Caping Knife, D2 Steel with Bone Handle and Leather Sheath
Caping Knife, D2 Steel with Bone Handle and Leather Sheath
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- Engraving adds 3 to 5 business days.
- We engrave your text exactly as typed, so double check the spelling.
- We send a proof image before we engrave.
- Engraved blades cannot be returned or exchanged unless the blade itself is defective.
Caping is the fine work around the head and cape of an animal when a hunter wants the hide kept clean for a mount. A caping knife is small on purpose, so the point follows bone and cartilage around an eye or an ear without cutting through the skin. This one is D2 tool steel with a satin finish and a dark forged spine, a narrow point on a shallow belly and a slim white cow bone handle. It is full tang, and it comes with a small hand stitched leather pouch sheath.
Specification
| Blade steel | D2 tool steel |
| Blade finish | Satin with a dark forged spine |
| Tang | Full tang |
| Handle material | White cow bone, two steel pins |
| Bolster or guard | None |
| Sheath | Brown leather pouch sheath, hand stitched |
| Engraving | Laser engraving, 20 dollars per blade |
| Made in | Forged and finished by hand in High Point, North Carolina. |
| Warranty | Lifetime warranty against defects, free sharpening for life. |
The blade
D2 holds an edge longer than any steel we run, and caping is where that pays. The cuts are short, repeated and made right against bone and hair, which pulls an edge down fast, and a blade that lasts the whole cape saves you stopping in the middle of delicate work. D2 is semi stainless and high in chromium, so blood and damp do not mark it the way they mark plain carbon steel. The honest trade comes at the stone, because once a D2 edge goes it takes patience to bring it back.
The handle
Cow bone is close grained and pale, and it polishes to a clean white with faint natural markings showing through. The handle is kept slim because caping is finger work. You choke up toward the point and roll the knife with your fingertips, and a thick grip gets in the way of that. Two steel pins run through the tang and hold the scales. Bone is a natural material, so the color runs anywhere from white to cream and no two handles come out matching.
Who it suits
This is a specialist and nobody buys it as their only knife. It rides in the pack next to a skinner and comes out when a big blade would ruin the hide around a head.
- Hunters who take their trophies to a taxidermist
- Anyone who capes their own animals at home
- Hunters who already own a skinner
- Someone building out a hunting kit piece by piece
What comes in the box
- The caping knife
- A hand stitched brown leather pouch sheath
- A care card
- A free laser engraving quote on request
Every piece is different
Every knife here is forged, ground and finished by hand, so runs stay small and no two are alike. The color of the bone, its natural markings and the look of the satin finish will vary from the photographs. Yours will be its own piece.
Looking after it
Wash it by hand and dry it right away. Never the dishwasher and never left soaking, since dishwasher damage voids the warranty. D2 is semi stainless rather than stainless, so wipe it and oil it before it goes away. Store it dry, and let wet leather dry away from heat. Sharpen on a whetstone at roughly 20 degrees per side and finish on a strop. No pull through sharpeners. More in our knife care and sharpening page.
Put a name on it
Laser engraving is 20 dollars per blade and you add it on this page. Around 30 characters fits on a blade, and on a small one like this a longer message sits better on the sheath. We send a proof image before the laser runs, and it adds 3 to 5 business days. Clean line art engraves cleanly. See the engraving page.
Questions buyers ask
What is a caping knife for? The fine work around the head and cape when the hide has to stay clean for a mount.
Why is the blade so small? Control. A short blade and a fine point let you steer with your fingertips around eyes, ears and lips.
Does the bone handle need looking after? Very little. Keep it out of the dishwasher and out of long soaks, and wipe it dry after use.
Will this steel rust? D2 resists it well but is not fully stainless. Dry it after use and oil it before storage.
How sharp is it out of the box? Sharpened by hand and inspected before it ships, so it arrives ready to work. Sharpening is free for life afterward.
Can you engrave it? Yes, 20 dollars per blade, with a proof image first and 3 to 5 business days added. On a blade this narrow the sheath is often better.
The Damascus skinning knife with a bone handle matches the handle and does the skinning, and the gut hook knife in D2 and olive wood shares the steel. The rest of the range sits in hunting knives, this steel runs through D2 tool steel, and the handle carries on in bone handle knives.