I use nothing but a havalon piranta to take a deer (or anything else, including moose) from being whole to completely skinned, quartered and broken down.. At times I will also carry a Wyoming Saw or a Gränsfors Bruk outdoor axe, for taking off skull plates.
I may as well sell my other knives, but old habits die hard so I still carry a sturdy fixed blade in my pack. I haven't used it in years though.
I need to try one of those Havalons.
Get the Gerber version, Vital I think it's called. Pretty much the same thing, but changing blades is way easier/safer on the Gerber. I have both and very much dig a small, sharp, flexibile blade for taking critters apart. I use a #60A blade in one for most of the work, but use a #70 blade in the other. The #70 has a rounded tip making it very good for skinning.
