[BacktineBuck]

Looking for a good knife for my younger brother. Mostly for skinning and processing Whitetail, but also for any small game he may harvest.
Trying not to break the bank as well. Was thinking something with a replaceable blade, as I have heard some good things about them.

God Bless & Thanks gents!!!

 

[Laylow]

The replaceable blades on the market are really nice and work great. Sometime to good for skinning fur cause you'll cut through a hide or two. I have a Case Trapper in my pocket and it holds a good edge. A good knife like this would be a keepsake for him.

 

[Bigbrownie]

I use a combination of three knives in the garage when I’m skinning deer....a Havalon ( disposable blades ) for opening cuts....a Dexter beaver knife ( rounded end, can keep razor sharp with a steel ) for cutting hide free from the deer, and Victorinox Beef Skinner for cutting front shoulders free and removing backstraps.

And a sawzall for cutting bone.

 

[Steely Ran]

I've always been a fan of Buck knives. They feel good in your hand and they are good looking to boot. I have several of their pocket knives as well as sheath knives (the woodsman, pathfinder and skinner).

 

[Bigbrownie]

I do like the Havalon knives, I have 5 of them. I skin most of the fur I catch with them. I buy the replacement blades in a box of 100. Be wary of some of the off brand import blades.....they are cheaper steel and thinner. They’ll snap in two at the slide slot.

I‘ve skinned a dozen moose with nothing but a Havalon, but I would recommend having a larger knife in addition to it. A Havalon is as sharp as surgeon’s scalpel....but really course hair on a deer, bear, moose etc will dull it quickly.

 

[NorthernPotterCo]

Good advice Bigbrownie.

 

[BacktineBuck]

What about nock-off brands like outdoor edge? Heard some good about them.

 

[Bigbrownie]

I never tried them. The Wiebe knock off blades for Havalons aren’t near as good as Havalon blades. I have a 100 box of them....be glad when they’re gone.

 

[BCozhunter]

What about nock-off brands like outdoor edge? Heard some good about them.

I have an Outdoors Edge set I picked up at a flea market. Only grabbed it because they were only asking, I think $15. The knives aren't great quality but I keep a good edge on them, and I've skinned and butchered a lot of deer with them and a couple wild pigs.
For boning and trimming, I use my Rapala filet knife.

 

[rugered]

You may want to check out a Morakniv Companion. Great value. Holds and edge very well. My all time favorites were Case Blackhorns with the rubber handles. They are hard to find though.

 

[Birch812]

I have a Benchmade Grizzly Ridge that I carry when hunting and it has held up well.
It is an American made knife with American steel. It holds an edge well but you can ship it back to the company and they will clean, oil and sharpen like new for as long as you own the knife and all it cost you is the shipping, they even pay for the return postage.
Was not overly expensive but not a cheap knife in quality or pricing.

 

[Rob96]

I use a Buck Paklite Caper. Heck, I actually skinned and deboned a whole deer with it once.

 

[beavsteve]

I have a 3.5 inch outdoor edge I carry while hunting. It doesn’t feel like the best quality knife but it was around 20 dollars. It works great for field dressing and skinning. I always just sharpen up a filet knife for processing.

 

[Pahunt15522]

I love the outdoor edge disposable blade knives. I carry the smaller one for gutting with me in pack. Then I have the larger boning one for skinning/cutting up. Takes one click to pop off blade and replace

 

[sdowns]

For processing 6" victorinox semi-stiff boning knife your choice of rosewood or fiber handle. Many many options for what to carry to gut/skin. +1 for morakniv, they make a wood handle carving knife with a laminated carbon steel blade that is very friendly to keep sharp.

 

[jmbear12]

I have the Outdoor Edge folder with the regular and zip blades. It's convenient to carry and use, and I skin and quarter most of my deer in the field with it. I will admit that it doesn't hold the best edge though, and am usually working around the limitations of a duller blade till I get to the back half of the deer. Beyond that, I consider it a great do-all knife. The zip blade is a great feature, and makes opening the hide a breeze. I think they now make a version of this knife with the replacable blades, which would mitigate my issues with it.

I also have a nice Marbles fixed blade Hunter that my folks got me for Christmas one year, and that only comes out for bucks and other special occasions. I skun, quartered and deboned an entire bull elk with that, and it held its edge well throughout. It is a fine looking knife, and I consider it a keepsake.

Once it gets the the processing table, a 6" Victorinox boning knife handles everything with ease. It ain't pretty, but does it's job well.

 

[Coureur De Bois]

When we butcher there,s close to a dozen knives in the garage, anywhere from 2 to 6 people at the old meat table cutting. Most are anywhere from 20 to 100 years old. There’s some old timers, kinfolks, Remington, buck, jean case and some no names along with others. All USA made and razor sharp when we start, and a Good steel to help keep them that way. My go to is a 1250T old timer I bought back in 1968, year after I retund from the navy. It has helped butcher, more deer than I can count, quite a few hogs, and a couple of elk and bears.

 

[octagon]

What about nock-off brands like outdoor edge? Heard some good about them.

I don`t use it in the field to gut a deer, however I have their deluxe processing kit in the green case I bought a few years ago on sale at Cabela`s and it is worth every penny. I think they still make it, but maybe a different color case and handles. It comes with a bunch of knives and accessories. For field gutting, I have been using a Case knife that is exactly like a Buck 110. It is of some serious quality. I`ve been using it for around 30 years and never let me down.

 

[Lurch12]

Victorinox - 47645- boning knife

And
Victorinox - beef skinning knife

Quality knifes!!

 

[bigbear]

I like my havalon. Scary sharp and if you're half decent on a steel getting a respectable edge is simple to save on disposing of so many blades.