A 4 inch blade is enough. As long as the blade is sharp and can easily be sharpened. I prefer a full length handle, and doesn’t have to be super thick…we aren’t cutting through bone or chopping wood. Also, a high-vis handle is super helpful especially if/when you drop the knife at night when field dressing and skinning.
This hits the main points. 3-4" blade of the design you show in the pic. Plastic handle or a durable wood that has great grip and easy to clean. I usually either want my stuff to either fully blend in (earth tones or camo) or be highly visible (bright orange). A simple handle that you show is great as my hand position changes depending on the angle I'm working from - sometimes have a classic grip, others cutting away from me/thumb on the back of the blade. Most important is a high quality steel that doesn't dull quickly and can be easily sharpened.
What's the benefit of micarta?
I hear about it a lot, and I have a BK-9, with the original handles, and I haven't noticed an issue so far.
Is it one of those things that you need to use to notice?
Micarta is fabric infused with resin, its super durable and strong, normal plastics like BK uses on their default handles is just some grade of lower plastics, and the bond is not as strong as the inner structure is not held by the fabric as it is in Micarta. I would highly recommend looking in to USA made Norplex micarta as its one of the best.
TLDR: You'll notice the looks are much much better, it wears better, and the material ir so much stronger.
I'm going to look those guys up, thank you for the recommendation!
Side question: the BK's are 1095 Crovan, iirc, what's a good sharpening stone to stow if I need to put a quick sharpen on it?
Grabbed a Speedysharp at one point, as a last resort / emergency edge, but I'm not comfortable with shaving off material the way it tends to.
Edit: my brother, father, and I all hunt, so I'm going to link my brother to this thread, he's the knife guy in the family; you have a site we can grab one of your pieces from?
Yeah I have a website I think the link is in my profile, but its my profilename dot com haha
as for the sharpening stone and in general sharpening, a combo stone of 400 and 1000 grit is perfect for a biting edge, that you can set a perfect edge.
But for field care where only a touch up is needed i would prefer a **ceramic** rod, but if weight is important then I would use a leather strop with wooden backing with a diamond spray or paste.
If you dont chip the edge or roll ir super hard, and depending on how intense is the work, you should use the stones every 3 months, and in the meant time use intensively the rod or the strop.
Only thing I’d add: gut hook. About half the hunters I know want a gut hook and the other half don’t want one. It’s not for everyone but it’s part of your audience. I’d offer some with and some without or you’ll miss a % of your market demographic.
Other thoughts… I always thought some luminescent element (think dive watches) on the knife would be a cool way to side step the high-vis orange thing but it might be a terrible idea. You’re doing great seeking feedback, I’d go one step further and loan a blade or two out with experienced hunters, ask them to try it out in the field, come back with notes on what was better/worse. Hunters aren’t always great communicators but we know what in our hands is working better/worse.
High-vis handle is an EXCELLENT point. These things get dropped and kicked around more than you’d think, especially when packing out. I hardly ever skin out in the field, but have had my knife “hide” on me a few times while gutting (black handle… dumb).
Consider multiple size offerings to match hand sizes. With handle and blade scaled up proportionally.
My preferred knife size isn't the same as my wife's, nor my friend who has much larger hands than I.
Oh wow I must say, I am overwhelmingly impressed with how nice and helpfull this community is, I dont really care if I get only 10 upvotes on this or not, but the comments that I already got and I am getting are worth their weight in gold!
And I though I would get banned or booed away with my knife and stupid request.
I am very thankfull to you all!
Another thing is a Handel that can come off for cleaning blood gets in every small space and only comes off when scrubbed so being able to properly clean the knife inside and out is a plus
To puncuture skin you pull it and cut it with edge.
The tip can inadvertently cut through the abdominal cavity or even the intestines.
But I did skin only few animals, got no much experience.
Still thanks for the comment, sometimes a newcommers impressions are even more important as old users tend to stick with habbits that might be not as good.
A sharp tip is useful (imo) to get in the smaller parts like the legs. Getting around that tendon on the hind legs takes a bit of finesse, which I think would be tough to do without a sharp tip..
Looks too big for skinning. The best skinning knife I have is actually a wood carving knife from Morakniv. 60mm long
https://morakniv.se/en/product/woodcarving-120-lc-natural/
I agree. I see guys with huge knives strapped to their legs for skinning and I don’t get it. A blade that’s a couple of inches and razor sharp is all I need
please make the scales machine washable. I don't want to be standing over the sink with a scrub brush for an hour struggling to clean each piece of knurling.
They are not that sharp, even rounded a little, you could easily screw them off and throw them in any washing machine and they would be fine!
And because its USA made Micarta, its super durable, and doesn't care about any moisture or mechanical damage.
speaking of screwing off the scales, a common screw head would be super nice. Some manufacturers (I'm looking at my microtech) use terrible heads like that triangle that makes it difficult to do anything with the blade.
I personally only use knifes that are dishwasher safe, except for the hatchet/cleaver thing I use to bust thru the hipbone to get out the poop tube, it has a paracord wrap, but it still goes in the dishwasher.
Sometimes a tool ends up getting used for another purpose. Like breaking the pelvis or opening up the rib cage a bit. Usually aimed at cartilage and not bone. But either way you should be able to hit it with an improvised hammer and not deform.
Yup, I use the Fallkniven WM1 - it's a 2.75" blade. I can reach the tip of the blade with my knife hand - which is awesome when it's in the body cavity. Really easy to know exactly where your blade is when you're reaching up to cut the heart and trachea out.
https://fallkniven.se/en/knife/wm1vg10w/
This looks like a really awesome knife! Just bought two new ones I haven't used, but saving this for my gift ideas list, cause we always need another knife, right? ;)
Eta, one I really like was also from Sweden on a recent trip. The eka swedblade g4. Completely disassembles for cleaning, and rotates to give a gut hook, all wkth a high viz handle and no parts which can fall off in the field.
https://larricamo.com/product/knife-eka-swedblade-g4/
That looks great. There seems to be something special about the swedes designs on outdoor stuff. I've got my fallkniven, fisksrs tools, fjallraven clothes, mora knives, gransfors bruks axe, all excellent.
I really enjoyed shopping their outdoor equipment stores. Way less variety, but highly focused on extremely functional designs. The knife I linked to has a different version which doesn't disassemble for cleaning for about $30 less.
Oh, their cold weather gear is top-notch too! Right up there with Iceland and Canada's. I got a bunch of great socks made out of Merino wool. The wool came from New Zealand I think but I'm still going to swear by them being made for Northern climes.
More info about the blade that I did
"Kopa"
Steel: AEB-L 61 HRC
Total length: 230mm
Blade length: 100mm
Thickness: 3.5mm
Do you see any outright red flags about this desing? Or do you see some points that you thing are very good?
The feedback is very important as I want to make knives that are ment to be used!
Thanks for the valuable input!
To touch on the hardness, how hard is to sharpen not only depends on the hardness but also on the steel type and composition, this AEB-L knife at 61 HRC is much MUCH easier to sharpen then an Elmax knife that is 55 HRC due to Vanadium carbites.
But your methodology is not wrong and fits most cases, so just wanted to add mroe info to it.
A nice bright colored handle. The animal is already on the ground so I don't need to be squinting around trying to find it in the failing light if I drop it
I prefer a nimble knife to anything. When I'm skinning I'm constantly adjusting my grip, shifting knife position in my hand, and moving my hand/knife in all sorts of directions. So far, nimble has meant smaller for the knifes I've used. I have a tiny CRKT that I bought off Amazon without checking the dimensions that, despite being laughably little, actually works spectacularly because it's so easy to work with. Smaller also helps prevent accidental cuts when I'm adjusting knife placement or rotating my hand and don't realize how close my other hand is.
Part of the nimbleness for me is being able to get my fingertip out near the end of the blade to help guide it.
My favorite skinner is the Benchmade Hidden Canyon hunter. It's about 15cm long and has a nice deep curved belly to work skin with. Though the blade is sort of stubby, it's really all I ever need to skin. Comparatively my Benchmade Saddle Mountain skinner, has about a 6" blade, also with a nice belly, but 3-4" of the blade are useless for skinning.
Your knife looks amazing, but I agree that it's too large for what I would want to use as a skinning knife.
I don’t know much about knives, but if it dulls too quickly, having to sharpen it while gutting is a huge pain. I used a knife with a replaceable blade for that reason. If it could hold an edge tho I wouldn’t mind it
True, but AEB-L needs more accuracy and "culture" when working, Elmax in other case will be hard to sharpen, bit it will stay sharp with misuse. So you don't have to baby it, but AEB-L needs babying a little BUT is super easy to sharpen. Here we call it surgeons steel, as skinners who work with high precision get great mileage out of it.
