Hunting Blade

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Doors

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Jul 10, 2003
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Can anyone provide me with information or a review of a quality skinning knife. I would like to spend no more than 100.00,be a fixed blade with wood or composite handle, and have steel that is easily sharpened but still holds its edge well.
Thank You,
Dan
 
Shrade Sharpfinger. You can get one for around $20 at your local Wally World.
1095 carbon steel that takes and holds a good edge. You just need to take a little more care of it.
The sheath that it comes with SUCKS. Eric at On/Scene Tactical can set you up with a very well done concealex sheath for a very good price.
I've beeen using a Sharpfinger for 20 years. I have dressed/skinned everything from squirrels to deer with it.

Paul
 
Spyderco Moran, it also comes with an excellent kydex sheath. I got my brother-in-law one a few christmas's ago. He has cleaned several deer with it. many of his hunting buddies now have one.
 
I am a big fan of Gene Ingram, but he is over your price point and I'd also not call D-2 or S30V exactly "easy" to sharpen. Not so much difficult, either, just time consuming.
Have you considered checking out Grohmann knives? You can get them in either stainless (not sure what but probably 440A) or carbon (again not sure, but I think it's 1095) and you should be able to get any of their models for between $50-$75.
Nothin fancy, but classic and time proven, and definitely built with your specified task in mind. LOTS of game has been skinned with them over the decades. :)
 
i know quite a few guys that own the fallkniven F1 survival. my local shop sells them for $89 or so. heard many guys have skinned a moose and then some, but i believe VG-10 is more difficult to sharpen. not sure though, i haven't personally used it. hope this helps
 
There are several nice knives with with plastic or elastomeric handles that would work well. It would be hard to beat an AG Russell Deer Hunter (with VG-10 stainless blade) or a Cold Steel Master Hunter (with Carbon V nonstainless blade). These are well designed with edges that are thin enough to be easy to sharpen despite being made from alloys that stay sharp a long time. The challenge is to find a moderately priced knife with a wood or composite handle (I assume you mean a composite like Micarta) with a quality alloy and a thin enough blade contour for skinning and easy sharpening.

I suggest you look for something from Bark River Knife and Tool. They mostly use A2 tool steel with a fine edge that is easy to sharpen and high performance. I like a model with a bit of a guard to it like the Forager. You need to decide how long a blade that you need. If you are not working on anything bigger than a deer I would look at the mini canadian model for skinning. If you want to handle animals as big as elk I would go for a model with a 4.5" blade.

A2 tool steel is very fine grained and takes a super sharp edge. A thick A2 blade would offer some sharpening challenge, but the thin taper on the Bark River blades should be relatively easy to sharpen. There are many dealers that offer discounts on these knives. Here is one example that I found using a froogle.com search:

http://www.knifeworks.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=868
 
I have used a bunch of blades and am pretty satisfied with the CS Master hunter. The distal taper makes the point dainty enough for fine work and the blade is plenty beefy towards the handle. The belly makes for a good skinner and the steel is tough. It will take on a patina that to my eye is quite attractive and carbon steel is a better choice than stainless IMO.

I am also quite taken with the size and lines of the larger CS Pendelton hunter but am not a huge fan of AUS 8.

The Swamp Rat. Howling Rat would likely be my choice if I had it to do over again. Great shape, great steel, great value. Good for deer to moose and then some. I'd also second looking at Bark River and Grohmann. Really nice ergonomics.
 
If skinning is the primary purpose, while the Howling Rat is good, the Bog Dog will beat it. Same basic blade shape, thinner blade, better edge holding (for non-impact work) and same guarantee. :)
 
Timpani: I am a cold weather hunter (-20 to -45) and I'll take the toughness of 52100 over the more brittle edge holding of D2. So though thicker it's the Howler for me.
 
*sigh*

Why doesn't anyone ever look at scandinavian knives? Sweet handles, easy to sharpen blade, and very nice price.

www.ragweedforge.com, may I recommend the Helle and Brusletto blades, and Mora blades if you want to spend less.
 
Takujualuk said:
Timpani: I am a cold weather hunter (-20 to -45) and I'll take the toughness of 52100 over the more brittle edge holding of D2. So though thicker it's the Howler for me.
Click to expand...

Makes sense. :) I have a couple howlers and have reprofiled their edges to be thinner--they DO make great slicers! And before anybody chimes in with, "Yeah, once you thinned the edges down" they made great slicers to start with, it's just now they're like lasers. ;)
 
ivan_yulaev said:
*sigh*

Why doesn't anyone ever look at scandinavian knives? Sweet handles, easy to sharpen blade, and very nice price.

www.ragweedforge.com, may I recommend the Helle and Brusletto blades, and Mora blades if you want to spend less.
Click to expand...

