A couple of cute skinning/capeing knives

[Johnnyreb338]

Just finished a couple of small skinning knives. 1 has maple/iron wood scales, blade is made from a bearing race. The other has Purple Heart scales and the blade is made from a Nicholson lathe file. 

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

In case someone is wondering what a lathe file is. It is one where the teeth are at a more acute angle for filing on parts that are rotating in the lathe. The more acute angle shears off the metal better without packing chips like a machinist file does. You can use a machinist file,if you hold it at an angle that appropriates the angle of a lathe file.

[Kozzy]

Another name would be long-angle file.  The tooth angle is 20 degrees more than a standard mill file.  

Beautiful knives.  Having never done any actual skinning, I looked up various "skinner" designs the other day and saw that everyone has a different opinion regarding what shape they should be.    Perchance have you (or another IFI member) actually used that shape enough to comment on the benefits over other skinner shapes?  Just curious regarding the actual design benefits of the more rounded ones vs the ones with more of a point.  Save this shape for the actual skinning and use the more pointed version for gutting?  

Sorry for my ignorance on the shape subject but among all the "skinner" shapes which people recommended as "very best", no one really said anything as to why they thought that so or what specific benefit they were getting from their favorite shape (other than not poking a hole in the skin with the more rounded version).  

[Johnnyreb338]

Good afternoon friends 

Kozzy     I've skinned deer with both pointed knives and knives like these, I would say I boils down to what you get use to useing,both types will work as long as they are sharp. Kinda like ford Chevy and dodge, they will all get you to Walmart, just what do you like to drive. 

After doing some research on Nicholson files people said the quality of materials had dropped off since the company started outsourcing services to Mexico, except for the lathe files were still high quality  steel. That's why I specifically stated it was a lathe file. I have friends at the local machine shop here and they go through a pile of them. 

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

I talked with the materials guy at Nicholson, and he told me that they have not changed the alloys used in 46 years he had been there. He mentioned that the machinist files are the highest grade, and the wood files/rasps were of a lesser grade because wood and hooves are not as hard as steel. He also said that they case harden some to get even more carbon into the teeth (black diamond designation?). He also warned of some counterfeits that they have seen with their name. He would not say what the specific alloy used was, but when I pushed for an answer he said that treating it like W1 would be a good choice for heat treating.

[bigfootnampa]

When I have skinned critters I've found that most of the work is done with the curved parts of the blades.  Even so I prefer a pointed blade as it will reach in to work tricky detailed areas.  Something like the Schrade "sharp finger" knives is what I prefer.  Extreme sharpness is most useful and the sheer amount of work (often) presents a challenge to keeping such an edge working optimally.  It is no bad thing to have more than one knife at hand!  I've sometimes used up the best of three good edges working one carcass!  So having more than one style in the field is quite a reasonable way to go.

[metalmangeler]

I find it confusing when ever someone says they are looking for a skinner. Years ago I did a lot of trapping, and a fair amount of hunting, to my mind a skinner should have a well rounded tip, this style of knife would be used for bear, beaver and such, the rounded blade being used for fleshing and skinning at the same time, the rounded tip saving you from making holes. The knife  I liked for fox lynx and such was a slim blade with a sharp tip, the blade being about 2.5 inches long. a couple years ago I started making a knife a I call a detail knife, I made it specifically because there are so many people using the knives with the throw away blades which are quite brittle this knife was made for skinning bear toes, it works pretty well for splitting lips and turning ears and such, this has a very pointy profile, and short blade, like 1.25-1.5 inches long.

    It seems like any knife anyone ever used to skin any type animal is called a skinning knife. most of what I see called skinners are what I would call a hunting knife not really a special purpose knife more of an all around tool you could use for skinning and field dressing an animal. A skilled person with a good hunting knife should be able to skin and field dress including cutting into packable sized loads  a moose or elk or deer with out resharpening or using any other tool. Obviously if you had a saw or axe with you so much the better.

  IMO the knife posted by the OP might be pretty fun to try, I would think it should work pretty well as a skinner, for field dressing large game or probably skinning beaver types, i would not like it as a capeing knife as I think I would have trouble skinning ears, and such I do not think it would work to well for skinning toes either as you would not be able to reach in the small area with the wide blade tip.