Deer Skinner/field Dressing Knife ?

FOG2

FOG2

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My brother needs a knife to field dress an skin Deer with.

I would like to make one for him but need some advise on the best blade shape and length for a knife that would do both jobs.

Please post pics of your suggestions.

Thanks,Fog
 
The size and length is a personal thing.. My preference is for a drop point style blade and the blade doesn't need to be very long. I would say around 4" max. If the knife is to big, it makes it harder to control and feel your work.. ..Deer are a small animal and I usually just use a pocket knife. To me, its more important how the knife fits my hands and how well it holds an edge..
 
Agreed - don't buy a big knife for deer skinning. A well shaped clip- or drop-point at 3" or 3.5" will do the job. You want to keep it close, tight.

I bought two for this purpose, both under 4":

Picture536.jpg


leblancskinner.jpg
 
Beautiful knives but I don't want a sharpened spine.When I open the stomach,I hold the blade with the edge up and my index finger barely covering the tip,so I can zip it open without getting in the intestines.I also want a blade that isn't too wide to ream around the anus so I can take the intestine out intact without spilling anything into the body cavity.
 
Some pics of knives I would deem hunters, or potential hunters. As you can see, blade shape and length varies.

Buck110s.jpg


BusseHunters.jpg


Hunters.jpg


SchradeHunters.jpg


SwampRatHunters.jpg
 
Sorry, an aside:

Halbie, after seeing the top knife in your pictures (which looks beautiful, unique, and expertly designed) I went to Keith Ouye's website and found many great looking knives. I want to try and save up for one, should take about 10yrs. (very pricey).
 
The 1st design i came up with looks very much like the SWAMP RAT MWT
shown. With the exception that the blade is curved along the entire length.Making it a dedicated skinner IMO.

I think the blade needs to have a straight portion at the handle end to make it usable for field dressing as well. ( that seems to be how the blades i see posted are shaped )

Would you folks agree ?
 
Guyon, how do you ever decide which knife to take out hunting with you ?
i too have way more Hunters than i can ever use and get caught "dickin around", wasting time, trying to decide which of the 40 (?) i should take.
that said i have often used my Schrade 152OT (SharpFinger) and it works very well on deer.
the sharp thin point is excellent for the initail cutting around the anus as well as for reaching in the opened abdominal cavity to cut through the diaphragm and freeing up the posterior wall attachments. (short shank it and have index finger on spine at tip).
the upswept tip skins well too, although most of skinning is best done by pulling on the hide and doing "blunt dissection" with your fist.
so FOG2, that is a pattern for a hunter that i have found very effective.
make it in a steel that edge holds longer than 1095 and you'll have a fine Hunter knife.
roland
 
I carried and used a lot of different blade styles and sizes until I finally settled on this one about 10 years ago. I had a very good friend who was one of the best makers I have known and he helped me with the design and made the one I still carry. He has since passed away and I now make this pattern.

It's small enough not to get in the way while I'm hunting yet big enough to do whatever I need it to. It has plenty of belly for skinning but still has a bit of a point when needed.

This is what works for me.

On a side note, I think you can usually tell the experience level of a hunter by the size of knife he carries. A younger hunter often has a Crocodile Dundee type knife strapped on somewhere whereas an older hunter may be down to some sort of Case pocket knife. It seems like the older I get the less gear I feel I need to carry with me.

Good luck in finding what works for you.
SDS
 

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RPROCTER,, Do you mean the SWAMP RAT is a good design, OR the upswept design that is my 1st design ?

SDS is there supposed to be a pic. in your post ? or were you speaking of one of the knives thats been shown ?
 
One of my favorites is the Buck Vanguard with the rubberized handle. Good design and length. Good grip. Good hand guard. Mine is in ATS-34 instead of the normal 420HC.

At Blade this next year, I'm going to the Dozier table first and will be picking up one of his hunters.

Third knife from left:

Hunters.jpg
 
My personal favorite knife for field dressing deer is a plain old Buck 102.

4" clip point blade is about perfect IMO.

102_large.jpg


I know that it is also only 420HC, but that is all you need for this type of knife if you want to be realistic. At most you might gut out what 2 deer while you are out in the field before you are back sitting at home or in camp where you could resharpen if need be? 420HC with Buck's heat treat will handle this duty no problem. I use it pretty much exclusively for field dressing though, and usually have another knife in pocket for whatever else. Your mileage may very.
 
Guyon said:
One of my favorites is the Buck Vanguard with the rubberized handle. Good design and length. Good grip. Good hand guard. Mine is in ATS-34 instead of the normal 420HC.

Third knife from left:

Hunters.jpg
Click to expand...

+1 on the Vanguard.
 
i mean the upswept tip as on the Schrade 152OT. ya, i know, it's not a custom, i've got a few of those too. but i think Henry Baer just nailed it when he put out this blade pattern, it just works so well on deer, especially if you only want to carry 1 knife.
but it is not the only blade pattern that works well.
i think this will work well too:
IMGP1464.jpg

i'm bow hunting every evening, so when i get one, i'll find out.
and this little guy at 6" OAL might just be a bit slippy in a greasy hand, but otherwise, i bet it'll do a quick easy job too (for deer #2)
IMGP1466.jpg


roland
 
PROCTER, thanks for clearing that up for me. The blank ive roughed out isnt far from the shrade 1520t.

I,ll hafta see if i can get some pics posted up and hear opinions,b4 i change to a different design.

Ive learned a lot w/this thread, THANKS to evryone
 
I really like the Spyderco Pro-Grip. That said, The last three years O have used the Mora SS Clipper.
 
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