Thread: Why are kiwi knives more curved?

Thanks for all the feedback. Knives are a personal thing. So it's interesting hearing peoples preferences.

The reason behind a curved blade is the same as a circular saw. For any given amount of feed rate there is more of the cutting surface in the cut as opposed to a straight cutting edge. Something that people that use slashing actions like meatworkers in primary breakdown roles and samurai have known for centuries

Originally Posted by Pointer

The reason behind a curved blade is the same as a circular saw. For any given amount of feed rate there is more of the cutting surface in the cut as opposed to a straight cutting edge. Something that people that use slashing actions like meatworkers in primary breakdown roles and samurai have known for centuries

Anyone would think you know a bit about saws?

I dunno about that one, as I get on I can't help but believe the old saying "the more I learn, the less I know"

Originally Posted by Pointer

I dunno about that one, as I get on I can't help but believe the old saying "the more I learn, the less I know"

Just bend over more so you are applying more learning surface?

There is another thing about the skinning blade shape, and that is that the sweep of the blade follows the natural ark of the arm's movement, making their use more natural and effortless.

I'm a bit like R93 and mainly use straighter blades nowadays because I mainly bone meat and don't skin anything now apart from Tahr. So I still take a skinner shaped blade when I'm chasing Tahr, and it works pretty well on the boning too.

Here I have both bases covered (skinner at top).

Originally Posted by Tahr

There is another thing about the skinning blade shape, and that is that the sweep of the blade follows the natural ark of the arm's movement, making their use more natural and effortless.

I'm a bit like R93 and mainly use straighter blades nowadays because I mainly bone meat and don't skin anything now apart from Tahr. So I still take a skinner shaped blade when I'm chasing Tahr, and it works pretty well on the boning too.

Here I have both bases covered (skinner at top).

Be interesting to see how much (or little) those two blade curvatures differ. Even straight bladed drop point blades are curved. Not like anyone with sense would dress/skin with a true straight blade.

Originally Posted by Gibo

Be interesting to see how much (or little) those two blade curvatures differ. Even straight bladed drop point blades are curved. Not like anyone with sense would dress/skin with a true straight blade.

Attachment 50370

We both no a guy that used a staple once


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Originally Posted by BRADS

We both no a guy that used a staple once


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And a broad head

Gibo, this might give you an idea.

Yeah good comparison thanks.

@Tahr actually said what I was going to next...

Gibo you are spot on. If there was no curve we would use a sharpened steel ruler. If now you look at every knife you own as simply a sharp radius, you will see how their shape dicatates their use.

For more precise work, its obvious a smaller radius is required. The interesting bit is where the fulcrum is.

Take the Blahco on the previous page, compared to the second skinner @HILLBILLYHUNTERS made. The bahco has a smaller radius, much further away from the handle at the end of a straight blade. This shifts the fulcrum forward, generally to the wrist, which makes the knife used in a 'picking' motion, great for cutting out the ring gear and head skinning etc. Smaller picking strokes of the radius in the cut.
Hillybillyhunters skinner on the right has a much larger radius, much closer to the handle, shifting the fulcrum to the rear, generally the elbow. This makes the knife more productive to use in long sweeping cuts, and is why it is favoured by freezing workers in a primary breakdown role and for people doing a lot of skinning. Being a larger radius it is less useful for delicate work although a good knifeman will make it look easy, and the radius affords a motion that doesn't use the wrist and avoiding repetitive strain injuries which is important if you are unzipping 25,000 sheep a week. Watch a good butcher or slaughterman at the works, you will see very little wrist action at all.

Theres your useless bit of info for the week

This is some silly old senile bugger using a Bark River skinner.
Don't be too hard on him.

https://youtu.be/idZ3ALeWUC4

For a lot of us its what we have used for a long time and what we have got used to.
The skinners we were given to use by our fathers,uncles the joker next door we used most of the time to knife off what was a struggle to punch off.
Any good knife is a pleasure to use but what you are familiar with is more comfortable/natural.
Practise helps and we got plenty on dog tuckers etc.
The skinners are best for "skinning" especially doing cattlebeasts.

Originally Posted by Tahr

This is some silly old senile bugger using a Bark River skinner.
Don't be too hard on him.

https://youtu.be/idZ3ALeWUC4

@Tahr, have you tried one of these

Bark River Kalahari

One knife I like the "look" of but would probably lose just as fast as a 10 dollar bahco