Montana Skinner

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KNIFE MAKER
Blade: 01 toolsteel, vinegar etch, heat treated to 61 RC, no cryo.
Handle: Red Oak, not stabilized, hot carnuba wax finish, buffed with clean soft wheel.
Pin: Plain 360 brass.
Inlay: White epoxy (never again....lol)

Here's a simple skinning knife. I wanted it to look like an old carbon steel kitchen knife(like my grand dad use to have...and kept razor sharp.) thus the oak handles and brass pins. The shape has a hint of "Ulu" to it...I love real curvy blades for skinning. Can't wait to try this out at hunting season.

I started this months ago but the day job has been very busy. I still haven't made a knife that I think is good enough to sell but this one is getting close.

Next is a sheath for it....

Comments/critiques appreciated.

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I like it Ted!! It reminds me of a Ulu, I think that is the correct spelling. The Eskimos use them as an extension of their arms!!

Here is a Walmart version of a Ulu!! You can see why it reminds me of one!!

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I like it very much. The curves are very eye sweet and flow nicely. The fit and finish are excellent. I like the oak. it complements the design and purpose.
 
C Craft said:
I like it Ted!! It reminds me of a Ulu, I think that is the correct spelling. The Eskimos use them as an extension of their arms!!

Here is a Walmart version of a Ulu!! You can see why it reminds me of one!!

616e8e57-79a4-4235-a53f-d043f3da2391_1.f1e9d7987c0116fb8c4ac90f2beb3915.jpeg
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Good eye! I had written in the text..."The shape has a hint of "Ulu" to it...I love real curvy blades for skinning. Can't wait to try this out at hunting season."

I have an Ulu (modern kitchen style) and it is a handy tool. My instinct is that it would skin well. Every time I skin game I use my most rounded blade. The motion you use to skin favors that shape. I think for skinning the offset handle of a regular knife will be handier than an Ulu.(I have never used my Ulu as it is larger than I want to skin with) But...an Ulu is truly a multi-purpose tool. A skinning knife is more "dedicated".

Now I finally own a skinning knife!
 
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kgmacpherson said:
Good looking Knife. I imagine that the white epoxy inlay was super tedious to do. Looks good though.
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Thank you. What was tricky was taking hand made scales and then engraving them on the CNC. Also, the little "islands" in letters like small e and A and d or b are very weak...I knocked out the e in Hauser just filling the letter with epoxy. I also didn't vacuum the scales after filling with epoxy and I should have because I ended up with air bubbles. But by the time I was at the fill point I didn't care as I could tell that engraving and inlay would probably add $60 to a knife....

So it's back to experimenting with logo, etc.....
 
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Great knife Ted,
I really like the Red Oak handle material. It came out beautiful. I seem to get the idea that Oak is kind of frowned upon as handle material. If so, why?
 
Johan Nel said:
Great knife Ted,
I really like the Red Oak handle material. It came out beautiful. I seem to get the idea that Oak is kind of frowned upon as handle material. If so, why?
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Thank you Johan.

I think oak is not considered an "exotic" therefore lower end on the beauty scale. It is very good on durability however. For what I was shooting for exotic looks didn't matter. Also why I did not use mosaic pins. I wanted to have a look from the 1940s or so...the plain brass or steel was the look then.

When guys are putting in the hours to make custom knives it makes sense to use wood considered more beautiful. No matter how nice a paint job you put on a ford focus it's still a ford focus. Oak will always be good ol' dependable oak...lol. Since I was building this one for me I went with nostalgia...I personally find oak a beautiful wood.
 
Awesome design! If you look along the spine, the profile screams "Sharp Finger" and there's probably no more beloved skinner design than that. But you have really improved it, in my opinion, by dropping the cutting edge down low away from your hand and adding a deeper belly. The problem most of us have with skinning or caping is when you have your hand down deep in the pocket and rocking your wrist, you know you're only really cutting with the tip of the knife and maybe the last third of the blade if you can get your wrist cranked back far enough. Your design gets that whole cutting edge down in there so you can truly work it like a pendulum.

Truly fantastic.
 
John Wilson said:
Awesome design! If you look along the spine, the profile screams "Sharp Finger" and there's probably no more beloved skinner design than that. But you have really improved it, in my opinion, by dropping the cutting edge down low away from your hand and adding a deeper belly. The problem most of us have with skinning or caping is when you have your hand down deep in the pocket and rocking your wrist, you know you're only really cutting with the tip of the knife and maybe the last third of the blade if you can get your wrist cranked back far enough. Your design gets that whole cutting edge down in there so you can truly work it like a pendulum.

Truly fantastic.
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Thanks much!I thought I was the only one that over-thought how things should work...LOL. Yeah...can't wait to use it! You wouldn't believe how many different animals I have "pretend" skinned with this knife.... I think the Ulu must be a two person job? Shape is okay but someone must be pulling that hide pretty good to even gain access? I am usually alone when skinning so I need a one person knife...

Also, the front handle is thinned down pretty good for choking up on the blade as you do at times when skinning. I kept redesigning the handle shape there. I stopped when there was just enough wood to grip without slipping on a wet knife....
 
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