Skinning knife

[redneck1]

I know nothing about knives , so here's what I need make some suggestions.

I need ... err want a dedicated skinning knife .
I do two pigs a year . That's it . That's all I want it for .
My simple requirements. .
Not made in China
A good easy to sharpen and keep sharp blade.
Budget friendly ... and yes i know a good knife wont be had for 19.95
Dedicated Skinner , I have good knives for boning and cutting

I'm only doing two pigs a year , so I for sure don't need the best of the best .
Just a good solid worker

[ShooterAZ]

I use a Buck #120 for general skinning, and a #102 for caping. There's all manner of new zipper/razor type knives out there, but I guess I'm old school and this is what works for me. Been using them for decades.

[M-Tecs]

https://store.butchersupply.net/butc...nives-c31.aspx

[jonp]

Wife bought me this kit for Christmas a few years ago https://www.amazon.com/Outdoor-Edge-...edge+knife+set

Not sure where they are made but they hold a good edge and are easy to sharpen. Use them all of the time and am quite happy with them. They also don't cost an arm and a leg so for those of us that do one or two animals a year pretty good deal I think.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Mora Knives are excellent can be had for under $19.95. I love the fact that I can easily wash the plastic sheath. Dexters and Victorinox are also good commercial grade knives. Sharpness makes all the difference in the world. You should be able to shave with your knives. Even a cheap China knife is sufficient if the steel is hard enough to hold an edge.

[deerstalkerks]

+1 again on the Mora, I have skinned more deer and still haven't had to re-sharpen it..

[jonp]

Mora Knives are excellent can be had for under $19.95. I love the fact that I can easily wash the plastic sheath. Dexters and Victorinox are also good commercial grade knives. Sharpness makes all the difference in the world. You should be able to shave with your knives. Even a cheap China knife is sufficient if the steel is hard enough to hold an edge.

https://www.amazon.com/Morakniv-Comp...rds=mora+knife

We have a couple of them +1 on the quality and sharpness

[LUCKYDAWG13]

I skinned a lot of animals with this knife https://shop.grangecoop.com/products...iABEgJU8fD_BwE

[Taylor]

[snowwolfe]

https://www.amazon.com/Morakniv-Comp...rds=mora+knife

We have a couple of them +1 on the quality and sharpness

These are my go to knives for any butchering or skinning chore on deer. I still have custom knives costing upwards of $300 and they just sit unused.

[lightman]

I've been rethinking the knife thing myself. I have a couple of nice custom knives. D2 steel, nice handles, expensive. They don't stay sharp as long as I expected and are hard to sharpen. I'm starting to think about an inexpensive knife that I'm not afraid to stick in an electric sharpener for a quick edge. I hunted with a guy in Canada that also worked part time as a skinner on a dude elk ranch. He favored cheap knives that he bought a half dozen at a time for $30-$40.

[Newboy]

Havalon


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[snowwolfe]

I've been rethinking the knife thing myself. I have a couple of nice custom knives. D2 steel, nice handles, expensive. They don't stay sharp as long as I expected and are hard to sharpen. I'm starting to think about an inexpensive knife that I'm not afraid to stick in an electric sharpener for a quick edge. I hunted with a guy in Canada that also worked part time as a skinner on a dude elk ranch. He favored cheap knives that he bought a half dozen at a time for $30-$40.

Try the Mora. I did about 6 deer with a Mora including skinning and boning. All I did was to hit the knife with the steel occasionally. Never had to resharpen one yet.

[Minerat]

I have a Victronix skinner it gets sharp and holds the edge well. On hogs that might be different then elk and deer. 25$ on MTec's link.

[redneck1]

I've been perusing the professional butcher knives in mtech's link they are quite a bit more affordable then I expected .
Dare I say it , they are actualy pretty cheap .

[trapper9260]

You can also check a trapping supply company for skinning knives .

[skeettx]

I use a Schrade 34OT for skinning
I use a Wyoming Knife for opening them up using the gut hook
http://www.wyomingknife.com/knives.htm

an old Puma Game Warden 972 for getting in innards out.

My Schrade is old and holds an edge.
I use the small blade for skinning and it does quick work
The other blades in reserve for other stuff.
I can hold the entire knife with just the little blade sticking out
and it is amazingly fast and accurate.

https://www.sportsmans.com/hunting/k...SABEgKzMvD_BwE

[poppy42]

There’s a couple things that have to be considered . When you say a skinner I’m thinking you’re just worried about getting the hide off a hog. Without much concern as to whether or not you Knick the hide. A true Skinner on the other hand never has a sharp point such as in the skinning knife that a fur trapper would use. The last thing you want to do is accidentally poke a hole in a valuable fur hide. I guess if You were looking for a knife for the sole purpose of processing a hog and getting the hide off it I would suggest you go with a knife that was most comfortable in my hand that the got the job done . Personally I’d still stay away from anything with a point on it. I would definitely not want to take a chance on sticking myself while trying to perform such a tedious task as working the Hide off a hog. And as far as I’m concerned you certainly don’t need a name brand high dollar knife. As a matter of fact the best skinning knife I have was nothing more than a old farrier’s file with a good edge ground onto it. I would suggest you check out a trapping supply house like Northern trapping supply. You get a pretty darn good skinner for under 20 bucks. I know lots of folks have to have high dollar brand name knives. But I’ve always been cheep, and broke, so I’m more concerned with functionality then who made it or how much it cost. These are just my opinions for what they’re worth good luck in your quest

[Wayne Smith]

Depends on what you want. You have some good advice above. Since I was there about 15 years ago before each Christmas I get a catalog from Frost Knife company in Tennessee. They have a good reputation. In this catalog there were some Damascus knife blades made in Pakistan and I know some of the are not good quality but some are - and since Frost has a good reputation I ordered two blades betting they were good. Got one for me and one for my best friend. They are basically skinning knives with a point. I put handles on them and Erv made sheathes. I have a total I think of about $38 each since I had the wood and glue - oops, had to buy a couple pieces of round brass for the handles.

Erv tried to change the point of his, said he thinks it will take him a couple hours to drop the point a bit. From that I am assuming they are good quality blades.

The downside is that I'll probably get catalogues from them for the rest of my life.

[Bazoo]

Buck 679 or a Mora Companion.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-BUCK-67...:rk:4:razz:f:0

https://www.amazon.com/Morakniv-Comp...mora+companion