Knife for cutting carcasses and skinning. Ten best knives for hunting Skin knife

It doesn’t matter whether you are the happy owner of a large farm in the countryside or just sometimes like to spend the weekend hunting, you definitely cannot do without a good knife for cutting up carcasses and skinning. After all, the taste of the meat and its shelf life largely depend on how quickly and efficiently the carcass is skinned.

Knives for cutting animal carcasses

A cutting hunting knife is called a “skinner”. It is distinguished by its curved “flying up” shape and the relatively small size of the blade, as well as the presence of a groove on it for draining blood. Thanks to all this, the knife easily copes with any cutting tasks, be it a large animal or a small bird. The blade, made of flexible and durable steel, allows you to bypass bones, separating the skin from the meat as cleanly as possible. In addition, the skinner knife is convenient to use for skinning.

Household knives and saws for cutting carcasses

For cutting pig and cattle carcasses, it is rational to use household knives or saws. Unlike a miniature skinner, such knives are much larger in size: a thick spine and a reliable, durable handle with a recess that prevents fingers from slipping. Most often, the handles of household cutting knives are made of durable plastic that can withstand repeated treatment with boiling water and considerable physical activity. There are also special requirements for the quality of steel for such products, because a knife for cutting carcasses must be both flexible and durable, preventing chipping.

Saws for cutting carcasses can be either manual (hacksaw type) or electric (disc or band). Their purpose is to disassemble the carcass into half-carcasses, including along the ridge, as well as to divide large parts into portioned pieces along with the bones.

A hunter's complete arsenal is never complete without a specially designed knife for skinning the trophy. Experts in their field will never go hunting without a high-quality and reliable assistant. This means that a tool such as a knife must be chosen correctly and strictly in accordance with its intended purpose.
There are knives whose purpose is solely for skinning, cutting up carcasses or finishing off prey. And there are multi-purpose specimens. It is clear that a kitchen, combat or professional knife is not suitable for hunting.

Types of knives for skinning.
It should be noted that the primary difference is not general view, the material of the knife, and in the blade. This is exactly what should glide smoothly and not spoil the skin of the resulting trophy.

The first and main type of knife, the purpose of which is skinning, is considered skinner. This shape of the knife blade ensures smooth, minimally traumatic skinning of prey. The skinner is intended for this purpose only, so any use other than separating fat from the hide may cause damage to the hunting tool. This knife is equipped with a relatively short blade, 10–13 cm. Despite the length, the skinner has a fairly wide blade. The upper edge of the knife is straight and does not decrease towards the tip. In some cases, the blade may be missing a point. The handle of the knife is also small; for convenience, it is made the size of a palm. However, some models are equipped with a full handle. This is a personal choice of the hunter and his individual convenience. The butt of the skinner is sometimes equipped with a skinning hook.

The second type of knife often used for skinning is considered drop point. Unlike a skinner, such a knife can be used both for skinning and for cutting a carcass or separating fat from the skin. This knife is characterized by a lowered butt line. The tip is on the axis, thanks to which, when pressed, the drop point cuts well and also stabs perfectly. In some models of knives, to facilitate easy entry into the material being cut, a “false blade” or a second full blade with one-and-a-half sharpening is made.

The third universal type of skinning knife is a tool with a blade like clip point. The butt of such a blade has a bevel, the blade is narrower, and the tip has an awl-like appearance. There may or may not be a sharpening on the bevel of the butt. The rounded rise of the blade allows you to increase the length of the cutting edge of the tool, which makes skinning easier. This knife will also be useful for cutting a carcass and other ordinary hunter manipulations.

What to look for when buying a skinning knife?
When choosing a skinning knife, pay attention to the following factors:
- the hunter’s knife must be wear-resistant;
- maintains sharpness well;
- the tool implies quality and practicality;
- the material of the blade is of great importance. Ideal option is Damascus steel (it should be protected from moisture and dampness, and wipe dry after finishing work);
- the handle should be straight, without bends or deep grooves. Preferably made of wood - the warmest and most natural material.
When choosing a skinning knife, you should remember that this particular tool is a kind of extension of the hunter’s hand. Often patterns and various engravings are carved on the handle, but such tools will not be ergonomic due to the numerous protrusions. These knives are best added to your collection. Inexperienced or novice hunters often directly compare the length of the blade with the practical skills of the owner. In fact, everything is absolutely wrong; on the contrary, it is the skill of using a short blade that is an indicator of the hunter’s level.

