A proper fixed-blade skinner in D2 at 59–60 HRC, with a polypropylene handle under an olive rubber overlay that keeps its grip when wet. The sheath is the part worth noting: glass-filled nylon with webbing slots, a drainage hole and a removable belt strap, so it mounts to a belt, a pack or a vehicle panel rather than only one of the three.

Specifications

• Blade steel D2
• Hardness 59–60 HRC
• Blade length 3.9 in (9.9 cm)
• Overall length 8.65 in (22 cm)
• Blade thickness 0.125 in (3.2 mm)
• Weight 3.3 oz (94 g); 4.9 oz (139 g) with the sheath
• Blade finish stonewashed
• Edge plain
• Lock fixed blade
• Handle polypropylene with an olive rubber overlay
• Glass-filled nylon sheath included
• Webbing slots, drainage hole, removable belt strap

⚠️ Kershaw also sells a Deschutes Skinner with a gut hook — a different model. This one is the plain skinner, no hook.

About the steel

D2 is a high-carbon, high-chromium tool steel. It holds an edge considerably longer than the stainless grades and is tougher, at the cost of being harder to sharpen and only semi-stainless — keep it dry and oiled.

Origin. Kershaw lists this one as designed and quality-controlled in the USA, manufactured in China. That is their own split and we pass it on as they state it.

Before you order — please read

Knife law in the United States is set at the state, county and city level, and the rules on blade length, on carry, and on assisted-opening mechanisms specifically are not the same in any two places. Kershaw does not publish a jurisdiction list and neither will we — we would get it wrong, and a wrong answer here is worse than none.

What we do instead is tell you exactly what this knife is: the mechanism and the blade length are stated plainly in the specifications above, which is what the law actually turns on. Checking that it is legal where you live, and legal to carry how you intend to carry it, is yours to do before you order. Your local district attorney’s office is who Cold Steel and Kershaw both point people to, and it is the right answer.