Looking good - I sure do hate those gut hooks.... well, maybe "hate" is too strong a word. Sometimes it's hard to get the gut hook as sharp as I wish.
Does he hunt deer or elk? Elk would require a bigger hook for their skin. I’ve used dremel drums to shape then and to sharpen them.
On your next one you should make the hook a little wider CD. for anything other than thin skinned whitetails that hook might not cut too good.
especially hogs that are all mucked up with dirt and mud. I use a round file to start it but then go back with diamond files to thin out the radius and get as much cutting surface in there as possible.
I don't think anyone likes making them though they are a serious pain to me, here's one I made a while back...and I just finished another last week.
I'll post a picture of it after I make the sheath sometime this week
For sharpening stuff like that, I usually end up wrapping sandpaper onto a file or a dowel.Thanks! I haven't even figured that part out yet. I have some chainsaw files. I think I might need a ceramic rod or two as well.
I now use a 1/2” small wheel on the 2 x 72 to grind my gut hooks. I go to a 600 grit belt, then use a 1/2” aluminum rod I made wrapped with 800 grit paper to sharpen the gut hook.
I must be the odd one who likes making gut hooks. One trick is to start with a raised spine to grind the gut hook into. View attachment 81231