Quality skinning knives

I have a couple of Benchmade Barrage folders that are very good knives. Steel is M390
a bit harder to sharpen, but holds an edge like nothing I have owned. Dave.
 
jbmauser said:
Having used a Buck 119 in 420HC for many years I totally understand wanting to spend some money and get something good. Can you skin something with a Buck or a Mora? Absolutely! Can a quality knife with a high end steel make the job a hundred times easier? Absolutely! Maybe not a hundred times but significantly easier.

I used that 119 for years. I didn't know a thing about steels or high end knives, it was pretty much all I knew. I skinned out a ton of game with it never giving much thought about how quick it would dull or how easy it chipped etc. I just accepted that was how skinning and cutting up game was. While skinning out an elk one day I became frustrated at how dull my knife was probably 3/4 of the way into the job and began to think there has to be better knives out there, ones that could do a simple task like skinning out one animal before needing to be sharpened. That instance started me off researching and learning as much as I could about various steels and things like edge retention, toughness, resistance to chipping etc. I will never go back to cheap knives again. There are some bargains out there for around a hundred bucks that will outperform your average Buck or Mora by a long shot in edge retention and if you spend a bit more and go into the 2-300 range the performance is night and day.

Again you don't need to spend that kind of money but I personally think it's more than worth it.
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Buck's standard knives are serviceable (the 110 is my favorite) but the Alaskan Guide and other custom options are for superior I believe.
 
I don't understand why people invest in skinning knives that cost hundreds of dollars ....

There are commercial grade and professional butcher/skinning knives that do an excellent job .... and for a pretty small price .... like the Giesser skinning knives ....

They were designed for skinning large game animals and being used every day .... and day after day .... year after year ....



Giesser_Hautmesser.jpg



Giesser_Hautmesser_Wood.jpg
 
0faustus0 said:
I don't understand why people invest in skinning knives that cost hundreds of dollars ....

There are commercial grade and professional butcher/skinning knives that do an excellent job .... and for a pretty small price .... like the Giesser skinning knives ....

They were designed for skinning large game animals and being used every day .... and day after day .... year after year ....



Giesser_Hautmesser.jpg



Giesser_Hautmesser_Wood.jpg
Click to expand...

Gotta spend your money on something. Can't take it with ya when you die...
 
0faustus0 said:
I don't understand why people invest in skinning knives that cost hundreds of dollars ....

There are commercial grade and professional butcher/skinning knives that do an excellent job .... and for a pretty small price .... like the Giesser skinning knives ....

They were designed for skinning large game animals and being used every day .... and day after day .... year after year ....



Giesser_Hautmesser.jpg



Giesser_Hautmesser_Wood.jpg
Click to expand...

....and sharpened time after time after time......

There's no way those have any sort of decent edge retention.
 
jbmauser said:
....and sharpened time after time after time......

There's no way those have any sort of decent edge retention.
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Lol .... I can skin a whole beaver or a deer with a Mora Companion or a Giesser Skinner ... and without re-sharpening ....

Why would I need more edge retention?

And a couple of strokes with a sharpening steel .... and I am back in business for the next carcass to be skinned ....
 
0faustus0 said:
Lol .... I can skin a whole beaver or a deer with a Mora Companion or a Giesser Skinner ... and without re-sharpening ....

Why would I need more edge retention?

And a couple of strokes with a sharpening steel .... and I am back in business for the next carcass to be skinned ....
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A deer or beaver. Ok. How about a bull moose or elk? I've used cheap knives like that and have always found them lacking. I also don't use sharpening steels. Horrendous way to sharpen something. To each their own tho. If you're happy with that kind of performance that's good. Like you said you get to spend more money on another gun or whatever. I'd rather spend mine on a good knife.
 
jbmauser said:
A deer or beaver. Ok. How about a bull moose or elk? I've used cheap knives like that and have always found them lacking. I also don't use sharpening steels. Horrendous way to sharpen something. To each their own tho. If you're happy with that kind of performance that's good. Like you said you get to spend more money on another gun or whatever. I'd rather spend mine on a good knife.
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Strange comment , as those knives are the basic design used by many butchers, and the blade shape is hundreds of years old. Many trappers I knew growing up used Victorianox skinners of the same design, and never had an issue sharpening them .
Cat
 
Not sure what the OP is after here. There is a big difference between a field knife and butchering knives. Your field knife is a your personal preference thing. What do you like? and it takes a few field dressings with different knives to know what you like. For me a 3” blade and about the same handle.
For butchering or skinning at home/hung in the Garage or barn a nice set of victor Knox would my choice.
https://williamsfoodequipment.com/s...EC1GElgl1Gx9tJX-ORCAinfIUYE3EGuBoCZtkQAvD_BwE
 
jbmauser said:
A deer or beaver. Ok. How about a bull moose or elk? I've used cheap knives like that and have always found them lacking. I also don't use sharpening steels. Horrendous way to sharpen something. To each their own tho. If you're happy with that kind of performance that's good. Like you said you get to spend more money on another gun or whatever. I'd rather spend mine on a good knife.
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I have a few victorinox butchering knifes and I can attest to their quality! They hold an edge pretty good and they are fairly easy to touch up! They really are good knifes!!
 
The real test of a knife is when dressing/skinning a black bear. There always
seems to be a lot of grit on the hide, which tests edge retention fully.

Nevertheless, whatever suits YOUR needs is what is important, not what
someone else THINKS you need. :) Dave.
 
jbmauser said:
A deer or beaver. Ok. How about a bull moose or elk? I've used cheap knives like that and have always found them lacking. I also don't use sharpening steels. Horrendous way to sharpen something. To each their own tho. If you're happy with that kind of performance that's good. Like you said you get to spend more money on another gun or whatever. I'd rather spend mine on a good knife.
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"Steels" arn't meant to "sharpen" they are used to set the edge straight again if it gets rolled over during use. Those "wedge shaped carbide slides do the same thing mostly, it would take a very soft steel knife to actually remove steel and leave a soft steel edge. The only way to "sharpen an edge is grinding either with carborundum belt or block or a diamond file. Grind sharpening can also leave the edge "rolled" a slight bit and I always slide a new edge over a steel twice just to straighten everything.

A bit funny after reading all the build-ups to the Grohmann brand, my daughter gave her man one for Xmas this morning...he and i were grooling over this thing at first glance but that changed after the first good look at the cutting edge, a very easy to see occlusion was noticed about 1/3 the way down the edge from the tip...I suggested returning the thing but it was the only one in the store and he was so damn excited by it that he's going to ignor the blemish. I think it is positioned in the cutting edge just perfectly to "grab" when in use....but I guess it is his!!
 
fingers284 said:
"Steels" arn't meant to "sharpen" they are used to set the edge straight again if it gets rolled over during use...
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This. If you're not using a steel ever than you're missing out. They maintain the edge so you can go longer between sharpenings - when my boning knife starts to get dull while butchering a few swipes on the steel gets it cutting nice again. They don't replace proper sharpening when the time comes, but they will extend the period you can go between sharpenings.

If you're trying to SHARPEN a dull knife with a steel you're doing it wrong...
 
I'm a huge fan of s90v steel and the Benchmade Altitude.
Small lightweight knife that goes everywhere but that steel has insane edge retention because it is so hard. Careful not to chip the edge and it will stay razor sharp through multiple animals.
 
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