Best Skinning knife for $200

[Puma]

Originally Posted by Pathfinder76

If you can find one of these, they are a great knife for the price.

https://www.herooutdoors.com/amp/crk...eather-sheath/

Before anyone orders anything from Hero Outdoors I strongly suggest you check BBB or CGN thread or google rating on this guy. Some things are not as they seem. I ordered stuff last fall and had to fight tooth and nail for for month to get my money back after he never shipped order he claimed was in stock.

[Pathfinder76]

Originally Posted by Dean2

The steel is one thing, the heat treat is a whole other. What convinced me to try a Crotts is he and Dozier, in many reviews, are reputed to be absolute geniuses at heat treating D2. I have 3v knives and S30V to compare it to so it will be easy to tell if their knives live up to their reputations.

I had a conversation with Dan a while ago about D2 vs S30V. He has no qualms about stainless. But says when it’s dull it’s dull. D2 will still cut when dull. IE it carries a bit of tooth all the time. If that matters.

[spurly]

Got this in the mail today . It’s a Wayne Childress Knife.

[Pathfinder76]

Did anyone snag one of those Doziers that showed up on Arizona Custom Knives today? They went quickly.

[Pathfinder76]

Coiloil37, are you still following this thread?

[Coiloil37]

Originally Posted by Pathfinder76

Coiloil37, are you still following this thread?

Yea I’m still here. Didn’t see anything I missed??? I didn’t buy anything off Arizona custom but I did notice they went quick. I tend to poke around a few different sellers just to kill time and I’ve seen a few nice knives pop up. I also saw last week that dozier put a half dozen new ones in their featured inventory. Even though I’m not looking to buy anything I decided to buy the filleting knife they had listed. I got through to checkout and it said it was sold out so SOL on that deal. I don’t know what I would of used it for but I would of bought it anyway.


Spurly, nice knife. Let us know how it cuts for you.


Waiting to see all of these other knives you guys have ordered. Some of them must be in the mail by now.

[Pathfinder76]

Have you had Dozier’s semi skinner in your hands? I grabbed the one on AZ custom. I swore I wouldn’t buy another knife unless it was that one. And what are the chances of one coming up for sale. Ugh. I have a Crotts semi skinner on order and am wondering, aside from size and handle geometry, how the two compare?

[fishnguy]

Originally Posted by Coiloil37

I also saw last week that dozier put a half dozen new ones in their featured inventory. Even though I’m not looking to buy anything I decided to buy the filleting knife they had listed. I got through to checkout and it said it was sold out so SOL on that deal.

Unless things changed in the past couple/few years, Dozier doesn’t ship outside of the US; as in you won’t be able to check out if your address is outside of the USA.

[Pathfinder76]

Originally Posted by fishnguy

Unless things changed in the past couple/few years, Dozier doesn’t ship outside of the US; as in you won’t be able to check out if your address is outside of the USA.

Dozier is a several year wait. But you can certainly buy his knives at a couple of dealers he sends knives to and have them shipped here.

[fishnguy]

^ They do occasional drops of a few random knives on their website directly, but you can’t purchase if you are outside of the US, or that’s how it used to be in the past. You also need to be fairly quick because they sell out fast more often than not (but need a US address). Inventory isn’t anything different from the stuff that sells elsewhere though and prices are comparable. It’s been a while, but that’s how I remember it.

[Pathfinder76]

It is certainly a pain buying knives from some of these places.

[Coiloil37]

Originally Posted by Pathfinder76

Have you had Dozier’s semi skinner in your hands? I grabbed the one on AZ custom. I swore I wouldn’t buy another knife unless it was that one. And what are the chances of one coming up for sale. Ugh. I have a Crotts semi skinner on order and am wondering, aside from size and handle geometry, how the two compare?

I’ve never held that one so no I don’t have any experience with it. When I saw it though I thought of what you had said about wanting that finger groove and wondered if you had snagged it. To me it appears to be the straight hunter handle. I have owned a straight hunter and liked the handle. I actually prefer the rounded butt on it and the yps to the Crotts semi skinner although I deal with that flare on the back of the semi skinner by having my customs built with a longer handle. The finger groove I didn’t love or hate, it was there but didn’t get in the way.
The blade however is fairly similar to the Crotts so it should work well. I would bet dollars to dognuts Dan copied that blade profile when he built his version. That is a nice knife, probably would of out some mammoth ivory on it but there’s nothing wrong with green canvas micarta.


I wasn’t aware they didn’t ship out of the states from their website. I’ve ordered from their featured inventory before so I didn’t know they had changed their policy. I probably should have phoned them because I’ve dealt with them enough they probably would have shipped to me. The last one I bought out of the featured inventory though was probably 10 years ago and I was sitting in class at enform doing my second line. Since then I’ve only ordered from steel addiction, fort Henry, art knives and directly from Dan.

