That is when you remember you where going to spend some time and sharpen some skinning knives. Sure slows things down when you have to stop and sharpen one.

Accu-Sharp Knife Sharpener. click here.

Get yourself one of these, not a similar style but this exact name brand and model. 5 or 6 passes and you can shave with them skinning knives. I sharpen 6-8 knives and skin a lot of critters. When one gets dull toss it to the side and grab a sharp one. I have several of these sharpeners, kitchen, fur shed, truck, tackle box, etc... they really work great.

Here is how to use it (she says light pressure but I push down pretty hard with it)...

Yep have a similar one of these hanging on my knife block.

Learn to use a sharpening steel and save your knife blade some undue wear and tear .
Quality counts a F. Dick smooth steel is a great investment .

I have at least 5 knives sharpened and ready to go before I start skinning. At least 2 knives are dedicated for skinning around bone. Nothing harder on a knife then hitting bone.
If you don't have a box cutter with a hooked blade for making opening cuts get one.

Learn to use a Havalon type of knife a sharp blade changed in seconds and your back to work they take a bit getting accustomed to.

Same here $35.00 per hundred blades is hard to beat.

I don't know if there Is a knife that's too sharp. But those Havalon knives fit the description. I like a bigger blade when I'm skinning.

You go ahead be dainty around the head so it doesn't touch the skull or teeth, because if it does it's junk. I'll skin 3 coons while you do one and resharpen my knife. lol

I'm In that same camp ADC. I got one of those Havolon knifes for Xmas and I don't think I have used It more then a couple of times.

When clean skinning i never cut deep enough to hit bone even around the head.
Cutting hair will dull a sharp polished knife edge quick.
When skinning other animals like otter canines etc,I use a separate rough service knife for skinning out the head as I will hit bone.Knife work is minimal however on those besides the opening cuts and around the head.

I got one, ruined the blade on every single coon I skinned. Sold it off. It's not for me. I have a bucketful of resharpened butcher shop knives that I do all me skinning with and with that accusharp sharpener they sharpen in seconds to a razors edge.

I suppose if you were taxidermy skinning stuff and taking lots of time to get it perfect, they may be ok.

I like the victoronix serrated knives for skinning. They seem to keep an edge for a long time.

I know a lot of people who use the havalons and like them. Me, I don't like them, the shape of the blade isn't what I prefer for skinning, and they are sharp but rough, if you are going to use one get yourself a steel and smooth that rough edge up before you start using them and you will like them a lot better. Also, if you use them on animals like deer and elk where you are wacking the legs off at the joint, I will bust a blade about every time. Personally I use an old buck pocketknife that I have had since a teenager, the tip has been busted off (knives are not screwdrivers!) and ground to a rounded tip, and it has been sharpened so much that the blade is a half inch shorter than it used to be and you can see daylight between the blade and handle when closed. I have a second one I found in a logging road that is shaped just about like it after some time on a bench grinder and a lot of use, and a new one with the original blade shape that rides around in my pocket a lot but is seldom used for skinning. Maybe not the best for others, but what I'm used to. I have three fixed blade knives of different shapes I use on different parts of a beaver when skinning, but for everything else from marten to elk I use my pocket knife. And I use a Lansky knife sharpener to sharpen them.

For weasels I have a small, thin bladed pocketknife I had as a kid (Old Timer?) that works better on their tiny little legs.

Naw, not if you are prepared.
In off season, I check edge and redo if needed and sharpen. During the season, a touch up is needed on steel. That's not time consuming.
I have plenty of knives so not to stop if one gets dull.
I like a point on skun'n knives (except Beaver knife)
Pelting knives and 4" fillet knife my fav-

I bet that bottom knife has seen its share of critters.

Those little triangle knives Hern; I got say I hate them too. lol Guess I'm the odd man on these knives but I never found a good use for them.

ADC, Knives are like boots, guns & vehicles. Most folks have their favorite and that's ok.

We can agree on a knife sharpener...lol.
Accu-Knife Sharpener, I've used mine for years in fur shed. Good product.

Everyone sure has method and type of blade that works for them. I still pay attention to knife discussions. I have tried many methods and styles too. I use reground assortment of Old Hickory knives I try new ways and always seem to go back. I like a handle that fills the hand. Years ago I hung around a meat processor helping out to simply gain knowledge to process my own deer quickly. The skinner peeled deer including caping for mounts, only used 3 blades, the caping blade was Old Hickory paring knife. Skinned for hours on end. He had a steel hooked on his side, he slicked that blade on the steel every 3 to 4 minutes. It was an automatic motion triggered by the performance of the knife. Break time or end of day his blades were cleaned then swiped on a bench mounted stone. I do pretty much the same, I do use a utility knife with a hooked shingle blade also. My Dexter Russel beaver knife see's a lot of fish cleaning duty also.

i like a handle that fills my hand feel i have better control that way. i have used those replacement blade knives and well i just didn't like it much at all i could see a use for it in certain situation. there isnt one dull knife in our place at all and all my friends bring their knives to me to sharpen. its like I'm the knife wizard or something. lol i take the knife go drag the accu-sharp across it 3 to 5 good pulls then hit it in a steel a couple times and show them it'll shave hair. they all think its magical how fast and sharp i can get their knives so fast. i took adc recommendation a long time ago and went and bought the accusharp. ill never go back to anything else this is just too easy.