A successful hunter, for whom a good outing is not only the process itself, but also the result, will certainly be faced with the task of cutting and skinning a carcass. The quality of the meat, as well as the skin as one of the trophies, depends on the manifestations of skills and knowledge at this stage. Previously, various improvised materials, such as flint, were used for these purposes, but now there are special knives whose task is to help the hunter quickly and effortlessly gut a carcass, ultimately obtaining excellent, fresh meat and neatly cut skin. This skin can later be used for various purposes, including being passed on by inheritance as family heirloom in memory of past successes.

Features of the skinning process and when a skinning knife is useful

After the animal is caught and deprived of life, it is necessary to begin cutting up the carcass and gutting it. This should be started as soon as possible so that the quality and taste of the meat does not deteriorate.

Every hunter knows one indisputable fact: before starting all manipulations with the body of a killed animal, it must be bled. If you can wait with other stages of cutting, then you should release the blood immediately if you want to end up with good meat and not spoiled “rotten meat”. For this you will need a regular hunting knife, which should be stuck into chest, whereby either the heart or the large arteries emanating from it are damaged. The process of bleeding out may take a certain amount of time, but you must wait until the blood stops flowing completely.

A bled carcass should not be left unprocessed. It should be remembered that under normal field conditions, the processes of decomposition in the uneviscerated body of a killed animal begin after a couple of hours, and after 3 - 5 hours this meat will already have a smell, and, therefore, it cannot be eaten.

Depending on the circumstances, the next step will be either skinning or immediate gutting. You can delay cutting off the layer of solid fur in the following cases:

• if it is necessary to transport the product over a long distance. In this case, the animal’s fur will become a reliable coating that will maintain the optimal temperature. A caveat should be made that we're talking about about cooled and frozen carcass. If you transport meat with wool that has not cooled properly, then the only thing that can be achieved is a rotten result with an intoxicating corpse aroma upon arrival;
• meat from which the skin has not been cut does not lose its weight due to the fact that it does not evaporate;
• such a product retains its original color and looks clean.

Consequently, wool on a killed animal can be left if it was killed specifically to obtain marketable meat. However, if the hunt was carried out in the warm season, and even more so in the heat, then the only correct decision would be to immediately remove the skin. After all, meat with wool cools very slowly, which means it will spoil at record speed.

The standard procedure involves starting the evisceration stage with skinning (skinning), which occurs in several stages:

• First, you should clean the skin from possible traces of blood and dirt using a damp cloth;
• Next, a special skinning knife will come in handy, which will preserve the integrity of the surface of the wool, which sometimes has no less value than the meat itself, and make the whole process quick and easy. The carcass is placed either on its side or on its back; it can be hung. There are two main methods of skinning: with a layer (if it is ungulate game), with a tube (if you are working with a hare or rabbit). To do this, a longitudinal incision is made from head to tail. The skin is also cut at the knee joints, from where it begins to be removed towards the central incision. First, the removed skin reaches the sacrum, after which the carcass is turned over and removed on the stomach towards the head;
• The process ends with the final touch in the form of removing the skin from the head, or separating it as a trophy.

When skinning, knives are used specifically to cut and separate the skin from the subcutaneous connective tissue. The rest of the time, it is advisable to do everything by hand, using improvised means such as a towel and a wooden spatula. In animals such as deer, removing the skin will not be difficult, because it comes off very easily. You will have to tinker with a wild boar and practically not let go of the knife from your hands, because its skin is firmly connected to the muscle tissue. In this case, you should use the tool with double caution also because you can damage the roots of the awns (deep wool) and then the resulting skin will turn out to be shabby.

Structure of a skinning knife

The main assistant during skinning even looks different from his other hunter brothers. It is also called a skinner, which translated from English only confirms its main purpose - removing skin.

