What kind of skinning knife do you use and why?

[jpkoepse]

For me it’s dependent on what I’m using it for. If it’s a mountain hunt for sheep or goats, I carry the lightest wt. skinning knife I have, a Kestrel skinner in steel. If I’m moose hunting I usually take a quality Ulu for skinning.


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Could you get away with the kestrel skinner to skin and quarter an elk? Would like to hear your feedback

 

[AK Troutbum]

Could you get away with the kestrel skinner to skin and quarter an elk? Would like to hear your feedback

Absolutely, but I prefer to also carry a caper or a mountain scalpel as well for the finer detail work like with the head and some of the joint cuts.

 

[Flipparkr]

i like having my gerber vital as well as a outdoor edge swingblade for skinning

 

[t_carlson]

Seems like a lot of you guys are carrying a few extra ounces in the knife department.

 

[Southern Lights]

Usually Mercator Black Cat carbon or Swiss Army with lock blade. Sometimes Fallkniven F1 if I don't care about weight (day hunt). Sometimes a Helle Eggen fixed blade or Finnish puuko.

 

[TXHunt]

KoA Muskrat for me. It rides in a kydex sheath behind my bino harness.

How do you like the Muskrat? where did you get the Kydex theath?

 

[NDGuy]

Seems like a lot of you guys are carrying a few extra ounces in the knife department.

Life's too short to be carrying an ugly ass knife

 

[mtwarden]

Thanks to @NDGuy who let me hop on his Charles May order I got one of his Bird & Trout II (LB- long blade)- in S30V.

I had an order for a very similar knife that I had been waiting two years for, sadly the knife maker was injured and no longer makes knives.

In just a short year I've had this knife through a couple of antelope, a couple of deer and a couple of elk- it's exactly what I was looking

I also always pack a Tyto w/ a couple of extra blades- kind of a no brainer at a little over an ounce.

 

[NDGuy]

I also always pack a Tyto w/ a couple of extra blades- kind of a no brainer at a little over an ounce.

Yep I do the same. But typically will only use it for a backup/2nd knife for a buddy.

 

[NDGuy]

Thanks to @NDGuy who let me hop on his Charles May order I got one of his Bird & Trout II (LB- long blade)- in S30V.

Pumped you put it through the ringer!

 

[justinspicher]

How do you like the Muskrat? where did you get the Kydex theath?

It’s probably my favorite knife. I don’t remember the name of the sheath maker, but I have his card somewhere. I’ll see if I can find it.

 

[t_carlson]

Life's too short to be carrying an ugly ass knife

Subforum: "the lightweight zone"

Pretty is as pretty weighs.

 

[wyobigbuckhunter]

Havalon with two extra blades. It is super light weight was the reason that I went with this style and never have really felt the need to change. Some people break blades, but I never have had that problem.

 

[Wilderness Spirit]

I have been using my Back Country Hunter ll in Nitro V. 3.5 oz with the kydex sheath.

 

[NDGuy]

Subforum: "the lightweight zone"

Pretty is as pretty weighs.

Not always.

All tapered tangs and weigh 5-6oz

 

[Raghornkiller]

Outdoor edge with replaceable blades. I have several because for some reason I lose knives constantly. Cheap, always sharp, they work great, and I don't cry much when I lose one.

I switched to those a few years ago and don't see a need for any other knife ever.I carry an extra blade or two for elk but probably could do it with one

 

[Holmes]

Some people break blades, but I never have had that problem.

I've seen a bunch of comments on Rokslide/etc about needing a stout knife in order to work through joints, or that replaceable scalpel blades break all the time. There was even a comment recently about how good a Benchmade knife is because the user didn't "chip it" while butchering, like that is a normal thing to happen with other hunting knives.
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I thought similarly, until I butchered a moose with an ortho surgeon. That surgeon could not be bothered with a regular hunting knife, instead breezed through all the joints in the moose with a Havalon like it might wake up from anesthesia if the operation took too long! So fast, so smooth, zero torque on the blade.
I learned so much that night.
The surgeon said something to the effect of, "If I can take apart and put back together human hips and knees all day with a scalpel, quickly chopping up an animal is easy. I don't even need to worry about putting the ligaments back together."
I'm still many years of med school behind that doc, but since then I've gotten a lot better about *never* torquing my blade on anything, *never* running the cutting edge on bone, *never* digging the tip into a joint in a blind effort to pop it. It all goes so much faster when the joints are disassembled with no force beyond an index finger pressure on the cutting edge.

 

[Mike D Texas]

View attachment 457636
I carry outdoor edge with the gutting blade and then benchmade griptilian. I love how sharp the outdoor edges is with replaceable blades, and then gutting blade makes capping the animal a breezy!

That outdoor edge knife is perfect. Easily changeable blades and much more robust than havalon. The guy blade is greatness. I’ve never punctured a gut while using it even when being aggressive with it.


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[PineBrook413]

The last few years i've used nothing but a gerber vitals replaceable blade knife. 2 blades per elk and always have super sharp edge. usually have a light fixed blade backup but almost never touch it.

 

[PAIDhunter]

I have been using Kestrel Knives for a few years and really enjoy them. I have an old skeleton skinner from them (they don’t have it online anymore) as well as their Ovis Hunter. They are thin blade stock so they seem sharper than most anything else out there but still a fixed blade. They are Havalon sharp and use good steel.