Skinning Knife - Help needed !!

Stockman

Stockman

Joined
May 23, 2004
Messages
1,175
I am trying to get my Xmas shopping sorted early this year and want to buy my father a good skinning knife. From a brief search and reading other related posts, knives with gut hooks are not that popular, nor folding knives, so I will probably pick up a BM rescue hook as well as a fixed blade skinning knife. My father would use the knife to skin small game like rabbits, foxes and kangaroos.

As I have no idea about what makes a good skinning knife, blade shapes and grinds, appropriate steals, handle materials etc. would appreciate some suggestions that fit into a budget of about $100, can spend a little more if required.
 
Unfortunately, rabbits to 'roos is a wide ambit esp. when you include foxes. Firstly rabbits - most professionals use a small clip point blade and really only use the first half inch of blade. Secondly foxes - it depends how professional the job to be down eg whether the head is to be caped or not - a good quality 3" drop point is the go here. And lastly 'roos - in my experience any 3-4" hunting blade will suffice.

Suggestions I take it your limit is in US so I would suggest the Moran Drop Point from Spyderco, one of the small Blackjack knives would be good with the convex blade probably in carbon steel. Benchmade put out some nice hunters worth looking at and the Cold Steel Hunters are good. Maybe you could aim to get him a small clip point to go with the hunting blade. Also there is nothing wrong with the old Schrade Sharpfinger which has been used with success on foxes, goats and roos over the years.
 
Stockman said:
I am trying to get my Xmas shopping sorted early this year and want to buy my father a good skinning knife. From a brief search and reading other related posts, knives with gut hooks are not that popular, nor folding knives, so I will probably pick up a BM rescue hook as well as a fixed blade skinning knife. My father would use the knife to skin small game like rabbits, foxes and kangaroos.

As I have no idea about what makes a good skinning knife, blade shapes and grinds, appropriate steals, handle materials etc. would appreciate some suggestions that fit into a budget of about $100, can spend a little more if required.
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Hi Stockman,

There is a good online Hunting Knife retailer which is Australian based http://web.buffaloblades.com/ They sell some really nice skinners with gut hooks.
If you're not sure, send them an email with some questions they always answer and are often very informative.

If the knife is going to be used for skinning you are going to need a curved blade as this will give you more skinning surface.
You're also going to want a blade that isnt pointy otherwise you risk nicking the hide or organs while you work. A short blade is also better, say about 7-8cms in length so it's managable and agile.

Steel wise you're going to want something nice and hard but easy to sharpen. A knife with 440C that has been properly heat treated will probably be your best bet as it will hold an edge while working and is relatively easy to sharpen and won't rust too easily if it isnt looked after all the time.

Hope this answers some of your questions and gives you some direction... :D

G.
 
I second the blackjack small or slick.worked great on our deer last year.
for small game though they're not skinners, clip point buck 110 or 112 my personal favorite is 112.
 
JDBLADE said:
Unfortunately they are like most Oz sites - overpriced.
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JDBlade, interesting you should say that, I found their prices to be quite reasonable.

How much should a Skinner like their 137s sell for?

The reason many of the retailers are over priced is because of the taxes they are hit with when importing...
 
I would second the recommendation for the Spyderco Moran knife - EXCELLENT steel (which is what a knife is all about), top notch construction and the handle is very comfortable (and grippy) since it has nice inserts in the sides of the handle (though you can't see them in the pictures) and a tough sheath which can be worn in several variations. Well within your price range.

There are others which may look cooler (esp some of those with natural handle materials) but the overall package (steel, handle, sheath) on the Spyderco is hard to beat for the price.

**Edited to add; Those Bucks (as recommended above) with the S30V steel are also a GREAT choice for the price.
 
I'm surprised Bark River hasn't been mentioned yet. Seems like they offer quite a bit of knife for the under $100.00 mark. Several of their blades would make excellent skinners, the Mini Canadian comes immediately to mind.
 
I hunt a bunch. I mean enough to make the wife unhappy which is plenty. I never gave a folder the time of day for a worker for hunting and skinning purposes until I traded for a CRKT Serengeti Hunter not too long ago. This is one fine knife. It is built with such close tolerances that it is actually incredible.

The fact that it is three knives in one makes it even better. I like the two little fixed blades that act as handle scales until you need them and the main blade is also quite nice. My dealer had this thing priced at $56. I've seen it for $54 and anywhere up to $99 on the net. It is a heck of a buy in my opinion and I believe it will certainly intrique even the most detail oriented user with the attention to detail that went into it. Check it out at http://www.crkt.com/serenget.html and see for yourself. You might also want to read this. http://www.crkt.com/franklin.html

You hear very little about this knife but I can attest to the fact that it stands up to the field test. I've already field dressed and skinned out a beaver with it that I trapped last week and I intend to use it on white tail this coming season.

But if a fixed blade is what you want. Don't over look Bob Dozier's knives. His knives are great. His sheaths are great too. I use one of his most of the time but this CRKT has me hooked right now. For the money it is a very good buy in my opinion.
 
Your problem is that to handle rabbits you want a short blade and a narrow point (to split the pelvis area) while you want a longer blade with a less obtrusive point for a larger animal like a kangaroo. The best compromise that I can think of is a caping knife with around a 3" blade. Marble Arms makes a caping knife that is a reasonable size. Another possibility is a Grohmann Small Camper. It has a narrow enough blade to fit in small game, but is well designed for larger animals:

http://www.knifezone.ca/grohmannoutdoor/smallcamper.htm
 
I don't know about the 137 as I haven't any details on those. But if you take Buck eg they are priced 50% over USRRP - now I can assure that 50% is not taken up with tax and freight it is the profit margins of the Australian Importers. If you then compare it with what is on offer by US internet sites its way over the odds. The problem with Oz is there is not any local competition and for too long we have had to put up with high knife prices with 95% mark-ups and that is why most Oz Knife Knuts buy from US sites.
 
bark river knife & tool. go over to KFC and ask which model would be best for you. They're all razor sharp, and very affordable. Made of A2 steel. Under $100.

I also think some of the custom knife makers can make a skinner for you at that price, or, slightly more - think Gene Ingram, David Winston (both who work a lot with D2), Geno Denning (154CM, D2).

I would go the custom route given your budget, perhaps add another $20-30.

Good luck, and let us know what you get.
 
VG-10 is an excellent steel. For me it sharpens more easily than S-30V, certainly not as easy as a carbon steel like 52100, BUT it holds an edge for a long time!! It is also very resistant to staining.

The Moran Spyderco was very impressive when I first got mine, I have a Buddy that runs a Deer Cooler (processing deer) and I got one of those for him as well. He loves it, he steels it after each deer but does a true sharpening only once a week.
 
Hi Stockman

You may want to check out Swamp Rat Howling Rat. A great skinner, and Rats in general seem to be very popular in OZ. There are quite a few of them that frequent the Swamp (Aussies that is)

www.swamprat.com

Ask around in RatChat or in the Swamp Rat sub forum here at BF.

Rob
 
Thank you all for your suggestions, I will look through all of the above and try to find the old boy something he will enjoy using.
If any custom makers have anything hanging around that might fit my requirements, shoot me a line - I know this will blow my budget, but the old digger is worth it.
 
Chase up a few of the Aussie Knifemakers or get onto Doug Timbs for a reference - you should be able to get a good no frills hunter for around $175AUD esp in the smaller size. I don't know if Tas Kerley is still in the west but he would be worth a try.
 
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