Skinning/Butchering Game w/ a Tomahawk

FSCJedi

FSCJedi

Joined
Oct 19, 2002
Messages
711
The late tomahawk and knife maker TwoHawks conversed with me on occasion as I was trying to decide what type of tomahawk I wanted to purchase from him. During one of these conversations, he relayed that a good tomahawk should be capable of butchering any deer or larger game from skin to freezer.

So here's my question: has anyone here attempted/accomplished this feat? If so, I am most interested in hearing comments about the occasion as I would like to attempt this myself in the near future and would like helpful suggestions on going about this.
 
I remember my Dad telling me how he and his friends butchered steers out in the field. They used butcher knives for skinning and laid out the hide on the ground under the carcass. Hatchets were used to cut through ribs, shoulder, hip, and leg joints. This hatchet was probably a plain carpenter’s type hatchet. One of the light-weight tomahawks by Cold Steel would have work better. As the carcass was broken down, smaller knives and cleavers were used. A hole was dug near by for the entrails and other left-overs. Butchering an 800 lb steer would keep two men busy for most of a frosty morning.

If I were to have to do this job with only one cutting tool, a light tomahawk with a keen edge would be my choice. The old buffalo hunters and plains Indians may have done it that way. You may want to check some history sources on buffalo hunters, buck skinners, and trappers.
 
i have used a GB hunters axe to skin and process game, it comes razor sharp, and was a little strange with the handle sticking out ot one side, but getting the job done was not too much for the axe.

alex
 
Sure you could do it . I doubt if it is many peoples first choice .It would take a finer hand than mine to do a good job . If you had no choice a pronounced curved blade on the hawk would be best to facilitate slicing . Sharp points as well . Unfortunately a pronounced curve is exactly what you don,t want in a thrower . To me if its necessity ease is not an issue .
 
Hey Guys...

Although I haven't done it completely with a hatchett or a hawk, theres no reason other than dullness that it can't be done..

With my Gerber hatchet I could easily skin out a deer.. Not my first choice for sure, as usually I like to keep the capes.

Field dressing and skinning deer isn't as hard as it looks,,or seems.. If done quickly a knife is hardly even needed other than to gut and do some minor cutting..Cutting of bone is a different story altogether..

ttyle

Eric....
 
I have cleaned plenty of deer and with the tomahawk I have, I see no problem skinning. The problem would be gutting, specifically cutting around the rectum to get the intestines to drop out all together. And sometimes the bladder gets hung up and that would be hard to cut around that without a knife. Just my $.02 on how I clean deer, there maybe other ways.

Very interesting question about that as a knife stlye and the head of a tomahawk is similiar to what I believe the Inuit use as a knife.

There is a distinct advantage I believe of a tomahawk over an axe. Most tomahawks have tapered holes for the handle and centrifugal force is what keeps it in place. That makes it very easy to replace a broken handle in the field. Just find stick and shape it.

Here is the link to the tomahawk I have, the Shawnee...

http://www.hbforge.com/products/tomahawks.php
 
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