You buy a Skinning Knife in World of Warcraft: Forever from a supplies merchant, the same vendor who sells mining picks. In Teldrassil that is Lyrai, the General Supplies vendor in Aldrassil, and the knife costs 10 copper. There is one in or near every starting area and in every capital, including Zephras Isle for the Skyborne, and the knife costs only a few coins.
You do not equip it: keep the knife anywhere in your bags, learn Skinning (from a trainer, or from a quest book if you start as a Night Elf), and you can skin any beast you have looted. Below is where to find the vendor in each starting zone, how to learn Skinning, which beasts you can skin, and the extras that raise your skill. Details reflect the game as it launched on November 4, checked November 6 against Blizzard’s development notes and hotfix list.
Where to Buy a Skinning Knife
Look for a supplies merchant in the zone’s main town; the title over the name varies by zone. In Teldrassil, Lyrai sells the knife inside Aldrassil, the great tree at the center of Shadowglen. She carries the General Supplies title, and the knife costs 10 copper, next to the Mining Pick (10 copper) and the Apprentice’s Skinning Satchel and Apprentice’s Mining Pack (25 copper each). That is where we found it on our Night Elf Hunter. In Elwynn Forest, Tharynn Bouden in Goldshire is the Trade Supplies vendor. The knife is sold in every starting zone: Elwynn Forest, Dun Morogh, Teldrassil, Durotar, Mulgore, Tirisfal Glades and Zephras Isle.
The capitals have supplies vendors as well, so a character who skipped the starting zone can buy one in Stormwind, Ironforge, Darnassus, Orgrimmar, Thunder Bluff or the Undercity. On Zephras Isle, Blizzard’s November 5 hotfixes mention the island’s trade supply vendors directly: one fix added the apprentice tradeskill bags they were meant to stock. If you cannot spot the vendor, ask a city guard; Blizzard’s new player’s starter guide gives the same advice for finding trainers.
The vendor who sells the knife also sells the basic Fishing Pole, so if you plan to fish too, our fishing pole guide covers that purchase and the upgrades.
Do You Need to Equip the Skinning Knife?
No. The Skinning Knife works from your bags, so it never takes a weapon slot. Keep it there for as long as you skin. If you sell or destroy it by accident, buy another from the vendor who sold it. An ordinary dagger will not do the job: you need the Skinning Knife itself, or a tool that says it counts as one.
How to Learn Skinning
- Find a Skinning trainer. Blizzard’s starter guide says profession trainers are in starting areas and major cities. In Elwynn Forest, for example, Helene Peltskinner teaches it; Blizzard’s notes even let you learn from her while you have one of her quests. In Teldrassil, Terunne Bearshaper, the Junior Skinning Trainer, stands inside Aldrassil, the tree at the center of Shadowglen.
- Learn Apprentice Skinning. It is a primary profession, so it takes one of your two primary profession slots.
- Buy the knife, then go hunting.
Night Elves can skip the trainer. In Shadowglen, Tarindrella’s quest The Woodland Protector lets you choose Pelt Collecting for Beginners as a reward (the other choice is Mining for Dummies). Using the book teaches Skinning, and adds 2 skill points, up to 15. Its tooltip says it only works if you have not trained Skinning yet and do not already know two other professions. We took the book on our Night Elf Hunter and learned Skinning on the spot, with no trainer visit.
Learning Skinning also teaches Tanning, which the Professions window describes as letting a skinner “add features to a wilderness camp.”
Skinning has four ranks, each with a higher skill cap: Apprentice (up to 75), Journeyman (up to 150, learned at 50 skill), Expert (up to 225, at 125 skill) and Artisan (up to 300, at 200 skill). Visit a trainer as you hit each threshold, or your skill stops at the cap. The higher ranks can mean a trip to a bigger town or a capital.
How Skinning Works
- Kill a beast and loot it. A corpse can only be skinned once it is empty.
- Interact with the corpse again to skin it. You get leather, hides or scales, and a chance at a skill point.
- Skin other players’ kills too. Once their owner has looted them, beasts other players killed are fair game.
Each corpse can be skinned once. Blizzard’s October 1 notes say “creatures can once again only be skinned a single time before disappearing,” which ended a beta period when you could skin the same beast more than once.
Higher-level beasts need more skill. Beasts up to level 10 need only 1 Skinning. From level 11 to 20, each level adds 10 to the requirement, and from level 20 on the requirement is five times the beast’s level, so a level 40 beast needs 200 Skinning. Skin everything you kill while you quest and your skill keeps pace with the zones.
Ways to Raise Your Skinning Skill
- Keen Skinning Knife. Forever has a quest reward by this name that counts as a Skinning Knife and adds a few points of Skinning.
- Glove enchants. Enchanters can add Skinning skill to gloves, which helps you reach tougher beasts a little early.
- Camp objects. Blizzard’s Deep Dive recap says every profession has three campsite objects, the first learned at skill 20, and that each profession’s objects give their own buff or utility. Our camping guide explains how campsites work.
Should You Pick Skinning?
Skinning is the classic gathering profession for leveling: it costs nothing but the knife, you skin the beasts you kill anyway, and Leatherworkers always need leather. It pairs naturally with Leatherworking, or with a second gathering profession for gold. Our best professions for each class guide covers the pairings, our professions guide explains how to drop one if you change your mind, and our Merchant’s Favor guide shows how profession materials earn new recipes from your faction’s trade group. Every Forever guide we have is on our World of Warcraft hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do you buy a Skinning Knife in WoW Forever? From a supplies vendor. Every starting zone and capital has one: Lyrai, the General Supplies vendor in Aldrassil, sells it in Teldrassil for 10 copper, and Tharynn Bouden sells it in Goldshire.
Do you have to equip the Skinning Knife? No. It works from your bags.
Can you skin without a Skinning Knife? No. You need the knife, or an item that counts as one, such as the Keen Skinning Knife.
Can you skin the same beast twice? No. Blizzard’s notes say creatures can only be skinned a single time before disappearing.
Can you skin beasts other players killed? Yes, once the player who killed it has taken all the loot.
What level of beast can I skin? Up to level 10, any beast. After that the requirement climbs, reaching five times the beast’s level from level 20, so a level 40 beast needs 200 Skinning.