Skinning – What finish and angle?

[wickededge]

Of course the steel is a factor for durability, but for performance alone, what angle and finish do you like for skinning?

-Clay

[Wesley Adkins]

I tried an angle of 18 per side all the way to 3.5 strops then went back to 20 and gave a micro bevel of 10 strokes with my 1600 ceramics. Then back to 18. For 5 strokes with cow leather at 5 um. For my whitetail it was like sliding through butter very slick. I was using a blackjack with d2 tool steel.

[Spagery]

In the process of skinning and harvesting a deer for example, its inevitable that your blade is going to contact bone.

And the bone is hard so it can can chip or damage the Steel.

When you take out the backstraps you have to glide your blade along the bone and carve out the meat. Also when you remove the legg muscles you have the chance of hitting the legg bone.

What you want is a balance of a knife edge angle that is durable enough to not take damage from the bone, while still being sharp enough to cut the skin and meat.

Which is why I think Convexing is preferred on hunting knives because it gives the edge more support for durability and it helps the blade to glide along a bone instead of trying to cut into it.

But if you were a Fur Skinner who did not butcher the meat and did not worry about bone, then you could take it as far as you like. And it would not matter if the blade is convex or not.

So I think the purpose of the knife really dictates what kind of an Angle you should put on it. Its situationally dependent on weather or not you think the knife will contact bone.

Here is an example of something you should probably not do.

Dont take your new 3V Steel Bark River and v grind it down to 15 degree and use it to take a Trophy head off a Stag.

You are just begging to chip it.

[Josh]

In the process of skinning and harvesting a deer for example, its inevitable that your blade is going to contact bone.

And the bone is hard so it can can chip or damage the Steel.

When you take out the backstraps you have to glide your blade along the bone and carve out the meat. Also when you remove the legg muscles you have the chance of hitting the legg bone.

What you want is a balance of a knife edge angle that is durable enough to not take damage from the bone, while still being sharp enough to cut the skin and meat.

Which is why I think Convexing is preferred on hunting knives because it gives the edge more support for durability and it helps the blade to glide along a bone instead of trying to cut into it.

But if you were a Fur Skinner who did not butcher the meat and did not worry about bone, then you could take it as far as you like. And it would not matter if the blade is convex or not.

So I think the purpose of the knife really dictates what kind of an Angle you should put on it. Its situationally dependent on weather or not you think the knife will contact bone.

Here is an example of something you should probably not do.

Dont take your new 3V Steel Bark River and v grind it down to 15 degree and use it to take a Trophy head off a Stag.

You are just begging to chip it.

If you don’t mind, let’s continue this discussion here =)

[Author]

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