This essential piece of hunting equipment is a small-sized tool for specialized agricultural needs. Attribute skinning knives to the category of edged weapons is fundamentally wrong, because they differ from them:

• a general design that does not allow direct stabbing wounds;
• such knives must have a strong fixation of the blade if they are equipped with some transforming mechanisms;
• the dagger blade in such knives is prohibited by law;
• When the blade length is over 9 cm, skinning knives are prohibited, the design of which allows lightning-fast removal of the blade.

On average, knives designed for skinning are equipped with a wide and sharp blade, sharpened on one side. These are small tools, because their area of ​​application implies the need to operate with a brush or elbow while working, which will be impossible if the size of the knife is too large.

The blade, as a rule, is small, 4 - 12 cm in size, structurally shorter than the length of the handle. It is distinguished by a convex cutting edge, the spine of the knife has a significant thickness, because while working with the tool, the blade should not spring back or slip. Most often, these knives have a fixed blade, but there are also folding models.

Types of skinning knives

There is a significant variety of this knife, which at first glance is not picky in terms of constitutional design.

First of all, the difference is in size. After all, for a fur-bearing animal, a small knife with a miniature blade is suitable, which will ensure clean and neatly cut skin. For working with large deer, a slightly larger sample size is suitable, in order to remove the skin evenly, and not in short jerks.

Often, the blade of “skinners” has a slightly lowered blade so that when removing the skin, the knife does not break through it, and the applied force falls on the subcutaneous area. This is a softened blade option that is less aggressive given its sharpness. But there are also curved blades with the tip of the blade raised above the butt. In this case, the same softened effect is achieved, but using a different design.

Equally important in the operation of a knife is the convenience of using it. The presence of a guard to protect the hand, grooves, and notches for the fingers will ensure the correct grip of the tool and, as a result, it will be easy to work with it, which means the result will be cleaner.

In addition to the standard models, which represent a laconic ratio of blade and handle, there are variations with the addition of additional parts, which will be very useful when skinning a carcass (insert for cutting skins), and will also contain tools for household purposes (corkscrew, awl) , special purpose (tool for cutting tendons). Sometimes additional modifications only interfere with a process where precision and calculated movements are so necessary.

Skinning knives, which are equipped with a special hook, can boast of real practical use. This hook is located on top of the blade tip and points towards the handle. In practice, it is used to quickly cut the skin in one precise movement, as well as to open the peritoneal area.

Materials for making a skinner

Just by looking at skinning knives photo One obvious pattern can be noticed: almost all of them prefer wood as a material for making the handle. It can be Karelian birch, walnut, wenge, birch bark and many others. Wood is preferred for several important reasons:

• a handle made of wood is called “warm”, that is, it does not cause rejection, in work it feels like an extension of the human hand;
• Due to the low-weight handle, such a knife as a whole becomes light, which means it does not burden the hand during work and does not create additional stress. In addition, this is a durable material, therefore, you don’t have to worry about the condition of the handle;
• the main advantage is the anti-slip properties of the wooden handle. When working with such a viscous liquid as blood, when butchering animals, this characteristic is decisive. After all, it provides good grip on the hand, on which both personal safety and the quality of the work performed directly depend;
• such a handle will not freeze to the hand, which is also important, especially in winter types of hunting.

From this perspective, it is not recommended to use newfangled samples of handles made of plexiglass. Such a knife will slip out of the hand due to the slipperiness of the material upon contact with liquid; in the palm it will feel like something sharp and foreign. The same can be said about metal, as the basis for the handle. Its main drawback is its poor ergonomics. In the cold, such a knife can even damage your palm; you will have to handle this cold material with gloves, which from the point of view of skinning technology is not at all realistic.

According to GOST, the materials for blades of skinning knives can be used:

• metals and their alloys (from low-carbon to damask and Damascus steel);
• other materials (zircon-zirconia);
• compositions of materials of different composition (steel with a layer of titanium nitride).

Obviously, one of the main useful characteristics when working with such a blade will be its anti-corrosion properties. After all, the scope of application of skinning blades involves working in a damp, viscous environment, and, therefore, blades that are susceptible to corrosion will be difficult to care for. Therefore, of all types of steel, it is best to choose alloyed steel, which contains elements such as nickel and chromium.

