Every Day Cary w/belly for Skinning

T

TxSportsman

Joined
Feb 7, 2014
Messages
1,675
Hey guys,
I recently found Fiddleback Forge and this forum and have been very impressed with both! Last week I purchased a Runt which should be at the post office when I get home tomorrow (from the hospital after having my first kid, son!)

With that said, I am already looking to purchase a second knife. I am interested in one that would work as an EDC for days I am hunting, but at the end of the day be able to skin a few animals so it needs a decent belly. I was looking at these options and would love a few opinions if anyone has some. Comparison pics too if possible.

Esquire
Bushnub
Monarch
Bushcraft Jr

Thanks in advance and happy to be part of such a helping community.
 
:thumbup:Congrats on your first born son! I got a Monarch and an Esquire. The Monarch has a pretty good belly, but the Esquire doesn't. Maybe the BC Jr, I got a reg BC and it's got a nice belly.
 
There was a similar thread about knives for game prep awhile back. The ones most recommended if I remember right were the KPH, Recluse, Patch, & Bushcrafter.

Edit - Congrats on your sons birth!
 
Congrats on your son.

Where Fiddlebacks are concerned, the Monarch might be okay. It wouldn't be my first choice though. I'd give the EDC II an the Patch Knife a hard look. To my mind, they fit the bill better than the Monarch which is a "jack-of-all-trades, master of none" sort of knife. (And I say that as someone who like the Monarch profiles a lot.)

Andy also has some apprentices that make great knives.

Chris (Osprey Knife & Tool) makes a knife called the Warthog that I'd highly recommend. My second Warthog is coming to me in the mail now. When I got my first, I emailed Chris to let him know what I thought and I said something along the lines of "it's all belly and bad attitude". Man, I love that knife.

I recently picked up a new one from WAS Knives, a profiled called the Bobcat. It has a nice, substantial blade with a good bit of belly. And the handle is functional, but compact in a way that would be great for EDC.
 
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Welcome to the forum and more importantly congrats on the birth of your son!

I personally don't see a "skinning" type blade on your list. They would all be fine for field dressing and I actually prefer a small sized knife for field dressing. For skinning I would be looking at a Nessmuk. Taking into consideration your need for EDC and skinning, I think a Stubbymuk would be my choice.
 
Sorry, heads a little cloudy right now, I should have said field dressing AND skinning. Some good skinning recommendations though! Thanks
 
Hmm change in plans I think. I'll EDC the runt, purchase an every day carry/field dress knife, and purchase a skinner (liking KPH and nessmuck) for a pack knife.
 
TxSportsman said:
Hmm change in plans I think. I'll EDC the runt, purchase an every day carry/field dress knife, and purchase a skinner (liking KPH and nessmuck) for a pack knife.
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Maybe I was a bit too literal in my post. I don't trap so I don't do much skinning other than deer. I hunt deer, small game and birds. I can do most of my field dressing and cleaning with a 3" or 4" blade. I don't use a knife for Rabbit, birds and Squirrel fur and feathers. That comes off without a knife or with minimal work with my field knife. When I am skinning a deer I use an upswept blade or a Nessmuk style blade but that is a very small part processing a deer. A Nessmuk or KPH are perfect skinners.
 
Roger that. With my job I field dress and skin tons of deer, clean hundreds of quail, and many turkey and pigs every year. The reason I say "EDC" is because I rarely if ever use anything over a 4" blade. But thinking about it, I believe a 3 knife setup may suit me best.

I am constantly outdoors and use my EDC countless time in a day so I think the runt will be great for that, plus the ISP sheaths from Bud are badass!

So now it's deciding on a nice mid to small size knife for dressing and a pack skinner.
 
My personal EDC for hunting season is a Bushfinger. I find it is perfect for every task on skinning and quartering. If I were to pick a smaller knife for the job it would probably be a Bushnub. The Bushfinger is my favorite pattern for use in the field. I would naturally lean toward a smaller version of the same.
 
I'm wondering about the Bushcrafter Jr, the Bushnub, and the MiniMuk. They are all scaled down from patterns that many use for hunting tasks. I can't help with any pictures, as I do not have those models. If you search the past Fiddleback Friday threads, you can see many group shots with similar sized blades.

Good luck!


Michael
 
You may find what you're looking for in the Fletcher edc patterns such as the Pocket Kilo II or the 24/7.
In the Fiddleback lineup I'd definitely choose a minimuk based on your description. Honestly, after seeing my butcher skin 3 of my deer with a random Kershaw knife with no belly in a couple minutes I don't think belly is too important anymore. I have medium sized hands and plan to use the esquire as my skinner next season. When extending my index finger on the blade it feels like an extension of my hand. Hope this helps.
 
For a true EDC that can handle skinning and general processing, look no further than the patch knife.
 
Brendanruch said:
You may find what you're looking for in the Fletcher edc patterns such as the Pocket Kilo II or the 24/7.
In the Fiddleback lineup I'd definitely choose a minimuk based on your description. Honestly, after seeing my butcher skin 3 of my deer with a random Kershaw knife with no belly in a couple minutes I don't think belly is too important anymore. I have medium sized hands and plan to use the esquire as my skinner next season. When extending my index finger on the blade it feels like an extension of my hand. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Haha, yea It's all personal preference. I've cleaned/skinned over 100 deer and a large number of them were done with a Case Trapper.
 
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