As a teenager, a friend showed me an authentic Alaskan Ulu he received from a friend. It was the first time I had seen one in person, and I immediately saw the benefits for skinning, food prep, and light bushcrafting. Since then, I have been intrigued by the Ulu pattern.
As a hunting enthusiast, when I was first speaking with TOPS Knives about designing a knife, the first thing that came to mind was a hunting knife. With the number of hunting knives available, I wanted something different, yet perfect for skinning. I couldn’t think of a blade profile that would better suit my purposes than the Ulu.
So, I designed the Backwoods Skinner with the deep belly of the Ulu but made it a little smaller to fit within tighter spaces in the body cavity when gutting game. I also wanted a more standard handle design and opted for a rear-oriented grip. The grip is angled away from the blade to provide a natural break at the wrist for better ergonomics. This allows for extended skinning sessions with minimal fatigue.
As a result, the Backwoods Skinner provides the power of the Ulu with the control of a traditional handle design. Likewise, the straight clip point provides a natural ramp for the index finger to more accurately guide the blade into tight spots.
The final hurdle was the gut hook. Most hunting knives put the gut hook on the spine, which can catch and destroy shirts and coats. I wanted something functional but less detrimental to expensive hunting clothes. So, I opted for a parasite gut hook that stows away in the handle. Retaining the gut hook with the grenade pin, when stowed or in use, was a stroke of genius added by TOPS Knives President Leo Espinoza.
TOPS Knives Backwoods Skinner Specs
Knife Type: Fixed Blade
Overall Length: 6.75″
Blade Length: 3.00″
Blade Thickness: 0.190″
Blade Steel: 1095 RC 56-58
Blade Finish: Coyote Tan Coating
Handle Material: Green Canvas Micarta
Knife Weight: 5.4 oz
Sheath Included: Yes
Sheath Material: Black Leather
Sheath Clip: Belt Loop
Purchase: https://www.topsknives.com/backwoods-skinner
Media
The Backwoods Skinner, featured in the April 2016 issue of Blade Magazine.
Design
You can see from the original drawing that the final product was very close to my original design.
Once I completed the sketch on graph paper, I imported it into Adobe Illustrator and created the digital drawing with measurements. This allowed me to make any necessary tweaks and export it as a CAD file.
Because of the gut hook’s design and operation, TOPS Knives asked that I design directions for its use to accompany each knife. This is the final result.
