Favorite predator knife?

Originally Posted By: josiecurdogOriginally Posted By: GCGrippy handle that isn't rubber = jigged and beaded G10. Perfection...

+1
The one g10 handled knife I have actually gets a little more "grippy" when wet or bloodied.

With some sort of texturing it's sort of tacky and rock solid in the hand. Gene Ingram jigged and beaded...
 
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I have two of these by Muela. I like the small gut hook for field skinning. Go from heel to heel like a zipper. The knife is eay to sharpen and holds an edge well.
 
wow, now theres a whole bunch of nice knives!!

repete, I have one of those old smaller bucks and the finish on the handle is surprisingly good. I have been leaning more and more towards a standard 220 grit finish on handles, and not more than 400 grit if its a nice piece of wood. I took the handle on my personal hunter to 2000 grit, and it gets kind of slippery until the blood starts to setup and get sticky.

I have one of the victorinox 8" chef knives, and while it is certainly a good knife for the money even new {I got mine at a fleamarket I think}. the grind on mine is more like an axe than a good chef's knife. the edge mics out at .025" at the shoulder of the edge, most of my chefs mic out at .005"-.013" at the shoulder, and don't even hit .025" until at least 1/4" behind the edge. I have never worked with one of their paring knives.

ok, so I did some playing around today, and I think I have something that yall will like for my contribution to the hunter of the month prize. Its basically my small parer, with some changes to the handle for a bit more security in the hand, and to provide some retention with a kydex sheath, either a wood or possibly a g-10 handle, with a 1/4" thong tube. ground to about .010" at the shoulder of the edge. so it will be a light, thin, narrow blade, which from what ive seen on the skinning videos will be just about right for most of the yote, and the narrow blade should be able to split the tails, so you don't have to carry a spare knife for that. ill throw a couple in with the next batch of knives here in a week or so and see how they turn out :}

ill also make some stands when im out small and big game hunting this year to see if I cant get a couple yotes to practice on :} :}
 
Nice one Tim and a great picture! I've used the Victorinox/Forschnor butcher and boners for years for processing game. For the cost they punch way above their weight class. Great value knives...
 
Originally Posted By: GCNice one Tim and a great picture! I've used the Victorinox/Forschnor butcher and boners for years for processing game. For the cost they punch way above their weight class. Great value knives...

My favorite knives in the kitchen are a couple of Rosewood scaled Viki's but I mostly "process" potatoes and carrots with em.
My favorite's for processing Deer are a couple of good ol carbon steel Green River's (boner and ripper) with Cocobolo scales by yours truly.
Couldn't agree more about those little parer's. I could get by with nothing else in the fur shed if I had to. I'd need two or three of em though cause I'm a lazy SOB when it comes to keeping my knives sharp.
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I like the sound of your design idea regardless of scale material Joe.
Can't wait to see the proto-type.
 
I usually skin some where between 20-30 coyotes a few fox, and a bobcat or two. Throw in a few elk, and a deer.
With that said, i have a pile of knives, and in the time I have been doing it, I have settled on a couple.

Skinning a deer or Elk is about wide swath passes and getting the hide off and saving the meat. I move faster, and don't care if i "nick" the hide.

The opposite is true with predators. I am a bit more careful, and "nicking" the hide is bad, and costs me either time or money. The hides are thin and I would say 1/16th" thick. I find that when skinning just one, it really doesn't matter what knife you use as long as it's sharp. Skin 2, 3, or 4 and things change. Your arms get tired from pulling and pushing, and your hands are slippery from the blood.

The cuts are as follows
Cut around the rear ankles, then run the blade up the legs along the color line to the vent, over the vent. Then do the same on the other rear leg and up and under the vent to connect to the other cut. pull the fur back on the legs, use the knife to get it started, and also run the knife down the tail from the vent (on the underside) a little (to make pulling the tail easier)
put the knife down. (this is where i think a magnet in the handle would be nice to stick to metal. (I skin from a metal pole that looks like a hangmans noose in the stinger of the truck)
I pull and pull to get the rear legs free, and loose around the tail area on the back. Pull the tail with a tail stripper. slit the tail down to the end tip.
Keep pulling. Jumping on it, pushing and so on to get it to the front shoulders. Once its' there i use a long screw driver to push through the arm pit (doesn't make a hole in the hide) and then use that to free the front leg. (i also cut the front legs off at the first joint above the dew claw.

