The best skinning knife style?

[kpmoloney]

I'd like to see what everyones idea of an ideal skinning knife style for big game animals is and your reasons why. Pictures, Descriptions, Stories, what have you. Swept back, drop point, clip point, bull nose, spear point, swedge... the list goes on.

I have zero experience hunting but would like to get into it in the near future. From a romantic stand point I'd like to use a Nessmuk style hunting knife. Lots of belly with a wicked curve. The hump on a bull nose or Nessmuk style I've heard works to keep your blade away from the entrails when gutting. A friend of mine dressed out a moose with his nessy and got amazed compliments from guys in his hunting camp that had been hunting for 40 years.

Anyway, the purpose of this thread for me is to hear from experienced hunters what their opinion is on what makes a good skinner. Any ideas on the Nessmuk design? I'd love to hear what you guys think.

Link to the Nessmuk I'm thinking of.
http://www.turleyknives.com/apps/blo...-the-big-piney

 

[5knives]

Ummm ...if by big game you mean bigger than whitetail Deer, I prefer a traditional 'skinner' Sheep skinner or similar, old hickory, Green River, etc. Even an american pattern Butcher knife works well, especially a 5-7 inch blade. Has that hump you mention on the nessmuk and it definitely help in making the belly cut, not so much in the skinning process. Talking about critters like bear here where every square inch of hide needs to be cut off.

Whitetail is different, skinning involves little cutting as you 'punch' the hide off, so Whitetail and smaller even a sharp paring knife can work well. Watched a MD I used to hunt with to a bang up job (on a bet) with just a scalpel, if he'd been working on a bear he'd still be at it.

AG Russell 'woodswalker' is enough for deer on down. IMHO of course.

Probably my favorite all purpose hunting knife is a green river, called a hunting knife now, used to be called a cannery knife, 5" blade and basically a short butcher knife, thin blade.

Hunting I do carry a knife roll, paring knife, boner, sheep or beef skinner and American pattern Butcher, 7" blade.

Grew up on farms and ranches and first job for cash money at age 14 was killing and skinning critters for a Butcher shop/Locker Plant so that definitely affects my opinions.

I'll be interested in what other folks have to say they prefer and why, who knows ... maybe I've been wrong all these years.

Good question!

Regards,

 

[michaelm466]

My family attends Sundance annually (No, not the film festival) a native specifically Lakota ceremony that lasts 4 days and includes about 400 people, my mom was the cook for four years (everything is in cycles of 4). Anyway, part of that was after the Buffalo ceremony that took place 2 weeks before Sundance (thanking the buffalo for its sacrifice and then shooting it the atlas vertabrae, one shot no pain at all, died instantaneously) was to gut it, skin it and butcher it, the first year it took us about 20 hours in total from start to getting the last package of meat in the fridge, by the fourth year we got it down to about 4, this is with 4-6 people, the girls wrapping and the guys, butchering/skinning/gutting. The first year we just used whatever kitchen knives were closest, and hunting knives were available, some bucks, gerbers, etc. But by the fourth year we found that knives with the best belly worked the best, my two favorites were a nesmuk style knife and an Ulu my grandpa had picked up in alaska. Although for some jobs straighter blades came in handy too, like cutting the meat out from between the ribs and hump (hump looks like vertical rib bones sticking out of the spine) as well as cutting out the tongue (boiled tongue is one of my favorite parts with the right spices.

 

[hlee]

Give me a caping knife any day of the week for field dressing and skinnnig. Big wide blades are hard to get in to places like joints. I use a cub bear from knives of alaska.

Cub Bear

For butchering, I prefer a longer knife, like a butcher's knife.

 

[Sithus1966]

For deer, which is all I have experience with, I like a AG Russel Woodswalker. It works great for taking off a hide, getting in the small places and takes and holds a wicked edge.