I received a Cabela's cutlery catalog in the mail the other day and I noticed more than a few small fix-bladed knives that look like they could be quite handy. The one from Gerber on page 8 is particularly attractive. However, I'm unfamiliar with the term "caping."

Typo for "camping"?

Caping is removing the skin or cape of an animal.

Caping is removing the animals hide. Typically you "cape" out a hide to preserve it for a flat mount like a bear hide for a rug mount.

I had always heard "caping" to refer to the process used in preparing an animal for a shoulder mount, i.e., cutting all the way around the body just behind the shoulder and peeling the skin up to just behind the ears (as opposed to skinning, i.e., removing the entire pelt). Maybe it's a local dialect thing.

The knives I see advertised as "caping" knives tend to look different from the ones I see advertised as "skinning" knives ("caping" knives having a longer, thinner, narrower blade with a fine point, usually).

Jimmy is right. Caping is removing the skin for taxidermy, but the shoulders and head only. You use a thin bladed, pointy knife because of all the fine delicate work.

Thank you. I learn something on this forum almost every day.

I respectfully disagree guys, caping is when you dress up like batman, everybody knows that...


lol

quote:

Originally posted by swiss_seth:
I respectfully disagree guys, caping is when you dress up like batman, everybody knows that...


lol

Seth, to keep this on topic, you should have said "like Zorro, the gay blade"