The improvements just keep on coming. Bark River has upgraded, refined and improved an already incredible hunting knife.
by Leon Pantenburg
The Bark River Semi-Skinner is really an updated and improved Kalahari. I got a Kalahari when they first came out, about 10 years ago.
Also, I’m always looking for the survival knife potential of any hunting knife. The best chance most of us have to end up in a survival situation would probably be on a hunting trip. My hunting knife must be able to handle the rigors of wilderness survival. Here is how the Semi-Skinner handles.
Flashback 2014:
The deer had been harvested at dusk in a Mississippi swamp. By the time I got to field dressing the buck, it was pitch dark, meaning all the work was done by the light of my headlamp. Then there was a half mile drag to the nearest road. There was no place in my equipment for gear that couldn’t perform – the Kalahari worked magnificently. You can’t beat actual field experience when it comes to evaluating equipment.
As I thought about it later, there was not much I could suggest to improve the knife. I used the Kalahari extensively, and later gave it to Alan Bighaus, one of my elk hunting buddies. Good friends should have good knives! (In case I ever have to borrow one!)
The Semi-Skinner owes a lot to its ancestor, the Bark River Kalahari. In fact, the Semi-Skinner is really an updated and improved Kalahari
Here are some comparisons between the two.
Semi-Skinner specs and weights are based on a standard black canvas micarta variant.
- Overall Length: 9.00″
- Blade Length: 4.375″
- Blade Thickness: .125″
- Handle Thickness: .777″
- Tang: Full
- Blade Style: Skinner
- Blade Steel: Magna-Cut
- Weight: 5.64oz
- Sheath: Mini Fox River
- Country of Origin: USA
Here are the Kalahari’s specifications:
Overall Length: 9.250 Inches
Blade Length: 4.5 Inches
Blade Steel: A-2 @ 58-60
Blade Thickness: .170 Inch
Weight: 7.5 Ounces
There are some obvious differences between the two models: the Kalahari is 1/4-inch longer, and weighs about 2.4 ounces more. The Kalahari has an A2 steel blade and is .045 inches thicker than the Semi-Skinner blade. The Kalahari doesn’t have a hand guard.
I didn’t get to deer or elk hunt this year,
thanks to a cross-country move back to Oregon from Mississippi and some medical issues that cropped up. (Cancer sucks!) I have whittled some sticks and used the Semi-Skinner in the kitchen. It worked fine on a mushroom hunt and foraging trip.
Here is how the Semi-Skinner is working out so far:
Steel:
The Semi-Skinner blade is Magna-Cut Steel, a powder metallurgy stainless steel specifically created for knife making. I have several knives in Magna-Cut steel and I like the steel very much. Magna-Cut holds an edge well, is not difficult to sharpen and is relatively stainless.
Magna-Cut has the toughness of CPM-4V (a hard-use steel found on high-end fixed blades) with the stainlessness of CPM-20CV (a knife steel used primarily in folders), according to Dr. Larrin Thomas, professional metallurgist and writer of knifesteelnerds.com.
I am generally lukewarm about super steels. I love A2 tool steel, and have extensively used several hardcore A2 working knives. My pet UP Gunny has a custom handle and A2 blade, and (so far), that is my Grail hunting knife.
Blade thickness:
The Semi-skinner has a relatively thin blade. I like thin blades – they just work better. For slicing or skinning, a thin blade has it all over a thicker blade. With today’s incredible steels, it is virtually impossible to break a blade without deliberate abuse. Thick blades are a relatively new concept – the early settlers and 1830s mountain men and settlers all used thin blades.
The Semi-Skinner is a working knife, but you can still get a pretty handle!
Handle:
The handle fits my (glove-size) large hands well and the nicarta just gets grippier and tacky when wet. There are many different handle material options, and nothing says your hunting/survival knife has to look tactical or utilitarian.
Tip or point:
The Semi-Skinner has a Nessmuck point, which makes it a bull-nosed skinner. The point was designed by George W. ” Nessmuck” Sears, one of the first outdoors writers back in the 1880s. Nessmuk designed his cutlery, and his knife had a hump on the spine close to the point. The distinct blade shape is the defining feature of a Nessmuk-style knife.
Blade belly:
The blade also has a deep belly and an upswept point, which makes it ideal for slicing, skinning and similar tasks. I used my Kalahari on several deer and elk, and it proved to be a very efficient skinner. I expect similar excellence from the Semi-Skinner.
Quillion:
I like the hand guard. The idea is that the guard, or quillion, prevents your hand from sliding up on the blade. I can see the necessity if you’re stabbing wild pigs or bears, but I have never had my hand slide off a properly-designed handle.
That said, I like the guard when working inside the chest cavity of a big game animal during field dressing. A properly-paced heart/lung shot may leave a bloody slurry in the chest cavity, and the hunter may have to dip his/her hand into the mess to detach the esophagus or other connective parts. You may have to operate by feel, while up to your elbows in bloody goo. The quillion helps keep your fingers oriented and safely placed.
Full tang blade
I prefer a blade that runs all the way through the handle. It is the strongest blade/handle combination, and the most resistant to abuse.
Final Thoughts
The Semi-Skinner has all the updates I could have suggested to improve the already incredible Kalahari: thinner blade, improved steel in the blade and a hand guard.
So do you need a Semi-Skinner?
If you’re a big game hunter who frequently ventures off the pavement, you need an efficient knife that can gut, skin and quarter an animal. It should hold and edge, and not require frequent sharpening. The handle should fit your hand well, and be safe to use under extreme conditions. In a pinch, the knife may need to be a survival tool. It has to be lightweight and compact, or it may get left at the trailhead.
The Semi-Skinner meets all these requirements for me, and it just might be the knife you’ve been searching for.
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