Just interested?

[chasing crow]

You  all do such wonderful work. I was just wondering if most of these knives are kept for show or are you putting them to work?
Chasing Crow

[Hillbilly]

Some of both. I've skinned a couple deer with stone knives, and used them for a lot of other things. I usually don't make a user as pimped-up as I do a looker.

[Josh]

"pimped up"  LOL!   -josh

[sailordad]

wel i dont posta lot of what i make
but all the knives i make are for looks only,not use.mostly cause i have only been doing this 8 months
i can make em pretty sometimes,but havent gotten real good at real sharp yet on the knives.
my points that i make,are mostly for wall hangers,some end up on shootable arrows for shooting target with
some of these i get sharp enough that i would feel comfortabale to hunt with,damn state wont allow it though 

[Jaeger]

I would rather skin with a knapped knife it dont seem to destroy the hide as bad as steel ,but to start the hide around the legs you need a sharp flake or a steel knife ,you may get it with a knapped knife ,I find it easier to carry both .My dad liked the way the knapped knife I used last year worked so  ,I gave it to him and made me another. If you are going to use the hide and dont want to just fist it off a knapped knife works better than steel for this , in my opinion .

[FlintWalker]

I have a stone knife I've completely skinned 3 deer with. It works as good as steel.

[nugget]

I have not made one worthy of skinning yet. Mine have been mostly show. I am in the process of learning and getting better. I want to make a knife to skin my first primitive kill with.
TJ

[FlintWalker]

I believe you're just a little too hard on yerself Nugget. A knife blade don't have to be pretty to be sharp. If primitive man had waited till he got good at knapping to hunt or skin with his tools... we might not be here.

[nugget]

I see your point. I think most of the knappers today are way to hard on them selves. We strive for perfection, but the end result should be a usable tool.
Thanks for the reality check.
TJ

[Hillbilly]

Yeah, I skinned a deer last year with two random stone flakes. I picked up one with a little hook at the end, and it worked better than a steel knife.

[nugget]

Will have to try that.

[Outbackbob48]

I believe ancients just knocked off a nice sharp flake an used it for skinning an fleshing. I have picked a few flakes out of my debitage pile that fit my hand an skinned a beaver an a couple of muskrats an fleshed  them all with the same flake, worked just as good as steel maybe better than steel on beaver hide.  Later Bob

[Jaeger]

Flakes are dangerous ,Yesterday I dropped a dacite flake on my toe next to the little one and it gushed blood for a while, in my experience ,flakes are much sharper than blades ,I have yet to see  a blade as sharp as some flake are ,they are down right dangerous.  the knapped edge is more of a sawing action ,a flake is more of a slicing action.

[mullet]

 Brian Melton and I skinned a hog with just flakes last year. Worked just as good as a steel knife.

[stickbender]

     My cat killed a squirrel, and I was trying to knap, and I heard him at his food dish, and I thought he was eating some dry food, but when I went to look, he had just brought in his squirrel he killed and plopped it down in his food dish, and looked at me as if to say, " if you're not too busy, could you please skin this for me?"  So I picked out a discarded little thin flake, and proceeded to skin and gut the squirrel.  Worked like a charm, and I even used it to cut the squirrel into quarters, the cat was happy, and I was impressed.

                                                                             Wayne