What do you guys use to scrape out the more difficult innards like the lungs? We cleaned our first chickens the other day, and that turned out to be the most tedious task. I've read where people mention "lung scrapers," but I was curious if you guys used a different method.

My friend Yasu who is a big knife enthusiast says that you should expect to ruin 2-3 blades before you learn to sharpen well. Of course, as a purist, his definition of "ruined" is a bit different than mine. Find someone who knows how to do it, bring them a nice little present, and have them teach you. It will save you many hours of frustration and give you a valuable skill to pass on when you become known as "the knife guy/lady."

(I am still busy ruining my first blade. But I hope to start ruining a second after Christmas...)

@Eric- I definitely agree that the best way to learn a lot of things, probably including all kinds of knife knowledge, would be to ask someone to show me, hands-on. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone who could do that for me. I asked a neighbor who is a lifelong hunter how to sharpen a knife, but his show and tell was pretty brief- maybe a present would have helped!

Thanks, Anna, for the tips. It's great to have you guys sharing your hands-on knowledge. Almost like having a neighbor who actually explains things...

Hands down the best knives for butchering are Forcshner, most butcher shops use and what i did was ask my butcher if I could order some from him and he agreed, they are expensive, but they hold a good edge. I use mine for everything from throat slitting (on chickens) and as a cleaver for separating the neck and head.

I generally resharpen mine every few chickens just to ensure that I have a sharp sharp edge for a quick, clean kill.