The next necessary property is the hardness and strength of the blade. The skinning knife must provide an accurate cut, be reliable and durable in operation. In this regard, the hardness of the steel used is often adjusted to at least 55 HRC; ideally, the higher the better. Then the likelihood of damage to the blade during heavy or imprecise work will be minimal.

Sometimes various mechanical and mechanical technologies are used on such blades. heat treatment(grinding, painting, bluing), which are designed to ensure longer operation of the blade and proper care of the surface.

How to make a skinning knife with your own hands

A similar model of a hunting knife can be bought at a specialized store, or you can design it yourself.

To do this, it is not at all necessary to have an equipped workshop at home with a whole set of appropriate tools. The task is simplified by the fact that you can always purchase a blank for a knife. This is possible, given the design of hunting knives, which prefer mounted mounting of the handle, which involves mounting it on the shank of the handle and its subsequent fastening.

It is advisable to purchase the workpiece from stainless steel. You can stop at “raw” hardening and then independently bring the product to strength, form the slopes, or you can buy a ready-made sample with the basic characteristics of the slopes, sharpening and even polishing the blade. In the latter case, all that remains is to make a handle, attach it to the shank and go to skin the carcass.

If there is nowhere to purchase the blank, then you can start the manufacturing process from scratch. Having the necessary knowledge and skills, you should begin shaping the blade for the future knife using the same mounting method, as the most acceptable for skinning knives in view of the possibility of repairs and the ease of the resulting design.

To make DIY skinning knives“from scratch” you should first make a sketch of the future product. If you don’t have enough imagination for this, then you can use ready-made models, on which the required ratio of the blade to the handle is drawn, the shape of the blade, the necessary slopes and the method of fastening are indicated.

In order to form a future knife you need to make:

• the blade itself;
• bolster (which is a pad in the front part of the handle that serves to protect the end from redistributing loads);
• handle.

First you should start making the blade. To do this, you can use any available source material that boasts good properties and quality. It could be a file, a saw, springs, or even a cable. After all, sometimes in order to make a knife with your own hands there is not much to choose from, since melting metal at home is unrealistic.

The first stage is to give the selected material the required shape, in this case, the skinner blade. For this purpose, annealing technology is used. When the product is heated to low temperatures (250°), which is realistic in a conventional oven, followed by slow cooling. Thus, the part will lose its hardness and it can be given any shape using an electric or mechanical tool (grinder) and a drawing of the desired shape.

But with hardening the source material, the situation is even simpler. You just need to know what the original sample is made of, because hardening methods for alloy and carbon steels differ in temperature and time exposure. Hardening followed by tempering is a necessary step to give the blade the necessary hardness and strength. At home, for this stage you can use either a muffle furnace, which is easier to maintain and bring to the required temperature (700°), or a homemade forge from a tin can.

The main thing is to maintain the correct balance, because if the part overheats, it will be hopelessly damaged (it will become irreversibly brittle), but if the future blade is not hardened, the product will be very soft, but in this case the situation can be corrected by repeated, correct hardening.

There are methods for checking the readiness of a product. This is, first of all, an indicator of color. If the part has acquired a cherry-red and scarlet color, then this indicates that the hardening temperature has reached 730 - 800 ° C - the most optimal temperature. This means that the product must be removed to carry out the tempering procedure, which should give the overly hard blade the strength it needs.

Tempering is carried out by reheating the sample to a certain (not critical) temperature, followed by slow cooling. To do this, the part can be dipped in quenching oil, water with added salt, or left to cool in the open air (natural tempering).

After the product has acquired the necessary technical characteristics and shape, you can begin to form the knife by attaching the handle to the shank and finishing the blade.

The blade must be cleaned, polished, and sharpened. Particular attention should be paid to the sharpness of the cutting edge, because the skinning knife must cut well and evenly. To do this, you should have several types of sharpening stones (coarse and fine-grained) in your arsenal. In this process, it is important to maintain sharpening angles. For a skinner, the ideal indicator would be to form a blade of 25-30°, which is intended specifically for hunting knife models due to the fact that such a blade does not dull for a long time. If it is difficult to maintain the required degrees by eye, then you can stock up on special clamps for corners that will prevent you from bevelling the desired indicator.

