I got that.... I do it while its hanging....I actually use a meat saw in the field to quarter the animal after skinning....I cut vertically while it hangs and then cut the backbone on each half....PDQ...the put it in the icebox...

Doc

30 deer?.... good God man... Unless you are a guide, how can you kill that many...We have a much lower limit...I count my self fortunate to kill 4 a season (in the family) and our Florida deer look like dogs compared to your Texas uber deer...

WOW!!!

Doc

Ya, we owned land and had access to more. I guided a group from Florida and some guys my dad does business with. Most of the deer were from friends or family though. Not a professional opperation by any means.

We actually sold that place and are in the process of getting another. Everyone please keep it in your prayers that it works out actually.

Texas has some really productive areas. If you have a guy with a 400 acres wheat field and then there is a smaller brush area you can support alot of deer you know. I've got a buddy who gets 100 management tags a year. They kill about 140 deer a season off one place...that is alot of work. They also have a monster of a ranch.

I have always loved Texas....God Bless Texas...

Doc

Interesting considering you seem to not like knives without guards.

If you like the 3rd from the left, you might like the Fox River even more. The one 3rd from the left is the Highland Special. The Fox River is just a bit larger version and more of a "one knife" do-it-all ability.



Am I assuming correctly, that you do NOT have an RMD?


It REALLY sounds like you would like the RMD a lot!

.

The Vex is a versatile design. But, it has much less "sweep" than many others. So, while I think the Vex is an AWESOME all-round task/chore knife great for hiking, camping and game in a pinch. I don't personally feel it is the best dedicated game knife.

But, YMMV.

.

I pretty much disagree with your selection of skinning knives...the Buck 118 and the one your father used are far superior....skinning knives need an upswept blade... I already know we differ in opinions, but I have skinned enough hogs and deer to trust my past teachings and experience...

One thing we can agree on, is that Buck's can be very difficult to sharpen.... their steel early on was very hard....but once you got an edge it would hold up well...later years it was much easier

The best gut opener and skinner ever made is the Wyoming knife.... you may disagree...but thats okay... It has a gut hook, and a short upswept blade.... I can skin a deer or hog faster with that knife than anything else I have ever used....and believe me, I have used a bunch... quartering, butchering, de-boning, etc.... are better left to those knives you depict.... but for gutting and skinning.... sorry, I humbly disagree...

YMMV

Doc [/quote]


Doc, to me it seems like we agree more than you seem to think.

First of all, the knives I posted in the picture were not intended to be viewed as "ALL" being dedicated "Skinning" knives.

I posted knives that I thought were well rounded for the entire process: skinning, cleaning and processing.

Some are better at skinning, others at cleaning and processing, etc.

I have never used a Wyoming knife. For pure practical purposes, I can actually see were the Wyoming knife's hook would zip open a cavity better and faster than any knife. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> But, that is about the end of the advantages I see for the Wyoming knife. I am quite certain I personally prefer other knife designs for everything else. To each their own.

In regards to you feeling a skinning knife needs an upswept blade, I "AGREE" - to a point. For me, either upswept or just a good sharp belly with a good curve all work well with each having a bit of a compromise to the other.

I tend to like a bit more on the curve side for skinning and less sweep with too much point.

For me, the pointy tips like on the larger Marbles tend to cut back into the skin too easily rather than slicing under the skin.

I like the more rounded tips like on the smaller Marbles and the Bark River Fieldsman II (2nd from left). Those tips work just a bit better for me for "skinning". For other parts of the process, other knives have their pros and cons.

In regards to length of blade, see your own preferences with the VERY short bladed Wyoming knife. Along with a short blade, your Wyoming knife also has ergos designed for tight control. Shorter blade and ergos for good control are also features I prefer for skinning and cleaning and most of the knives I included in my picture have smaller blades offering good control.