Keep pulling and pushing.

Now, i use the knife to skin down the ears a bit to expose the cartilage (makes pulling it out later easier) Then cut off the ears, and pull somemore, until you get to the eye's. You skin down until you can see the eye's on both sides and then cut them free and pull some more. THen cut across the bottom of the chin midway down the lower jaw. Cut the fur free from around the mouth and keep pulling until you get to the nose and then carfully knife around the nose until the tip, and slice off. done..
Now the work starts.. lol putting up furs is different knifes and work.
Here is a video of the way i do it.


What do i like. I like the short blade, it's easy to control. I like a rounded nose so i don't nick the hide. I like the handle to not get slippery after my hands get bloody. (blow a hole in a hide and your hands are going to be slippery)
I use the KOA Muskrat, it's sharp and stays sharp through days of use without resharpening. Being able to skin 5-8 coyotes in a weekend when out hunting without sharpening makes life better. The rounded nose helps keep that blade against the hide and limit fleshing when the hide won't pull off and needs knife work.
I also have another knife (like the one in the video) that i use to cut the initial cuts and cut off the feet and around the eye's. Between those two knifes and a tail stripper is what i use.
 
I carry in my pack a simple paring knife. Very sharp but basically disposable. won't hurt to lose it. At home I use a Morakniv. I have some nice customs but I cry every time I drop one on the concrete. I can't bear to hardly use them anymore for fear that I will damage one again.
 
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KOA caper [cub bear] is my favorite. Has great steel, perfect shape and size for fur handling. The Muskrat has the same D2 steel and is great for fleshing as well as working the hide from the head with detail around eyes lips and nose.

I just don't like the rubber scales on them and the lanyard hole is a waste in the shed. So I scaled them with wood and like them much better.
 
Originally Posted By: Smokeless
KnivesofAlaska001-1.jpg






KOA caper [cub bear] is my favorite. Has great steel, perfect shape and size for fur handling. The Muskrat has the same D2 steel and is great for fleshing as well as working the hide from the head with detail around eyes lips and nose.

I just don't like the rubber scales on them and the lanyard hole is a waste in the shed. So I scaled them with wood and like them much better.

Agreed ^^^^^

I like em much better with wood scales.
You've seen this one before but here's one with Cocobolo that I did for a friend.



I'm planning to do mine with cow bone but I'm a pathological procrastinator so it'll take a while.
 
Always liked that cocobolo knife.

Bone would be real nice. I would like to try it at some point.

Been thinking about ram horn. Ever worked with it or handled a knife with it? Seems good for looks and texture.
 
Originally Posted By: Smokeless
Been thinking about ram horn. Ever worked with it or handled a knife with it?

No but I did one with Buffalo Horn once. I was hoping for some of that that gold marbeling I've seen but by the time I sanded it down to a reasonable size all I got was some random white blotches.
Pretty disappointing, I won't use it again.

I have used cow bone though and love it.

Buff Horn


Cow Bone
 
http://mccroskeyknives.com/

they have a trapper set

how would you like to skin all season and not sharpen you knive? These knives will do just that!

300+ beaver and never sharpen

I skinned and butchered two bull elk with their elk knife, it would still shave your arm. Dave told me he had skinned 8 elk with his before it needed touching up.

I skinned and butchered 8 deer with one of the trapper knives, it would still cut your finger to the bone if you slipped.

I got rid of ever Buck and Puma knife that I had, and it was quite a collection.
 
Originally Posted By: ackleymanhttp://mccroskeyknives.com/

they have a trapper set

how would you like to skin all season and not sharpen you knive? These knives will do just that!

300+ beaver and never sharpen

I skinned and butchered two bull elk with their elk knife, it would still shave your arm. Dave told me he had skinned 8 elk with his before it needed touching up.

I skinned and butchered 8 deer with one of the trapper knives, it would still cut your finger to the bone if you slipped.

I got rid of ever Buck and Puma knife that I had, and it was quite a collection.

DANG good knives. Too good for a hack like me which is why I cry every time I drop mine. Also Excellent warranty and customer service. You break he fixes it for free. Just pay shipping.
 
Originally Posted By: Joe CaltonWhat is your favorite knife for skinning out coyotes? what do you like about it? dislike about it?

Joe, check your pm's please.
 
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