Several months ago, Neil Thompson (our Afrikaner taxidermist) acquired the SRG paring knife for use in his shop. Although made for kitchen use, he believed that this handy little knife would be ideal for de-fleshing hides prior to sending them to the tannery.

The SRG Parer is made of the same ceramic material as the SRG hunting knives and comes with a soft ergonomic handle, ideal for the tedious task of de-fleshing animal hides.

Prior to using this blade, Neil used single-edged razor blades for de-fleshing. Although the razor blades did an excellent job, they were hard to hold and frequently caused his hands to cramp. Not to mention the slices they occasionally took from his finger tips.

Long story short, he was able to de-flesh three deer hides, two elk hides, three Oryx hides and a bighorn sheep hide before the blade went “dull”. It wasn’t dull in the usual sense, as it still cut well. It just wasn’t razor sharp. Neil believed that he could have done more, except the thick grease on the sheep hide really “dulled” the blade. Nine hides with a single blade that was more comfortable and faster than razor blades made a believer out of him. He also remarked that de-fleshing nine hides was equivalent to skinning out at least twenty animals in the field and maybe more. This “little gem” should not be considered a replacement for the regular SRG sheathed hunting knives, but rather as a backup and general purpose camp knife.

The only thing that would be nice is some sort of inexpensive sheath to protect the blade when it is stored. That said, every outdoorsman would do well to pick up a couple for the tackle box, field pack or glove box in the truck. In addition, SRG offers a free re-sharpening service for the cost of shipping only.