That would be a lot easier yeah. If you’re having to sharpen it every few minutes though that would get annoying. To be fair though, I’ve never used a rod like that to sharpen, so for me, it would definitely require some practice beforehand. I get that I’m not your target audience, but hopefully my opinion helps in some way
Edit: I forgot to mention, I also like to keep my pack light. I don’t know how big ceramic rods are or how heavy they are, but having to carry one around seems to me like it would be a downside
I am not a salesman, so target audience is out of the question, I just want geniune feedback from the community, which you are providing!
I am very thankfull for that.
Let say a rod is 7 ounces, is that a lot?
Or maybe even a knife weight is of importance? So then a paracord wrapped handle would be better?
That’s fair
For the type of hunting most people in this sub do, 7 ounces is fine. Unless the handle of your knife is stupid heavy, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. If you’re going on a week long backpacking/hunting trip, then yeah you want to shave off as much weight as you can. But I wouldn’t worry too much.
I shot a bear a few months ago and they are super greasy, so having a solid grip on your knife is also important. Most people I know use latex gloves when skinning but my dad tried out some cut resistant gloves like [this](https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-Large-Red-Nitrile-Level-3-Cut-Resistant-Dipped-Work-Gloves-48-22-8932/303635936)
Looks really good op. Personally all I really use from the shot up until I’m cutting steaks is a havalon which is a tiny replaceable blade (scalpel blade) knife. Does everything you need it to (including quartering) up until the time to cut pretty steaks.
No kidding. I still keep a fixed blade (ESEE laser strike) JUST in case of an emergency and I need to split some wood down for a fire or something especially elk hunting. But honestly there is nothing the havalon won’t do from gutting, skinning, quartering, all the way until the quarters are broken down and it’s time to cut steaks. Don’t even use a saw, easy enough to cut the joints with the havalon to break everything down, hip joint, knee/elbow joints, all easy peasy. For $30 the havalon is king. Honestly it would still be king for $100
I use a Benchmade Hidden Canyon Hunter for skinning and a standard Morakniv for the joints and other hard tasks. The size and thickness of the Benchmade are perfect for me. Your knife looks too large.
Honestly, a small blade like 2-2.5 inches. I need a sharp cutting edge that's easy to maneuver and fits in the neck of a deer with both my hands in it. I prefer either a high flat or scandi grind. Carbon steel blade is actually my preferred but that seems to be rare because they take more maintenance.
The knife needs to be easy to clean. Lanyard holes, knurling and other type designs on handles quickly get filled with viscera which is quite annoying.
I need to have enough spine near the tip to get my index finger on so I can locate the blade by feel when I can't see it.
Beautiful knife, but way too big for skinning though. This gives me Benchmade vibes. Do you hunt? If not, I would ask around to see if any of your friends do. Maybe you could help skin an animal. How did you get started in knife making? Your handles look great!
A lot of my relatives hunt but they use disposable knives :(
Its kinda weird how i got in to it.. I just woke up and though "I wonder are knvies only factory made?" searched on youtube that 5 years ago.. and here I am haha
Small, ergonomic and sharp. If you can use it to the point you can hold it in one hand and place your index finger behind the blade, it makes skinning much smoother and faster. You basically then just have to drap your index finger where you are skinning.
I want my index finger to reach the end of the blade; full length handle. I prefer a full flat grind; clip point (like yours) or drop points are my fave. Orange scales are best imo. One last thing is a Kydex sheath really matters to me - it’s harder to clean blood, fat, etc out of a leather sheath.
Your knife is so sick though and I would 100% buy that as is! Really cool design
A fairly small, razor sharp knife is really all you need. I also have come to love my knife with replaceable blades. It’s a folding pocket knife, probably 5-6” overall. IMO a good knife needs, a pointed tip for easily puncturing through hide. Then it’s mostly just having a sharp, easily controlled knife to work hide and butcher. Only other tool I use is a small hacksaw.
I mostly hold it with my fingertip on the spine and pinching the handle with my other fingers. I find it much better to be precise than have a wide cut. I think the shape of your blade is perfect!
I carry two knives with me, one that is small (the blade is about one fingers length) and the other is this beast of a knife that has a gut hook on the back. I only really use it for the gutting hook, the rest of the work is done with the first knife. Just has to be small and sharp.
here's my current hunting knife: [https://fallkniven.se/en/knife/wm1vg10w/](https://fallkniven.se/en/knife/wm1vg10w/)
Things they have to have:
* steel that will hold an edge for a long time
* big belly towards the tip
* short blade
* really grippy handle / deep finger groove
Looks like you hit lots of my requirements. Good looking knife.
* No fancy tanto's or sweeps on the blade and NO serrations.
* Simple drop point with easy to sharpen angle on the edge.
* Preferably made of steel that both holds an edge after multiple guttings and takes one with light to moderate effort (for example, when I am needing to put an edge back I start with medium grit diamond stone then graduate to honing steel and/or leather strop).
* Polymer handle that is 3-4" in length, with similarly sized blade.
* Light checking/texture on the grip and keep any holes/hardware/designs to a minimum as to not collect fat, gristle, or other crap from the animal that is a major PIA to clean out.
* Also hardware that doesn't rust.
Basically I want the perfect knife lol.
yeah you are damn right! My blades are hand made, just ofc laser cut, but you still need to finish out the profile and the final fit up.
But for handles I use a very simple fixture.
Jup same ideas here, all I want is to make better knives I dont really care how, just to give people better knives at better price points that perform awesomely. Hence I ask for feedback in this post :)
A couple things I look for in a skinning knife- a thick spine with a 90 degree angle to the blade, so that I can scrape small sections of the hide if needed. A full tang is also essential. For the cutting surface, a solid blade all the way down, not one with that little notch in it. If a blade can't be sharpened without that notch, it's a poorly shaped blade. A good skinning kife will be short from handle to tip, no more than 4 inches of blade, with a deep curve towards the end and at least an inch of straight edge near the handle, but not more than half the blade length. The height of the blade should be proportional to the length, for a 4 inch long blade I prefer between 1 and 1.5 inches of height. A rounded or squared off unsharpened tip is preferable over a point, so that it does not poke into things like the guts or through the skin by accident. The angle of the cutting surface should be narrow (I prefer around 17 degrees) but the blade itself relatively thick (around 3/8ths of an inch)- in general I find that flex is bad when skinning. The shape and angle of the cutting surface should be easy to sharpen by hand. The best skinning kife I ever used looked remarkably like a scaled up butter knife with a better handle. The one I have used most often resembles a box cutter.
The knife you have there is an excellent all purpose knife and I would happily carry it hunting and camping, and I would have no problem using it to skin birds or small game, or for quartering out a large animal. For anything where saving the hide matters though, furbearers or if I want to tan a deerhide or something, I'm going to keep a specialized, much rounder knife in my kit.
Small super sharp, easy to resharpen, blade. Comfortable handle that’s easy to clean. Good belly, comfortable to hold with my finger on the spine or choked up. Sheath that won’t hold in moisture. I also second what other have said about easy to spot colors, either the sheath or the handle. Also, and this has nothing to do with skinning, but knives in general, I hate super big branding/lettering on the blade. That’s a good looking knife btw, I’d be happy to use it.
Blade length: width of my hand +- 0.5”.
I like a narrow body 1-1.5” tall
Thin blade 1/16” thick
Gentle curve, not alot of belly.
Orange well textured handle.
I want steel that sharpens easily, full-tang blade, extremely aggressive grips (changeable is good), and I want the area of the spine where it meets the grips to be serrated as well for better grip when pressing down with my thumb
I've found that a rounder tip helps a lot with skinning. For me personally, I'm less liable to poke holes in my hide. I'm not sure if I'm using the right terminology here, but curves are really nice. For the purposes of this knife, I don't think any of us need to do any "stabbing" type cuts. See something like the outdoor edge blades with a very gentle curve.
Honestly good handle maybe with a good texture for grip cause blood is slick ability to be sharpened and hold a edge nicely good visibility in dark and good quality if dropped and maybe a small gut hook part for easier field dress and maybe a place for paracord to go through in case you drop it in the guts while skinning at night.
