TOPS Backwoods Skinner - coming soon

[JSwanagon]

Hello all, this past week at SHOT Show I finally got to get one of the prototypes of my new Backwoods Skinner being put out by TOPS Knives very soon. We have a couple minor changes we are going to be making, but they are working on that now and it should be going into production very shortly. Anyway, I thought you all might like to see some photos of the prototype and get a few details. Can't wait to hear your thoughts. I hope this is in the right place and doesn't violate any rules. I'm new here and not absolutely certain the rules at my membership level regarding this particular issue, I'm not selling it, just trying to show it off a little bit. Mods, if I'm in the wrong, please let me know and feel free to remove it. Thank you.

The Backwoods Skinner is made of 1095 high carbon steel with a desert tan powder coat for easier cleaning and nicer lines. The scales are a canvas micarta providing great comfort with a little more texture, giving it a better grip when wet. The angle of the blade from the grip allows for a comfortable grip with a natural break to the wrist. The clip point provides a more ergonomic feel when running the index finger down the spine for finer work, or to help you guide the blade inside, while the deep belly allows you to hold the blade firmly between your thumb and fingers in a sideways grip for scraping, or better control in certain situations. The blade is 3" with an overall length of 6.5" and an overall weight of 6.6 oz (including the parasite gut hook).

The gut hook is nestled neatly in the butt of the grip, keeping it hidden and shielded to prevent it from inadvertently damaging coats, shirts and sheaths. This also allows for the different grips on the knife without worrying about cutting yourself on the gut hook. To use the gut hook, simply pull the pin, pull the gut hook out, turn it around and slide the butt end of the gut hook back into the opening in the butt end of the Backwoods Skinner and replace the pin. Then place the sheath back onto the skinner (for safety), grip it and rip it.

 

[chiral.grolim]

I think your survivalpodcast images are better.

I am a fan of the Alaskan "ulu" skinner blade and certainly prefer the off-set handle design to give the knife more versatility :thumbup: Also, the handle looks well shaped for comfort, indexing, and control.

On terminology, that is not a "clip point", it is a "drop-point" blade.

I am curious as to why you went with coated 1095 rather than stainless steel, what hardness you selected, and also the stock thickness and edge-thickness and angle. It looks very robust for a skinning blade, more like a tiny hatchet. The spine-jimping looks rather unfriendly to wet bare hands. There is a screw near the guard area but thin brass tubes flared near the butt - are the scales not removable? It would be much better if they were removable given the presence of the cavity for the gut-hook and the likelihood of a mess collecting in there.
The pin doesn't look well secured and showing a lanyard mounted on a split-ring to the pin suggests a high probability of the pin being pulled inadvertently, gut-hook falling out. The hook itself looks great, probably could be skeletonized as well *shrug*

This is the only TOPS offering at SHOT that caught my eye. Well done :thumbup:

 

[Franciscomv]

I like the overall design and while I'm not a huge fan of coated blades, I applaud that at least it isn't black. The steel choice is good, 1095 is a proven outdoors performer and TOPS has been using it for years. What's the thickness going to be on this one? I've seen TOPS ruin some wonderful designs by making them in very thick stock.

I know the guthook is part of the novelty of this knife, but it's honestly the only thing keeping me from adding it to my wish list. I don't use guthooks and don't like having gadgets in my knife's handle. If there was a version without the guthook, I'd certainly be interested.

Other than the billboard on the blade (something that can't be helped with TOPS), it's a very attractive knife. I hope it does well.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

I would like the gut hook better if were a separate piece, a little more handle, in a piggyback sheath rather than in the handle.

This is a neat piece of gear.

 

[JSwanagon]

Thanks you guys, I appreciate the comments. And I appreciate the well wishes, this is my first offering, so hopefully I will get better as I go along.

chiral.grolim those are some great points and questions. Regarding the point, the angle of the photos (because of where the bevel is) kind of makes it look a little different. The point on this knife is actually kind of a grey area. There is no convex or concave to it, it is more of a straight clip point. But the photos do make it look like a drop point, that was why I pointed that out in my post, the photos are a little deceiving.

Regarding the steel, 1095 is a good reliable steel as long as you keep it oiled. I like to use Olive Oil on my high carbon blades specifically for food processing reasons. I think S30V could have been a good option for this blade but would have brought the price up more than I would have liked, I am perfectly happy with the 1095, I want it to be a good combination of affordability and functionality. I really want it to be accessible. Most of the knives I own are 1095 and I have always been happy with the performance.

The stock thickness is 3/16”, as far as the edge thickness and angle I want to wait to answer that until we go to production just in case we make any kind of changes to that. But the hardness is RC 56-58, good for processing meat.

Regarding the jimping, it is a bit aggressive, but I think it will actually aid in thumb grip when the hands are wet. I haven’t had a chance to take it out and give it a good run yet, but when I do I will pay attention to that for sure. The jimping was an addition made by Leo at TOPS, my original design didn’t have any at all, but I liked it once I got a chance to feel it.

I would have liked the scales to be removable as well, I would like to do some custom scales for it, but this was a decision made by Leo. I believe it has to do with the room that would be required for screws. There isn’t a lot of wiggle room with the gut hook in there.

Thank you all for the great comments, this is definitely how I am going to learn for my future designs. Great stuff.

 

[Mikewall2015]

I use gut hook separate from knife, just placed in between middle and ring fingers with pin as handle. It stores in knife well though.

 

[heresthedeal]

Looks like a drop point,

3/16 thick, a skinning knife doesnt need to pry any thing open, my point is, bit thick and heavy.

I agree with the handle scales deing removable would be good, and no gut hook in the handle, but as much skinning as that thing will be doing I doubt it will be a problem.
Its a tops.
Make it thinner, get rid of the coating, not as much belly to the "drop point" blade and get rid of the gut hook.
Then IMO it would be a skinner, nice pics tho.

 

[MOCraig]

I like the design quite a bit, and especially your incorporation of the "hidden" gut hook tool. While I'm not a user of gut hooks myself, a lot are, and they do work very well. It's a nice feature that I believe people will appreciate. Regarding the steel choice, 1095 is perfect, especially since it's coated. The jimping, in my experience, should prove to do what you stated - help keep a secure grip in less than secure conditions.

The knife shape reminds me of a Wilmont pocket skinner I have. I'm not sure I know off the top of my head how thick the stock is, but it's thicker than most would believe a skinner should be. However, it works very well. It's parkerized 1095, with a hollow grind. The 1095 has proved to be easy to touch up when out hunting and using the knife, and the jimping, while it looks uncomfortable, isn't. It works great, and helps me keep hold of the blade when working with it.

I realize they're different knives, but I believe there's enough similarity to make me think what you've made it going to work well.

I believe having the scales be removable would be a good idea, if possible, because the way these are used it's nice to be able to really clean it well.

This is the Wilmont, again I know it's different, but the shape and idea are similar.

Here's a buck I skinned and caped with it.

I think you designed a nice, useful hunting blade - never personally had a lot of interest in TOPS knives, but I'm interested in this one.

 

[B34NS]

Never been a fan of coatings, especially for skinning. It always snags.

I do love the idea though! Kinda curious to see a stripped version, looks very utilitarian.

 

[Mikewall2015]

It is a tool that makes sense once felt and used on meat.
The experience is great just glides through with minimal movement.

 

[Mikewall2015]

Also sheath is very well built, jimping is tremendous ,knife feels great in hand.
And as for the cleaning of the cavity I've had no problems with pipe cleaners.