[Pathfinder76]

I could also take or leave the finger groove and like the handle on the YPS. I really like the feel of this handle shape actually.

[treeroot]

For all the guys on here that like D2 blades, have you used a knives of alaska D2 blade like the alpha wolf?

How does theD2 of the knives of alaksa compared to custom dozier and the like?

https://www.knivesofalaska.com/Store...-d2---suregrip

[fishnguy]

Originally Posted by Pathfinder76

It is certainly a pain buying knives from some of these places.

Fort Henry is pretty great. I haven’t bought anything for quite a while, but they were always great to deal with. He also has (or used to have) something like “an interest free payment plan”, whatever he called it, where you buy the knife, pay third or quarter of the price plus shipping and then the remaining balance in two or three more equal monthly payments or sooner if you want. He ships the knife when you pay off the balance. Something like this, I don’t remember the details, but used it ones to buy a pretty expensive knife long time ago, lol.

Originally Posted by Coiloil37

I wasn’t aware they didn’t ship out of the states from their website. I’ve ordered from their featured inventory before so I didn’t know they had changed their policy. I probably should have phoned them because I’ve dealt with them enough they probably would have shipped to me. The last one I bought out of the featured inventory though was probably 10 years ago and I was sitting in class at enform doing my second line. Since then I’ve only ordered from steel addiction, fort Henry, art knives and directly from Dan.

And I wasn’t aware they used to ship outside of the States, haha. I said a couple years ago, but it must be 4-5-ish or so since I last asked. You could still buy it from them, but you needed to email and back and forth and pretty much every time the knife you want would be long gone anyway. I did buy a couple that way though. Not sure if they sold this way to everyone though: I had a lot of back and forth communications with them for a long time and they kind of “knew” me, I guess. Regardless, it took a very long time to get a knife this way due to the process. I asked them a few times to just remove the shipping restriction and add some Canada shipping options; they said they will look into it, but it was still the same last time I looked. It’s easier to buy it elsewhere, imo, like the places you mentioned.

I just looked at the knife you said you wanted to buy:



I used to have (maybe still have, but I think I sold it) one like this. I do feel like mine was longer though, but could be mistaken, and it had micarta. It’s pretty stiff. Definitely not your “regular” filet knife. Would be great for butchering.

I kind of stayed out of a better part of this thread because it sure tickles the old “addiction”. I used to collect, but sold almost all knives I had and have under a couple dozen left. Most are in boxes that are under other boxes though, too far to get to take a picture for the other thread.

Originally Posted by treeroot

For all the guys on here that like D2 blades, have you used a knives of alaska D2 blade like the alpha wolf?

How does theD2 of the knives of alaksa compared to custom dozier and the like?

https://www.knivesofalaska.com/Store...-d2---suregrip

Never used them for hunting, but used for backcountry camping. They are good knives. Steel, while the same, is not the same though, lol. Make sure to wipe them dry and clean after use, but I would do the same with any D2 knife.


My personal opinion is that one doesn’t need a “super” knife for hunting. I used many different kinds, “good”, “cheap”, in between, etc. Ergonomics and blade geometry is more important as long as steel is decent enough to go through an elk or moose in the field. If we are talking about survival or remote bushcraft, then yeah, you would rather want the best steel you can get (and it wouldn’t be D2), given you know how to take care of it. For skinning and chopping in the field? Meh… Most average knives would do the job, even if you are not a very careful kind. Also, don’t go bananas and instead sharpen your knives to 400-600 grit; they will cut longer.

Nothing wrong with having an expensive knife or two though. I am a former (or I’d like to believe so) addict and fully understand and support that, lol. It’s definitely not like having a good vs cheap glass on your rifle one minute before lights out though, for the lack of a better comparison.

[Pathfinder76]

A “bushcraft” knife has always been a bit of an enigma to me. An axe is 1000 times the tool for that kind of use. For game, a 3” ish blade can completely disassemble the biggest animal with no problem and they don’t wear you out doing it. As far as ergonomics and design goes. For hunting use there are precious few blades that are designed well at all.

[Pathfinder76]

A word on buying and shipping. Arizona Custom Knives is great to deal with. They need to get you set up for the first order. All you do is place your order and then they email to set you up. After that you order and they ship. Easy. For shipping. Use UPS global saver. Do not use USPS. It is slightly cheaper, but not worth the hassle. I ordered a knife on Tuesday at closing time. They shipped it Wednesday morning for $53. It has already cleared customs. I have payed the GST $16 and brokerage fee $10.05 and it is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. With USPS you will wait a month and you are at the whim of a CBSA agent, who doesn’t know knives from a hole in the head, to paw through and clear that knife. A $10 fee to broker that deal is a no brainer IMO.

