The Bottom Line
Pros
- Blades are razor sharp, right out of the box.
- Allows folks who don't like to sharpen knives to just replace the blades.
- Replacement blades store in handle, and it's very easy to change blades.
- Very sturdy design, comfortable and easy to grip.
- Limited lifetime warranty
Cons
- Not as easy to clean as other knife designs.
- Plastic handle discolored when I stored it with some other knives (leather sheaths).
Description
- Folding lock blade hunting knife that features replaceable blades.
- Includes six curved skinning blades, but also accepts other utility blades.
- Replacement blades store in a nifty compartment in the handle.
- Includes a belt/pocket clip.
- Changing blades is fast and easy, yet they are very secure when locked in place.
- If you hate sharpening knives, this is the skinning knife for you.
- Opens easily, locks back securely. Lock spring is much heftier than most.
- Adjustable tension on the knife pivot (bolster).
- Mine has a two-tone green plastic handle that provides a good grip.
Guide Review - Sheffield Rhino Folding Lockback Utility Skinning Knife
This item first caught my eye at the SHOT Show. I'd seen folding utility knives before, but this one had such a funky-shaped blade that I had to stop and check it out.The Sheffield guy said the reason behind it was that folks had been using Sheffield folding utility knives to skin deer. Say what? With that ultra-pointed blade, a utility knife is about the worst skinner I can think of. But these fans said, "It's better than sharpening a knife."
Okay, so we live in a disposable world. Folks want a replaceable-blade skinning knife, they get one. Supply and demand, and all that.
The fact is, there are people in the world who hate to sharpen knives, or believe that they can't, and this is absolutely the best skinning knife I have seen for those folks. Blade gets dull or rusty? Carefully dispose of it in a trash can so nobody gets hurt, slap in a new blade, and get to skinning.
The curved "Rhino" blade is perfect for deer and hog skinning chores, and ought to work well on other critters too. A curved blade helps prevent a skinning knife from going places it shouldn't, like through the hide or into the meat. I tried this knife along with a couple of Leatherman knives when I had four hogs piled up needing to be skinned. It worked like a champ, just exactly as you'd expect a razor-sharp curved blade to perform.
Cleanup was not nearly as easy with this knife as with most... most knives I can just rinse and wipe and set aside to dry. The Rhino needs a bit more care. I removed the blade, cleaned it and the place it mounts in the knife, then opened up the blade storage compartment and removed the spare blades, which had gotten wet. These blades will rust, so I laid them out on paper towels to dry.
Once dry, I put everything back together and all was well again.
This knife also works well with standard utility blades.
- Russ Chastain
