Thread: PREPPERS - Those who plan to survive

Originally Posted by Maanaam

You think anything over 4 inches is big?

Certainly worth a second look...

Originally Posted by tomcat

Originally Posted by Maanaam

You think anything over 4 inches is big?

Certainly worth a second look...

You've been in Thailand too long

^so true...

The best shape for a skinning knife is this one, about a 6 inch blade, curved, no long sharp point to puncture the skin.

For cats, rabbits, possum, squirrel, hedgehog, birds you don't need a skinning knife, any small sharp knife will do.

Just slice across the belly across its crutch, up the insides of its back legs and then push the skin back off the legs and base of the tail so you can get your hand in under the skin to grip it, then pull the skin off its legs and peel it off its tail like a glove. Slice along the underside of the tail if it's long enough and cut the skin where its attached to its rear feet, so's that end of the skin is free from the carcass.

Then, put your foot down on its back legs, and pull the skin whole up towards its head, peeling it off like a glove. Push and wriggle your fingers through and behind its forelegs, pull on the skin (foot still holding the carcass down by the back legs) and peel the skin back off the an neck and head, then cut it off at the forepaws before peeling the whole skin off over it's head and cutting it free from the carcass, around the muzzle.

Now you've got an inside-out skin which you can stretch on a u-shaped frame of wire or a small bendy branch to hang up and dry in the shade if you want to tan it later. You can remove any bits of fat and flesh still sticking to the skin at that point. That's where a curved skinning knife comes in handy.

To tann it, once split open along the belly, involves arranging it along with other small skins stitched together into a sheet of them, then laying them fur side out over a wicker frame placed over a cool fire of punky wood, lots of yellow, really acrid smoke, and closing the gaps between the skins by pegging the edges together with long thorns, big fish bones or small sharp sticks, so that little or no smoke seeps out between the skins. Whatever you do, don't let that smouldering smoky fire get too hot or burst into flame, it'll dry and char the skin, cracking it making the skins useless for leather.

After around 12 hours or overnight or so of smoking the skin this way, the skins will be yellowed on the flesh side, pickled by the picric acid in the smoke.
Bigger, thicker skins take longer and need doing both sides, but not if the fur's to be retained.

Next, remove the skins and apply the mashed brains of the animals killed that you've collected together for the purpose, all over the flesh side of the skins, rubbing the paste in hard into the skins, making them absorbs all that lubricant.
After that, stretch and pull at the skins individually, especially along the edges to break all the fibres, stretching the skin until it's really supple and soft.

If you want to de-hair the skin prior to curing, collect your piss and shit in a bucket or suitable container and sok the skins in that, dog shit's the best. That gunk will cause the hair to loosen and be easily pulled off.
All time consuming work, but great activity as there's no TV in the bush, nor hardly a light to read by at night.

Now you've got a soft supple, usable, washable cured skin, almost like a chamois leather,,....rawhide.

You can do the same with large fish and snake skins.

Stitch the cut and shaped skins together with thin strips of cured skin pushed through holes made by a sharp pointed stick or awl (not a knife) along the edges of each skin, until you've got a simple smock or pair of leggings to keep you warm.

Originally Posted by ENT

The best shape for a skinning knife is this one, about a 6 inch blade, curved, no long sharp point to puncture the skin.

That's what meat inspectors use to incise lymph nodes etc. It's a butcher's knife. I have a few in the kitchen.
I actually do not like that shape for skinning, at all. You need a tip, and this knife's tip is too far back for the wrist to use it properly.

Originally Posted by Maanaam

You think anything over 4 inches is big? I wouldn't call 6 inches big, but 6 is better than 4 for so many things.

For my uses it is. I hike and I need to keep weight down. In my experience a 6 inch knife does nothing that a 4 inch knife can't do better as it is better balanced and easier to work with. I can baton firewood all day with my Bravo 1 and it will still be hair shaving sharp.

Originally Posted by Maanaam

My main knife has a blade about 9 inches. Can gut and clean any animal from deer and cows down to rabbits, birds and fish, cut sticks for fires or building stuff. Always handy.

