Skinners are taking shape.

ERIK KNIVES

ERIK KNIVES

Joined
Aug 17, 2010
Messages
883
Hey All,

I've been reading this forum when I can, but have been too busy to post much. Work and family have been in high gear for a while now. I finally got my most recent knives off to Peter's. Holy crap it was a mixed bag. 11 knives - 5 EDC's, 1 chopper, 1 fishing knife, 2 chef knives, and 2 customer (friend) designs. 4 different steels and several different treatments.

Anyway, I'm done batching different steels and styles together. From a time and money standpoint - it sucks. So, I feel I need to pick a knife and make several of the same. I have decided on skinners/hunters

I have a cousin and his friend who are sporting me with a deer hunt in Ontario, CA next October. I want to show appreciation and take them some knives. I want to do my best for these guys, so I would appreciate those of you who know these types of knives to chime in with your thoughts on my designs.

Take a look and thanks.

Erik

SKINNERS.jpg
 
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While I am not a real experienced knifemaker I have cleaned a lot of game. The qualities I would look for in a deer field dressing knife are edge retention, a non-slip handle design that feels good in the hand edge up as well as edge down, a blade somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 inches, and somewhere to put my thumb comfortably when holding the knife edge up. I also like a balance point right about where your index finger hits when holding the knife. Some thing I don't like would be sharp corners or lanyard holes that are hard to get clean when you are finished. I also am not a fan of gut hooks. Just my preferences, I am sure other people have great results with many other things. All that being said...If I took you hunting I would be happy with any gift you saw fit to give, especially a knife!
 
#3 blade shape looks the most practical for hunting. Take off the drop in the spine and let it curve into the #1 handle. Use Corby bolts instead of tube rivets. Remove the lanyard hole and make the handle go to the butt fully.
It isn't the prettiest handle material, but for hunters that will be used in skinning, neoprene makes a really good handle. It is comfortable and grippy even when wet and cold. It washes up well and never chips or warps.If you are not experienced in using neoprene, canvas Micarta is the best handle choice. You can get it in Hunter Orange , Black, or Desert Camo. All look good on a hunting knife. Black is the easiest to work with.
 
I had the same thoughts as Stacy. Blade 3 blended into handle 1. I also feel that having the plungline extend past the integral finger guard is useful in certain cutting tasks and makes for easier sharpening.

Frankenchopped...

SKINNERS.jpg
 
I'm with Rick on this one. I'd take that knife hunting. And, +1 on canvas micarta. Blaze orange would be very cool.

A dropped edge like the bottom re-design does help IMO. It extends your useful cutting edge all the way back.
 
Woodzman, Stacy, Rick and Salem - Thank you very much! I will incorporate all of your ideas, which will be pretty easy since you are all on the same page. I'll post a WIP to show you guys the progress. Thanks again, Erik.
 
I realized that October was not so far away, so I decided to get going on these today. The top drawing is Rick's rendering, the bottom drawing is a bit modified, the blades fall in the middle.

I thought I would grind the bevels, and then finish the choils for a clean transition.

Comments are welcome and thanks for looking. Thanks again to the fellas who gave me great advice.

IMG_9163.jpg
 
Thanks, Geek. I would love to do some for the exchange, but I'm not selling quite yet. I'm also out of M390 in <.150 thickness. If anyone knows where I can get some, please shoot me a PM.
 
As a hunter I can tell ya, a straight back design is ok and definantly do-able for deer hunting. However the drop point hunter exceeds all others I've used in the field. where it shines is in missing the deers bladder when your unzipping the deer. It's not a bad skinner either. Just my opinion on hunting knives from a hunter

Jason
 
Thank you, Jason. I have never skinned a deer, so I really appreciate your advice and the advice from the others who have.

I can drop the point if needed. My cousin knows what he's doing, so as much as I would like to surprise him, I'm going to call him and ask him what he wants.

Erik
 
I agree with Jason about a drop point, but that's how I am used to using a knife. I had an uncle who has skinned more game than I will ever likely see and he used an upswept tip style for everything. He kept it razor sharp and cleaned/oiled it everytime he did so with his guns. It looked brand new after almost 50 years. I sure wish I knew what happened to it.

My point is, either upswept tip or drop point are good but are just two different schools of thought when skinning game. Take a look at some of the classic hunting designs for what has stood the test of time. Hell I bet the Buck 110 has skinned more game than any other out there.


-Xander
 
Looks good. M390 is going to make some great hunters. with 20% chromium, it won't rust, and with 4% vanadium it should cut well.
I believe Alpha Knife Supply carries it.Not sure of the thickness available. Others sell it as 20CV.
 
I agree with Jason. That design with a dropped point would be excellent for gutting & skinning game. Stacy is right, www.alphaknifesupply.com has some M390 in blade size pieces in thicknesses from .180" - .200". Thanks for sharing and keep the pics coming. Cheers,


Darrin
 
I talked to my cousin and showed him the picture, and without suggesting a drop point to him, he suggested it to me. Apparently he would agree with Jason, Fast and Darrin. I think I have enough room on the blades to drop the points. I might have to leave one or two up swept, we'll see. I also think I will add two more to this mix, with drop points in mind from the start - it looks like I found some more material :) Thanks all.

EA
 
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Thong hole. Personally I would leave the thong hole and place it at the top rather than the bottom. Reason I like thong holes are two fold. When backpacking on a big game hunt I have a loop of 550 cord running through the thong hole and tied in a loop large enough that my hand can fit through. When I am skinning or removing the viscera I drop the knife while still attached to me wrist and this allows me two hands to pull on the hide or removing the innards. If I need the blade for minor cuts a slight flip of the wrist and the knife is in my hand for the cuts, no I have never cut myself while utilizing this method. Another advantage of the 550 corded looped thong hole is when backpacking I run my belt through the sheath belt and and the thong loop. If I happen to take a tumble or fall there is no chance the knife will separate from the sheath ( no loss knife or bodily damage), and yes I have fallen and tumbled when packing out sheep and moose. Luckily the only injuries were my pride. This is from my experience from my many years of outdoor experience with 10 years of Alaskan sheep, moose, caribou and bear to mention a few. From my experience the thong hole can be a handy insurance package. For what it is worth I have never hunted with a guide, all self guided hunts with dear and close friends. Once last thought +1 on the drop point!
 
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Thanks Johnny,

These guys sold me on clean, so I'm going to stick with that avenue. I have no doubt your style works perfectly.

I dropped the points and added a few more into the mix. I may have lost some elegance, those up swept points were pretty. Oh well, moving on... I also fully profiled the front finger choils because I was having a hard time visualizing my pin placement. Here's the update.

IMG_9169.jpg

IMG_9173.jpg
 
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