Moose skinning knife question

Willie71

Willie71

Warren J. Krywko
Joined
Feb 23, 2013
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I've got a friend who was over last night. He was looking at some of the knives I have been making, and noted he only has one skinning knife that can skin a whole moose without dulling. His dad bought the knife over 20 years ago and has no clue what type of steel it is. He would like me to try to make him a knife that would have the same wear resistance. It got me thinking, what would be the best steel for this, O1, 52100, 5160, or D2? I am leaning toward the 52100. I would need to send the 52100 out for heat treat, and probably the D2 unless I find the time to make my kiln, but that is not a problem. What do the hunters recommend for this type of wear resistance? I don't have any experience with the stainless steels, but am open to suggestions there. This is a good friend, and I want him to have a knife he can skin a moose, or even a buffalo with.
 
My Dad used one of my 1084/15n20 Damascus blades to skin 4 butcher hogs and 1 BIG old sow, he never touched it up, and when I go it back, it would still cut paper. Neither of those steels are super at edge holding. I think that most steels HT proper would skin an Elk, Moose or anything else without needing resharpening mid job. JMHO, it will be a good test, and if you succeed, you will have a fan for life!
 
You have choices. A fine grain stainless steel like CPM-S35VN will work; a high alloy carbon steel like CPM-3V will work; and plain old 1095/W2 will work ( probably what his old blade is).

BUT

It is all going to be in the HT and the blade geometry to determine how well it works.
 
I tested 12 blades on 4 Florida wild hogs for a story I wrote in Tactical Knives Magazine a few years back. I had everything from $50 imports to $700 Diamond Blades. The best all around skinner was one of Bob Dozier's D2 knives. It dulled slightly in the first hour and then held what was a very sharp edge throughout the rest of the hogs. The other knives did well at first, but just couldn't deal with cut after cut against the hog hide and wiry hair. My experience is that D2 knives can vary greatly depending upon who does your heat treatment. Dozier is one who has mastered the process.
 
Willie71 said:
I've got a friend who was over last night. He was looking at some of the knives I have been making, and noted he only has one skinning knife that can skin a whole moose without dulling. His dad bought the knife over 20 years ago and has no clue what type of steel it is. He would like me to try to make him a knife that would have the same wear resistance. It got me thinking, what would be the best steel for this, O1, 52100, 5160, or D2? I am leaning toward the 52100. I would need to send the 52100 out for heat treat, and probably the D2 unless I find the time to make my kiln, but that is not a problem. What do the hunters recommend for this type of wear resistance? I don't have any experience with the stainless steels, but am open to suggestions there. This is a good friend, and I want him to have a knife he can skin a moose, or even a buffalo with.
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can you take it somewhere and have the steel tested out to find what the steel is??
 
Stacey sums it up well.

I´ll add my 2 cents as a gamekeeper who skins and field dresses a lot of dear and boar every year:

I have little experience in carbon steels as I mostly use RWL34 (equal to CPM154) but I find that a cutting edge of about 20 degrees on each side, and a thickness just behind the edge at .015-.020 of an inch, will do what you request. Sharpened this way it will shave hair but still hold an edge for a long time.

Whether the blade is hollow, full flat or convex ground, is less important IMO.

But again, HT and geometry are the most important factors.

Brian
 
Any of those steels you mentioned should field dress, skin and quarter a moose without dulling. As others said, it's all in the heat treat...for the most part. As I get to know the different carbon steels, I'm relying on stainless a lot less. I believe carbon steels just can't be beat for use in the outdoors. The only advantage that I've seen in the several stainless steels I've use is the resistance to corrosion. For me, that's not enough to use them regularly.

The 52100 you mentioned should make an outstanding knife. It'll hold a keen edge and be rather easy to resharpen. I like 1/8th and 5/32nd thickness for skinning knives on big game. But this year I'll be playing around with some 3/32nd. Post up the pic of the knife once you get it made!
 
Thank you all for the replies. I think my friend will make a good guinea pig to see how well my blades will hold up to real use. I think I will make two identical knives, one sent out for HT, and one I HT and see how good my methods work. I plan to go with 90% flat ground, and convex at the edge.

Thanks Grody for the geometry tips. That is basically what I am grinding my smaller knives at, and it seems to work well with the light duty use I have tried so far.

I don't know if it is needed to test the old blade. There are a lot of good steels out there. I wasn't sure if 1095, O1 or 5160 would have the combination of edge and wear resistance he needs. I was pretty sure the D2, 52100, or the 3V I forgot about would all do the job. He said its the grit in the coat around the head and neck is what dulls the knives. Deer are no problem with any of his knives, but the moose an buffalo push the lesser knives too far.

@Mudbug: Thanx, I'm leaning to the 52100. I can get .201x2" relatively locally.

My friend is having me make three blades for him. He wants a throwing knife, a dagger, and the skinner. I'm doing them at materials cost for the free testing and feedback. I'm thinking its important to know your product works as it should before taking money from someone. I did a carving bowie for my brother, and he loves it. I did a chef's knife for my niece and she loves it. I did another better chef's knife for my mother and it too is the best knife she owns. Now granted these are compared to very basic store bought knives, but the edge and wear resistance are all significantly better. On the other hand I broke three blades in heat treat prior to my last two more successful knives and learned a lot from those experiences. I just cannot guarantee I know all I need to know, and will have more learning experiences before I'm comfortable taking payment.
 
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The replies above all fit, in my opinion for knives to be used on animals. Moose in particular are big animals but besides that have a skin where the hair seems to be full of sand. Whenever I sold a knife I always would explain to do the work including the opening and especially the skin removal from the inside. I too like Brian always liked stainless and still do for hunters, but also as said, the edge thickness and heat treating must be correct. I do believe that thin blades also make for better animal working knives . Frank
 
Frank, thanx for the suggestions, but my friend is 50, and has been hunting for about 42 years. I wouldn't feel comfortable giving him any advice :).
 
Any of the steels should work but my suggestion is for him to have a small quality ceramic rod (I like idahone). A few easy passes on each side is often the difference between still serviceably sharp at the end of the job to just about as hair splitting sharp as you started with. They work equally well on quality stainless and simple high carbon. I use one on my kitchen knives dozens of times before I need to return to the stones to sharpen.
 
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