Recommendation? Best steel for skinning

[DeepTines]

Hello all, first post for me. I have Naren making knives for about 7 months so I’m still very green at this. I’m looking for recommendations on the best steel for a skinning knife. I have been making some knives and giving them to family members. I have recently been asked to make a skinner. It will be used on big game. Elk and mule deer mainly. The main thing I’m looking for is what steel would have the best edge retention? I look forward to browse and learn more on this forum.

 

[DevinT]

10-V

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Welcome Deep Tines.
Devin gives you a good choice.
His son, Dr. Larrin Thomas, has a great book on knife steels called, "Knife Engineering". It should be on every knifemakers desk.
Here is one of Larrin's Knife Nerds articles on his testing for edge retention:

Which Steel Has the Best Edge Retention? Part 1 - Knife Steel Nerds

Analysis of a huge set of CATRA experiments to determine what properties lead to the highest edge retention. Hardness, carbides, and edge angle, oh my!

knifesteelnerds.com

His results showed Rex-121 and 15V to be the highest. In practicality, most any of the high vanadium carbide steels will have excellent edge retention.

My personal favorite for knives in general is S35VN. It has excellent edge retention and makes a high-quality knife.

 

[Scaniaman]

You definitely want good wear resistance in a skinner. But also toughness since you won't only be skinning but also breaking down, cutting knee through joints, with that same edge. I would shoot for Magnacut or Cru-Wear if going high end. Correct heat treat of course. Make sure the client appreciates fine steel and geometry and cares about maintainance. If not, go for something like CPM154 or even AEB-L. Both are tried and true.

 

[Setarip]

Great steels already mentioned. Years ago I made a skinner for an elk guide from 1084. He was able to clean 3 elk before needing to sharpen. Now I’m not saying 1084 is that great at all, but a decently hard edge with good geometry will cut very well. Throw in a much better steel and you’ll end up with an excellent skinner. I’d second DevinT and say 10V. That would make an insane skinner.

Here is a photo he sent of the knife in use:

F39E3659-312F-4281-83C8-5EB199C429AE.jpeg

drive.google.com

 

[Seedy Lot]

I do like some vandium carbides in my hunting knives but maybe even more I appreciate high edge stability and have found for me the sweet spot for most of the steels I use starts at a hardness around 61 Rc.

Last year I gutted, skinned, and completely butchered to freezer a 540 pound pig with a Magnacut knife at 63 Rc. No touch up of the blade and still able to slice news print when I was done.

I honesty don't find skinning animals to be very demanding of a knives edge but this is an area were technique probably makes more of a difference than knife steel.

The knife I used this year for hunting is CPM Cruwear at 64.5 Rc. Just tested on BESS and the edge is around 200 after completely butchering a large buck and 6 turkeys. It was 7 degrees the night I harvested the deer so next day when I started butchering meat was frozen solid so lots of cussing and bone contact with the knife. The yeild strength of higher hardness steel really shines in these situations as bone contact often roles the edge of softer knives.

 

[Scaniaman]

10-V

A lot like K390 yes? Do you know how they compare in terms of wear resistance and toughness?

 

[Blankblank]

10v i know for sure works really well in butchery applications. Its a great balance as far as wear resistance and toughness goes. Also, at least when tempering in the lower range, the corrosion resistance is more than good enough for those kind of jobs. A honesuki (basically a boning knife but shaped a bit different) i kept for myself in it hasnt even gotten a patina yet, and my main job is cooking.

I definitely can recommend 10v for that job. If you care more about corrosion resistance, and less about toughness, s110v, or s90v could be good choices too. But i think it should have decent toughness in a skinning knife.

 

[Stuart Davenport Knives]

Another vote for 10V. My hunting and skinning knife are both in 0.072" 65HRC 10V and they really really perform.

Scaniaman, I think 10V and K390 have very similar wear resistance, but I am pretty sure the K390 is a bit tougher. Devin will know for sure. I have made a few from K390 for clients and they really like that steel.

 

[anthonycastorena2014]

I am a deer and hog hunter. My two favorites for skinning are CTS HXP and 1095. Wildly different but they both perform really well with a good heat treat. The CTS is my CS ultimate hunter and the 1095 is my GEC23.

 

[me2]

What methods and equipment do you use to make knives now? If you forge your blades, many of the above steels won’t be workable.

 

[DevinT]

What methods and equipment do you use to make knives now? If you forge your blades, many of the above steels won’t be workable.

Dude, where have you been? Or have I just missed all of your posts recently?

Hoss

 

[me2]

I’ve been exploring more dangerous pursuits.

 

[me2]

I’ve been lurking but haven’t done anything new with knives in a while.

 

[navman]

How do folks feel about S90V for a small to mid-size skinner/hunter? I have gotten excellent feedback from several hunters that used some of my S90V skinners on several hunts in Africa and Spain, and Boar hunts in Mississippi.

 

[Stuart Davenport Knives]

I've never used it, but it's a great steel for the application. Very stainless and very wear resistant from what I read.

 

[Blankblank]

How do folks feel about S90V for a small to mid-size skinner/hunter? I have gotten excellent feedback from several hunters that used some of my S90V skinners on several hunts in Africa and Spain, and Boar hunts in Mississippi.

I think i mentioned above. It seems like a good candidate. Wont be as tough as 10v, but probably fine for it.