Skinner Knives?
06-22-2011, 09:02 AM
#4
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location:
Posts: 2,186
There are tons of options for a good quality skinning knife. Prices can run into the hundreds. The Damacus look is mainly for "beauty" and does not necessarily indicate "quality". You will probably get plenty of great advice. The "spoon" design butcher as mentioned above is a fine style for skinning. A mistake that I see many folks make when buying a "skinning" knife is to buy one with an overly large blade. Keeping it about 4" - 5" long is plenty big enough and easier to handle than some "Semi-Rambo" sized knife!
Buck brand knives are a good value in my book. Their "Alpha" fixed blade and folding knife, with the "gut-hook" is a decent design for skinning medium sized critters such as deer and feral hogs. They run about $100 - $125. A gut-hook often comes in handy, though is not absolutely necessary. I like having one. Either of these Buck knives are fine for skinning.
Buck brand knives are a good value in my book. Their "Alpha" fixed blade and folding knife, with the "gut-hook" is a decent design for skinning medium sized critters such as deer and feral hogs. They run about $100 - $125. A gut-hook often comes in handy, though is not absolutely necessary. I like having one. Either of these Buck knives are fine for skinning.
06-22-2011, 02:57 PM
#5
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: west central wi USA
Posts: 2,242
Real quality hand made Damascus is expensive, on the order of $100 per inch of blade for good stuff. I think you can do better. Look into some custom examples here.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/fo...e-Fixed-Blades
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/fo...e-Fixed-Blades
07-16-2011, 09:24 AM
#6
Super Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: South Central Missouri
Posts: 3,112
Everything in my deer bag is Outdoor Edge. They were a sponsor of ours some time back and basic knives that I use.
#1 Kodi Caper - for skinning and caping.
#2 Kodi Caper Lite - same knife, but in a folding version.
#3 Whitetail Skinner - a small rounded blade with a gut hook. I use this for my field dressing, as the blade is small enough to palm when reaching inside to sever the vitals. Mine is actually a combo pack, that includes a t-handle saw for zipping through ribs or pelvic bone.
#4 Fish and Bone - a longer blade that is use when de-boning my deer or a clients. They call it a fillet knife, but it is not flexible enough for this.
All of these knives purchased separately would cost $134.80 (with a saw $159.75)
They do have several combo pack butcher kits that have many of these knives in a handy case. Some even have a cutting board.
They come razor sharp and hold a good edge, with a good steel, they are easy to touch up when needed.
LOL This sounds like an ad for Outdoor Edge, but they are no longer a sponsor of ours, but is what I have in my field pack and what I use. For the money, I would be hard pressed to find as many that have withstood what I put them through every year, and at this price.
#1 Kodi Caper - for skinning and caping.
#2 Kodi Caper Lite - same knife, but in a folding version.
#3 Whitetail Skinner - a small rounded blade with a gut hook. I use this for my field dressing, as the blade is small enough to palm when reaching inside to sever the vitals. Mine is actually a combo pack, that includes a t-handle saw for zipping through ribs or pelvic bone.
#4 Fish and Bone - a longer blade that is use when de-boning my deer or a clients. They call it a fillet knife, but it is not flexible enough for this.
All of these knives purchased separately would cost $134.80 (with a saw $159.75)
They do have several combo pack butcher kits that have many of these knives in a handy case. Some even have a cutting board.
They come razor sharp and hold a good edge, with a good steel, they are easy to touch up when needed.
LOL This sounds like an ad for Outdoor Edge, but they are no longer a sponsor of ours, but is what I have in my field pack and what I use. For the money, I would be hard pressed to find as many that have withstood what I put them through every year, and at this price.
07-24-2011, 08:39 AM
#10
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Southeast Missouri
Posts: 2,178
Another thing to consider is do You want a fixed blade knife or a folding knife?The fixed blades will require a sheath and will be easier to clean off after gutting and skinning a Deer the folding knifes are easier to carry but require more serious cleaning because of the opeing where the blade folds in.I was looking thru the local Bass Pro catalog and the Buck Knifes look pretty nice,especially the Orange Handle ones with Camo pattern...these would be ideal to use since it would clean up easier and sharpen too...gut hook knifes are nice...just wondering how long the gut hook area stays sharp and how to sharpen it when it gets dull?
