What kind of knife?

[silkiechicken]

I use:

But that's just to decapitate after cervical dislocation.

 

[dancingbear]

We use a boning knife, similar to this one,

(not the same brand) but I think Del got ours in the sporting goods section at Walmart, in the hunting area. We keep it razor sharp, and it works great. Keeps a good edge.

We use the Chef's Choice electric sharpener that both Scubaforlife and Petrelline mentioned, and use a good chef's steel from Chicago cutlery for touch ups. You can slice right under the jaw, where the feathers are absent or very thin, or if there are some feathers there, sort of part them and get the blade on the skin, before slicing. Sawing through feathers will dull your knife in a hurry.

To remove the head, after the bird is bled out, I cut only the soft tissue all the way around, then twist to break the neck, and twist the head right off, so I don't dull my knife on the neckbones. You can turn the knife so the dull side is toward the bone, and stick the knife in alongside the bone, cutting the tissue outward, away from the bone. The closer to the head you cut, the easier it is to remove. The further down the neck you get, the bigger the vertebrae, and harder to break. The connection between skull and neck is a natural fragile point, so it's easier to remove the head at that point.

 

[Burbs]

I like this one for killing.........

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000638D32?tag=hotdealsorg-20

It has a decent length and feels good in the hand.

I have a couple of these for eviscerating. The smaller blade makes it easier to handle the more delicate parts of cleaning.....

http://www.amazon.com/RH-Forschner-...?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1274658836&sr=1-22

The handle on both knives are non-slip rubber. Very nice when your gloves start to get a little wet/greasy. Best thing about them is they are inexpensive, hold an edge well, and can be used in the kitchen when not being utilized for more gruesome tasks.

 

[Buster52]

I'm having second thoughts about slitting. I watched a friend do it to a 150 pound goat today and I swear it passed out in seconds. It looked like it didn't know what had happened before it was already out.

Next week a pal trained by Joel Salatin is going to show me how to slit meat birds at his place. I'm hoping it is as smooth as this was. Makes a big difference when one is skilled at it, I think.

 

[MuranoFarms]

Thanks for all the answers! I need to go shopping before we do our next set of roos!

I agree buster52! I'm having someone very experienced help me next time. I have a feeling it will make a big difference!

 

[nivtup]

I use a 6" fillet knife. Freshly sharpened.

 

[JohnL11935]

Any SHARP, thin-blade knife is suitable for slitting arteries.

I find many people can be challenged trying to keep their knife edge is good shape. I generally recommend they purchase a large 'box cutter' knife with several extra disposable razor blades.

 

[dancingbear]

I prefer a longer blade to get a deep cut. I tried using a scalpel, (much sharper than a box cutter) but I had to cut twice to get any depth. I can do deep cuts, one on each side of the neck, more easily and faster, with a longer blade. It'll stay sharp, if you avoid sawing through feathers, or trying to cut bone.

 

[justbugged]

We use a 6 inch J.A. Henckels’s utility knife. We also have a wet stone that we use to keep it sharp. Between the 6 inch knife and the paring knife, they are all that we needed to have to take care of 28 meat birds.

 

[danschicks]

I use the "Sportsman" knife from the Ronco knife set. (yes the one on the info-mercials). Never needs sharpening and makes quick work of processing. I bought the set of like 25 knives from Wal-mart.