My dad's old knife and my old Buck 118 do NOT offer the control of any of the knives I pictured or your Wyoming knife. So, I see a dis-connect in some of your comments there. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

But, the "Sweeps" on many of the knives I posted are actually quite similar to my dad's old knife and my Buck 118.

The larger Marbles has as much sweep as my Dad's knife, but in a shorter easier to control blade and handle - which I prefer for skinning and cleaning.
Sometimes in processing the larger flanks a longer knife is better. But, I can manage with a shorter knife just fine.

I don't argue that my Dad's knife could be a very worthy skinning, game-processing all-in-one knife.
My only real issue with his knife is mainly being a longer blade than I prefer for the majority of the work.
I still feel that knives that size also commonly called "Hunters" where designed to do much more than skinning and game processing and were given a bit more size and length for those "other" camp tasks. But, the extra size is not as good for skinning and cleaning game IMO. The extra length is fine for quartering and butchering larger game though. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

However, I have never needed that much blade length for skinning and cleaning and for me, shorter blades offer more control. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

My dad's blade was also hollow grind. Which I "Often mention" that I don't "generally" prefer. BUT, I don't find hollow grind to be much of a draw-back at all when skinning or processing game if the edges are good. I just don't "prefer" hollow grinds for most everything else (camp, trail, general task cuting chores, etc.)
And these days, for me, 99.9% of what I do is "everything else" since I don't get to hunt much anymore - at least currently and for a few years now.

So, 99.9% of my influence and preferences in knife design, function, shape, features, etc. is NOT about skinning and cleaning game and more about everything else.

If, as you say you: "already know we differ in opinions", I am not sure what we differ so much about. When I break down what you say and what I say in regards to "Certain" things, I see similar views. If we differn in so many other views, maybe we just have different uses and preferences most of the time.

If your primary use for knives is for game cleaning, skinning, processing and so forth, I honestly don't feel Busse and kin offers the best choices.


The Buck 118 also has a longer blade than I prefer. And a large/long flat area that adds a long section that I almost never used when skinning or processing deer. I "did" use that area of the knife for other chores.

You mentioned: "quartering, butchering, de-boning, etc.... are better left to those knives you depict".
Yeah... we disagree a bit on that. And if ANY knife is well suited for "quartering, butchering, de-boning, etc....", the Buck 118 "IS" a Boning knife! And not even a good one as it's blade is too thick for it's blade height.

The Buck 118's was TOO thick for it's very short height blade. It was a bit of a mini spike than a slicer. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbdn.gif" alt="" />

If I had my belt-sander and current knowledge then, I could have re-profiled the VERY obtuse edge that came on my 118 and thinned out the lower saber shoulder as well (semi-convexed the blade) to make the 118 cut WAY better. But, I didn't have that knowledge then and the Buck needed a LOT of work to make it a good cutter. Same as some other knives I know. And same reason I think some people might not feel some knife brands are good since they don't come optimized from the maker for certain cutting tasks. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif" alt="" />

Receiving a knife from a maker that needs THAT muck work to the blade to make it a GOOD cutting tool is TOO much to ask for your average knife user who only has basic sharpening skills and simple tools like a sharpening stone or two.

I STRONGLY feel knife makers should put HIGH PRIDE in providing optimized cutting edges out of the box.

I recently read a post - I don't remember where, but somebody was talking about kitchen knives provided by a Japanese maker who marked on the box what the edge was maximized for doing. I think Busse should consider the same. And most of their boxes would have a check in the box" "maximized for cinder block chopping". <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

Some of the Busse and kin knives have in recent months come with better edges. And some of those edges are "appropriate" for the given style of knife - such as my Waki'es edge and the M9LE had a good edge for it's style of blade. But, NONE of those edges are great yet. And they could all be better. NONE compare to Bark River or Spyderco in over-all performance. "Some" of the blades have come sharp, but still could be improved with better edge profiling at least - IMO. .... I am not saying I have received 100% perfect edges from Bark River or Spyderco. But, in a LARGE majority of cases, the edges I get from Bark River and Spyderco are so good, I don't think I can improve upon how they come to me. And ONLY consider sharpening after using and then they need touched up. Actually, I prefer convex on Spyderco knives as well. So, after some use, I tend to re-profile a bit. But, they are so sharp to begin with, I don't like to mess with them until they need it. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

