R. Murphy Skinner and Skinner T Knife Review

Sunday, yeah a day off, kind of. After spending time with the family and visiting some today, I decided it would be a good day, at only 90 degrees and about 70 percent humidity,

R. Murphy Skinner knife Chop Test

to hone some skills and test a knife. I have carried the R, Murphy Skinner the past couple of days, using it for household chores, breaking down boxes from shipments of supplies that came in etc.. I figured after a couple of days wonderful performance it was time to do some bushcraft testing.
First up the chop test. I personally like to carry a hatchet, so this usually wouldn't apply to me, but if I got caught in a situation with only the knife on me, it is nice to know how it would perform.
The knife performed well, although with its lighter weight I backed my hand up on the handle, and the knife butt hit about the center of my closed palm. I would want to round the corners of the handle around the butt if it were going to be used for very much chopping. About an inch longer handle and blade and it would've performed a little better.
NEXT; The Baton Test.

Canadian belt knife during the baton test.

Skinner from the handle side.

 Once again, a hatchet would come in handy, but the R, Murphy "Herters" style Canadian belt knife performed like it was made for splitting wood. The full tang blade held up well under the hammering of the baton against the top of the blade and it slid through the wood with minimal resistance.

Three Quarter inch plank for the fire board beside the  Skinner  knife.

3/4 plank and knife from the opposite side.

Hammering the knife down the other side to give me a fairly flat piece of wood for a fire board was as effortless as the first time the knife was beat down through the wood.
After the baton test was over, it was time to cut a spindle. After choosing, shaping and trying two pieces that just were too short or just not straight enough, I finally got a good spindle chopped. I whittled the end for the resistance against the fire board and for the carving and short strokes it took for that and the sharper end for the hand hold I was very pleased with how the knife handled. For the finer more precise work after the abuse I had already put it through, it was like using an old trusted tool. I could tell while doing the finer work that this knife would make an awesome skinning knife. The ridges on the top of the blade right against the handle for my thumb gave added stability and control when I needed it.
Once I got the spindle, I went and chopped off a piece of wood for the bow, then carve the notches around each end and strung it up. I used the knife to give me a decent start to the hollow in the fire board and the hand hold, then cut the notch in the fire board. After all of the cutting, chopping, whittling, and carving, I decided a good test to see how the blades sharpness really held up was to cut the ends off of the 550 para cord I used for the bow string. Without hesitation the blade sliced right through with a nice clean cut, as seen in the next picture.

Finished Bow Drill made with the R. Murphy Skinner.

It has been raining here everyday for about a week and I didn't expect much in the way of a coal, but after burning the spindle into the fire board and hand hold, of course lubricating the end of the spindle for the hand hold with good old sweat and oils from my skin, I decided to see if I could get an ember, and after about 45 seconds smoke was pouring, I withdrew the spindle and lightly blew on the smoking dust pile and saw a glowing little ember. I hadn't gathered up a tinder bundle or prepped for a fire since I was just testing the knife, but I was very please with the results of my first bow drill. I was overall very happy with the performance of the R, Murphy Skinner and in all of the tasks it felt very good in the hand.The ergonomic design of the knife only fell short when chopping with it, but even then no real inconvenience and no blisters. It is a very awesome American made knife that falls well below the fifty dollar mark. If you were to compare it to the higher priced Moras like the Bushcraft Series Force or Triflex, you would be very pleased with the purchase of this knife. The difference between the Skinner and the Skinner T is just the lanyard hole on the butt of the knife as seen in the following pictures.

I would carry this knife into the bush without hesitation. It may not be my first choice, but I wouldn't shy away from it either. If you are looking for an American made knife on a budget, the R. Murphy Skinner, and Skinner T is a winner. All in all not a bad way to spend an hour on a Sunday. I will be back soon with the next knife review.