Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting What knife do you use for Caping & Skinning?

I've been using a small Gerber folder which is a clip point with a 2 3/4" blade to start the process at the hind quarters. I switch to other knives as I pull the hide down but this is probably the one thing that I feel I could improve at.

For skinning just about any knife will do. If I'm not skinning them warm I'll use an air compressor to loosen the skin from the meat before hanging them. Done right the hide basically falls off if it's not frozen.

For caping I use a specialty hook bill knife, a scalpel and a flat bladed screwdriver to loosen the skin around the burr and the tear glands at the base of the eyes. I worked for a taxidermist while in college and after and have caped several hundred head over the years for mounting.

hook knife

I should add that I don't skin them warm. They usually hang for at least a few days and any large deer I hang in my buddies walk in cooler for a week or two. Does a compressor work on deer that have dried out a bit?

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Gerber-E...ty-Razor-Pocket-Knife-with-Clip/46488887

Put a roofer hookbill utility blade in this little knife and lay that on the hide, apply a little pressure, and pull the knife and the hide will split like it has a zipper. Great for all the cuts you need to make that start on the outside of the hide without dulling your good knife blade. Cutting down the long dorsal cut, down the legs, etc. is easy peasy with this little tool. I do the gutless debone and quarter job in the field and pack the usable meat out. I toss this little folder in the kill kit and use it on every deer and hog I kill.

Honestly IDK (a real shock here on the fire where everyone knows everything about everything, but...). I would think it would depend on how much air pressure you had Bill. Check out some of the videos on YT. BTW - the added bonus is if people don't know you used a compressor they start wondering how you consistently are shooting what looks like 200+ lb deer every year.

Hahaha I’ll check out some videos..,

This, my boy made it

Been using these for field dressing and skinning.

I like to cape with a havalon.

This

If they are easy to get to I use a Toyota Tacoma for skinning. It's a hoot. I seldom cape, but if I do I will use Havalon.

I have killed 4 so far this year. I skin then cut the backstraps and legs off at the joints. Then gut to get the heart and inner loins. I used a case trapper on 3 of them and a case finn on the last one. I don't cape.

I like a Cold Steel Finnbear these days. They are a good product for the price and are cheap enough it doesn’t bother me if one gets left at camp or ends up in someone else’s gear.

I skin with anything sharp and usually keep three Carbon Moras super sharp in the skinning shed to split elk necks of rutting bulls. If you know, you know. We cape everything. We obviously try to kill animals that are mountable, but we also sell or trade the other capes to the taxidermist. These are the two knives I cape with most. A custom design of my own. I see so many knives that claim to be caping knives but are more skinning knives. For peeling faces you don’t need more than a 1” of cutting edge. I hold the knife like a pencil when I’m doing eyes. The other knife is a havalon obviously. A fellow sheep and goat guide from AK gave me that knife after I had fought so hard for years to stay away from scalpel knives. He said I would fall in love with it. I don’t love them but I do see they’re value and utility, especially when you have three bulls to cape at 10:00 o’clock at night!

Spyderco Bill Moran drop point.

I've got a Bucklite gut-hook knife similar to those (but definitely a cheaper version) and I'll be damned if I can get the gut hook to work worth a shizzle. Any pointers? Maybe I should I sharpen the gut hook razor sharp, but how?

Anything high carbon and thin.
Victorinox kitchen knives can be made into razors and they sharpen quick and hold a good edge

Their boning knives are bad azz.

I try to stay away from the avalon and outdoor edge disposable stuff, but dam they're sharp lol. Almost too sharp. You slip with one of those in the dark on the mountain and let's just say it could get a little interesting. Those dudes are the meaning of scary sharp.

I have one of these that I use often.

But I used a Cold Steel Master Hunter to quarter my bull elk last month.

For skinning deer I mostly use a Kershaw disposable blade knife.

I skinned a 188 lb buck tonight and cut him up with a buck 110(plastic handle). It stayed sharp for the entire job.......In the past I've skinned-gutted-cut up many deer with a good 3 blade pocket knife. Now I like the 2 blade folding hunters. I use a Queen, a Case, a Boker(German) and a couple of Old Timers.......For deboning and cutting the meat up. Nothing beats a Rapala Fillet knife(I use 2).