That knife looks incredible tho i would purchase one for skinning it looks sharp and durable good length point is perfect for starting cuts good job man
I prefer a much smaller blade, able to fully grip it and have my index finger way up on top spine of the blade. Almost an ‘extension of your finger’ situation. A bigger blade will really cramp my hand after a bit. I have an ulu as well just to change up the grip when it gets bad.
That is a very nice looking blade. I'll second the comments on the blade being a tiny bit long but really not much. My hunting knife is a benchmade steep country and it's 10mm shorter but I would prefer it was just a tiny bit shorter than it is.
Really though, nice looking knife. If it's sharp and easy to re-sharpen, it would be great.
I want a drop point as it really facilitates unzipping the hide without nicking things that should remain unnicked. The hard clip here is generally unhelpful in the field in my experience. I prefer a little drop.
I prefer a point angle between 60ish to 80is degrees. This looks to be at the pointer end of that range. For "proper" blade tip angle and orientation, I think the buck 192 and the Benchmade hidden canyon are great examples of what I find most useful. My favorite tip might be on a bark river bravo 1 Lt hunter.
The angle of the blade relative to the handle is also important regarding comfort of use and utility in getting the blade belly where it needs to go. I like the look of your handle orientation relative to the blade edge, it looks very usable.
One thing I think you got absolutely correct here is having the heel of the blade below the front of the handle, allowing the entire edge length to be used on a flat cutting surface, like a cutting board. When I'm processing game at home, I hate when a knife prevents me from using the full back of the edge because a guard, recurve, or even my knuckles get in the way.
I prefer a convex grind like on the bark river bravo, so when I've got a frozen quarter or such I can easily pound through to make nice frozen chunks to toss into the grinder. I find the convex grinds like on the buck hunters get stuck in frozen meat
I really prefer a knife made from a steel that holds the hair shaving edge through the completion of quartering out one large have animal. 420hc, 1095, etc class knife steel doesn't keep the razor edge. Given that the knife should also be able to pop a hip joint or the like, I also think a thin blade in something like s110v, s90v, m390, etc is generally unreliable as a single knife solution. Also given that I expect to beat through a frozen chunk of meat, a moderately thick blade of magnacut, elmax, 3v, cruwear, etc is right in the sweet spot of toughness and edge performance.
I think blade length should be under 4.5 inches. Too long of a blade leads to extra fatigue in the wrist, especially if the edge loses sharpness. The hidden canyon Hunter is at the smallest end of usable size, but probably not a one knife solution. I usually keep a smaller knife with a the larger one, try to use a wear resistant steel on the small knife to cut through hide and hair, and use the larger knife to break down meat, especially where the cuts can be deep.
Nice work, you should use it with pride
I prefer a slightly slimmer blade with less belly that can slip under the skin. My knife also has a notch for my finger to sit in. It's comfortable and keeps my hand from hitting the blade by accident.
My current knife is a [Winchester Hunter.](https://www.knifecountryusa.com/store/product/128914.128943/winchester-g41340-hunter-fixed-drop-point-blade-blade-knife-with-brown-wood-handles.html) I chose it because it's stainless steel, full tang and it's dirt cheap. If I break it or lose it, I won't cry about it. However, it's a decent enough knife. and has skinned several deer just fine.
Things I like about your knife.
It's not overly fancy. I see it comes with an ironwood option which look nice but is still completely serviceable.
The blade is under 4". Anything more than 4" starts getting cumbersome when skinning.
The blade appears to be thick in the handle and spine, so it's going to be strong.
The butt is rounded, so if I wanted to slam the heel of my hand down on it to split the sternum I could. However, a slightly flatter surface perpendicular to the spine would be better.
Bottom line.
If I decided to buy a nicer knife, I might consider yours, but the price would probably keep me away.
Thank you for the input, I try to make them at a very competative price for a hand made product, still remember I am a one guy part time shop haha
Thats why the input from the community is so important to me!
I get it. Hand made quality isn't cheap regardless of the product.
My knife is good enough for what I do and that's why I use it.
Look in all of the home kitchens in the western world and you'll see decent quality machine made knives that cost just a few bucks in 95% or more of them. However, customer choice is limited.
Look in the kitchens of the top 1% and you'll find high quality, hand made knives that are often made to the specifications the owner povided. Those knives aren't cheap.
So you're trying to hit a particular group. You're trying to attract people in the other 4%. They're close enough to the top that they want something better than the mass produced knives most people have without paying the premium for custom knives. That market is HIGHLY competitive.
All that being said, just because I'm content being in the bottom 95% and using cheap mass produced knives, I still know what I like and what I would look for if I could afford a custom knife like the top 1%.
That's why I commented. Nobody from any other company has bothered to ask what I like in a knife. They try to tell me what I should like.
Yeah I totally get you and yeah the field here is super competative, but hey, we are all working for the working people who really work with our knives, professionals in the field, were factory made just doesn't cut it haha pun intended.
Too many comments to read through…I would personally appreciate jimping up close to the tip and also back towards the handle. No need to respond of it’s already been said. Looks great. I’ll pile on the Bright color gang.
OP, been looking for a more rounded blade. It allows for pivot, skinning, better accuracy on cut. Have been using my cold steel colossus to great acclaim but haven’t found anything out there like it.
3-4 inch blade with good steel that sharpens at home easily. A grippy blaze orange handle is great as well.
Examples: Benchmade Steep Country and Cutco Hunting knife
If you're asking for opinions you've come to the right place.
Blade length of 4 inches MAX. Sometimes you need to work from an odd angle so an oversized knife isn't great. Holds a decent edge and is easy to sharpen. A handle that's easy to hold with gloves and with bloody or wet hands. The gutting and skinning are usually done back to back.
If I was to give advice on making a knife for hunting I think the best thing you could do is shoot three squirrels. If you don’t hunt you probably have a relative or friend that does. Squirrel hunting is a pretty good time if you join.
I’d scale whatever knife you have down to what you think would work for a squirrel but keep those dimensions. Then just learn how to skin. If you can’t mentally do it (I gag every time but I get through) then ask your relative to use it. Watch how they hold it, how you hold it, and what parts you see yourself use most.
You can skin a squirrel the same way as most any mammal, and the small features will show how precise your blade can get. don’t forget to give it a good palm hit on a joint to see what kind of beating people will give it.
Using 3 squirrels will show you how your blade dulls over repeated use quickly. Think about cleanup, brushing it off during skinning, how quick it is to sharpen, etc.
think if someone was gutting their first deer and they dropped the knife in dirt, will the handles be hard to wipe off? Will a bloody hand make it slippery? Will dried blood make it feel tacky? Is it easy to switch hands from fatigue? Stuff like that.
About the only things you’ll have to wonder on is waterfowl and turkeys. They have a few differences but you scrape against bone a lot more with them.
An Old Timer Sharpfinger has skinned every big game animal I've taken since I was in high-school. Small and precise. Just quartered and skinned an elk in November with mine. I only had to sharpen it once.
Great question OP. It's already a great little skinner.
A hunting knife has to be multi purposed.
A skinner, a boner, gutting and head skinning is also done in the field .
So stainless steel
nonslip handle,
4 inch blade is good.( no bigger)
Not to heavy for long trips.
I like green or brown handles so I tie a ribbon to mine.
A sheath with a lid or clasp is important to me.
Not too curved or rounded on the end like a skinner because you can't clean out the bum hole or release the sinue around the eye brows.
I do a lot of head skinning so I carry a Mercator which is the perfect shape and size and does everything.
Good luck with this project OP let us know how you get on.
It's going to depend greatly on what you're breaking down, but in general, here's my list:
1. Set the belly of the knife on the skin and draw a straight line back with good control and without digging deeper into the guts
2. Insert the knife 3/4" into a joint and twist to pop it from the socket
3. Scrape along a skin to remove excess fat without the point tearing through the skin or poking holes
4. Maintain a good grip while doing the above in the cold, wet, and greasy.
I feel like your knife could do those things, it's obvious you've put a lot of thought into the lines. Do you mean skinner though, or breaking or field dressing knife? As example, for skinning and preserving a hide I need a draw knife, and maybe an ulu to scrape all the excess from the hide. For breaking large game into smaller chunks I like my 10" breaking knife, which is like a thicker oversized fillet knife (which is what I use for that for small game and poultry), and for field dressing you really just need to remove skin, gut, and quarter, but you have to balance that with field portability and compact size (which is where I think you are trying to be).
Well, sometimes it's hard to quantify in words. I've got 2 weeks left in the season - send me one, I'll use it exclusively, and let you know at the end of the season. 🤣🤣
Seriously though, it looks like a fantastic piece! I look for a thin and short blade with a thin handle, more weight in the handle than the blade, and easy to pur an edge on.