[JBE]

yep, my crozier took almost a month to get here using usps

[Battle Rat]

Originally Posted by Pathfinder76

A “bushcraft” knife has always been a bit of an enigma to me. An axe is 1000 times the tool for that kind of use. For game, a 3” ish blade can completely disassemble the biggest animal with no problem and they don’t wear you out doing it. As far as ergonomics and design goes. For hunting use there are precious few blades that are designed well at all.

I don't believe that there is an official definition of a Bushcraft length or style.
I would consider a 3-5" blade a be Bushcraft.
I also fine that a 8-10" blade to be no as good a a hatchet for chopping, but very capable and more versatile.

[Battle Rat]

My personal opinion is that one doesn’t need a “super” knife for hunting.

This is true.
To skin a de-bone a deer, or elk for that matter, is not must of a test of a knife.
A $20 Buck knife from Canadian Tire will suffice for that.
Skinning and fleshing a bunch of beaver or bear for several hours will give you a better idea of edge holding ability.
The knowledge of sharpening and steeling is more important than the knife quality.
If you can't do that well then you will own a $1000 dollar dull knife.
I see this as the attraction for disposable blades.
When turning lips and eyes the cheap paring knifes go to work but the stone and steel are close buy.

[MountainTi]

Originally Posted by treeroot

For all the guys on here that like D2 blades, have you used a knives of alaska D2 blade like the alpha wolf?

How does theD2 of the knives of alaksa compared to custom dozier and the like?

https://www.knivesofalaska.com/Store...-d2---suregrip

Quite possibly the best answer to the original question

[Pathfinder76]

There is really no need for a nice custom knife. I’ve done most of my cutting work with a Havalon over the last few years. But that doesn’t make it a better option either. But it’s convenient and I’m lazy. Or at least when it comes to caring for knives. It’s just easy to throw a blade away and toss the handle in the dishwasher. Mass produced knives under $200 aren’t that great though and their sheaths absolutely suck. They are useless. I carry my knives in my pack so does that matter either?

But, a late friend, who hunted the world used to elude to the fact that nothing out performs the sum of its parts. It just doesn’t happen. Whether it is ballistics, bullets, rifles or knives there is no such thing as objects punching above their weight. How can there be? If it is truly a good hunting knife you are after, saving up $200 more might be worth it. It’s still cheaper that most hunting items you are packing and it will literally last a lifetime. It will get use and chop your vegetables with it so you can use it more.

[marky_mark]

Originally Posted by MountainTi

Quite possibly the best answer to the original question

I just received a couple of knives from them
2x coho filleting knives
2x boning knives

[Pathfinder76]

Originally Posted by marky_mark

I just received a couple of knives from them
2x coho filleting knives
2x boning knives

I’m interested in your review of the boning knives when you get a chance to use them.

[senderomag]

Originally Posted by marky_mark

I just received a couple of knives from them
2x coho filleting knives
2x boning knives

The knives of Alaska coho fillet knife ???

[MountainTi]

Originally Posted by marky_mark

I just received a couple of knives from them
2x coho filleting knives
2x boning knives

I've had a handful of them for years. Good knives

[marky_mark]

Originally Posted by senderomag

The knives of Alaska coho fillet knife ???

yep

[marky_mark]

Originally Posted by Pathfinder76

I’m interested in your review of the boning knives when you get a chance to use them.

they are very nice
only regret is not ordering the more flexible version

[sns2]

Originally Posted by Pathfinder76

There is really no need for a nice custom knife. I’ve done most of my cutting work with a Havalon over the last few years. But that doesn’t make it a better option either.... But, a late friend, who hunted the world used to elude to the fact that nothing out performs the sum of its parts. It just doesn’t happen. Whether it is ballistics, bullets, rifles or knives there is no such thing as objects punching above their weight. How can there be? If it is truly a good hunting knife you are after, saving up $200 more might be worth it. It’s still cheaper that most hunting items you are packing and it will literally last a lifetime. It will get use and chop your vegetables with it so you can use it more.

As the guy that started this thread, the reasons given by Pathfinder and Coiloil, make a whole lotta sense in terms of investing a bit more. As much as I would like to, at this time, buying a custom rifle is not in the cards for me.

However, seeing all the different makers, knife styles, steels, and scales available gave me an opportunity to buy something that will be well used, provide aesthetic enjoyment, and will make my field experience more enjoyable. And, even after I have croaked, which some days feels like not too far down the road, then my son can have it and associate it with memories of his Pops. Shoot, if I can do that for $500 then it seems like money well spent.

[nimrod]

Well my new to me knife goat knife is 2.6 ounces