Dozier K-2 General Purpose Hunter

R

Rainmaker870

Joined
Feb 1, 2002
Messages
661
After action report:

Prior to this year's deer season my Dozier K-2 had been through one elk and two antelope. After the second antelope I gave it a few swipes on a loaded strop, then put it up.

This year's deer season found me in SE Kansas hunting with my wife's uncle and his regular party. Five of us took 10 deer and, since the uncle was busy with the kitchen chores and no one else had ever seen that many deer in camp, I took over as the gutting and skinning coach (that means I did a lot of the work on several of them, plus all the work on my two.) Through it all, my K-2 kept the brutally sharp edge it came with - deer after deer after deer after deer after deer. That includes splitting rib cages, working joints, multiple bone impacts and scrapes. NEVER have I owned a knife that chewed up that much hair, hide, flesh and bone that kept a sharp (not just serviceable) edge.

Blade shape is ideal for a GP hunter: plenty of belly for skinning, enough straight edge for opening and gutting an animal, enough drop to the point to prevent accidental punctures of stomach and intestines. The 3.5" length is just right for working inside an animal, whether laying down in the field or hanging from a hook.

Handle ergonomics have little if any room for improvement. Smooth corners, smooth lines, just enough angle for a comfortable and flexible grip; long enough for a firm grip at any angle. The smooth micarta gave a secure purchase when wet with water or blood.

I finally broke down and sharpened it when I got home - not because it needed it, really, but because I wanted to see how difficult it would be. Piece of cake to put a screaming edge back on it; getting rid of the final burr took a little more stropping than I'm used to.


Subjectively, that's a lot of animals between sharpenings. In my experience there is little that compares to hide and hair when it comes to UN-sharpening a fine edge. One of my acid tests for a hunting/skinning knife, and the test that so many blades fail, is simple edge retention over the course of a hunting season. The Dozier K-2 came through three (3) seasons before I felt the urge to sharpen it and, as previously stated, would have continued to do fine without overhauling the edge.

I'm a happy guy, and the K-2 is an outstanding blade for its intended purpose.
 
Cliff Stamp said:
What other knives have you used, and how did they compare?

-Cliff
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Don't ask me to quantify any of this in terms of number of slices, thickness of cartilidge or number of hides - I'm too old to remember most of that stuff. Over the years, and to my best recollection in chronological order:

Full Size Ka-Bar - way too big to be practical, but it's what I had to gut and skin my very first deer ever. Used it for one season.

Several Bucks, fixed and folding - poor edge retention, poor to fair ergos. 3 - 4 seasons between different models.

Old-Timer Sharpfinger - good ergos, good blade shape, decent edge retention and really easy to field-sharpen. Used this one for a long time before I lost it, maybe as long as 9 or 10 years.

Cold Steel San Mai III Master Tanto ('cause it was what I could find that day): lousy blade shape (as to be expected); edge chipped out in several places. It stayed friggin' sharp, though. Used on one hunt, two animals.

A folding Gerber of some kind. That particular model was a joke and would have needed a warm day to get through a pound of butter. (The guthooks on the new models work well, though, if you like guthooks; we had one of these in camp this year.) Used for 5 minutes before borrowing the Browning below.

Borrowed Browning folder - fair edge retention.

Benchmade - Mini-AFCK. Handled well, pretty good overall ergos for the job, lost its edge at 1.5 elk; biggest complaint was its point was a little too sharp for speedy gutting. 2 seasons.

Emerson Commander - nice blade shape for skinning, lost its edge during its first elk, I could never get it sharp after that. One hunt.

Cold Steel Master Hunter - decent edge retention, I hate Kraton handles. 2 - 3 seasons.

Busse Groove Master - brute strong, good ergos, factory edge dulled during skinning/processing its first elk. One hunt.

Busse Active Duty - see above. I also find the choils problematic during skinning... but if I was going to skin a tank, that's the brand I'd reach for. One hunt.

Dozier K-2 - 3 seasons to date.

Near as I can remember, that's about 26 years of hunting, gutting and skinning. That leaves five to six years when I could have hunted and didn't - gotta figure out why that was. ;)
 
Sounds pretty good, man. Thanks for sharing.

One thing I was not clear on, though. Of all those knives you mentioned, were you using the factory/maker supplied edge? Or did you reprofile them and give them an edge suited to the task before ever using them on game?

Any chance you'd be willing to share some of the stories of the chase? I always love huntin' stories.

Does anyone remember that article Ed Fowler wrote several years ago, where he loaned one of his knives to a local game butcher/processor? As I recall, they'd use a smooth steel now and then to keep the edge in line, but it went through well over 100 animals (I don't remember the exact number. 120? 130?) without needing an actual sharpening job.
 
the possum said:
One thing I was not clear on, though. Of all those knives you mentioned, were you using the factory/maker supplied edge? Or did you reprofile them and give them an edge suited to the task before ever using them on game?

Any chance you'd be willing to share some of the stories of the chase? I always love huntin' stories.
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All of the knives listed in that post started with the factory edges, and the initial results - good or bad - reflect the factory edge. Anything used for more than one season was sharpened by me at one time or another. Post-sharpening edge holding, if significantly better after I sharpened it, is reflected by my earlier comments.

