Skinning knife

[bob208]

I have a old hickory skinner works great cost $12.00 when I bought it new. you can not beat old hickory most butcher shops around here use them.

[RP]

Post 18 has my vote I do not need a point on a knife to skin a deer, My son got one for skinning beavers and tried it on a deer it makes a difference. Blade it long and curved so it cuts down on how many passes it takes to remove the same about of hide.

[pete501]

My favorite production knife for skinning deer has to be an older Buck 103.

The rounded point to on the Buck 103 works especially nice if you want to save the hide.

Zippers come in handy. A buddy gave the 691, he had my name engraved, a going away present. I would call him every time I used it. He is passed on now.

The two top knives I made from files.

For the smaller knife I used a knobby deer antler for a good grip. I kept it small with a large choil for my middle finger allowing my index finger to reach the tip. Choke up on the blade sort of.

The larger one has elk scales. Gay Ward inspired Butter Knife. I made it as an elk skinner.

[poppy42]

My favorite production knife for skinning deer has to be an older Buck 103.

The rounded point to on the Buck 103 works especially nice if you want to save the hide.

Zippers come in handy. A buddy gave the 691, he had my name engraved, a going away present. I would call him every time I used it. He is passed on now.

The two top knives I made from files.

For the smaller knife I used a knobby deer antler for a good grip. I kept it small with a large choil for my middle finger allowing my index finger to reach the tip. Choke up on the blade sort of.

The larger one has elk scales. Gay Ward inspired Butter Knife. I made it as an elk skinner.

Nice knives. I can see why you like the Buck.

[oldblinddog]

This:

https://www.knifecenter.com/item/ONW...ardwood-handle

[EDG]

Victorinox and others manufacture a beef skinner blade for use by professionals. New those knives are about $23 each.
Just search ebay for beef skinner knife and you will find several at that price with free shipping.

[Texas by God]

This little custom Spey blade is a wonderful skinner. I'm on board with the Mora knives. I have an older Frost Cutlery marked carbon steel model that is great. I bought 4 at a gun show for my family(stainless) @ $14 each.

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[GhostHawk]

Old Hickory, Mora both have several models that would do the job for around that 20$ bill mark. I have several of both, and a couple of old hickory knock off's.

With Mora I much prefer the carbon steel to the stainless. They make both, so pay attention.

Old Hickory also makes a pig sticker available on amazon for 9$.
https://www.amazon.com/Moteng-Ontari.../dp/B00AZMJRIE



Twice as many edges for half the money, or twice as much skinning before you need to get the steel out. And perfectly made for bleeding a hog right after the kill shot.

I have one because I simply could not resist the chance for another old Hickory Knife at that price. I made a Kydex sheath for mine, kind of like a neck knife. Reach up grab the handle, give a little pull and its out.

Mine came SHARP. I did give it maybe 20 strokes on the strop just to polish it. It hangs by my recliner in easy reach.

Heck for that price, buy two! Use one to practice with, and practice your sharpening skills with. Keep the other for work and only work.

[jonp]

That Hickory is awful big for what the OP intends or am I mistaken?

[redneck1]

I gave this some thought , post 18 brings up some good points but I have a few different considerations then saving a hide .
Mostly I want a proper knife so it's an easier job and I want to be able to do the best job possible .
Pigs are tough to skin compared to a dear , the skin isn't loose and you can't just pull it off .
And because I am skinning instead of scalding and scraping I need to be able to do a good job so I leave as much fat on the carcass as possible .
And God forbid you get out of wack on the belly and ruin your bacon

I rather like the look of that buck Skinner above , a few more hours of thought and I'll have to make a choice so I can get one on the way.

[GhostHawk]

That Hickory is awful big for what the OP intends or am I mistaken?

Blade is 6", whole knife is 10.5 inches long.

Yes it is possibly a touch long for skinning pigs.

[Bazoo]

Personally, I think that a blade over 4" is too much for any skinning operation. I skinned a deer with a buck 119... it was doable, but was a compromise of an all around knife length and one suited better to the job. A case ridgeback skinner would be nice for the job, but i've not used one for anything larger than squirrel. I got a buck 192 right now, but aint used it on a critter yet.

[redneck1]

I gave it some thought and because they are affordable I got two knives to try for skinning , and a flexible boning knife just because it seems like a good thing to have .
All three are victorinox , I got a 5 inch beef Skinner and the 5 inch lamb skinner and I'll see which one I like better . I let anyone helping use the other

[Bazoo]

If you want a blunt blade, its real easy to blunt a sharp pointed blade and make a spey blade out of it. One could take a paring knife and a file, and make a cheap, but effective skinner in about 20 minutes.

[725]

Sure will never go wrong with a Mora. Stays sharp. Don't know how they can make 'em for such a low price. Along with the Mora, I like the Cold Steel Canadian. (I think that is the model.) Under $15 when I bought some. Fashioned after the Canadian military survival knife. Dandiest knife I have to use for gutting, skinning, capping or preparing diner in camp. Small enough to not be a hindrance and large enough to do a lot of work. Great steel and stays sharp.

[Texas by God]

The Russell Canadian Guide knife is a good one if found. They may still be made?

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[Loudenboomer]

More of a field dress and camp knife than a skinner but for all round heavy use my Spyderco Bradley Bowie is a good one. Another knife that's good for many tasks is a C66 Chicago Cutlery boning knife. Again not a dedicated skinning knife but very handy when the meat hits the butchering table. The blade is flexible enough to work for a fillet knife in a pinch. As mentioned Mora's are great little knives. I seem to have them stashed all over the place.

[GoodOlBoy]

I side with the folks mentioning Old Hickory knives. They are meant for working meat, not banging through a log with a club. The American Butcher pattern has been available in everything from a whopping 14" blade, down to a 4" butcher pattern. Neither the long, nor the short are still readily available except as backstock somewhere if you are lucky.

That being said the 7-7" is the go to standard for alot of folks who use 'em, and it works well from the start to finish on skinning hog, deer, etc. I've even used 'em on big catfish. You can make a sheath from scrap leather, or I have been told it will fit in the leather $8 kabar knife replacement sheath (can't verify that though) It is high carbon steel, it will rust if you don't keep it clean, dry, and oiled. In fact time from no rust to rust is quite literally overnight, so clean it good, and oil it before you are done for the day.

https://www.amazon.com/Ontario-Knife...4B48B8V0QAT7NG

$11.41 and free shipping from amazon. I've seen 'em as low as $7 and as high as $30 in stores.

It may not be sharp when you get it, sometimes they aren't. But they sharpen up good, and keep an edge good when used as a butcher and skinning knife.

God Bless, and good luck on your choice.

GoodOlBoy

[Smoke4320]

Buck 103 , buck 691, Mora, old henry all are good choices
like others I do NOT want a point on my skinning knife.

[RU shooter]

Just remember folks he's skinning pigs not deer big big difference , there's not a lot of knife work in skinning a deer it pretty much peels/ pulls off, pigs not like that . Can't go wrong with the victonox or dexter brands . Far from expensive for either .