Hey guys I've been reading about these knives and am wondering if any one had used them? If so how do ya like them? 60$ seems a little steep for a knive but I'm welling to pay it if it means haveing a sharp knife all the way through the gutting/skinning process.

 

I've got the Kodi Pack with the skinner, caper and saw. These are razor sharp knives, literally. If I can't easily shave a little patch of hair off my arm with a knife, its not sharp enough to skin a moose with, and these will do it. I've only skinned one moose with them so far, but they seem to hold an edge well. I touched the skinning knife up a few times with a very fine wetstone, but that's good for doing a whole moose. I prefer to do a few touchups and keep it razor sharp, rather then wait till its dull.
The Kraton rubber handles give really good grip, even when wet or bloody.

 

~YukonRon~

I am curious, How do you like the Gut-Hook on that Skinner?

I looked at those knives, but decided not to go with it because of the small size of the gut-hook. I have tried other gut-hooks of simular size on moose hide with poor results. In fact, It seemed faster to use the old standby method of the 2 fingers under the hide.

Because of that I went with the Kershaw pack.

http://www.exploreproducts.com/kershawalaskantrader.htm

The size of the gut-hook and the shape of the skinning knife: a modified Ulu profile, are ideal for skinning big, thick-skinned animals. However, I don't like the 'blade-trader' design. I would rather find another set that has the same features in a fixed blade knife. In other words: 2 seperate knives and a seperate saw, instead of 3 attachments for the same handle.

Because I haven't found one so far, I have tried a few custom knife makers. I have not had anyone except the job of making this knife for me. Not yet.

 

I've found that a box cutter or utility knife with the hooked carpet blade does a good job of skinning deer. Using the hook, you can cut around the legs and down the body real easy and then just peel the skin off. If you will make two or three passes down the back and belly, the narrow strips will pull off real easy. Don't try to use it on a hog, I've found the shield on a boar hog is too thick and the hooked blade just can't go deep enough to do any good. The really nice think about that knife is the fact that when the blade gets dull, you just put a new blade in it.

I have a schrade, an oldtimer, and a case which I keep real sharp for cutting after I have skinned the deer or hog. It seems to me, the key is how hefty the blade is and how sharp it is.

Ted

 

Ratman - you're right about the small size of the gut hook. On the really heavy stuff it tends to clog up a bit. It works ok on areas with thinner hide and/or less hair though. When you you do get it going, its real nice, just like unzipping a zipper. I've only used it once and its my first gut hook, so I don't have much experience there. I'm waiting to see how the edge on the hook stands up and if it will be hard to sharpen.

 

~YukonRon~

Thanks for the honest response. I too enjoy the ease of using a gut-hook. When I looked up your knives on the 'Net, I noticed the small gut-hook. My suspicions were validated by your first-hand experience. Thanks again.


~dusty1~

I appreciate your idea also. It sounds like it would work great on dear over on Kodiak, or down in South-East Alaska. However, on moose or grizzly it would have the same results you experienced with the Boar. When you are skinning out a Moose, you have hide that is between 1/2" and 3/4" thick. Hair that can be as big as one of those red coffee stirers you get in your mocha. And a hide that weighs in excess of 250lbs.

Wrestling with a tool that doesn't work for your specific task is not an option. Not if you want to get done and out of there before you get some unwelcome visitors (bear) looking for a free meal.

But I will use your idea when after deer. I hadn't thought of that before. I am anxious to try it.

 

Ratman,

The box cutter blade works well also for other purposes. Since it is so easy to either reverse the blade or replace it when it becomes dull, you should always have a really sharp knife. With many of the knife handle designs, you have the ability to control how far the blade extends out of the body. That allows you to control the depth of the cut you want to make. You can make cuts from 1/8" deep to 3/4" deep in a single pass. Another nice thing is the fact that since they are sold at the hardware store instead of the sporting goods store, they cost about $4.00 instead of $40.00.

I envy your location. I have not had the pleasure of visiting Alaska. I want to come fish for Salmon. I have a friend who finished school about 1966 and moved to Anchorage, Alaska. He started teaching school and coaching football. He used to tell me stories about stepping out on his back porch in Anchorage and shooting a Moose just to keep meat in the freezer. In later years, he and his son would fish commercial for salmon when school was out for the summer. It always sounded good to me.

On the other hand, friends have told me about the mosquitoes in Alaska.

Ted