One of the indispensable attributes of every hunter is a knife. For many, it is a subject of attention and even pride; its choice is approached with the utmost care.

For correct selection hunting knife, you need to decide on how to use it during hunting. If we exclude extreme situations, such as hand-to-hand combat, for example with a hare, then a knife during hunting is used to finish off a wounded animal, for skinning game, for camping, tourism and household kitchen purposes. In a good way, four different ones would be suitable for all this, in the first case it is better to use something like a dagger, in the second a small convenient knife with a long curve like a drop point, for kitchen purposes any small one with a thin blade, and for hiking in the forest, on the contrary, a large survivalist or army cleaver.

Because of all this, the best blades for hunting are either the best representatives of highly specialized blades, or partially universal ones with a successful combination of characteristics, since, unfortunately, an absolutely universal knife for hunting does not yet exist. While it is convenient to cut through thickets and chop firewood, it is not very suitable for peeling potatoes or skinning. Therefore, when choosing a knife, the hunter must assume what kind of hunting he will have to do, a taiga search, an ambush for a duck or a command for a large animal, and what he will have to do with it. It is often better to have several of them than none at all.

We present a rating of ten knives that are very popular, enjoy well-deserved respect and, in the opinion of most hunters, perform well when used. This includes both types of knives, which represent a certain shape and concept, manufactured by many manufacturers, and individual models, which are a successful individual development, based on careful calculation and analysis, from a specific manufacturer.

Buck 110BRS is a knife from Buck Knives, the only folding knife in our rating. This good hunting blade has been produced by the company since 1962, and during this time it has earned a reputation as a reliable tool, equal in strength to monolithic ones.

Made of steel 420 NS, hardness 56-58, handle made of Macassar Ebony wood with copper inserts. Comes with a lifetime warranty. The length of the blade is 95 mm, the total length of the device is 220 mm. The blade is suitable for both skinning carcasses and for everyday camping needs.

Compact, lightweight, reliable, relatively versatile.

The blade is short and it is still not a monolithic knife.

Price 3000 – 5000 rub. (1480 – 2400 UAH)

Military

Military is a group of multifunctional knives of military origin and design. Many hunters prefer them because of their versatility, convenience, often habit, or their brutality.

This includes the classic army models HP-40, HP-43 “Cherry”, “Finka NKVD”, “Vityaz”, the American “Ka-Bar Next Generation Fighter”, etc. or their hiking and tourist replicas. Most of them have a length of more than 150 mm, a thick spine of more than 3 mm with sorrator sharpening, a Bowie or Spear-point blade shape, a handle made of ergonomic artificial materials with a cross or a well-defined stop.

Most of these knives, due to their military origin and sick multitasking, cope perfectly with most hunting tasks, especially if the hunting is of a hiking type, regardless of their model. But you need to pay attention that many of them are prohibited, subject to free circulation and require permission.

Among the civilian modifications of such weapons, we can recommend the Military knife, manufactured by the Kizlyar plant. The blade has a slight drop in the spine, narrowed towards the tip and wide slopes from the middle. The length of the product is 287 mm, the blades are 160 mm, the thickness of the butt is 5.2 mm, AUS-8 steel, hardness 55 - 57 HRC, with a black matte finish. The solid blade is passed through the entire handle, forming a “glass break” in the back; the material of the handle is elastron. This is a good knife for camping, but it will do an excellent job of cutting and skinning carcasses, especially large ones. It is allowed for free circulation and has a very reasonable price.

The knives are quite versatile, reliable, multifunctional, and have a brutal appearance.

Most of these blades require a permit and are not suitable for skinning small carcasses.

Price: Kizlyar “Military” - 2550 rubles. (1250 UAH)

Model 007 – hunting knife from gunsmith Pampukha I.Yu. It has been manufactured for more than 20 years and is the most popular model of this workshop. Stainless steel damask steel is forged personally by the master, full length– 263 mm, blade – 145 mm, spine – 4 mm, hardness 60-63 HRC, wooden handle.