---------

My MAIN dislike on those old 1XX series Buck knives (aside from steel and referring to design) was the double-quillion guards. I didn't know what a quillion was back then, but I didn't like the top guard and often considered grinding it off. But, that was a time when I thought it was just WRONG to make such modifications to a knife. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/loopy.gif" alt="" />

In any event, I thought the Buck 118 was limited in handle holds and versatile ergos - as it came from Buck. Had it been worth the effort, I could have made modifications to the Buck 118's guard to improve it a lot.
My dad's knife was more versatile.

And again, I just developed a poor relationship with that Buck 118 since I couldn't get it sharp. Part of that may have been lack of knowledge on sharpening. I "Could" sharpen other knives at that time. But, I didn't know about different steels and hardness at that time, or different and sharpening media/techniques. All I knew was that I couldn't sharpen the dang thing and the Buck 118 frustrated me. I later purchased other Buck knives that I could sharpen better.

If I still had that Buck 118, I could probably "Now" get it sharp on my belt-sander and/or strop with compounds (??????) But, I sold it prior to sharpening that way. I could also modify the guard - although aluminum (Buck guard) clogs my belts. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> But, I still felt it was too thick for it's height and longer than I prefer for skinning and cleaning game and not NEAR what I prefer for other knife uses.

I had that Buck as my only fixed bladed Buck since about 11 or 12 years old till in high school when I bought other "Cheaper" knives that were much sharper out of the box.

I agree the Buck (and my dad's knife) had a good sweep at the front. Had my Buck knife had a shorter blade and an improved guard, the handle was so-so, and steel that was sharp and I could get it sharp, then I might have liked the Buck 118 more for skinning and processing deer.

My issues with my dad's knife and my Buck 118 was NOT the front sweep.

If you look again, the knives I posted in the pick all mostly have a good sweep, but shorter for better control.

The custom is more of a caper (which I mentioned). Where I feel it is better for smaller game with it's pointier tip and less suited for skinning - although good for getting into and cutting around cavities - like a short boning knife. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

The Highland, HCLE and SS4 are "sufficient" for multiple tasks including skinning and game processing. They are "specialist" knives, but versatile including still being pretty well suited for game skinning and processing.


Beyond that, I won't even claim to be the end-all be-all of skinning and game processing.

I have skinned and processed probably about 40-50 deer "Total" in my life. And it has probably been about 12-14 years since my last deer. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> So, it sounds like Stephen should easily have way more experience than myself - since he did almost that many last year alone.
Also, I have learned about 90%-95% about what I know about knives "Since" my last deer. But, I did use a variety of different knives over the years on different deer and various other game to get a good feel. And have used enough other knives to help forumlate my thinking. It is possible that some more hands on with some of these knives might change my views some. But, at least based on my past technique in skinning and processing game and significant other knife usage, I think I have a reasonable expectation of my preferences. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

.

This thread is like a whole new death chat, which is fine with me. Here is a skinning knife, guys.

i want one of those hd .... maybe one day ill be able too lol oh well i was late to the yard go figure....

I am sure I could skin with it Vic - it has a good sweeping edge. But, for most of my skinning, I actually feel it is too pointy.

But, I am sure others probably think it is ideal.

If thinner, I think it would obviously be a decent filet knife.

Yup...It appears to be a great skinning knife....upswept blade...short enough for control....I would like one of those...

Nice..

Doc

For bigger game, this one should do. I had a fancy skinner from Queen Cutlery when I was young. Later I use the Schrade Old Timer Deerslayer. But on most game, the Buck folding hunter did just fine. I think this overground Scrap Muk would be a great skinner.