Skinning Knife?

[MajorLonghorn]

I gutted and skinned a lamb this past weekend to cook it for our Super Bowl party. I mainly used an ESEE 3 (though I did use an ESEE 4 and a SOG Tech Bowie in some parts), and while it did the job well, I was wondering what people here preferred to use for this sort of task.

 

[mjolnir74]

For deer:

Dozier skinner
CRK Umnumzaan
Strider SnG
Spyderco Paramiltary2
Cold Steel Master Hunter
I would think an ESEE 3 would work very well.

 

[zpstl321]

I've processed a bunch of deer and I own a lot of knives. The knife my wife and I both prefer is a $15 4" blade Rapla filet knife. The short blade is perfect for boning and cutting steaks. Also the blade will last from beginning to the end without the need for sharpen. It seems funny that I've spent thousands of dollars on knives and we both rather use the $15, but that's how it works some times.

A Mora Companion with a SS blade would be another good choice.

 

[BladeScout]

Lon Humphey Nessmuk (when I get one).

Right now a Mission MPU ti.

 

[mcrow]

I've never used a skinning knife to skin a deer. I've probably skinned about 20 deer and always just used the nearest knife. I picked up a Buck ErgoHunter to carry in the field during deer season this year. It worked great for gutting, skinning and processing. I sknned 2 deer with it this year and gutted one and helped process 4 and it held and edge well.

 

[TwinStick]

Buck skinner
Old Hickory skinner
Condor Nessmuk


IMHO, you really need multiple knives. You certainly CAN do it with one but i find a 6-8" boning knife is worth it as well . Use a totally separate knife for cutting through the hair/skin. Animal hair dulls a blade faster than anything i have seen.

 

[mjolnir74]

I use an old chicken plant boning knife to process the meat. The extra length is very nice and the rubberized handle has good grip. I bought it at a bait and tackle store for $6.

Yeah muddy hair will definitely take it's toll on an edge. It seemed like every deer I skinned this year fell in a mud puddle.

 

[tiogatires]

Skinned quite a few with my doziers. Great skinning and butchering knives.

 

[MajorLonghorn]

I ordered a BHK Camp MUK today. I can't wait to see how well it processes an animal. I've never had a knife made out of O-1, so I'm eager to test it.

 

[Triplexbullies.com]

I use a W.C. Davis loveless style hunting knife in CMP154cm and a Blackjack 125. Both great knifes.

 

[RevDevil]

A coworker that hunts regularly for deer and turkey recently picked up a Benchmade Bone Collector 15015-2. He told me he loves the knife for skinning and processing turkey. He also has the 15005S-1 to match and is his dedicated camp knife. Interesting choices, but he loves them and uses them as often as he is able.

 

[RWT]

3 deer and 2 hogs this year with my Scrapyard scrapmax - only had to strop it once.

 

[festerfromnzed]

This is what a skinner looks like...And contrary to popular beleif a not so sharp edge will seperate the connecting layer between hide and flesh easier than a super sharp one..with less damage to meat and hide... FES

 

[straightwalls]

Anybody else skin deer/moose or similar game with a truck or quad? I find it to be a real time saver, also when hanging game I have found that your own body weight does most of the job for you, anyone else use these methods?

 

[festerfromnzed]

STRAIGHTWALLS....If you are referring to punching the hide off??...then yessir when its still warm....But i believe that wasnt the OP,s question..... FES

 

[pstetson]

i own All style of ESEE's and quite a few of DPx. This year i used my DPx Heft 4 Woodsman to gut and skin a elk in the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming!! Worked out great!!!

 

[straightwalls]

STRAIGHTWALLS....If you are referring to punching the hide off??...then yessir when its still warm....But i believe that wasnt the OP,s question..... FES

Ah yes, thats the term I was looking for, sorry about the hijack. And I completely agree about the knife not needing to be very sharp at all, you just end up cutting through the hide in places, that is one job where a dull knife is OK with me. This year I used a Fallkniven PHK for the first time and was quite pleased with the blade design, and performance was excellent for all game cleaning tasks, especially skinning as it has a nice belly, although certainly not as pronounced as festerfromnzed's example pictured.

 

[mjolnir74]

This is what a skinner looks like...And contrary to popular beleif a not so sharp edge will seperate the connecting layer between hide and flesh easier than a super sharp one..with less damage to meat and hide... FES

How does that knife do when you're cutting the bladder out? The only time I've seen someone using that style knife was skinning hogs. Drove the boy nuts because the blade wouldn't cut well. I agree a sharp knife gaps the hide, not an issue unless your gonna mount it. He gladly used my folder to skin the remaining 3 hogs. Although, I could see how it would do much better on larger animals.

 

[festerfromnzed]

How does that knife do when you're cutting the bladder out? The only time I've seen someone using that style knife was skinning hogs. Drove the boy nuts because the blade wouldn't cut well. I agree a sharp knife gaps the hide, not an issue unless your gonna mount it. He gladly used my folder to skin the remaining 3 hogs. Although, I could see how it would do much better on larger animals.

This knife is used solely for getting the hide off the carcass..It will do any other cutting task required but not as well as its intended purpose..I usually use an old Timer Sharpfinger for all the surgery jobs.. FES

 

[ryxlyx]

Here's another trailing skinner, tho much older (c. 1880-1900):

I prefer aggressive tips for the most part, but these trailers follow the path of least resistance easily. For me it was furbearers and any hide that could be pulled free was (I think folks often cut when they could pull), and I used a slitting blade for most tasks. But where hide had to be cut from carcass (badger, beaver, cold coyotes) these trailers exceptional. Also used this oldie as my "head" knife.