I do not know any hunters that would be using a knife that big to skin game and I have known many over the years. It would take forever to skin a deer with a knife that long. See this forum were the size of hunting knives is discussed;

ideal blade length for a hunting knife? | BladeForums.com

To bad we could not have a challenge to prove what is better the two knives I posted or the knife you described which to me sounds like a parang or a mini machete.

At the end of the day it is whatever floats your boat. Lots of youtube videos of the two knives I posted. Also I have another knife in my collection that I do not use much as it is damn heavy the Becker BK-2. It is a tank of a knife and the blade is still only 5 inches.



A review of my Bravo 1 by an Aussie;

This is my knife.


I use it for skinning deer, after punching it to death.

Keeping it real.

Originally Posted by Maanaam

Wow, quarter inch with full convex grind...nice!

When you get one of these in your hand it is really amazing. If I had to choose one knife that would definitely be it plus it has a lifetime warranty.

Originally Posted by kmart

I use it for skinning deer, after punching it to death.

^ Hey Bsnub, I've been editing my post as I watched the vid.

Originally Posted by Maanaam

my trusty serves more purposes, but for specific specialities

Your purposes are clearly different from mine. I never would need anything longer than 5 inches to do all the work I do in the woods (or bush as you call it). For me after that knife the next thing I need is either a machete, saw or hatchet. I think a knife longer than 5 inches in the outdoors is purely cosmetic.

Originally Posted by Maanaam

Cane knife was with me every time I set foot outside the house.

Had no idea what that was until I googled it. I gotta get me one of those!

Originally Posted by Maanaam

I do like my cane knife, though, which is no good for hunting, but for sheer survival versatility, I would take my cane knife over my hunting knife every time.

Makes sense now..

Originally Posted by bsnub

For me after that knife the next thing I need is either a machete, saw or hatchet.

A good long-handled cane knife is the all-rounder. And once you've used it for a few years and it is narrower from filing, it's even better.
You can learn to throw it (like a tomahawk), you can use it to chop big fish on the head in the absence of a gaff, you can use it to pick up and throw (sideways flick) thing like coconuts,...oh the versatility is endless. Much lighter than a machete.

^ Sorta. That one looks a bit heavy, almost machete-like. The cane knives I'm talking about are very thin, as thin as a kitchen paring knife and with soft steel.
We used to "mow" the lawn with them. The balance with the long handle and the springiness of the soft steel made it a great tool.

A belt sander is great for "grinding", but a file gives you control and doesn't generate heat to fuck-up the temper of the steel.

This thread has clearly turned into some type of dick metaphor

Fcuking bunch of sissies the lot of you.

Why do you need a knife? You got teeth ain't you?

Originally Posted by Maanaam

Originally Posted by ENT

The best shape for a skinning knife is this one, about a 6 inch blade, curved, no long sharp point to puncture the skin.

That's what meat inspectors use to incise lymph nodes etc. It's a butcher's knife. I have a few in the kitchen.
I actually do not like that shape for skinning, at all. You need a tip, and this knife's tip is too far back for the wrist to use it properly.

That's been the standard NZ skinning knife for generations because of its curved blade designed to cut through the skin and between it and the carcass smoothly without nicking the skin or cutting the flesh, in a curving action. A straight bladed knife with a sharp tip is designed for hacking or stabbing, which isn't the method used for skinning.
All skinning knives I've ever seen are curved bladed.
A straight bladed knife with a pointed tip will not easily move between the skin and carcass, it'll stab the skin, rendering it useless for leather and hack the meat off the carcass' surface.

After the initial cuts across and down the belly, and the guts tumbled out, that same curved knife reackes in to the body cavity in curving movements to free the guts before they're finally carted off. The same knife's used to separate the liver, heart kidneys and other organs from the body cavity.

A straight bladed sharp tipped knife would do too much damage to skin and flesh.

As a matter of fact, that's the only time a knife's used in skinning a beast, until the tail and skin along with the head, and the hooves are severed from the carcass.

Slaughter houses don't allow the use of knives for the actual skinning proper, as they tend to damage the skin.
What's actually done is "fisting" the skin off, by punching through hard between the skin and carcass, as the skin's held tight to it. Once the skin's been punched loose from the hind end down to the nec, it's pulled down to the head end. Sometimes a curved skinning knife helps here especially around the shoulders, neck and brisket.