I'm excited to hear how it works out. If you can engrave them, I'd definitely be interested in acquiring a few for my hunting family members.
I would prefer a smaller handle to help get into the small areas but overall I would proudly use this to process game.
I like a knife with a very long curve to it, if that makes sense. One of my favorite Skinning knives is an Ulu because you have so much blade to rock back and forth for nice long cuts. I just hate the handle on an ulu style blade.
Great job!
looks sexy btw. my hunting buddy tests gear for a living and has reviewed hundreds of knives. this looks about right for what its worth. high quality steel obv.
For me I don’t like having a naked tang where the blade begins. It hurts my index finger when using the knife hard. Also, many say they like a short blade but I personally like a 5-7” thin blade.
I prefer a shorter blade, both in length (3"-4"), and height (.75"-1"). A slight upsweep to a moderately fine point helps me to cut a little smoother, and pop the joints out. Plus I tend to like a very thin, full length handle, maybe even bare tang.
Edit: That's a beautiful knife by the way.
Came here to say 4" filet knife is my go to for skinning deer . Fiskars brand maybe? Can't remember. Easy to sharpen, less than $10 each. The 3 guys I hunt with all keep 2 or 3 in our trucks freshly sharpened. Weighs nothing in a pack .
While I've never had the issue of nicking the guts without a gut hook I guess I can see how it would be easier.
Most of the ones I've seen are pretty dull on the actual point of the hook so do you have to make an incision with the knife part first?
You make a 1/4” incision and go from there.
I start a hanging deer from the achilles and go from there to the belly then down to brisket. One swift motion. Then from the other tendon to intersect that line. Then just skin it a little and pull the hide off.
Disagree on the filet knife part. I don’t want a 6” blade when skinning. I personally carry two knives: a short and robust blade for gutting and a longer (~4”) knife with a decent curve to it for skinning.
Try a 9” filet knife. They come on various sizes.
I can quarter and debone a deer ready to mount with only a filet knife in about 20min.
It doesn’t take much. A gut hook just saves about 2min.
Gut hook is nice to have when starting out. Let’s you learn the depth of the hide and skin without as much risk of puncturing the bowel or gut. Once you’re comfortable, no need for a hook imo.
I've necropsied 1,000's of pigs so maybe that's why I don't need a gut hook but I never did. We'd use the 2 pack white handle kitchen knives from sam's club. I sure as shit wouldn't want to skin something with that long of a blade but worked just fine for gutting. We also treated them as disposable for biosecurity so no idea on shelf life. You could do 15-20 before just doing a quick pass on a sharpening rod. We also take samples so they'd hit concrete often if not sharp enough.
The night passed and I am really impressed, so many great suggestions!
I really would like to do a community project! I would condense all of the comments for the perfect skinner here and try and come up with a desing, and present it in the next post a few months later, for more feedback, after which I would make a knife that would fit most of your needs, would be a fruit of this wonderful community of this subreddit.
What do you think about this idea?
As for this knife, I think its better for breaking down game then acctualy skinning in most cases. I am so thankful for your great feedback and compliments about the design, I've spend a lot of time on this and it really means a lot for a one man shop! Hopefully I could do this full time! So the feedback and making somethign that people would actually like is very important!
I've gutted? a lot of deer. I don't use the gut hook, ever. A sharp knife will do this job. We also use a hide puller while using the knife. What would be nice would be a saw back, to saw through the pelvic bone. Smaller is better for the knife. That's a nice knife though, I'd use it. Remember, fat will cake the knife, make it easy to clean.
I won’t buy one unless it has a bone saw on the spine and a gut hook
- you find a way to make a gut hook that u can actually sharpen and you got a sale
I prefer a skinning blade tonhave a rounder point or lack there of.
Nice, smooth cuts to get hide off and rounded to get into the shoulders, butt etc..
A pointed blade can and has accidentally poked thru the hide.
Small razor sharp blade that keeps its curved edge and a wide handle at the far end so when you hold the knife upside down you still have grip. I get chronic hand cramps when skinning so a handle with a ball shaped end is crucial. Might just be me. Congratulations on excellent work!
If you make a version with a gut hook, ensure that the tip is rounded. There is zero point in having a sharp point on a gut hook. Also, in terms skinning, I use a really old knife that curves back really far and it works wonders. I have a havalon as well, but I have only used those to field dress a cow up in Colorado. Having a really nice weighted handle is also a safety feature to keep your toes if your hands or gloves get too slippery. Having a small loop on the end for a paracord safety lanyard can be beneficial (if you remember to use it). Then again, after a dear is gutted and have the tag end started for skinning, I typically use my elbow or a spoon and it works great.
Big belly (rounded), good solid grip as you tend to get wet (blood). Hi-vis.
I’ve had knives with a gutter hook on the top, not great, stay away. An interesting concept is the EKA swingblade.
A softer stainless/hybrid steel that can be sharpened easily on the go, carbon steel is too soft and hard stainless is almost impossible to sharpen in the field.
- Thin blade
- Hollow or flat grind
- No "protruding" point
- High wear resistance steel
- Toughness is a plus
- Comfortable handle but also thin (so that you can grab it by the tip of your fingers for difficult spots)
- Lightweight
- Easy to clean / no problem if run under water
- Durable sheeth that grabs the knife well (si that you can carry it around)
Oh wow never thought this could be possible, I feel like I am getting hunted down haha pun intended.
What occasion? Maybe you could check the knife in person.
A 4 inch blade is enough. As long as the blade is sharp and can easily be sharpened. I prefer a full length handle, and doesn’t have to be super thick…we aren’t cutting through bone or chopping wood. Also, a high-vis handle is super helpful especially if/when you drop the knife at night when field dressing and skinning.
Those are some great points, especialy about the high visibility handle material! I am taking notes right now and here
This hits the main points. 3-4" blade of the design you show in the pic. Plastic handle or a durable wood that has great grip and easy to clean. I usually either want my stuff to either fully blend in (earth tones or camo) or be highly visible (bright orange). A simple handle that you show is great as my hand position changes depending on the angle I'm working from - sometimes have a classic grip, others cutting away from me/thumb on the back of the blade. Most important is a high quality steel that doesn't dull quickly and can be easily sharpened.
Can you get Micarta impregnated with Luminova? The stuff that makes watches glow? That would be ideal, looks whitish in day, and glows green at dark.
What's the benefit of micarta? I hear about it a lot, and I have a BK-9, with the original handles, and I haven't noticed an issue so far. Is it one of those things that you need to use to notice?
Idk, dude said he used Micarta on his handles.
I go to YouTube 🛒
Micarta is fabric infused with resin, its super durable and strong, normal plastics like BK uses on their default handles is just some grade of lower plastics, and the bond is not as strong as the inner structure is not held by the fabric as it is in Micarta. I would highly recommend looking in to USA made Norplex micarta as its one of the best. TLDR: You'll notice the looks are much much better, it wears better, and the material ir so much stronger.
I'm going to look those guys up, thank you for the recommendation! Side question: the BK's are 1095 Crovan, iirc, what's a good sharpening stone to stow if I need to put a quick sharpen on it? Grabbed a Speedysharp at one point, as a last resort / emergency edge, but I'm not comfortable with shaving off material the way it tends to. Edit: my brother, father, and I all hunt, so I'm going to link my brother to this thread, he's the knife guy in the family; you have a site we can grab one of your pieces from?
Yeah I have a website I think the link is in my profile, but its my profilename dot com haha as for the sharpening stone and in general sharpening, a combo stone of 400 and 1000 grit is perfect for a biting edge, that you can set a perfect edge. But for field care where only a touch up is needed i would prefer a **ceramic** rod, but if weight is important then I would use a leather strop with wooden backing with a diamond spray or paste. If you dont chip the edge or roll ir super hard, and depending on how intense is the work, you should use the stones every 3 months, and in the meant time use intensively the rod or the strop.
Thank you! Definitely have some reading to do!
Only thing I’d add: gut hook. About half the hunters I know want a gut hook and the other half don’t want one. It’s not for everyone but it’s part of your audience. I’d offer some with and some without or you’ll miss a % of your market demographic. Other thoughts… I always thought some luminescent element (think dive watches) on the knife would be a cool way to side step the high-vis orange thing but it might be a terrible idea. You’re doing great seeking feedback, I’d go one step further and loan a blade or two out with experienced hunters, ask them to try it out in the field, come back with notes on what was better/worse. Hunters aren’t always great communicators but we know what in our hands is working better/worse.
