Surprise skinner suggestions?

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PaMtnBkr

Joined
Dec 31, 2009
Messages
393
Hi all,
There is a fellow here at work who has been super helpful in my journey to become a knife maker. He is not a knife maker but he is a machinist and has really helped me out w/a lot of small projects to help me build my grinder and help sharpen drill bits, etc. He is an avid hunter and I want to make him a "Thank you" knife for Christmas. He has mentioned he needs a good skinner and I need some suggestions because I do not hunt so I do not understand the features needed in a good skinner? I intend to make it from .125 thick 1084 steel, stock removal, and make slab handles out of Micarta. Can you recommend a blade length, style, grind and handle length that would be beneficial to the needs of a good skinner? I am not overly experienced but now have a few knifes under my belt. Thank you for your help! Don
 
Well, depends on if he's skinning squirrels or moose, and if it's also a field/hunter or a dedicated skinner. I guess in general, skinners have more sweep or belly in them. 4" blade is pretty common, though, some are only 2" of so. Here is one that I have made and has been quite popular.
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A pretty good little skinner, but maybe not so great as a hunter.
 
This guy primarily does deer but is not shy about small game either! Maybe I'll make him a 4" skinner and a Bird and trout too?
 
I just finished this one for a friend who breeds Great Danes, which we have two of. The pic is terrible. The fluorescent lighting reflected horribly in the sanding marks, which are actually 1000g. They look like 50g in the picture. The smaller knife is an EDC for his wife. Please don't laugh at my sheath work. :)

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I'd go with something like this. 7 3/4 or 8", shortish blade compared to the handle. Good utilitarian size, IMO.
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This is more of a classic skinner style resembling the old Green River skinners (though with more contour in the handle), and nobody does them better than Mr. Cote. If I were building a dedicated skinner (not a general hunting knife), I'd do something like this:

Cactus-Skinner-knife.jpg
 
I have been researching this topic for sometime now in order to come up with my own local version. I have interviewed a panel of avid hunters and outdoorsmen on multiple occasions going back and forth between them with drawings and a couple of foam board models, incorporating their advise and revisions. They are a varied lot with income levels ranging from under 20k per year to 250k+ a year and their ages vary from 18 - 84. Between the six of them they account for about 3 kills per day of some type! The parameters I set were for it to be sized for local game (eastern Ky) so that means mostly deer but to include rabbit, squirrel, groundhog, raccoon, possum... but excluding most fish and small birds like dove or grouse. Long story short I was going to post a drawing of my results but Jason Fry posted the exact design in shape and size. My handle shape is slightly different but not much. Just goes to show that on tried and true designs, it is best not to try and reinvent the wheel but to copy and make well. With a couple variations of it and a B & T, sold locally, I plan to equip my fledgling shop. I think the same design would work well for your intentions.
 
That's a great looking skinner Travis posted, I made a similar design for my brother, who butchers something like 30 steers and 50 hogs a year. He really like it, but there is not much skinning on a deer. Just split the legs and belly, and you can pull most of the hide off. That's why I prefer a "hunter" and skip the skinner all-together, but that's just me, and to each his own. The guy with the $$$ is always right. Some people even like gut hooks, if yo can believe that!!
 
The "Sharp Finger" style has been around for years and many folks like it as a general use hunter, but it can also handle some skinning chores.

Here is a version that a customer ordered. Left out for Canada this morning.

B_Burns..jpg
 
Thank you all! I think I know the direction I am going to go with this one! Something along the lines of what Jason Fry did with a full flat grind and a pale yellowish/green G10 slabs! Thank you all!!
 
A set like Willie made is a very useful pair of knives. With a little skill, you can make a duo-sheath that holds both.
 
Thanks Stacy. I really appreciate that. I didn't finish those super nice as they are truly going to be used as EDC knives, but they do look a lot better in person than the pictures. The lighting in my house is quite glaring as both my wife and I have SAD. The intense light makes taking pictures of high contrast items difficult. I am finding a lot of people are asking for a raised clip that is sharpened. I have done 8 of them now.
 
I was not specifically referring to the harpoon blade, but in general to a larger and smaller hunter set. A set like that can do most any chore from breaking down the deer to cleaning a quali.
 
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