All About Pocket Knives

How rare is this picture?

I’ve seen copies of that in Smokey Mountain Knife Works store. They have these framed for purchase in the lowest level with all the kitchen and household items. If it’s one of those reproductions, not rare at all.

I’ve nerves seen that picture, but the scene is very familiar. I’ve seen my dad dock tails with a pocket knife before.

SMKW sometimes has reprints of it and other advertising prints for sale in their catalog.

Ken

I'm curious why they cut the tails.

I'm gonna go out on a limb Joe and say, for show purposes?

Yep, all of the family German Shorthaired Pointers have bobbed tails. Dobermans have their ears snipped.

Is it done for showing the dogs John? Thx!

Living with a long tail dog I can tell you one reason they cut the tail. It’s like a whip hitting you when they wag. When my Bristol gets excited she can whip you pretty hard right on the back of your legs and it feels like a bull whip hitting you. My other dogs wince when she passes by, they get hit in the eyes and their bodies with that tail. I think another reason for cutting tails is to avoid a long tail dog from breaking their tails as well.

When I was a little feller, my mother, who was an RN, instructed my dad when docking the tails of a litter of Cocker spaniels. They used a sawhorse for work table and some sort of a hatchet to do the job. Whenever I see that Keenkutter ad I’m reminded of that day. I do remember, the puppies still had their eyes closed and there was hardly any blood loss.
Treefarmer

Thanks guys.

What Joe said!

My Dad and his friends were like veterinarians. They had Beagles for rabbit hunting and did everything themselves. Somehow they had all the shots delivered by mail. I was never part of a tail cutting but I think they must have done it.

The whip tails are very difficult to live with.

The dogs with longer fur on their tails are difficult to keep stickie burs out of.

Can’t think of any reason to keep a long tail on a dog.

I can't add anything about tail cutting ( although we have a Yorkshire that has a short tail).
I do really like the original ad on the post. Unfortunately is today's society where
everyone is offended by something, a knife company today would be afraid to post
an ad like that.

Bob