McMillan is best known for its lines of ultra-accurate high-end hunting and tactical rifles, but it also offers custom hunting knives. Recently, McMillan added to that line a small caping knife that's specifically designed for the fine, detailed cutting necessary when removing a hide that's going to be mounted.
When caping an animal, you don't just remove the hide from the head, you also have to split the lips, nose, and eyelids, and also turn the ears inside out all the way to the tips. And you have to do all of that preferably without cutting a hole through the cape or yourself. I ran a small taxidermy shop before getting into publishing, and have some experience when it comes to what works and what doesn't for caping. What works is a sharp blade–one that's fine, nimble and light, but not so light that it “flutters” around in your hand. For me, caping in the field always meant two knives–one a Victorinox 3 1/4-inch paring knife, and the other a small X-Acto knife with an extra pack of replacement blades. After removing the cape, I'd find a smooth stone about the size of a baseball and stretch the hide over that so I could carefully pare down areas using the Victorinox, and when I got to the delicate areas, I'd switch over to the X-Acto and its razors.
It would be nice to do both the major and fine work with a single knife, so I'm anxious to give the new McMillan a try this hunting season. I see several things going for it as a possible one knife replacement for my two. For one thing, I like its size.¬† Like the paring knife I've been using, the McMillan Caping Knife is big enough to manage making a “Y” or “7” incision at the back of the skull, but is also small enough that you can control it during that incision. Another thing I like are the small serrations along the top of the blade so you can more easily control it using your finger. That's the type of control needed around the lips, nose and eyes. Finally, it's made for McMillan by DiamondBlade and from what I've read on DiamondBlade, the darn things just stay sharp.
If it holds its edge, then this knife should be just the thing for guides who cape their client's trophies. For everyone else, it's a handy size for general utility and camp use.–Scott Mayer