Help - dungeness crab killing and cleaning device - survey

[danielhoffman]

Hi All,

I have filed a provisional patent for a device which simultaneously kills and cleans Dungeness crab. It is a simple, hand operated device which splits the crab in half, instantly killing it while simultaneously pulling all the guts out. I can kill and clean 10 Dungeness crab in under 2 minutes using the device. It has been very useful for me personally, but I would like the opinion of the greater crabbing/fishing community. I know there are several, fairly easy methods for cleaning and killing crab by hand, but I am wondering, is this something you would like or use? The cost would be approximately $20, the weight is about 2lbs. I would really appreciate any criticism, concerns or comments before attempting to move towards commercialization. You are doing me a HUGE favor by providing me with your opinion before I go spending my life savings. Let me know if you would like any other information.

Thank you!

Danny

 

[eugene1]

Well, I guess this isn't spam, right?, but it seems odd for a first post.

Not sure why anyone would need such a device though, you can just boil them whole, or bust 'em in half. But, honestly, without pics or a better description of your device, how can we evaluate it?? Why not post a video of the device in use since you have a provisional patent, shouldn't be a problem.

Anyway, welcome to the forum,

 

[DrTheopolis]

My only concern, is how much money will you make per unit sold, versus how many units you can sell in ten years?

I'm all for someone coming up with a better mousetrap and making a mint OFF it, I'm just skeptical about how many you can sell, and how many you need to sell to get to break-even.

Best of luck.

 

[danielhoffman]

Here is a conceptual rendering. The functionality has been proven. The question is whether there is a demand for it. Thank you for your feedback!

 

[eugene1]

Ok, Dan, that looks like it would whack them pretty good! Where do you usually get your crabs from and do you just rinse the guts out in a bucket of water or is there another part of the device that cleans the guts out?

I always boil my dungies whole, but I know some people will clean them first. Not sure if your invention is worth spending the life savings on since it could be copied by a guy in the garage but I'm a scientist and not an inventor.

Best,

 

[Casting Call]

Hi Dan! Welcome to the fourm. You have picked the best place for opinions. Theire are a lot of fisherpersons on this site that would love to test your cleaner. I have several concerns. Is it safe to use? Will it contain a live crab from shifting around causing you to stick your hand inside the cutting area? contamination of guts to meat be avoided? Containment of waste run off, juices and such? I belive the best test you can do is field testing, from cleaning to taste test after cooking. Now for a few notes: some people soak theire catch in beer to calm the crab down to avoid trauma on the way to the cooking pot to preserve the sweetness of the meat. (what a waste of beer); spliting and freshwater cleaning a crab before cooking may lose a lot of natural juices of flavor and may also deeply contaminate the crab meat with unesessary flavors. I see the voting did not look good for your new found fortune. I know your life savings didn't come easy. so here is my advice.One of Colin Powell's conmandments" ask enough pepole and someone WILL say no". Accum Razor rule reads" the first thought or instinct is most of the time the correct one" Go with what you belive weather it be science or faith. I voted NO. Good luck Tony

 

[jamisonace]

I like it and I would probably buy something like that just for a convenient way to split them. I always clean my crab before cooking and if I'm not at a fish cleaning station I'm usually looking for a good place to split them. Having them cleaned by the device would be a bonus for me.

 

[rogerdodger]

it is interesting but I voted no. this image is my cleaning station, on the left side you can see a piece of 1/8" thick aluminum that I added. to clean live crab, I just whack it down on that to cut into the bottom, flip them over on the table, grab each side of legs and with sort of a turn/twist motion, I have half the crab in each hand and most all the gunk is left in the carapace... cheers, roger

 

[danielhoffman]

Answers to your questions

Answers to your questions

I will try to answer all of the questions at once:

I would likely not spend my life savings(although with the amount in my bank account that wouldn't be too hard), instead I would start a kickstarter (kickstarter.com) for funding. I would likely offer discounted price first production units in turn for funding.

Where do the guts go? The crab is placed in the device, belly up. When the blade swings down, the shell and all the guts fall out below, leaving the legs and shoulder meat above. This method separates the meat and the guts very quickly, avoiding contamination. You would want to do this over the water or over a garbage or sink.

Is it safe? Yes, the crab is sufficiently contained in the device and its legs are sandwiched between the two plates on either side. The blade is not sharp, it is a 1/8" aluminum plate, which will not cut you.

Some people frown upon splitting the crab before cooking, as you may lose flavor the guts provide during the cooking process. However, I know many people, including myself, who prefer to cook the crab while they are as fresh as possible, on the spot with seawater, which if you have a sizable haul of crab, you will need to kill and clean first in order to fit into the pot.

Rodger: That is a great cleaning station. The device would serve as mobile cleaning station, that you can take and store on your boat, or wherever you want to clean your crab if you don't have a cleaning station.

Thank you all, your feedback has been awesome!

 

[alm21]

Split, clean and steam. That's the process we use as soon as we pull the boat out the water so portability is key. I'd consider buying it if it actually cleans the crab well enough. Just not sure how the lungs would come off with your tool but would love to see a demo.

 

[danielhoffman]

Video

Video

Split, clean and steam. That's the process we use as soon as we pull the boat out the water so portability is key. I'd consider buying it if it actually cleans the crab well enough. Just not sure how the lungs would come off with your tool but would love to see a demo.

Hi All,

Thank you for all of your feedback. Here is a youtube video of the FIRST prototype in action. This prototype is proof of concept only! It is not what the product will look like! For example, we held the crabs legs down while we split it, where in the most recent design that is not necessary. But as you can see, the device splits the crab and removes all of the guts and gills. Sorry for the poor video, it was meant for research purposes only.

Thanks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpAaQxk2NM4

 

[troutmasta]

Cool device! I hate cleaning crab. Id buy one.

 

[DYJ]

I'd use one, but wouldn't buy one cause of the size (small boat) and the fact that I can break em on the edge of the cleaning table at the boat ramp.

 

[jigfish]

I love eating those crabs

 

[n8r1]

I always cook my crabs whole first, then clean them. Would it split/clean a cooked crab?

 

[fishtales]

I'd buy one. But, I would probably end up using it in the kitchen. Where is it meant to be used and have you thought about adding a universal mount?

 

[halibuthitman]

I like it, but at $20 it wont fly, your demographic of coast recreational crabbers is too small, find a way to make it also do something else to increase the number of folks who would want it- good luck-

 

[bass]

Here is the technique I learned.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP9V60tSX50#

On the down side, I think that what you have is nice and it looks like it works very nicely but that it does not offer much an advantage over the technique in the video. I am not sure how much effort you put into the search process, but I would definitely put a lot of effort into looking to make sure that something similar is not already patented. Also, you want to make sure you have a defensible patent, not just a granted patent.

If it does look like a go and you get the patent you might want to pursue selling the idea to Danlieson's or someone like that while you are selling early versions yourself. I am sure you would be able to sell some of these but you need to consider whether would full recoup the legal costs to get a solid patent filed.

No matter what you decide to do take a lot of pride in the fact that you invented something that is pretty cool!

Best of luck.

 

[alm21]

I like it, but at $20 it wont fly, your demographic of coast recreational crabbers is too small, find a way to make it also do something else to increase the number of folks who would want it- good luck-

Add a bottle opener and you're set.

It was hard for me to see what happens with the guts and gills in the video but that would be the tipping point for me. Currently, we split them down the center like your tool so it would be the quick clean aspect that would sell me.

 

[danielhoffman]

I always cook my crabs whole first, then clean them. Would it split/clean a cooked crab?

It definitely would.