skinner

M

magnum .44

Joined
Jun 12, 1999
Messages
1,110
recently my neighbor asked me if i could make him a skinner that is excellent in edge holding. his is stainless an chipped on bone. i have a couple of blade steels in mind, m-2, d-2, and 440v. which do you think i should use, from experience. also what kind of handle material should i use, which will take the most abuse?
 
I'd use ATS-34 for the blade and micarta or another syntetic material for the handle - sambar stag if it has to look good.To avoid chipping I wouldn't grind the edge thinner than needed.
 
Magnum,
My favorite steel for this type of knife is D2! I like M2 and use it at work for dies. I don't use it for knives because I cant heat treat it properly and I believe in doing my own heat treating on the knives I make.
I use various handle materials on my hunters and skinners. Stag, Micarta, and what is in demand lately is stabilized wood!
Neil Blackwood


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http://members.aol.com/blademakr/BlackwoodWP.html
 
i'll probably go with d-2, i'm gonna stay away from m-2 for the same reason as you. he already has 2 stainless knives, and stainless chips on bone. i have some bird's eye maple laying around so i might use that. the last one i made him had micarta handles.
 
Brian if the knife chips on bone it is because of the heat treating or overly thin hollow grinding not repeat not because it is one steel or another.

I have demonstrated several times the ability of a convex grind hunting knife made of 440C to cut 3/8" steel bolts and not chip the edge. The demonstration was possible because the edge was convex ground and the 440C was heat treated properly.


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george
www.tichbourneknives.com
sales@tichbourneknives.com

 
oh, but d-2 is better, and i'm gonna put a flat grind on. his is hollow ground, that's probably the reason.
 
Magnum,
Out of the steels you mentioned, I have only worked with D2 and 440V. The 440V is quite a bit more expensive initially and is definitely more difficult to grind due to its hardness in the annealed state. D2 of course is a "semi-stainless" and I would not use it in a bona-fide coastal region.
I have had very good results with both steels but in my opinion, 440V out performs D2 in a hunting or skinning knife application.
Skinning knives are not designed to cut through bone, that's what saws are for. I have seen more than one blade ruined after some "@#$!" hunter has tried to cut through the pelvis bone of a deer. On the other hand, if a knife's edge inadvertantly chips on a bone, I would be extremely suspect of heat treat. Normal use should not cause this problem.


C Wilkins
 
i'll have to ask him what he would like, he doesn't try and cut through bone just acedentaly hit it. what rockwell hardness should it be?
 
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