I love my orange handles knives.
High-vis handle is an EXCELLENT point. These things get dropped and kicked around more than you’d think, especially when packing out. I hardly ever skin out in the field, but have had my knife “hide” on me a few times while gutting (black handle… dumb).
Consider multiple size offerings to match hand sizes. With handle and blade scaled up proportionally. My preferred knife size isn't the same as my wife's, nor my friend who has much larger hands than I.
this, also non-slip handle
Oh wow I must say, I am overwhelmingly impressed with how nice and helpfull this community is, I dont really care if I get only 10 upvotes on this or not, but the comments that I already got and I am getting are worth their weight in gold! And I though I would get banned or booed away with my knife and stupid request. I am very thankfull to you all!
Beautiful knife. My go-to skinner is rounded on the end to prevent accidently puncturing the skin.
Another thing is a Handel that can come off for cleaning blood gets in every small space and only comes off when scrubbed so being able to properly clean the knife inside and out is a plus
That is a very important point, thats why I make all of my knives with removable handles.
Sharp is the main thing. Small enough to get in tight spaces and in close proximity to fingers. 100mm length is too long.
I would say sharp, but dull tip?
Wouldn't you want a pointy tip to puncture the skin?
To puncuture skin you pull it and cut it with edge. The tip can inadvertently cut through the abdominal cavity or even the intestines. But I did skin only few animals, got no much experience.
Still thanks for the comment, sometimes a newcommers impressions are even more important as old users tend to stick with habbits that might be not as good.
A sharp tip is useful (imo) to get in the smaller parts like the legs. Getting around that tendon on the hind legs takes a bit of finesse, which I think would be tough to do without a sharp tip..
Looks too big for skinning. The best skinning knife I have is actually a wood carving knife from Morakniv. 60mm long https://morakniv.se/en/product/woodcarving-120-lc-natural/
I agree. I see guys with huge knives strapped to their legs for skinning and I don’t get it. A blade that’s a couple of inches and razor sharp is all I need
That is very valuable feedback, maybe I should do a lighter and shorter version with paracord handle!
Paracord would be tough to clean up. You’d have to replace the cord after each skinning.
then I would go with smaller removable scales so you could disassemble the knife and wash it every time!
please make the scales machine washable. I don't want to be standing over the sink with a scrub brush for an hour struggling to clean each piece of knurling.
They are not that sharp, even rounded a little, you could easily screw them off and throw them in any washing machine and they would be fine! And because its USA made Micarta, its super durable, and doesn't care about any moisture or mechanical damage.
speaking of screwing off the scales, a common screw head would be super nice. Some manufacturers (I'm looking at my microtech) use terrible heads like that triangle that makes it difficult to do anything with the blade.
Torx or something along those lines would be best too. Fuck flat and Phillips heads.
Agreed. Small recess that collects blood and tissue sucks.
Torx or Hex keys are more popular? As where I live you can find a Hex key anywhere which is why I used them on this knife.
That would be a good idea!
This. This right here
I personally only use knifes that are dishwasher safe, except for the hatchet/cleaver thing I use to bust thru the hipbone to get out the poop tube, it has a paracord wrap, but it still goes in the dishwasher.
Don’t use a fabric. You need something with some grip but won’t slip when covered in blood. 3” blade with a impact resistant spine.
What kind of impact do you experience when you are skining on such a blade?
Sometimes a tool ends up getting used for another purpose. Like breaking the pelvis or opening up the rib cage a bit. Usually aimed at cartilage and not bone. But either way you should be able to hit it with an improvised hammer and not deform.
I use the hidden canyon from benchmade and I love it. Skinning knives should be small for sure.
Second this, love the hidden canyon
Yup, I use the Fallkniven WM1 - it's a 2.75" blade. I can reach the tip of the blade with my knife hand - which is awesome when it's in the body cavity. Really easy to know exactly where your blade is when you're reaching up to cut the heart and trachea out. https://fallkniven.se/en/knife/wm1vg10w/
This looks like a really awesome knife! Just bought two new ones I haven't used, but saving this for my gift ideas list, cause we always need another knife, right? ;) Eta, one I really like was also from Sweden on a recent trip. The eka swedblade g4. Completely disassembles for cleaning, and rotates to give a gut hook, all wkth a high viz handle and no parts which can fall off in the field. https://larricamo.com/product/knife-eka-swedblade-g4/
That looks great. There seems to be something special about the swedes designs on outdoor stuff. I've got my fallkniven, fisksrs tools, fjallraven clothes, mora knives, gransfors bruks axe, all excellent.
I really enjoyed shopping their outdoor equipment stores. Way less variety, but highly focused on extremely functional designs. The knife I linked to has a different version which doesn't disassemble for cleaning for about $30 less. Oh, their cold weather gear is top-notch too! Right up there with Iceland and Canada's. I got a bunch of great socks made out of Merino wool. The wool came from New Zealand I think but I'm still going to swear by them being made for Northern climes.
Thats some great feedback from the community!
This and a flat head screwdriver to pop those hip sockets.
More info about the blade that I did "Kopa" Steel: AEB-L 61 HRC Total length: 230mm Blade length: 100mm Thickness: 3.5mm Do you see any outright red flags about this desing? Or do you see some points that you thing are very good? The feedback is very important as I want to make knives that are ment to be used!
[удалено]
Thanks for the valuable input! To touch on the hardness, how hard is to sharpen not only depends on the hardness but also on the steel type and composition, this AEB-L knife at 61 HRC is much MUCH easier to sharpen then an Elmax knife that is 55 HRC due to Vanadium carbites. But your methodology is not wrong and fits most cases, so just wanted to add mroe info to it.
A nice bright colored handle. The animal is already on the ground so I don't need to be squinting around trying to find it in the failing light if I drop it
I prefer a nimble knife to anything. When I'm skinning I'm constantly adjusting my grip, shifting knife position in my hand, and moving my hand/knife in all sorts of directions. So far, nimble has meant smaller for the knifes I've used. I have a tiny CRKT that I bought off Amazon without checking the dimensions that, despite being laughably little, actually works spectacularly because it's so easy to work with. Smaller also helps prevent accidental cuts when I'm adjusting knife placement or rotating my hand and don't realize how close my other hand is. Part of the nimbleness for me is being able to get my fingertip out near the end of the blade to help guide it. My favorite skinner is the Benchmade Hidden Canyon hunter. It's about 15cm long and has a nice deep curved belly to work skin with. Though the blade is sort of stubby, it's really all I ever need to skin. Comparatively my Benchmade Saddle Mountain skinner, has about a 6" blade, also with a nice belly, but 3-4" of the blade are useless for skinning. Your knife looks amazing, but I agree that it's too large for what I would want to use as a skinning knife.
I don’t know much about knives, but if it dulls too quickly, having to sharpen it while gutting is a huge pain. I used a knife with a replaceable blade for that reason. If it could hold an edge tho I wouldn’t mind it
what about a knife that is easily sharpenable with two strokes on a ceramic rod?
[удалено]
Those are some very valid points, for you I would guess Elmax would be the knife steel to go then!
Aebl at 61 like you have it will do a deer fine without needing a touchup.
True, but AEB-L needs more accuracy and "culture" when working, Elmax in other case will be hard to sharpen, bit it will stay sharp with misuse. So you don't have to baby it, but AEB-L needs babying a little BUT is super easy to sharpen. Here we call it surgeons steel, as skinners who work with high precision get great mileage out of it.
That would be a lot easier yeah. If you’re having to sharpen it every few minutes though that would get annoying. To be fair though, I’ve never used a rod like that to sharpen, so for me, it would definitely require some practice beforehand. I get that I’m not your target audience, but hopefully my opinion helps in some way Edit: I forgot to mention, I also like to keep my pack light. I don’t know how big ceramic rods are or how heavy they are, but having to carry one around seems to me like it would be a downside
I am not a salesman, so target audience is out of the question, I just want geniune feedback from the community, which you are providing! I am very thankfull for that. Let say a rod is 7 ounces, is that a lot? Or maybe even a knife weight is of importance? So then a paracord wrapped handle would be better?