I have some Moras of Erikkson, and while they're nice, there are several things about them I don't like. No guard, which I think is dangerous, especially in cold weather when your fine motor skills are gone. The blade on most of them are a little too long for their application. Something around 3 - 4 inches max (3.5 is ideal for my hands) would be great. But I do agree, they are very easy to sharpen, and are a great deal.

I would second what Jeff Clark has said, but would add that the Queen 4180 Hunters in D2 are very nicely made. I don't know if I'd be too worried about D2's toughness, I accidentally dropped one from about 7 ft right onto the tip on a concrete floor, and just some impaction damage, less than I was expecting.
 
t1mpani said:
If skinning is the primary purpose, while the Howling Rat is good, the Bog Dog will beat it. Same basic blade shape, thinner blade, better edge holding (for non-impact work) and same guarantee. :)
Click to expand...

I just have to disagree a bit here. I've had my Howler for about 2 years and the Bog Dog since they came out. As nice as the BD is, I still like the deeper belly of the Howler better. I'm using them side by side to be fair, but the Dog still hasn't knocked the Howler out of the most favored status of the Rats.

Rob
 
I can attest to what Jeff said. I've spent the last couple weekends testing out a Bark River Highland. The blade is an absolute cutting machine. The sheath isn’t exactly custom quality, but the knife itself is hard to beat at its price. Good ergonomics for the smallish handle size and very respectable fit and finish. I’m quite impressed with the A2 steel.
 
If you want to get something nice for 1/2 of that $100 take a look at Cove Cutlery's Deal of the Day (this is good only July 6, 2004). They have a MARBLES Fieldcraft, with Gamegetter Handle for half of the normal list price. This is not a drop point design like many people prefer, but it is a straight back with a lot of belly and a narrow tip. This would work for small game as well as deer. I really like the gamegetter handle and the guard on this configuration. (PS, after today the following link will not get you to the same knife).

http://www.covecutlery.com/Category.cfm?CategoryID=173
 
sodak said:
I have some Moras of Erikkson, and while they're nice, there are several things about them I don't like. No guard, which I think is dangerous, especially in cold weather when your fine motor skills are gone. The blade on most of them are a little too long for their application. Something around 3 - 4 inches max (3.5 is ideal for my hands) would be great. But I do agree, they are very easy to sharpen, and are a great deal.

I would second what Jeff Clark has said, but would add that the Queen 4180 Hunters in D2 are very nicely made. I don't know if I'd be too worried about D2's toughness, I accidentally dropped one from about 7 ft right onto the tip on a concrete floor, and just some impaction damage, less than I was expecting.
Click to expand...

IDK about Mora, but Helle certainly makes alot of blades in the 3.5 inch range. You might want to check them out. :)

Guards? I have never had the chance to go hunting yet, so maybe gaurds matter then, but for camp chores I prefer blades without gaurds. A gaurd gets in the way of choking up on the blade, and seems only to help for stabing, which isn't really a need with camp knives.

I couldn't agree more about D2. It is tough enough for most of what you can throw at it. Don't worry about it so much.
-Kevin
 
wetdog1911 said:
I just have to disagree a bit here. I've had my Howler for about 2 years and the Bog Dog since they came out. As nice as the BD is, I still like the deeper belly of the Howler better. I'm using them side by side to be fair, but the Dog still hasn't knocked the Howler out of the most favored status of the Rats.

Rob
Click to expand...

Well I have to disagree with your disagreement, Rob---how do you like them apples? :p

Warren

{The Howler DOES have quite a belly}
 
Morgoth,

I guess it also depends on your technique and personal preference, I think quite a few people tend to disagree in this area. I like to "hook" or "anchor" my ring finger on the guard when I choke up, kind of hard to explain, but easy to demonstrate. The Queens are small enough that I can get almost to the tip, which I can't with the Mora. Also, if you ever bring a knife to a table and don't quite lift it high enough and accidentally stick the tip into the edge of the table, yikes! But maybe that's only something us old guys do.......:wink: But there are plenty of things I do like the Mora for, especially fine wood shaving!

Anyway, there are lots of good suggestions here, and certainly many of these answers are "right". I think some of it depends on what you like and are comfortable with.
 
If you want a dedicated skinning knife, then you want one with lots of belly. Have you looked at the Russell Green River knives. You could buy the blades and make yourself a set of knifes: skinning, boning, paring for under $100 if you find some scrap walnut or oak for handles. Carbon steel is relatively easy to sharpen. However for "class", look at the Nessmuk style knives. Bark River is working on a prototype and there are some custom makers that do this too, right at $125 for one maker.

make that knives, not "knifes". goode thing I are collig edukated.
 
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