Originally Posted by ENT

All skinning knives I've ever seen are curved bladed.

Probably, but not as curved as the butcher's knife in your pic.

Originally Posted by ENT

A straight bladed knife with a sharp tip

...is no good. Yes. But what is good is not as curved as the one you've shown.

Originally Posted by ENT

All skinning knives I've ever seen are curved bladed.

Yes...but as above.

Originally Posted by ENT

A straight bladed sharp tipped knife would do too much damage to skin and flesh.

yes, but more importantly straight doesn't lend itself to the rolling wrist action.

Originally Posted by ENT

After the initial cuts across and down the belly,

Across?? I've never seen that.

Originally Posted by ENT

After the initial cuts across and down the belly, and the guts tumbled out,

Again, I've never done or seen that. Usually only the skin is cut and only after the entire hide is removed is the belly sliced to open the way for the guts to come out.

Originally Posted by ENT

As a matter of fact, that's the only time a knife's used in skinning a beast, until the tail and skin along with the head, and the hooves are severed from the carcass.

Really? In the field without pulling equipment?

Originally Posted by ENT

Slaughter houses don't allow the use of knives for the actual skinning proper, as they tend to damage the skin.
What's actually done is "fisting" the skin off, by punching through hard between the skin and carcass, as the skin's held tight to it. Once the skin's been punched loose from the hind end down to the nec, it's pulled down to the head end. Sometimes a curved skinning knife helps here especially around the shoulders, neck and brisket.

Not in any of the slaughter houses I've been in, and I've worked in a few.
Fisting doesn't involve punching, but rolling, levering the skin off.
There are two machines in slaughter house; the first does a reach-around and clamps are attached to the belly skin flaps. This then pulls backwards.
After that (think, the coat has been unzipped and opened up like a flasher). chains are clamped to the neck and should skin and the carcass is wrenched upwards, or the carcass is stationary on it's hooks and the chains are pulled down. Different works, different machines.
This last action wrenches the hide, complete with tail skin off the beast.
Cattle and sheep basically the same.


I don't know where you get your information from, but you plainly haven't experienced any of this yourself.

Originally Posted by Maanaam

A belt sander is great for "grinding", but a file gives you control and doesn't generate heat to fuck-up the temper of the steel.

You can put all different kinds of belts on the sander. I have some that polish and can put a fine edge on when used with compound. But I only use the sander for things like machetes. I use Japanese water stones to sharpen my knives and finish with a strop and compounds. When done my knives are hair popping sharp.

Originally Posted by Maanaam

The cane knives I'm talking about are very thin, as thin as a kitchen paring knife and with soft steel. We used to "mow" the lawn with them. The balance with the long handle and the springiness of the soft steel made it a great tool.

Can you find a link to one that would be similar to what you are describing?

Originally Posted by ENT

you've not slaughtered/skinned thousands of animals as you've claimed

Right there you prove again your inability to read and comprehend. I never made that claim or anything like it.

Originally Posted by ENT

The only long bladed knife at all suitable out bush is a machete, a broad bladed heavy cane knife's not bad, heavy enough to hack wood, but no a "cane knife" slim enough to cut grass or flick coconuts.

Until you've spent years using a cane knife to pick up and collect coconuts, to chop firewood, to "mow" the lawn, to open coconuts, clear brush, etc etc, you will have no idea whatsoever. A machete is a pain. Heavy and unweildy. the thin-bladed cane knife has enough impetus to strike deep, while the width gives strength.
Over time, your cane knife gets filed down to be narrower...then they become even better as they are half the weight.

You have no idea. About cane knives nor dressing animals.
I spent years in Westfield, mainly, but also Auckland Abbatoir, Southdown, Hellaby's, Horotiu and Whangarei, as a meat inspector, and I know what goes on in the works.

I also killed and dressed cows, goats and pigs on the farm. Countless. Many, many. And deer in NZ. I do know what I'm talking about. Never dressed a sheep though I have seen tens of thousands processed in the freezing works.

Originally Posted by ENT

This is NOT a lightweight knife by any means, and NOT as you earlier described

Compared to a machete, it is indeed light weight. I was not comparing to a fruit paring knife.