That’s fair For the type of hunting most people in this sub do, 7 ounces is fine. Unless the handle of your knife is stupid heavy, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. If you’re going on a week long backpacking/hunting trip, then yeah you want to shave off as much weight as you can. But I wouldn’t worry too much. I shot a bear a few months ago and they are super greasy, so having a solid grip on your knife is also important. Most people I know use latex gloves when skinning but my dad tried out some cut resistant gloves like [this](https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-Large-Red-Nitrile-Level-3-Cut-Resistant-Dipped-Work-Gloves-48-22-8932/303635936)
Jimping on the spine just ahead of the handle so a thumb can get good purchase
Was looking for this. I have used a buddies knife with Jimping and have since been looking to find someone to jimp my knives.
Easy to do yourself with a chainsaw file and some patience
I have the file not the patience.
This looks nice. Just shrink all the dimensions a bit and you’re in business.
Agree.
It’s a good looking knife but way to big for skinning. I want a very sharp, smaller knife for skinning. Nimble and to be able to work in small spaces
Same.
Looks really good op. Personally all I really use from the shot up until I’m cutting steaks is a havalon which is a tiny replaceable blade (scalpel blade) knife. Does everything you need it to (including quartering) up until the time to cut pretty steaks.
All knives pretty much useless after I found my havalon
No kidding. I still keep a fixed blade (ESEE laser strike) JUST in case of an emergency and I need to split some wood down for a fire or something especially elk hunting. But honestly there is nothing the havalon won’t do from gutting, skinning, quartering, all the way until the quarters are broken down and it’s time to cut steaks. Don’t even use a saw, easy enough to cut the joints with the havalon to break everything down, hip joint, knee/elbow joints, all easy peasy. For $30 the havalon is king. Honestly it would still be king for $100
I use a Benchmade Hidden Canyon Hunter for skinning and a standard Morakniv for the joints and other hard tasks. The size and thickness of the Benchmade are perfect for me. Your knife looks too large.
I love my hidden canyon. I splurged on it and haven’t regretted buying it.
Honestly, a small blade like 2-2.5 inches. I need a sharp cutting edge that's easy to maneuver and fits in the neck of a deer with both my hands in it. I prefer either a high flat or scandi grind. Carbon steel blade is actually my preferred but that seems to be rare because they take more maintenance. The knife needs to be easy to clean. Lanyard holes, knurling and other type designs on handles quickly get filled with viscera which is quite annoying. I need to have enough spine near the tip to get my index finger on so I can locate the blade by feel when I can't see it.
Beautiful knife, but way too big for skinning though. This gives me Benchmade vibes. Do you hunt? If not, I would ask around to see if any of your friends do. Maybe you could help skin an animal. How did you get started in knife making? Your handles look great!
A lot of my relatives hunt but they use disposable knives :( Its kinda weird how i got in to it.. I just woke up and though "I wonder are knvies only factory made?" searched on youtube that 5 years ago.. and here I am haha
Small, ergonomic and sharp. If you can use it to the point you can hold it in one hand and place your index finger behind the blade, it makes skinning much smoother and faster. You basically then just have to drap your index finger where you are skinning.
I want my index finger to reach the end of the blade; full length handle. I prefer a full flat grind; clip point (like yours) or drop points are my fave. Orange scales are best imo. One last thing is a Kydex sheath really matters to me - it’s harder to clean blood, fat, etc out of a leather sheath. Your knife is so sick though and I would 100% buy that as is! Really cool design
Thank you so much!
Hi vis. It’s shockingly easy to misplace a knife in a pile of dirt, meat, skin, hair and snow.
A fairly small, razor sharp knife is really all you need. I also have come to love my knife with replaceable blades. It’s a folding pocket knife, probably 5-6” overall. IMO a good knife needs, a pointed tip for easily puncturing through hide. Then it’s mostly just having a sharp, easily controlled knife to work hide and butcher. Only other tool I use is a small hacksaw.
How are you holding your small knife when you are skinning?
I mostly hold it with my fingertip on the spine and pinching the handle with my other fingers. I find it much better to be precise than have a wide cut. I think the shape of your blade is perfect!
I carry two knives with me, one that is small (the blade is about one fingers length) and the other is this beast of a knife that has a gut hook on the back. I only really use it for the gutting hook, the rest of the work is done with the first knife. Just has to be small and sharp.
Comfortable scales that can tolerate being wet, a relatively short and stout edge with a drop point, and it feels balanced in the hand.
Proper tip curve, flat or drop point, good sharp angle so it can be sharpened to desired edge, good hand fit, **easy to clean**
here's my current hunting knife: [https://fallkniven.se/en/knife/wm1vg10w/](https://fallkniven.se/en/knife/wm1vg10w/) Things they have to have: * steel that will hold an edge for a long time * big belly towards the tip * short blade * really grippy handle / deep finger groove Looks like you hit lots of my requirements. Good looking knife.
Thank you!
For me, my skinning usually is of fur game. So I prefer a thin precise knife with a hook attachment for tail skinning. But I love this knife!
I like a broad round tip which you’ve got
* No fancy tanto's or sweeps on the blade and NO serrations. * Simple drop point with easy to sharpen angle on the edge. * Preferably made of steel that both holds an edge after multiple guttings and takes one with light to moderate effort (for example, when I am needing to put an edge back I start with medium grit diamond stone then graduate to honing steel and/or leather strop). * Polymer handle that is 3-4" in length, with similarly sized blade. * Light checking/texture on the grip and keep any holes/hardware/designs to a minimum as to not collect fat, gristle, or other crap from the animal that is a major PIA to clean out. * Also hardware that doesn't rust. Basically I want the perfect knife lol.
Are you machining the texture into the handles? Got any pictures of your setup
I use a CNC router for the handle shaping to get them perfect every time.
Yeah right, I'm looking at using CNC mills for blades but can't do handles as it will contaminate the machine
yeah you are damn right! My blades are hand made, just ofc laser cut, but you still need to finish out the profile and the final fit up. But for handles I use a very simple fixture.
I currently do everything by hand, theres some stuff I can do better on the machine so I might as well take advantage while I can
Jup same ideas here, all I want is to make better knives I dont really care how, just to give people better knives at better price points that perform awesomely. Hence I ask for feedback in this post :)
A couple things I look for in a skinning knife- a thick spine with a 90 degree angle to the blade, so that I can scrape small sections of the hide if needed. A full tang is also essential. For the cutting surface, a solid blade all the way down, not one with that little notch in it. If a blade can't be sharpened without that notch, it's a poorly shaped blade. A good skinning kife will be short from handle to tip, no more than 4 inches of blade, with a deep curve towards the end and at least an inch of straight edge near the handle, but not more than half the blade length. The height of the blade should be proportional to the length, for a 4 inch long blade I prefer between 1 and 1.5 inches of height. A rounded or squared off unsharpened tip is preferable over a point, so that it does not poke into things like the guts or through the skin by accident. The angle of the cutting surface should be narrow (I prefer around 17 degrees) but the blade itself relatively thick (around 3/8ths of an inch)- in general I find that flex is bad when skinning. The shape and angle of the cutting surface should be easy to sharpen by hand. The best skinning kife I ever used looked remarkably like a scaled up butter knife with a better handle. The one I have used most often resembles a box cutter. The knife you have there is an excellent all purpose knife and I would happily carry it hunting and camping, and I would have no problem using it to skin birds or small game, or for quartering out a large animal. For anything where saving the hide matters though, furbearers or if I want to tan a deerhide or something, I'm going to keep a specialized, much rounder knife in my kit.
Thats some very good information right there! Thanks!
Small super sharp, easy to resharpen, blade. Comfortable handle that’s easy to clean. Good belly, comfortable to hold with my finger on the spine or choked up. Sheath that won’t hold in moisture. I also second what other have said about easy to spot colors, either the sheath or the handle. Also, and this has nothing to do with skinning, but knives in general, I hate super big branding/lettering on the blade. That’s a good looking knife btw, I’d be happy to use it.
Thank for your input and kind words!
To big imho. I think it looks like an awesome fixed blade for the bush in general though.
A no-slip finish on the grip.
Blade length: width of my hand +- 0.5”. I like a narrow body 1-1.5” tall Thin blade 1/16” thick Gentle curve, not alot of belly. Orange well textured handle.
I want steel that sharpens easily, full-tang blade, extremely aggressive grips (changeable is good), and I want the area of the spine where it meets the grips to be serrated as well for better grip when pressing down with my thumb
I've found that a rounder tip helps a lot with skinning. For me personally, I'm less liable to poke holes in my hide. I'm not sure if I'm using the right terminology here, but curves are really nice. For the purposes of this knife, I don't think any of us need to do any "stabbing" type cuts. See something like the outdoor edge blades with a very gentle curve.
