Knives are a personal thing, there's just no doubt about that. Before half of us were given our first shotgun, we had a pocket knife given to us and carried it everywhere we went. As the years go by, half of them are given out as gifts and the other half are usually kept sharp to remind us of the old times. I for one, own too many knives(is there really such a thing?) and the majority of them are the same blade style. Great for generic cutting, but awful for skinning and technical work. If you're a big game hunter, there's honestly nothing worse than muscling your way through an animal with the wrong knife whether on a mountainside or back at camp. Fortunately, there are good people out there dedicating hours of research and development to overcome these hurdles. The team at Raptor Razor is doing exactly that and then some.
If you're a traditionalist, then the look of the Raptor Razor Big Game Skinner and MAKO might throw you off at first glance, but not to worry since every part of its design is for a purpose. Right off the bat, you'll notice that both pieces have round t-grip handle which is unbelievably comfortable in the hand. Before I continue, I must add that the hidden phillips head screwdriver inside of the t-grip is absolutely ingenious and a lifesaver should you ever find the need to change a blade in the field. If you're used to a standard knife, this will take a little getting used to, but you'll quickly notice that you have a ton of control over the blade and you won't find that your palm is fatigued or in pain. Pardon my language, but it really sucks to skin an animal with a cramp in your hand. Designed with mother nature in mind, the handles come standard with a non-slip texture which allows the user to keep a firm grip despite the worst weather. The curved shape of the Skinner seriously makes for caping an animal a breeze. A couple of quick slices around the leg joints will do the trick for taking the bottom part of the leg and hoof off, which leads to your next cut down the inside of the leg and underside. Because of the shape of aluminum anodized body, you won't need to waste time worrying about cutting too deep or punching a hole in the cape, this is one of the best reasons why I love this product. Once you have the animal opened up, simply flip the Skinner around and use the backside to separate the cape from the meat. Again, due to the shape of the Skinner, you won't run the risk of cutting any holes in the cape like you would with a traditional knife. After caping out a couple of animals, you'll feel totally content with how fast you can run the Skinner without puncturing the cape or the guts.
After your animal is caped out, it's time to put down the Skinner and pickup the MAKO for meat processing. Like the Skinner from Raptor Razor, the MAKO also comes with non-slip t-grip handle and replaceable blades, so a comfortable grip and a sharp blade are always at the ready. When it comes to meat processing, I used to have blades that were simply too large for the job and only end up getting in the way of tight cuts. In the end, that results in missing meat off of the bone because of of blade design and length. The MAKO is compact in size, making precision cuts around backstraps and quarters really easy. Because of the handle stlye, you have total control over maneuvering the blade, which will aid in getting every ounce of meat off of the bone. The photo below is a bone-out hind quarter of an Addax that I took in south Texas last month. Believe me when I say that this blade cruised through this hind in no time at all without wasting any meat.
The one-two punch of the lightweight anodized aluminum MAKO and Skinner are seriously some of the finest game processing tools that I've had the chance to use in the field. They're super comfortable, allow for total blade control and will never dull out on you due to replaceable blades. Combine this with the fact that both knives breakdown and fit easily into a tiny pouch and you've got yourself an always reliable set of blades for a lifetime of use within your hunting pack.
Job well done Raptor Razor, wish that I had found these years ago!
