Absolute best hunting/skinning knife?

I second the Dozier suggestion. Check out his knives at www.knifeart.com

You probably could not get a better user grade hunter anywhere. His D2 steel is legendary for edge holding. GenO Dennings knives are superb as well.

Marbles, AG Russell, Spydie Moran would all be very good choices. Also consider a Fallkniven F1 or WM1. These are excellent knives and well within your price range.

BTW: There is NO absolute best knife by any company or maker for any purpose at any price range. Only you can decide what is Best for you. It's always relative.

Happy Hunting!

Paracelsus
 
Here's the Marbles Hunter. If you are going after a critter with a lot of hide to skin out, this would be a good one.
http://www.marblearms.com/hunter.html

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Hoodoo

Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?

The Merchant of Venice, Act IV. Scene I.
 
DOZIER I have several and I use them all! Can't be beat for the price!

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Marine Sniper Motto:
There's no use Running, you'll only Die Tired!
 
Check into the Fallkniven F1. Nice knife for around $65. I bought one to try this season along with a On Scene Tactical concealex sheath. Whole outfit for ~$100. Last season I used a Gerber Gator. The model with the drop point ATS34 blade, good knife for $45. If all else fails go with a $25 Wyoming knife. I have one just for skinning, not much good quartering or deboning deer.
 
How about a Buck Skinner AND a Buck Pathfinder, and get change back from your $100 bill. I know, 420HC is not a wonder steel, but it is good and very stain/corrosion resistant. The two knives are well suited for game chores and will hold an edge, between the two of them, as well as one high end knife. Best of all, if you lose one, you still have a knife.
 
Fallkniven or Marble's -- both excellent choices. The 52100 on the Marble's is an excellent steel and comes amazingly sharp, some of the sharpest factory edges (convex) I've encountered. There's also the Grohmann line, too, one of my personal favorites for two reasons: ergonomics and price.
 
Originally posted by Tom Marshman:
Fallkniven or Marble's -- both excellent choices. The 52100 on the Marble's is an excellent steel and comes amazingly sharp, some of the sharpest factory edges (convex) I've encountered. There's also the Grohmann line, too, one of my personal favorites for two reasons: ergonomics and price.
Click to expand...

Hi Tom,
I see you have the Grohmann Camper and others offered in carbon. Have you handled the Grohmann carbon blades and if so, how would you compare them to the stainless? Do you know what kind of carbon steel they use and the hardness?




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Hoodoo

Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?

The Merchant of Venice, Act IV. Scene I.
 
The Spyderco Moran is definately a bang for the buck. Excellent hunting knife. Hard to be beat for the money. The Spyderco Wegner is no slouch either and for those of you that dont like to use folders Spyderco may be coming out with a fixed blade version (check the Spyderco forum).

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Dennis Bible
 
Hi Hoodoo,

I have not done a ton of work with the carbon Grohmanns yet. The good thing is they feel identical in the hand. I have had great reports back from customers on the German C70 carbon models taking a nice edge.

I did a search of about five sites and found nothing on the matrix of this steel. There was a C95, which appeared to be an equivalent of 1095, so my guess is it's close to the 100 series (1084?) in content and according to Grohmann comes in at 56-58RC.

As an aside, Grohmann customers almost always mention their grandfathers or fathers having a DH Russell and the fond memories brought back upon owning one. Kind of like Old Hickory memories...

 
AS I have posted before, the Corbet Sigman Working Hunters start at $80 for carbon steel, guardless and are truly superb. Corbet has been making knives for over 39 years and thier is no one that does a better job. His collector grade knives are flawless! His skinner has such a curvee and is so flawless, it is hard to beleive that a human being could make such a blade!
 
I am new to this list, have spent a few hours reviewing the discussions, as well as surfing, so I am not ENTIRELY a newby. I would like to modify the original question, eliminating the $100 limit. I am a hunter, and am looking for what this community feels is the best skinning folder. I feel that a great skinner must hold a sharp edge as long as possible, and therefore, given the tradeoffs of various steels, cannot be used for bone, etc, and will not be as tough as other blades. I am just talking about skinning, and holding the edge as long as possible. I don't care how long it takes to sharpen (there is a lot of time aroung the campfire). Would a full-bellied CPM 440V be the best skinner? What is your recommendation? Thanks.

 
Ahhh..NOW we're going to have a discussion! You may want to start a new thread "Best custom folder for skinning" or something like that.
Being that you want belly on a skinner, and realizing that most custom folders aren't made for skinning, it's a tough call. My first response was the large Sebenza, for it's utility blade shape and the fact that you can completely dissassemble it to clean out the blood and hair when you're done. Surprisingly, the best skinning-style blade I've seen lately on a folder is the ATS-34 Gerber Gator. The first time I held one my mind immediately went "SKINNER!". But you probably want something a little more "custom". I do too.
Let's see where this goes when everyone else gets involved.
Go to dozierknives.com and check out Bob's folders. Be sure to keep in mind the dimensions, though, as I've heard a few folks say that they're a bit smaller than anticipated.
Also go to knifeart.com and look at the tactical folders. You may see something there that tickles your fancy.
And of course I'd email Les Robertson (robertsoncustomcutlery.com) to get his input. In fact, that would be the first thing I'd do.
Good luck!
 
Another word about the Gerber Gator drop point - just saw where it now comes in 154cm steel. If its better than ATS-34 then its a deal, same price ~ $45.
 
Originally posted by nelsondl:
I would like to modify the original question, eliminating the $100 limit. I am a hunter, and am looking for what this community feels is the best skinning folder.
Click to expand...

Great topic! However, in fairness to the original poster, rather than change the nature of the original thread, it might be better to start another.

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Hoodoo

Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?

The Merchant of Venice, Act IV. Scene I.

[This message has been edited by Hoodoo (edited 09-10-2000).]
 
Though the blunt, rounded, non-piercing styled, intended for skinning point of the PUMA WHITE HUNTER II is perhaps not the most versitile field point, it is a dandy for skinning and related game chores. The sharpened portion of the pine os great for chopping and wacking things that you would not want to hit with your cuttinng edge. The one with the Kraton handle is under $100 and very functional for its intended uses.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I have looked at the Gerber Gator ATS, and the blade shape is excellent and it has a killer price ($60 range). However, its weight is high (5 oz) for this size knife (may be the Kraton/Zytel handle). I also like the Benchmade 750's single-handed opening (I am holding one in my hand now) and solid lock. A lot of weight could be saved, however, with a thinner Titanium handle. What do you guys think of the 770?

No one has mentioned any knife of CPT 440V. I read from other postings that it had much superior edge retention. I know the trade-offs with toughness, but for skinning edge retention is the deciding factor.
 
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