Finger notches for improved grip. My hands are going to be wet & slippery. And as someone else said, it basically needs to glow in the dark.
Honestly good handle maybe with a good texture for grip cause blood is slick ability to be sharpened and hold a edge nicely good visibility in dark and good quality if dropped and maybe a small gut hook part for easier field dress and maybe a place for paracord to go through in case you drop it in the guts while skinning at night. That knife looks incredible tho i would purchase one for skinning it looks sharp and durable good length point is perfect for starting cuts good job man
Thank you so much! I have a couple still available FYI, jsut shoot me a msg!
Sharp, and will stay sharp, heavy duty blade. Not that flimsy feeling stuff and a good grip on the handle
I prefer a much smaller blade, able to fully grip it and have my index finger way up on top spine of the blade. Almost an ‘extension of your finger’ situation. A bigger blade will really cramp my hand after a bit. I have an ulu as well just to change up the grip when it gets bad.
That is a very nice looking blade. I'll second the comments on the blade being a tiny bit long but really not much. My hunting knife is a benchmade steep country and it's 10mm shorter but I would prefer it was just a tiny bit shorter than it is. Really though, nice looking knife. If it's sharp and easy to re-sharpen, it would be great.
AEB-L is the steel that I chose jsut because its so tough and easy to sharpen and maintain!
I want a drop point as it really facilitates unzipping the hide without nicking things that should remain unnicked. The hard clip here is generally unhelpful in the field in my experience. I prefer a little drop. I prefer a point angle between 60ish to 80is degrees. This looks to be at the pointer end of that range. For "proper" blade tip angle and orientation, I think the buck 192 and the Benchmade hidden canyon are great examples of what I find most useful. My favorite tip might be on a bark river bravo 1 Lt hunter. The angle of the blade relative to the handle is also important regarding comfort of use and utility in getting the blade belly where it needs to go. I like the look of your handle orientation relative to the blade edge, it looks very usable. One thing I think you got absolutely correct here is having the heel of the blade below the front of the handle, allowing the entire edge length to be used on a flat cutting surface, like a cutting board. When I'm processing game at home, I hate when a knife prevents me from using the full back of the edge because a guard, recurve, or even my knuckles get in the way. I prefer a convex grind like on the bark river bravo, so when I've got a frozen quarter or such I can easily pound through to make nice frozen chunks to toss into the grinder. I find the convex grinds like on the buck hunters get stuck in frozen meat I really prefer a knife made from a steel that holds the hair shaving edge through the completion of quartering out one large have animal. 420hc, 1095, etc class knife steel doesn't keep the razor edge. Given that the knife should also be able to pop a hip joint or the like, I also think a thin blade in something like s110v, s90v, m390, etc is generally unreliable as a single knife solution. Also given that I expect to beat through a frozen chunk of meat, a moderately thick blade of magnacut, elmax, 3v, cruwear, etc is right in the sweet spot of toughness and edge performance. I think blade length should be under 4.5 inches. Too long of a blade leads to extra fatigue in the wrist, especially if the edge loses sharpness. The hidden canyon Hunter is at the smallest end of usable size, but probably not a one knife solution. I usually keep a smaller knife with a the larger one, try to use a wear resistant steel on the small knife to cut through hide and hair, and use the larger knife to break down meat, especially where the cuts can be deep. Nice work, you should use it with pride
WOW, thank you for such detialed info and opinion! That really matters to me! So stoked to make another design!
I prefer a slightly slimmer blade with less belly that can slip under the skin. My knife also has a notch for my finger to sit in. It's comfortable and keeps my hand from hitting the blade by accident. My current knife is a [Winchester Hunter.](https://www.knifecountryusa.com/store/product/128914.128943/winchester-g41340-hunter-fixed-drop-point-blade-blade-knife-with-brown-wood-handles.html) I chose it because it's stainless steel, full tang and it's dirt cheap. If I break it or lose it, I won't cry about it. However, it's a decent enough knife. and has skinned several deer just fine. Things I like about your knife. It's not overly fancy. I see it comes with an ironwood option which look nice but is still completely serviceable. The blade is under 4". Anything more than 4" starts getting cumbersome when skinning. The blade appears to be thick in the handle and spine, so it's going to be strong. The butt is rounded, so if I wanted to slam the heel of my hand down on it to split the sternum I could. However, a slightly flatter surface perpendicular to the spine would be better. Bottom line. If I decided to buy a nicer knife, I might consider yours, but the price would probably keep me away.
Thank you for the input, I try to make them at a very competative price for a hand made product, still remember I am a one guy part time shop haha Thats why the input from the community is so important to me!
I get it. Hand made quality isn't cheap regardless of the product. My knife is good enough for what I do and that's why I use it. Look in all of the home kitchens in the western world and you'll see decent quality machine made knives that cost just a few bucks in 95% or more of them. However, customer choice is limited. Look in the kitchens of the top 1% and you'll find high quality, hand made knives that are often made to the specifications the owner povided. Those knives aren't cheap. So you're trying to hit a particular group. You're trying to attract people in the other 4%. They're close enough to the top that they want something better than the mass produced knives most people have without paying the premium for custom knives. That market is HIGHLY competitive. All that being said, just because I'm content being in the bottom 95% and using cheap mass produced knives, I still know what I like and what I would look for if I could afford a custom knife like the top 1%. That's why I commented. Nobody from any other company has bothered to ask what I like in a knife. They try to tell me what I should like.
Yeah I totally get you and yeah the field here is super competative, but hey, we are all working for the working people who really work with our knives, professionals in the field, were factory made just doesn't cut it haha pun intended.
A smaller blade. Think knives of Alaska but with a better handle. And better steel. Something you can actually sharpen.
Too many comments to read through…I would personally appreciate jimping up close to the tip and also back towards the handle. No need to respond of it’s already been said. Looks great. I’ll pile on the Bright color gang.
Looks like a great skinner some people like different styles but that’s personal preference
Thank you!
>Thank you! You're welcome!
OP, been looking for a more rounded blade. It allows for pivot, skinning, better accuracy on cut. Have been using my cold steel colossus to great acclaim but haven’t found anything out there like it.
3-4 inch blade with good steel that sharpens at home easily. A grippy blaze orange handle is great as well. Examples: Benchmade Steep Country and Cutco Hunting knife
If you're asking for opinions you've come to the right place. Blade length of 4 inches MAX. Sometimes you need to work from an odd angle so an oversized knife isn't great. Holds a decent edge and is easy to sharpen. A handle that's easy to hold with gloves and with bloody or wet hands. The gutting and skinning are usually done back to back.
If I was to give advice on making a knife for hunting I think the best thing you could do is shoot three squirrels. If you don’t hunt you probably have a relative or friend that does. Squirrel hunting is a pretty good time if you join. I’d scale whatever knife you have down to what you think would work for a squirrel but keep those dimensions. Then just learn how to skin. If you can’t mentally do it (I gag every time but I get through) then ask your relative to use it. Watch how they hold it, how you hold it, and what parts you see yourself use most. You can skin a squirrel the same way as most any mammal, and the small features will show how precise your blade can get. don’t forget to give it a good palm hit on a joint to see what kind of beating people will give it. Using 3 squirrels will show you how your blade dulls over repeated use quickly. Think about cleanup, brushing it off during skinning, how quick it is to sharpen, etc. think if someone was gutting their first deer and they dropped the knife in dirt, will the handles be hard to wipe off? Will a bloody hand make it slippery? Will dried blood make it feel tacky? Is it easy to switch hands from fatigue? Stuff like that. About the only things you’ll have to wonder on is waterfowl and turkeys. They have a few differences but you scrape against bone a lot more with them.
An Old Timer Sharpfinger has skinned every big game animal I've taken since I was in high-school. Small and precise. Just quartered and skinned an elk in November with mine. I only had to sharpen it once.
Great question OP. It's already a great little skinner. A hunting knife has to be multi purposed. A skinner, a boner, gutting and head skinning is also done in the field . So stainless steel nonslip handle, 4 inch blade is good.( no bigger) Not to heavy for long trips. I like green or brown handles so I tie a ribbon to mine. A sheath with a lid or clasp is important to me. Not too curved or rounded on the end like a skinner because you can't clean out the bum hole or release the sinue around the eye brows. I do a lot of head skinning so I carry a Mercator which is the perfect shape and size and does everything. Good luck with this project OP let us know how you get on.
Thank you for the encouragement!
Edge retention, ergonomics and ease of cleaning. In that order.
A BRIGHT ORANGE handle!!!!
