Shortest blade length for field dressing and skinning

[lobo9er]

only knife I used last season. Field dress and skinned. I also used it for alot of the processing along with a couple of butcher knives.

 

[MNofUSN]

Can you be a little more specific about what animals you're talking about? My rabbit knife is a little different than my elk knife. But if I could only have one for everything, it would be a drop point with a 3-1/2 - 4" blade.

agreed, i cleaned rabbits with SAKs and pen knives when i was younger

for deer and such i don't go smaller that a 2.5" blade, but like someone else said why would you want to???
the blade length on a 110 is just about perfect for me

 

[kalama]

i like a 3" blade

 

[MikeH]

My hands down favorite deer knife is my Busse Active Duty. I don't have it in front of me, but it has a blade length of about 3.5" and edge of what, 2 7/8"?

I have maintained for many years that the Active Duty, in it's thinner versions, is the best, most useful knife Busse ever produced. And that's coming from an unabashed fan of Busse knives.

 

[Bigfattyt]

I have maintained for many years that the Active Duty, in it's thinner versions, is the best, most useful knife Busse ever produced. And that's coming from an unabashed fan of Busse knives.

I had the BAD (2 times), and a GW. I would still have the BAD, but needed the cash for a custom, and I had a choiless CABS, or I would not have sold it. If the Bad had been choiless I would still have it.

 

[Larry from Bend]

If knife has a hand-filling handle; the blade can be mighty short and still be usable. I once dressed a large Mule Deer Buck with a little Gerber "Silver Knight" with maybe a 2" blade. The short blade wasn't really a handicap but the tiny handle was a real pain in the hand.

Two of the most successful hunters I know use Vic Swiss Army knives the same size as my Farmer.

I now use this Remington --- and have for many years. It was one of the earlier ATS34 knives and has a wonderfully-shaped (in my opinion) 4" blade. A shorter blade would also work, though.

 

[Bruce Culberson]

For mule deer and smaller my personal knife has a 3" blade. I use it to field dress, skin, and quarter game that size and smaller. I prefer something bigger for moose......

 

[Joe Calton]

I used a gerber easy out to field dress and debone an elk once. but nowadays, my favorite is one of my 52100 hunters with a 4-5" blade, and I use it for everything from rabbits to elk, and during fishing season also. just a one knife kind of guy I guess.

 

[6thtexas]

I've skinned a many a deer and hog with a A.G.Russell Woodswalker, but may try out a Blind Horse Lil Muk or Camp Muk this next season. I like a 2 1/4" to 3 1/2" blade on deer and hogs and anything longer than 4" really gets in the way. I've got a Boker Dozier skinner with a 3/38" blade (IIRC). It has skinned some deer, two sheep, and a beef or two. it is a good blade and handles well. Last year I used an AG Russell Sowbelly Trapper on two deer. It did fine but a fixed blade is easier to clean up than a folder.

For butchering and such, we use a couple of cheap Forschner (Victorinox) boning knives.

 

[Killinumsoftly]

I've used a small little Psk type knife just to gut the deer not to quarter it. I've used the same knife a bunch on smaller game, I like the control I get with it and the knife just gets crazy sharp and stays that way for a while so its like using a fresh razor on every few slices.

 

[ChrisB507]

I think it depends on the skill and knowledge of the user. Seems 2" or so is all you need for deer, and that's what I've heard from relatives that dig out their small "pen knives" when they talk about dressing a deer.

 

[Ar10shooter]

I usually use my lg sebenza 3 3/4 for skinning elk my small sebenza 3 inches for deer and smaller game. I imagine I could use smaller blades though. Probably 2 1/2 for elk and even 2 for deer.

 

[Hammer67]

I've skinned a many a deer and hog with a A.G.Russell Woodswalker, but may try out a Blind Horse Lil Muk or Camp Muk this next season.

Both are fine choices, but if I was only going to pick one, it would be the Camp Muk. You can do a heckuva lot with that knife.

The BHK Drover makes for a fine little game knife as well (I actually prefer it to the Lil Muk):

 

[Codger_64]

As others have said, a litteral minimum is pretty small. And like others, I have been caught out without a hunting knife and used what I had or could make, a tiny pen knife once, a broken coke bottle once and a shard of flint once. It is no secret that I prefer a Schrade Sharpfinger though for field dressing and skinning, a Schrade Woodsman 165OT for butchering.

 

[plumberroy]

As others have said, a litteral minimum is pretty small. And like others, I have been caught out without a hunting knife and used what I had or could make, a tiny pen knife once, a broken coke bottle once and a shard of flint once. It is no secret that I prefer a Schrade Sharpfinger though for field dressing and skinning, a Schrade Woodsman 165OT for butchering.

I doubt you could haul all the game my old carbon steel sharp finger has field dressed, cleaned or skinned in a half ton pickup. I made a new sheath for it a few years ago don't deer hunt much anymore but it is still sharp and ready incase I need to help out a friend
I have cleaned small game with a vic classic a few times
Roy

 

[TheGame]

The smallest knife I'd use now is 2-3 inches. I could do it with smaller, if I needed to. That is just the size that I prefer to use for small game. Deer I go for a larger, Buck Vanguard, but could still get away with smaller if I had to.