Back when I was selling hides I did all my skining wuth a 4inch fixed blade buck knife.It wad been sharpened so many times that the blade looked almost like a filet knife.Because I "case"skined all my coon,cat,coyotes and fox,there was very little actual knife work involved as I pulled most of the hide off the critter.Just the initial cut from back leg to back leg,ringing each leg,ear butts,lips,cutting off the nose,eye sockets and touching the ocassional stubborn membrain.The less cutting you have to do the less chance of winding up with a pelt that has a few "extra"holes in it,if you know what I mean.