A very balanced, high-quality, well-thought-out hunting knife with a classic shape. Special properties are obtained due to the sharpening angles and the forging method. Possessing excellent cutting properties, it can withstand high loads. This versatile blade is good for skinning and butchering game. It would be an ideal choice if not for the price.

High-quality, reliable, almost universal.

High price.

Price 21,000 rub. (10000 UAH)

A fisherman's knife is a whole group, similar in shape, function and appearance. The Fisherman is a fairly universal hunting blade, intended primarily for skinning and cutting up trophies. A knife with a straight wooden handle (usually Karelian birch), usually simple and smooth, sometimes with a notch for the index finger.

The length of the blade is about 120 - 180 mm, the bend of the blade is slightly longer than usual, the sharpening is from a third to the middle of the blade. The main emphasis of the metal is on its anti-corrosion properties. It usually comes with a sheath.

Similar blades are produced by different manufacturers under the names “Promyslovik”, “Poacher”, “Taiga”, etc.

Relatively versatile, perfect for cutting animals.

They don’t solve all the issues during the hike.

Price: 2600 – 18000 rub. (1400 – 10000 UAH)

Spyderco Bill Moran is a knife from the USA, a joint creation of the famous designer Bill Moran and the Spyderco company. One of the lightest (84 g) and durable models on the market. The length of this model is 203 mm, the blade is 99 mm, VG-10 steel. It is thanks to the very durable Japanese stainless steel that the cutter is so durable and lightweight.

The blade is very good, it copes well with both skinning trophies, even quite large ones, and with many household issues during hunting, and thanks to its weight, or rather its absence, it will not be difficult during any transition and can be used as a second special one without any problems. The downside is the molded handle instead of surface mounting.

Durable, light, reliable, good for skinning.

Short blade.

Price: 8000 – 11000 rub. (3600-4500 UAH)

The Yakut hunting knife is a traditional knife of Yakutia, known for hundreds of years, and belongs to the universal hunting knife. It is distinguished by wide functionality, as well as simplicity and ease of use, optimal for taiga hunting. It is a pointed blade with a straight spine, a narrow blade with an asymmetric sharpening, 110 – 170 mm long. The steel is forged by local blacksmiths using their own technologies, reaching a strength of 56 -60HRC.

WITH right side the blade is located reinforcing it. The handle is straight, without stops or crosses; the cross-section of the handle is oval, slightly longer than the palm. Made from a single piece of birch burl, impregnated with oils to protect against moisture. A good knife can be bought in Yakutia itself, where they are widely produced, but can also be found in a number of online stores.

Versatile enough for hunting and hiking, reliable.

It is difficult to buy a high-quality, original blade.

Price: 4000 – 20000 rub. (3000 UAH)

Benchmade Hidden Canyon is another knife from the USA, from the Benchmade company. This is a good hunting blade, if not one of the best at the moment. It appeared recently, but has already firmly gained popularity among hunters. Drop Point type blade, 65 mm long, with a total product length of 160 mm, spine thickness 3.5 mm. Steel S30V with hardness 58-60 HRC.

The handle is made of G-10, which does not absorb liquids, so it will not slip. It does an excellent job of skinning and butchering game. Quite versatile and comfortable to wear. It would be ideal for hunting if not for the short blade.

An excellent blade for working with a trophy, well thought out, high quality, reliable.

Very short blade.

Price: 9000 – 11000 rub. (4600 – 6000 UAH)

Berkut - from the Kizlyar plant, a model produced for more than ten years, widely sold and has become quite popular. Kizlyar blades, among domestic ones, are distinguished by a good price-quality ratio, and this model especially emphasizes this.

This is a knife with a “Bowie” type blade, on the straight bevel of the butt there is an additional sharpening for chopping small bones, on the heel of the blade there is a finger groove. The length is only 285 mm, the blade is 160 mm, French steel Z60CDV14, hardness 56 - 58 HRC. The handle is made of Caucasian grain, protected from moisture. The Berkut is a good universal blade, due to its shape it is perfect for skinning, cutting and for work in field conditions. The only drawback is that it refers to edged weapons and requires permission.