My original feelings about factory edges have remained basically unchanged over the years: If you sell me a hunting knife, it should be sharpened like a hunting knife when I receive it; ditto a camp blade, etc. I think crappy edges are indicative of crappy quality control, and I have little tolerance for anyone who sells me something that isn't done right when I open the box.

Hunting stories? I've got a ton of 'em. Maybe in another thread? :cool:
 
Is it dozer K-2 or D-2? I did a search and couldnt find it, if it is a D-2 which one, it sounds like a pretty solid knife (like most kabars), after your review i intend to get one!:D

Thanks,

Cutlass
 
If you don't mind all the typing, I'd sure read any of the more interesting hunting stories you care to share. If they contain any knife content at all, I suppose the general forum would be best. ?? If you don't mention the knives, then maybe in community. ?

As far as factory edges go, I don't think I've ever been happy with the out-of-the-box edge except for 1 or 2 companies. I just don't expect knives to come with a good edge anymore. A proper sharpening job is usually the first thing I do.
 
Cutlass,
The model is the K-2 General Purpose Hunter. It's made of D2 steel in the Dozier shop, www.dozierknives.com.

It's a great hunting knife, and there are several other good hunters listed on Bob's site. I really like the combination of blade and handle on this one.

I also have a custom I asked them to make for a utility/woods knife. It's an amalgamation of several things listed at the Dozier site: Companion (K-6)style blade in 3.5" length w/ full convex grind, Professional Guide (KS-3) handle. The KS-3 handle is almost the same as the K-2, but is a little straighter - better for utility work that way, at least for me. Kind of homely, when you look at it, but it's an absolute cutting machine. ;)
 
I have always been on the borderline when it came to buyin one of his knives, not because I dont think their good but because I have so many hunting knives, I mean I own probably 30-40 diff kinds of hunting knives. BUT this review has made me want one, and I rather like the belly of the blade on that K-2 and the upswept tip with the rise on the back as you mentioned great qualities in a knife for field dressing. I thank you for your review as now I will need to own a K-2.
 
the possum said:
As I recall, they'd use a smooth steel now and then to keep the edge in line, but it went through well over 100 animals (I don't remember the exact number. 120? 130?) without needing an actual sharpening job.
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Mayo used to make a lot of hunters and the numbers reported back to him were extreme, 50+, skill makes a lot of difference as with anything. A lot of how long you cut simply depends on how blunt you are willing to let your knives get, I sharpen knives for fisherman and people who hunt mainly moose, caribou and black bear and the knives are so dull when they finally ask to have them sharpened you might as well use the spine.

Rainmaker870 said:
Benchmade - Mini-AFCK
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ATS-34 or M2?

Cold Steel Master Hunter - decent edge retention, I hate Kraton handles.
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First negative report on that knife I have read in a long time, possibly ever, the handle is usually a strong point, show how much variability there are in user preferences.

Initial edge retention is problematic though, I have had a Dozier which wasn't very sharp initially and part of the edge was even flattened. Many productions are burred, and I have seen customs that way as well.

Generally people who actually use the knives they make do a better job on the edge profile, some like Martin are known for it.

Informative post.

-Cliff
 
Cliff,
The Benchmade Mini-AFCK was ATS-34. Wicked, WICKED sharp when I got it, and took a great edge whenever I resharpened it.

The CS Master Hunter did well for me almost all the way around. I have owned several Cold Steel Carbon V or San Mai knives, without exception I've decided that I don't like Kraton. One of my buddies, on the other hand, loves it so much he bought all my Kraton-handled Cold Steel users from me. My issues with it are three fold: I don't like the way it "squishes," for lack of a better word, when firmly gripped; I don't like the way the "checkering" fills up with blood, guts and other gook, as its too hard to clean up on a cold day; I don't like the way it dissolves unexpectedly when exposed to the wrong type of solvent.

I've picked up 7 or 8 Doziers to date. Some I kept to use, some I sold as redundant or "not for me." With the exception of one knife that I bought as used, none of them have been less than real sharp and ready to go on arrival. Based on my experience I'd have to categorize your experience as an unfortunate exception - but that's the kind of thing I find really irritating when it's my knife.
 
Rainmaker870 said:
My issues with it are three fold: I don't like the way it "squishes," for lack of a better word, when firmly gripped; I don't like the way the "checkering" fills up with blood, guts and other gook, as its too hard to clean up on a cold day; I don't like the way it dissolves unexpectedly when exposed to the wrong type of solvent.
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I never found them difficult to clean, just rinsing worked for me, once it is warmed up, mainly with ice fishing. I like the security of the grip, they run the same thing on large choppers though which I have all kinds of problems with, and yeah it can be a problem with solvents. Interesting comments on the grip, I have a K2 and don't like the grip at all when it is slick with fat/blood, the micarta is too smooth.

Based on my experience I'd have to categorize your experience as an unfortunate exception ...
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Yeah it happens, buy enough of any knife and it will happen eventually. When you have border issues more so because now you have to factor in customs agents playing with them as well. The K2 I have was one of the sharpest knives I have seen to date and resharpens nicely on a set of diamond pads.

-Cliff
 
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