Skinning knife?

S

smiljko

Joined
Jul 11, 2006
Messages
5
Hi
I'm new to the forum, but I'v been reading for a few days and you guys realy opened up a new dimension in knives to me.

The question is - I want to buy a good hunting knife with a gut hook -I'll be using it to skin wild pigs,and I need a knife that will hold an edge to skin 3-4 pigs-it is frustrating when your knife becomes dull during the process and can't get the job done.It also needs to be moderatly easy to sharpen-I like to use butchers steel for quick touch-ups
I've been looking at several good knifes that are avalible around here,but I want to hear your oppinions.
The following knives are:

Buck Alpha hunter
Buck Zipper
Cold steel master hunter plus
Gerber GatorII

Thanks
 
I found that the gut hook gets in the way when working inside the animal.Bark River make some excellent hunting knives.Then you could buy a Gerber gut hook that uses exacto blades in it.
 
mmarkh said:
I found that the gut hook gets in the way when working inside the animal.Bark River make some excellent hunting knives.Then you could buy a Gerber gut hook that uses exacto blades in it.
Click to expand...

I haven't owned a knife with a gut hook-but I think that cutting around anal opening could be tricky with it-but I'll use another knife to do that.
Bark River knifes are not avalible in my country:( -so models that I listed are my only choice.
 
If you can find the Alpha Hunter with 154CM alloy blade it would stay sharp the longest. It would also be the most difficult to sharpen. I have seen some advertised on the internet that use 420HC alloy blades and these would probably not stay sharp for 4 pigs. I would get one without the gut hook and instead get a seperate gut hook device with replaceable blades. The Gerber model looks well designed.
http://www.buckknives.com/catalog/detail/151/224
http://www.outdoorsuperstore.com/product.asp?prod=316734
 
I think that Alfa hunter I can get is 420HC steel:( I'm maybe leaning towards Cold Steel-how good is their carbon V steel?

Thanks
 
If the cold steel is carbon V i would get that because that will hold the a good edge and be easy to resharpen. The only problem though is that with blood it may rust.
 
Fallkniven has some very good skinning knives, like for instance the H1.
see link: http://www.fallkniven.com/h1.htm.
The steel they use is laminated vg-10 with an outer core of 402j steel for corrosion resistance. It keeps an excelent edge an is easy to sharpen.
 
powercut said:
Fallkniven has some very good skinning knives, like for instance the H1.
see link: http://www.fallkniven.com/h1.htm.
The steel they use is laminated vg-10 with an outer core of 402j steel for corrosion resistance. It keeps an excelent edge an is easy to sharpen.
Click to expand...

A friend of mine has the F1-and I'm impressed-but the price is out of my reach:(
 
My dad and I both use a Buck 692. If memory serves right, he and I have used our knives together to skin out 3 deer in a setting and I think he's actually skinned up to 5 on a single sharpening. Great all around knife too - not just limited to skinning purposes.

http://www.buckknives.com/catalog/detail/219/239

I've never messed with the gut hook design. I've opened many a critter and have never needed anything other than a sharp blade.
 
Careful now - I'm an old dude, and may not represent the "best" of modern thinking! ;)

Forget the gut hook - Two fingers, blade edge up, and you're as good as it gets. The rest of the time, a gut hook is just a pain.

I second the guy above who suggested Bark River. One of Mike's blades in A2 will out perform any of the knives you mentioned, and for only a bit more $$$. Personally, I use the Upland for just about everything, but then (being an old guy) I grew up with a trailing point before drop points were popular. The knives you mentioned are all okay, but that Upland holds a razor edge through just about anything.

Best of luck on your hunting, and enjoy a couple smoked hams for me!
:thumbup:
 
If you're interested in a fixed blade model, I recommend the DH Russell series from Grohmann. In particular, you may want to check out the #4 Survival model, which is available with guthook. It's a beautiful, traditional blade, and it takes a terrific edge.

Other than that, I support the comments on the Buck Alpha, which is a very reliable knife, in my experience. Both the folding and fixed versions are solid and hold a nice edge - and their handle design is good and grippy, even in adverse conditions.

- Mike
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top