitches (once), spending a week in the woods with a sore, mildly infected finger sort of sucks.

good thread. I think I will throw one of those gloves in my hunting pack's butch kit for next year.

 

[Dougfirtree]

That's a great idea. Thanks! I lost a day of elk hunting once, when my buddy (who tagged out before me), cut his finger badly quartering his elk.

 

[devon deer]

I am my own worst enemy, I have one, but don't use it, bought for me by my farmer friend after I cut tendons in my wrist, she occasionally asks if I use it.
I just try to be more careful these days and make sure my knife is Sharp, blunt knives cause accidents.
Cheers
Richard

 

[OntarioHunter]

I can still count the suture marks and scar between first finger and thumb on my left hand from trying to gut my first buck in the dark. 1967 and Dad had to drive us seventy miles to Lewistown hospital. On the way back to camp my brother and I were talking about the old country doctor character who sewed me up. Dad was unusually quiet. "Hey, Dad. That doc was sure a funny guy." He snapped back, "For $75 he should have been Jack Benny." Ookay then. You could have heard a pin drop in the cab of our 1964 Ford 150 all the way to the trailer.

I probably should have one of those filet gloves but I hate wearing anything on my hands when working. Cut off a moose rack yesterday for client cap mount. No gloves and that skull was putrid! Not smart. Gotta stop that.

Thanks for posting this great suggestion.

 

[mdhunter]

Yup...going to add one to the bag. Thanks.

 

[LuketheDog]

I use the inexpensive kevlar gloves and just wear one on my non-knife hand.

 

[NEWHunter]

I carry one of the cut resistant gloves (not the steel mesh) in my pack and wear one when butchering at home. It certainly has saved me from some cuts and I have never cut through one. Has anybody really gashed themselves when wearing one of these cut resistant gloves? Just wondering how resistant they are.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

...

...

... good god I'm a moron

@AlaskaHunter thanks but also you're about 8 years too late

 

[rwc101]

I was dead tired and hungry to the point of having the shakes while trimming the last bit of neck meat from my elk this season when my Vital slipped and hit my other wrist. Stopped the knife soon enough that the cut was comparable to a bad papercut. I think I'll throw one of these in the kill kit for next season.

 

[BucksnDucks]

Good post. I've sliced the hand a few times and been around to see two guys go to the ER from skinning. Both the bad cuts were when the Havalons just came on the scene. One of those cuts would have been very serious in the backcountry.

 

[Rzrbck918]

I would recommend the steel mesh glove with liner in it. I have had a couple sets of level 5 resistant gloves that did cut through with a heavy knife. It wasn't during skinning but it scared me off it.

 

[Bambistew]

This is a good tip, there are lots of "cut safe" type work gloves that work just as well or better than a fillet glove. I wear them all the time while hunting/hiking and bring a spare for butchering and caping. They don't rinse out quite as well as the fillet glove, but are more comfortable

 

[pre6422hornet]

Yeah... New Mexico 2015. 7.5 miles from the truck in the Pecos Wilderness. My bull is down and my partner ( NM Game and Fish Officer), who has quartered out more elk than he cares to remember, and I are going the gutless method. We both have Havalon Pirhanna's with extra blades.

As I am attempting to remove the second tenderloin from inside the body cavity I slipped, my hand caught on something, I don't remember. I felt the blade go into my non blade hand. I pulled my hands out and the blade is stuck inside the base of my thumb. " oh crap" I say and my partner looks at me and deadpan asks " you aren't on blood thinners are you?". "NO".
"Good because I am not running 7.5 miles down to the truck, then drive 20 miles to a cell signal to get back here and find you bled out".... He wasn't kidding.

I ended up doing what others have said. I stuffed a bunch of TP into the wound and wrapped my hand in electrical tape. 16 hours later we had the meat within a mile from the truck and were back at camp completely exhausted. I always carry a bar of ivory soap with me and scrubbed it out. I carry that scar and every time I field dress an animal it is a reminder to slow down and take my time. My kids have heard that story many many times as well to remind them as well.

I still have that Havalon but never use it anymore. I broke 3 or 4 blades that morning as did my partner and to our horror we naturally couldn't find the broken blades on the forest floor. Our fault probably, but to hear than blade snap and fling into the air sucked. To leave those razor sharp blades killed me as I am a strict no litter person. I now use a fixed blade of my own design with steel known to hold an edge an extremely long time, 8670. My partner has one as well.

These gloves are a great idea!

 

[OntarioHunter]

As an addition, everyone should make sure tetanus shots are up to date before hunting season ... for obvious reasons specific to this thread.

 

[88man]

A close friend while de boning a BEEF prime rib stuck the knife plunged the knife deep into his groin. He almost died and had to be transported to the hospital via life flight. I always think of this when we are in the field butchering our big game animals in the dark/cold/tired/on slopes yada yada way less than ideal locations and multiple knives working on one animal. BE CAREFULL SLOW DOWN.

 

[hank4elk]

I'm so dumb....I have a fillet glove,somewhere.