The skinner knife or skinning knife is a professional tool for a

skinner Skinner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Skinner (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with that surname *Skinner (profession), a person who makes a living by working with animal skins or driving mules *Skinner, a ring ...

. Typically a skinner knife has wide, short, curved blade. Skinning knives are more a tool than a weapon. Their curved shape was developed to minimize the risk of puncturing hides during the skinning process, and to allow for maximal use of the heel region of the blade.

Use

Contrary to popular misconception, the tip region of the blade should ideally never be used for skinning. The user should use the heel region of the blade as much as possible, which also preserves the sharpness of the upper regions of the blade for far-reaching cuts, should they be required. Skinning knives were a common item on the American frontier, often imported from Sheffield, England and distributed by

Hudson Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trade, fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake b ...

. In the 1830s, skinning knives were also manufactured by Green River Works. Among frontiersmen, the saying "''done up to Green River''" signified the quality of something or their satisfaction with a trade deal.

References

Knives Hunting equipment {{Knife-stub