It is a general purpose knife. The curved belly does lend it to skinning, but it is also useful for food preparaton like chopping and slicing. This model is thick enough for splitting wood for kindling and other bushcraft chores. The blade style was made popular by outdoorsman George Washington Sears, who went by the pen name Nessmuk. He was a popular outdoor sports writer in the 1880s and advocated a minimalist camping style.