# what kind of knife for skinning?



## rob864guy (Aug 10, 2007)

alright ive been seeing a bunch of wabbits hopping around now and i mean alot i at least see about 10 a day in my own back yard and well ive never skinned anything before but i get the idea on how to skin a small animal like a squirrel or rabbit

now i have a bunch of knives but none of them are really hunting knives some serrated some not and well i sharpen them with a diamond coated sharpening rod (not the like kitchen knife sharpeners) thats meant for pocket knives and such and well none i have bought ive asked of they can be used to skin anything i have 2 multi tool knives, a green beret knife, a buck knife with an extremly sharp pont,another buck knife but this one is pretty average, or are any of these knifes not good for skinning?
i cant use my camera to take pictures but i dont have the cord to connect to the computer haha


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## weasle414 (Dec 31, 2006)

I use an old farm knife my grandpa gave to my dad and he gave to me. the blade is only 2 - 2 1/2 " long and it's more than enough for rabbits. But really just about any knife will work, I've used my deer skinning knife with a 4" blade and gut hook on it for skinning rabbits and squirrels. The biggest problem with a big knife is that it's easier to make mistakes and when you make a mistake it'll show up a whole lot more than if you make one with a smaller knife. Experiment with your knives, start smallest and work your way up untill you find the one that works best for you.


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## rob864guy (Aug 10, 2007)

alright
ill start with my buck knife it is like 3 inches but its the smallest i have
wella nother question about skinning
how do you get the cell membrane off? is it just with salt?


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## weasle414 (Dec 31, 2006)

I like to stretch the hide over my fleshing beam and use a sharp knife and softly scrape it off. If you don't have a fleshing beam you can tack it to a board and do the same thing. Just don't press very hard, just enough to get the membrane to come off and do it RIGHT AFTER SKINNING. With rabbit the hide is so thin that if you wait untill it's cold or dry it'll almost always rip the hide while fleshing it.


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## coyote_buster (Mar 11, 2007)

Just a sharp pocket knife will work just fine but don't try cutting bone with them because it ruins the edge, get a bigger knife for that stuff.


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## rob864guy (Aug 10, 2007)

alright well i went on youtube and watched a couple videos on undressing rabbits and well when you break the rabbits neck to make sure its dead and to get all of the blood in the neck that was broken by hanging it upside down does it happen all in like maybe 5 minutes or so?


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## weasle414 (Dec 31, 2006)

You don't need to break the neck, it can get too messy sometimes especially if done wrong. When you come up to the dead (or not quite dead) rabbit just poke it in the eye with a stick. If it moves at all then either shoot it under the ear or break its neck. I've only ever had to finsih off 2 rabbits before when I come up to them and think they're dead.


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## rob864guy (Aug 10, 2007)

oh thanks but wouldn't the blood in the rabbit like come out at you and stuff if you dont break its neck?


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## weasle414 (Dec 31, 2006)

If you're afrade of getting bloody I'd suggest a different sport, such as golf. There's no avoiding it, you'll get bloody unless you wear gloves. And even then you'll probablt end up with blood somewhere on your clothes or skin.


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## rob864guy (Aug 10, 2007)

haha im not exactly afraid of that its just that i dont want any blood getting on the rabbits coating, if it could stain it of course im not sure if it does or not
i dont mind blood getting on me or anything like that


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## weasle414 (Dec 31, 2006)

Ah, I see. It's not gonna stain it, just make it crusty and red for a while. When I get done tanning all my furs I wash them with shampoo. It cleans the furs out real well, gets rid of blood and makes them smell like blueberrys. Suave works great.


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## rob864guy (Aug 10, 2007)

aahh nice well cant wait till the season starts then ill be able to hunt these wabbits hopping around haha hopefully ill skin them right but im sure ill be able to


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## weasle414 (Dec 31, 2006)

It took me a while to get skinning rabbits figured out. I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to skin and flesh them without making it look like furry swiss cheese by the time I was done. I've got it down pretty good, or at least I did when season ended back in Febuary or March.


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## ParkerBoy (Feb 2, 2007)

weasle414 said:


> If you're afrade of getting bloody I'd suggest a different sport, such as golf.
> 
> i love it lol


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## gray squirrel (Apr 23, 2006)

i have used a little swiss army knife t skinn out a buck befor so u realy dont need a exensv knife


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## rob864guy (Aug 10, 2007)

ParkerBoy said:


> weasle414 said:
> 
> 
> > If you're afrade of getting bloody I'd suggest a different sport, such as golf.
> ...


hahah i cant play golf if my life depended on it 
now air soft and paint ball thats another thing i do play


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## rob864guy (Aug 10, 2007)

gray squirrel said:


> i have used a little swiss army knife t skinn out a buck befor so u realy dont need a exensv knife


alright good


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## weasle414 (Dec 31, 2006)

It's alright rob, I can't golf either. I don't have funny enough pants for it.


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## rob864guy (Aug 10, 2007)

hahaha


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## Stonegoblet (Jun 24, 2007)

a'aight, you wanna get an old knife. maybe three or four inches. Make sure it's not a favorite. Take the tip to a grinder, and give it a nice, rounded edge. That will greatly increase your skinning quality.

-Animal Armageddon!!!


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## coyote_buster (Mar 11, 2007)

If you use a grinder you have to keep everything wet or it will ruin the edge, I used the table grinder on a shear for cutting cedars and after ten trees it was ruined.


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## Stonegoblet (Jun 24, 2007)

true, keep it wet, and be careful not to ruin the tempering.


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## 308 (Jul 10, 2007)

A razor blade is good too. :beer:


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## ishootstuff (Oct 19, 2007)

sorry for butting into the conversation (no i havent ever skinned a rabbit)
but how did this conversatin go from goulf to blades again. :-?


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## Neanderthal (Oct 30, 2007)

Any sharp knife will work. It's just a rabbit! I skinned a deer today with a semi-flexible Chicago Cutlery kitchen knife. People get too concerned about this stuff. I also use an old lock blade Schrade knife for field dressing deer. You just don't need a large knife for these jobs. The only tip I could give you after all these years of hunting is that any animal skins WAY easier if you can do it before they completely cool.


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