Best knife for skinning deer.

There are some great knives recommened in this thread, will have to check a couple of them out.

Right now I've been field dressing my deer with my spyderco endura 50/50.

The serrated edge does a great job cutting though the breast bone.
 
elkins45 said:
Have you seen the Butt Out tool? I used one last year--one of the best hunting gadgets of all time! It makes the bungholectomy (love that term!) completely effortless and not at all messy. It and an old bread tie or a piece of string are all you need to make a dirty task almost effortless.
Click to expand...

+1. I carry a little 4 inch zip tie. Works great, really seals off, dont have to mess with tying anything.





This year deer season I am using a Swamp Rat Vexilarus. Looks to be about perfect. Last year I used a Hairy Carry, and it was excellent.
 
iwannamakeknives said:
Hey guys, I am looking for a new knife to use to skin and quarter deer. It will be used primarily on whitetail. What is your recommendation?
Click to expand...

You didn't state your budget. Don't have any myself (yet) but every review I've read places these near the top if not #1
http://www.diamondbladeknives.com/productList.aspx

If you believe their marketing, at 2 deer a year it'll be 25+ years before the knife needs to be re-sharpened. You should still use a saw or hatchet to breakdown the pelvis
 
Check out Dozier knives.. I have a bunch.. I love the K2 and it is Dozier top seller for a
Reason. Leadtimes can be long from Dozier. Dan Crotts made me a Walter Brend design skinner
that is spectacular!! Plus Dans leadtime is weeks not months. Tom Krein makes a fabulous mini skinner
that is on my wishlist. I prefer Orange G10 on my knives, it sure makes it easy in the field when field dressing. Before I went to Orange, I was always looking for that darn knife after I set it down..The master skinner is awesome, especially for guys with big hands. The Yukon pro skinner from Dozier is another winner! As a side note, the Brown Bear in my Avatar was skinned by my guide in Alaska with a small Queen knife in D2. In 8 hunts with the same guide all he ever used was this little Queen. When the blade got dull he would just touch it up and get back to work. From moose, sheep, black bear, brown bear, wolves this traditional knife is all he cared to use. He always joked about hunters showing up with. 5-6 inch hunting knives..
Good luck in your search...
 
elkins45 said:
Have you seen the Butt Out tool? I used one last year--one of the best hunting gadgets of all time! It makes the bungholectomy (love that term!) completely effortless and not at all messy. It and an old bread tie or a piece of string are all you need to make a dirty task almost effortless.
Click to expand...


I've wondered how well the Butt Out tool worked but haven't tried it. I think this was due more to the thought of how to clean the tool itself once used :barf: If it's not overly nasty, I may give it a try this year.
 
I'd like to suggest the EKA Nordic H8, Sandvik 12C27

EKANordicH8-1.jpg


or the cheaper but not "cheap" Mora 2K, Sandvik 12C27

Mora2000-1.jpg


~Paul~
 
Benchmade Activator 201 D2 3.6" blade, 8.1" overall
Or the little brother 211, 5.5" overall
Very reasonable under $90.

8fb6_12.JPG
!Be,+0-!!Wk~$(KGrHqUH-CsEreuh7QmdBK9K4nmit!~~_12.JPG
 
Fixed Blade with app. 4" blade. need a good point for initial cuts around anus, and some belly for skinning. i have way too many knives from cheap to expensive Customs. BEST: if you want to go cheap, Colt or Rough Riders from China are incredibly good, super sharp and YES they'll hold their edge for more than 1 deer. because they're soooo cheap it's not possible to know how really good they are until you use it.
wanna go "expensive"(not really expensive), go for Bark River. they are amazingly good, equal to, and better than, some of my $500 Customs from highly regarded makers. i have the "Big Mountain Skinner" picked up on ebay for ~ $75; super awesome knife.
the only people who might trash my 2 China suggestions are those who have never tried one. 'everybody' knows the Barkies are THE BEST deal for USA made FBs right now.
roland
 
Unless you just want a new knife (which is a perfectly valid
reason, by the way) chances are good that the folder you have in your pocket right now would do fine for field dressing a deer. For several years my beater Spyderco Native did just fine. I have dressed deer with everything from one of the original Old Timer fixed blade knives to an Unce Henry Trapper to a Cold Steel Small Clip-Mate to a Mauser Integral Hunter and finally to the Native and all did fine, except maybe that the Old Timer was too long in the blade.

I now am a Busse Collector and any of the smaller, thinner Busses (AD, Meaner, Game Warden, ABA, etc.) would also do fine. I plan to carry an AD this year.

However, if I had to right now buy one knife to serve my deer rendering needs for the rest of my life, it would be the Dozier General Purpose Hunter or the Master Hunter.
 
For field dressing, I use whatever I have in my pocket or on my belt. Doesn't really matter, as long as there's a decent point.
For skinning and butchering, I use a BRKT Wolf River and IMP.
 
all the above are great choices, but the rat izula will do the same job and you have about 67. tied up in the sheath and all, sometimes they are found cheaper, easy to resharpen, if you do not like the plain handle which feels very good in hand, u can use the enclosed paracord.
 
Wrapped handles get very messy when field dressing.:eek::eek:

They are ok for wood craft stuff though. The Izula would be a lot handier if they made removable scales like the New Barkie.:thumbup:
 
udtjim said:
Wrapped handles get very messy when field dressing.:eek::eek:

They are ok for wood craft stuff though. The Izula would be a lot handier if they made removable scales like the New Barkie.:thumbup:
Click to expand...

They are coming.

Soon.
 
Now that is great news, I have been holding off to see if it would happen.:thumbup::thumbup:
 
That Benchmade Activator looks awesome...anyone have any experience with it? I'm also interested in a nice hunting fixed blade, am kind of a "Benchmade" guy, but have questions about the long-term durability of the Rant's handle (cracking, shrinking over time, etc.)...
 
Cold Steel Master Hunter is not only the perfect blade size and geometry, it comes wicked sharp out of the box, the handle is amazingly comfortable and tacky, the sheath is mint, and the blade is nice and thick, so if you ever find yourself in a position where you need a survival-type knife, it's durable and tough enough...THE perfect hunting knife.
 
The kershaw blur has an excellent blade shape for skinning and dressing deer (almost a drop point), and ZDP blems are available on exchange for around $55! The grips are great for the slippery work with the trac tec inserts too. Size only matters to what is comfortable for you. Last year I field dressed and later skinned 9 deer with my zdp leek, and I cut them through the ribs to the throat. I also had some help skinning, so it wasn't all me, but the knife would still shave when I got done. This year I did 5 deer with my composite blade D2 and the blade was dull to the touch and had to be resharpened. Also I do NOT recommend the blade shape of the leek for skinning, but I have done lots of deer and wanted to see how the knives would perform.

I do NOT recommend serrated knives for cutting the hide. The hair bunches in the serrations and ends up on the meat and takes more time to clean up, in my experience.

Folders are more work to clean up but I find them convenient because they are already in my pocket.

On the butt out - it sucks - if you know what you are doing and aren't afraid to stick you finger in the pooper to get a good cut around it, you are better off without it.
 
The Dozier blades work very well -- I've carried the Delta Traveller and the Yukon Pro Skinner for quite a while for dressing and skinning, though I recently replaced the skinner with a Whitetail Skinner.

That said, for LOTS of skinning (e.g. group hunting camp), I prefer a Lapin Puukko Professional Skinner. There's something about the light, big, wood handle that works, and the blade remains usefully sharp for as long as the Doziers.

As to the Butt Out, I just used it for the first time this past season -- very nice. No more effective, but maybe a little quicker... and very impressive to the admiring crowds.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top