What's the best skinning knife?

D

dichroic

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Jul 12, 2006
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I have a friend in taxidermy. I want to get him a skinning knife but, I'm at a loss for what would be the sturdiest most reliable knife as it will see a lot of use.

Thanx in advance for your suggestions
 
a harder steel, ats34, d2, s30v, so the user wont have to sharpen mid-skinning. 3-4 inch blade, large belly, drop point style.

bob dozier makes some excellent hunting/skinning knives $200-300 range. if you can get your hands on a busse game warden the shape looks like a great skinner, but havent used mine yet.
 
If he is a taxidermist, then he will have the most use for a caping knife (a knife specifically designed to "cape" or skin a hunter's trophy. Much like a paring knife, or a bird and trout knife. 2-3 inch blade, acute point, some belly but not too much, slim handle, easy to choke up on, and easy to control. The gross skinning of the game is not generally a problem, it is skinning the ears, noses, and lips of animals that can be trouble. Remember that a taxidermist is going to be working on birds and fish as well as deer, elk, bear, moose, etc. Take a look at Knives of Alaska's Cub Bear for an example of a good caping knife.
http://www.knivesofalaska.com/
click of "Fixed Blade Knives," then on "Cub Bear."

I bought an "Alaskan Hunter" and a "Cub Bear" (both Knives of Alaska products) and had a kydex sheath made for the pair. Thought the big knife with the generous belly would be really handy skinning deer and elk. Turns out the small caping knife gets the lions share (make that all) of the skinning duty. Still really like the Alaskan Hunter, but really haven't found a use for it yet.

You don't have to spend a fortune on super steels to get good life out of a working edge. I have a knife in 420j2 (gil hibbin alaskan pro hunter) that gutted, skinned, boned out, and butchered an elk and three whitetails before needing any work on the edge.
 
Right, Benchmade 210.

Take a look if you get a moment at www.agrussell.com.

It's full of good & great skinners.
Like the Dozier in D2, and others.
Bark River,
A. G. Russell's own,

others too.
 
http://www.tichbourneknives.com/index1.htm

I think this is the one George calls the 4 Moose skinner. He was fed up of buying hunting knives that needed sharpening 4 times to skin and dress one moose, so he designed and made this knife. It will skin and dress 4 moose before it needs sharpening! The grip is set up so your index finger sits at the top of the blade, so you know where the tip is to protect your other hand and wrist when caping.

1/8" 440C-OAL 8" Blade 3 3/8"
Brass Bolsters hand ground
Cocobolo handle Brass pins
Standard wood handle


webpage_wood_trainling_point_skinner_NBs.jpg
 
A skinning knife is NOT the same as a field dressing knife. A field dressing knife needs to have a good point with not too much belly (won‘t get into the gory details as to why). A skinning knife needs to have a lot of belly with an up swept point to help prevent damaging the hide or pelt. While some people like folders for hunting chores, I do not. All of my hunting knives are fixed blades. They are much easier to clean so a fixed blade is what I recommend.

A person can carry two different knives but if one looks around a but, there are a few designs that are a good compromise. I have a Benchmade Hunter (BM190). It's 440C so it holds a good, sharp edge. I find it does both field dressing AND skinning quite well. It also has a very comfortable handle. In short, a great little knife. I think the blade of the BM 210 is too short and a because of the physical demands of hunting (unless one is only a “stand” hunter), the sheath needs to have a secure strap to keep the knife from possibly falling out while climbing, removing clothing, etc.. The 190 can be had for about $80. Here is a picture...

Click on picture to enlarge.
View attachment 62668

For about double the money, you can get an original, handmade Hattori hunter/skinner in VG-10. His knives are hard to come by but I happen to notice this one is in stock at the moment. Your friend would love it. Also has a nice finger choil. Here is the link. It come from Japan within 5 days. They also have an office in the states to deal with any problems.
http://www.japaneseknifedirect.com/HattoriModelH-30HattoriFieldHunters.html

Regards
 
for skinning the bark river mini canadian does a nice job.the marble's fieldcraft or woodcraft are good also.
a folder that would work is one of the blade-tech pro hunters or pro lites.
 
Well..... I just got back from a Montana hunt. The guys i hunted with used a carbon steel Buffalo Skinner for field dressing as well as skinning. The one guy is a biology professer so he knows a thing or two about taking critters apart, in fact i was worried he was going to 'grade" my field dressing job.:D

This was an 8 dollar blade that he buys and puts wood/antler handles on.

No real useable point either.....

I watched him dress one 200 pound whitetail and a mule deer doe, then skin the buck before he ever had to touch up the blade .

8 bucks...... made me rethink a lot about what i spend.
 
I have a custom made "semi-skinner" in BG42 steel -- sharp as can be, and holds an edge like crazy, and for only $250! ...but I usually use (and make available for loan) a Forschner Lamb Skinner with Fibrox handle ($14) like they use in a packing house.
 
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