[taps50]

I am looking for a good hunting/skinning knife, I am not to well versed in knives (ok not at all, I pretty much buy because of the way a knife looks) and I'm trying to a good knife for cleaning game and/or fish. Any tips on buying a knife, or suggestions?

 

[BigCheeseStick]

All I'd really say is that I've never found much real need for "gut hook" knives. Any 3"=3.5" blade that'll hold a very sharp edge does the job nicely imo.

 

[Mule13]

Amazon.com: Schrade 152OT Old Timer Sharpfinder: Sports & Outdoors

this is a good skinning knife, few swipeson a stone before you start and off you go.because of the size and shape it'll skin anything from a rabbit up to a deer. for fish i'd get a filet knife myself, you really need a skinny blade for pan fish at least.

 

[scramble4a5]

I am a fan of Buck knives. Look for the Made in America flag on the packaging. The Buck 199 has been around for 50 years and stood the test of time. Reasonably affordable too!

 

[csi-tech]

I have been field dressing and processing my own deer for years now. Any sharp, drop point knife will get the job done. A clip point knife sucks for this as it will open the guts. A trick for skinning that you will appreciate is once you have the hide past the legs just use your fist to separate the hide from the membrane and tallow. Works great. You don't need a knife for anything other than caping and making the initial cuts.

 

[Verteidiger]

Havalon Piranta

Piranta Hunting & Skinning Knives

 

[Gunner's Mate]

Anza Knives

these are awesome knives I have one that I use as a skinning knife great edge retention great looks and made in America I believe the guy use to be a master knife maker for Buck Knives

 

[Montana Rancher]

Anza knives are the bomb, I own 2, really you can't do much better and they are reasonably cheap on ebay.

I prefer a blade about 3-4" long which is enough to cut through anything but not long enough to cut your fingers off. I use my 3" blade to gut elk and it is more than adequate. I cut my teeth on Buck lock blade knives and they are more than equal to the task, I have used my schrade 5" lockblade for more field dressings than a normal human being would face.

In my old age, smaller is better

 

[jandor123]

I am looking for a good hunting/skinning knife, I am not to well versed in knives (ok not at all, I pretty much buy because of the way a knife looks) and I'm trying to a good knife for cleaning game and/or fish. Any tips on buying a knife, or suggestions?

I have had a Buck 119 for 35 years and it has done everything asked of it. You just need a folding Buck pocket rocket like the 186T. You cant go wrong with that.

 

[Infidel]

The Old Timer Sharpfinger should be about the perfect skinning knife just make sure it's a made in the USA Schrade. After they shut down the local plant here I believe most of the knives were made overseas. I wish I had my father's Sharpfingers, he had 2 of them and no one seems to know what happened to them.

-Infidel

 

[Gunner's Mate]

I bought an Anza knife in 2007 new for 40.00 its the best knife I have ever owned. I have skinned a lot deer with it The last one was gutted skinned and quartered in about 15 minutes my Anza is my go to knife for skinning and gutting. I have never sharpened it since I bought it .

Montana Rancher Have you ever sharpened your Anza's

 

[LunaticFringeInc]

csi-tech stole all my thunder. I agree that a 3.5-4 inch drop point of quality steel that will hold a sharp edge will serve you well for most task at hand from Rabbit to Deer as far as field dressing goes. Now I do use a good Boning knife and a Clever for processing game. As for a knife for fish cleaning...I use a spoon or butter knife to scale them if that's what I am going to do and then the same drop point knife to gut and clean them. If you want to fillet, you need to go out and get a good fillet knife. It should be plenty long enough for the task at hand (I usually buy the longest blade I can find!), it must be thin and flexible and it must have the ability to put on and keep a razor sharp edge. Anything less and you will loose more meat than you fillet off a fish and it will be a lot more work than it should be to boot too!

 

[BamaBoy101]

I am looking for a good hunting/skinning knife, I am not to well versed in knives (ok not at all, I pretty much buy because of the way a knife looks) and I'm trying to a good knife for cleaning game and/or fish. Any tips on buying a knife, or suggestions?

Skinners can be most anything in reality. The best skinner I own I made from an old putty knife. Easily made and good steel. Or as someone posted the shrade, it's a great skinning knife as well. But this is my go to.