Take your pick...chopping or stabbing, we skin them all...

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

Just a question which sort of interests me...how in the fucking hell is an axe good for skinning? Does that strike anyone else as odd? In reality, a sword would be of more use than an axe for actually skinning something.

[gfair]

You're probably assuming skin-related skinning tasks, like removing hides, opening up the animal for hides, etc.

But what about removing horns?  In real life, hunting game animals with horns, like Elk, Moose, Deer, etc quite often involves an axe, or a saw.  Firstly, if you want the horns, but not everything from the neck up, you need an axe to split the skull around the base of the horns without damaging them.  Second, if you are opening up the animal for innards, you need something to break the breastplate/sternum, and that is often done with a bone saw (real life reference, not saw made of bone from game) or an axe again.  There is no way a sword is useful, or capable of performing those tasks, but an axe, with tremendous leverage and kinetic energy over a short, sharp wedge blade, is superb for the task.  Or how about exoskeletal creatures, like Scrab, Mantis, Fire Ants, Bahamets?  Going to use a sword to remove the tough outer shell?  I doubt it. You'd have a useless sword, notched or broken.

I definitely agree that an axe is useless for removing hides, and that the code lumps all skinning tasks together, so one skinning weapon fits all.  Is it worth splitting up the skinning code so everyone has to carry round a knife, axe, saw, upright rack for hanging the animal carcass to work on, barrel and salt to preserve the components, etc?  That's what's required in real life, not very realistic in Arm for every hunter to have that.

[Fedaykin]

Recently I was watching a show called 'Conquest' on the History channel.  Wonderful show, and the time I was watching they were talking about early man making weapons and tools out of wood, stone, bone and even obsidian, as well as how they used them.  A good episode for any Arm player to try and see.

Getting to the point, in this episode they had stone hand axes which were said to be excelent for removing and cleaning animal hides.

I think if an axe has a smooth edge, if it isn't super heavy and you gripped it at the top of its handle, using it for skinning would not be dificult, and perhaps even advantageous considering the wide yet still controlable flat blade.

Of course, if you're using a multi-bladed, jagged-edged greataxe, its skinning use is certainly questionable.

[X-D]

Sword would be horrible for skinning actually, look at any skinning knife IRL, short stout blade, normaly with a reasonable amount of curve to the sharp edge. stout enough to pry joints apart.

Look at an axe blade, short stout rounded blade.

I admit I would not want to skin a rabbit with one, but for larger animals I'd use it before a knife.

Then look at the animals on Zalanthas...If you going to complain about being able to skin with something, complain about being able to skin with a knife. Considering the Large number of large heavily armored critters.

Hell, the chitin of a kank would need to be a couple inches thick yet you can cut through and remove it witha brittle flint knife a couple inches long.

I've seen a bahamet successfuly skinned with a bone skinning knife.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

Hmmmm....much of what is posted above is enlightening...thank you.

[Cuusardo]

Hmmmm....much of what is posted above is enlightening...thank you.

I agree.  I really wish I could have seen that Conquest show myself!

[Cyrin]

Conquest is a great show.  Peter Woodward can be a bit silly at times, but it's still -very- edifying.

Another somewhat similar show is on PBS called "Warriors' Challenge".  It's basically where they take SAS and Navy SEALS and such and train them to fight like Roman soldiers or medieval knights.  The toll it takes on these folks is pretty interesting to see, along with the kind of living conditions that have to put up with.

[Cuusardo]

Almost makes me wish I had cable television.  :?