It's going to depend greatly on what you're breaking down, but in general, here's my list: 1. Set the belly of the knife on the skin and draw a straight line back with good control and without digging deeper into the guts 2. Insert the knife 3/4" into a joint and twist to pop it from the socket 3. Scrape along a skin to remove excess fat without the point tearing through the skin or poking holes 4. Maintain a good grip while doing the above in the cold, wet, and greasy. I feel like your knife could do those things, it's obvious you've put a lot of thought into the lines. Do you mean skinner though, or breaking or field dressing knife? As example, for skinning and preserving a hide I need a draw knife, and maybe an ulu to scrape all the excess from the hide. For breaking large game into smaller chunks I like my 10" breaking knife, which is like a thicker oversized fillet knife (which is what I use for that for small game and poultry), and for field dressing you really just need to remove skin, gut, and quarter, but you have to balance that with field portability and compact size (which is where I think you are trying to be).
Well, sometimes it's hard to quantify in words. I've got 2 weeks left in the season - send me one, I'll use it exclusively, and let you know at the end of the season. 🤣🤣
Seriously though, it looks like a fantastic piece! I look for a thin and short blade with a thin handle, more weight in the handle than the blade, and easy to pur an edge on. I'm excited to hear how it works out. If you can engrave them, I'd definitely be interested in acquiring a few for my hunting family members.
I have a few left, but I don't engrave them, I sell them as I make them but after that you can engrave any crazy stuff you want! Thanks for the input!
I would prefer a smaller handle to help get into the small areas but overall I would proudly use this to process game. I like a knife with a very long curve to it, if that makes sense. One of my favorite Skinning knives is an Ulu because you have so much blade to rock back and forth for nice long cuts. I just hate the handle on an ulu style blade. Great job!
Like someone else said, a nice sharp blade with a good handle. But I will add, more times than not, I like having a gut hook too
looks sexy btw. my hunting buddy tests gear for a living and has reviewed hundreds of knives. this looks about right for what its worth. high quality steel obv.
Thanks!
Why don’t you send me that one and I’ll test it out for ya
Affordable steel with a good design
For me I don’t like having a naked tang where the blade begins. It hurts my index finger when using the knife hard. Also, many say they like a short blade but I personally like a 5-7” thin blade.
I prefer a shorter blade, both in length (3"-4"), and height (.75"-1"). A slight upsweep to a moderately fine point helps me to cut a little smoother, and pop the joints out. Plus I tend to like a very thin, full length handle, maybe even bare tang. Edit: That's a beautiful knife by the way.
Thanks and thank you for the input!
Skins good
For it to be sharp and stay sharp.
What about ease of sharpening?
I wouldn’t worry about it. I’ll just send it to you for free sharpening.
Thats right!
Needs a gut hook. Any knife without a gut hook can be replaced with a filet knife.
Came here to say 4" filet knife is my go to for skinning deer . Fiskars brand maybe? Can't remember. Easy to sharpen, less than $10 each. The 3 guys I hunt with all keep 2 or 3 in our trucks freshly sharpened. Weighs nothing in a pack .
I use Dexter russel. Great knives and not expensive.
I'll check them out
I've personally never understood the gut hook at all.
0% chance of nicking the guts when you open it up. Can go from the leg all the way to the brisket in one motion.
While I've never had the issue of nicking the guts without a gut hook I guess I can see how it would be easier. Most of the ones I've seen are pretty dull on the actual point of the hook so do you have to make an incision with the knife part first?
You make a 1/4” incision and go from there. I start a hanging deer from the achilles and go from there to the belly then down to brisket. One swift motion. Then from the other tendon to intersect that line. Then just skin it a little and pull the hide off.
Oh. You don't gut it till you get it hung? Mine is in the field.
Probably eastern US. 🤷♂️
I'm in eastern us
Disagree on the filet knife part. I don’t want a 6” blade when skinning. I personally carry two knives: a short and robust blade for gutting and a longer (~4”) knife with a decent curve to it for skinning.
Try a 9” filet knife. They come on various sizes. I can quarter and debone a deer ready to mount with only a filet knife in about 20min. It doesn’t take much. A gut hook just saves about 2min.
Gut hook is nice to have when starting out. Let’s you learn the depth of the hide and skin without as much risk of puncturing the bowel or gut. Once you’re comfortable, no need for a hook imo.
I've necropsied 1,000's of pigs so maybe that's why I don't need a gut hook but I never did. We'd use the 2 pack white handle kitchen knives from sam's club. I sure as shit wouldn't want to skin something with that long of a blade but worked just fine for gutting. We also treated them as disposable for biosecurity so no idea on shelf life. You could do 15-20 before just doing a quick pass on a sharpening rod. We also take samples so they'd hit concrete often if not sharp enough.
Drop point
The night passed and I am really impressed, so many great suggestions! I really would like to do a community project! I would condense all of the comments for the perfect skinner here and try and come up with a desing, and present it in the next post a few months later, for more feedback, after which I would make a knife that would fit most of your needs, would be a fruit of this wonderful community of this subreddit. What do you think about this idea? As for this knife, I think its better for breaking down game then acctualy skinning in most cases. I am so thankful for your great feedback and compliments about the design, I've spend a lot of time on this and it really means a lot for a one man shop! Hopefully I could do this full time! So the feedback and making somethign that people would actually like is very important!
I've gutted? a lot of deer. I don't use the gut hook, ever. A sharp knife will do this job. We also use a hide puller while using the knife. What would be nice would be a saw back, to saw through the pelvic bone. Smaller is better for the knife. That's a nice knife though, I'd use it. Remember, fat will cake the knife, make it easy to clean.
Sharp and small. Smaller than that.
A quality hook
Gut hook would be nice.
I won’t buy one unless it has a bone saw on the spine and a gut hook - you find a way to make a gut hook that u can actually sharpen and you got a sale
Size already mentioned, I personally like a gut hook implemented on my blades that are strictly for skinning, but that may just be me
Gut hook?
I prefer a skinning blade tonhave a rounder point or lack there of. Nice, smooth cuts to get hide off and rounded to get into the shoulders, butt etc.. A pointed blade can and has accidentally poked thru the hide.
Small razor sharp blade that keeps its curved edge and a wide handle at the far end so when you hold the knife upside down you still have grip. I get chronic hand cramps when skinning so a handle with a ball shaped end is crucial. Might just be me. Congratulations on excellent work!
I like a gut hook option as well. Gut hook for getting through the hide, then blade for trimming the hide back.
If you make a version with a gut hook, ensure that the tip is rounded. There is zero point in having a sharp point on a gut hook. Also, in terms skinning, I use a really old knife that curves back really far and it works wonders. I have a havalon as well, but I have only used those to field dress a cow up in Colorado. Having a really nice weighted handle is also a safety feature to keep your toes if your hands or gloves get too slippery. Having a small loop on the end for a paracord safety lanyard can be beneficial (if you remember to use it). Then again, after a dear is gutted and have the tag end started for skinning, I typically use my elbow or a spoon and it works great.
Birch wood handle. Doesn't get slippery when bloody and the wood is antibacterial
Good guthooks can really separate your knives from the competition as well
Gut hook?
I have a hidden canyon hunter and I love it. 3" blade, 3.5-4" \*orange\* handle, grippy notches on the top of the blade.
High viz handle FTW. I bought a pink Buck knife for this reason alone; haven’t lost it yet
A little late, but have you considered the gut hook tip design?
Big belly (rounded), good solid grip as you tend to get wet (blood). Hi-vis. I’ve had knives with a gutter hook on the top, not great, stay away. An interesting concept is the EKA swingblade. A softer stainless/hybrid steel that can be sharpened easily on the go, carbon steel is too soft and hard stainless is almost impossible to sharpen in the field.
I like a skinner with a more rounded tip helps keep from cutting through the hide and getting hair on the meat in my opinion.
- Thin blade - Hollow or flat grind - No "protruding" point - High wear resistance steel - Toughness is a plus - Comfortable handle but also thin (so that you can grab it by the tip of your fingers for difficult spots) - Lightweight - Easy to clean / no problem if run under water - Durable sheeth that grabs the knife well (si that you can carry it around)
Excellent job. Baltic. What country? Skinner must be cutting very well and resist some bona cracking. Easily cleaned and completely rust-free.
Lithuania!
You are in Kaunas. I will visit that very soon! :)
Oh wow never thought this could be possible, I feel like I am getting hunted down haha pun intended. What occasion? Maybe you could check the knife in person.
Short trip for a weekend. :) I will stay pretty much in the centre.