Need a New Hunting Knife
- Thread starter TheWolf57
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At the prices of some of the knives being bandied about in this thread, find a handmade one. 4" or smaller drop point.
I bought this one for $80. Believe he sells them for about $115 now. ATS34 hollow grind with Peters heat treat. 60-61Rc.
Note the edge is all belly. Plus it is very handy and comfortable in the hand. Just a great design for a hunting knife. Both great knives and an incredible value. The man knows what he's doing in making excellent tools meant to be used.
Herb Martin is a "KnifeMaker / Craftsman / Service Provider" here on BF. From the Richmond, VA area. You ought to contact him.
I bought this one for $80. Believe he sells them for about $115 now. ATS34 hollow grind with Peters heat treat. 60-61Rc.
Note the edge is all belly. Plus it is very handy and comfortable in the hand. Just a great design for a hunting knife. Both great knives and an incredible value. The man knows what he's doing in making excellent tools meant to be used.
Herb Martin is a "KnifeMaker / Craftsman / Service Provider" here on BF. From the Richmond, VA area. You ought to contact him.
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While Cold Steel are decent knives(I have owned several), let's not overinflate what they are here; cheap, mainstream, mass produced Asian knives(hence the Walmart reference). Kind of in the same class as SOG and Gerber imo. While I like some of the CS models I have owned, I think for just a little more money you get a much nicer, better performing, and more unique knife. And, from a company that doesn't think there market is ninjas and assassin's to boot lol.
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I have carried a Cold Steel Master Hunter with carbon-V blade for many years and never been disappointed with it. My other favorites for your intended use are the Buck 110 and a made in the USA Schrade Sharp Finger. If you are lucky and vigilant you can pick up the old Sharp Fingers for reasonable prices although they are steadily getting more difficult to find.
Why not look at the Buck 113 from the Custom Shop. With S30V steel it is $106. http://www.buckknives.com/custom-knife-shop/
You can get the same knife, but with a black blade in the Alaskan Guide series, if you know what store carries them.
You can get the same knife, but with a black blade in the Alaskan Guide series, if you know what store carries them.
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I'd save up a little more, and get a knife from one of the vendors here. You won't regret it.
Seems that unlike me, you are addressing all of Cold Steel's products, not just this particular model. With which I am certain you have no experience, otherwise you'd never be able to dismiss the
MH as you do. "Asian Knives= Walmart" doesn't make much sense because Walmart is famous for "Made in China" and Cold Steel's MIC knife products are minimal. Actually so are SOGs.
CRKT on the other hand I believe are all MIC. If you are using "cheap" to mean relatively inexpensive, then yes you are right. But if you mean "cheap" as in poor quality, I suggest you look
at all the reviews of CS fixed blades done by many people over the decades.
The CS MH provides a high degree of functionality and performance for the dollar. It continue to be made today because it has actually done so since the 1990s.
This model needs no "inflating". Sure there are better knives out there but the OP stipulated about $100. I don't think there are many non-mass produced knives
of this category in that price range regardless of where they are made.
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Go over to the KnifeMakers Market right now.
Keith Willis has a custom version of the old Schrade Sharpfinger for an unbeatable price.
Here is the link for you: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...quot-Sharpfinger-quot-with-Mesquite-(reduced)
Keith Willis has a custom version of the old Schrade Sharpfinger for an unbeatable price.
Here is the link for you: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...quot-Sharpfinger-quot-with-Mesquite-(reduced)
No, I have not owned the MH(although a few other CS models) . I stopped buying CS products a few years back for a number of reasons. I like that the MH is available in 3V as long as they get the heat treat right but, it is still a CS. They are still mass produced, mainstream, mid quality knives with crappy polymer handles that wear quite fast. I just think that for a bit more cash you get a much nicer knife with much better performance that not every Joe blow has or can easily get at a department store. And, your not supporting an offshore company that's marketing is rediculous and just generally bad for the knife industry in general.
Svord Curved Skinner. 5 3/4" blade, L6 steel, differentially heat treated. Economy, Deluxe or Master Cutler.
http://www.svord.com/index.php
This is the definition of a "hunting-skinning" knife. If I were buing a knife expressly for hunting purposes, it would be an excellent selection.
So you're telling the OP that the CS MH is crap even though you've never owned one.
So please tell us what knife for hunting you'd recommend to the OP that's not made offshore, not mass produced, not mainstream,
and not mid quality for under $100. BTW my Kraton handle on my SRK I've had since 1990 is perfectly fine.
Clearly you dislike Cold Steel as a company and as a whole. Fine, so what's your alternative?
I stopped buying customs from makers on this forum in general (there are a couple I still buy from) for several reasons. Hit and miss quality, and if you get one that slips through QC and mention it, all the fanboys come with their guns loaded. "How dare you criticize maker XXXXX?" You just can't be honestly critical of a custom maker without expecting a huge backlash.
I much prefer (in general) buying from a company with a good return policy in case the knife is a lemon.
I didn't say it was crap.
Read the rest of my posts in this thread for your answers.
I don't find CS handles that durable. I almost wore threw to the tang on one of their models and wore the grip off at least one side of the others.
The Zieg
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Nice!!!
Has anyone done any field work with the Buck Kalinga? I used to have one but I sold it because it wasn't my cup of tea. It is a real skinner, though.
Zieg
Has anyone done any field work with the Buck Kalinga? I used to have one but I sold it because it wasn't my cup of tea. It is a real skinner, though.
Zieg
I'm not sure how many CS knives I have owned over the years. I still have a few including a Master Hunter that has processed many deer over the years and a LTC Kukri that has chopped loads of brush and firewood. Both of these are close to if not 20 years old, have seen extensive use, and the handles are holding up fine. I have many knives suited for hunting that cost much more than the Master Hunter but I never go deer hunting without it.
Like I said I already listed options in this thread.
To stay close to budget, I would go with the Benchmade Saddle Mountain Skinner. It's a nice knife with S30V, Removable Dimondwood or G10 scales, leather or Kydex sheath, nice double jimping for skinning, American made, and it retails for $130 but, I'm sure can be found for around $100 on sale.
I would take a Benchmade over a Cold Steel any day myself. While Benchmade is not the best company in the world, they make some pretty nice knives, are American made, don't use cheap polymer handles(on this model anyway) , have great warranty, and best of all don't market their knives to mall ninjas and hoods.
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Well, your experience is different then mine. I'm guessing due to usage. Using a knife to process a couple animals a year is not extensive use in my book, even over a 20 year period. The CS models I wore out, particularly the heavily worn one, were EDCed every day for years and used for a variety of tasks throughout the day. They just didn't hold up. I wore the grip bumps off parts of the handle at a minimum on all the models I've owned. I won't even get into some of the other problems I have had with CS.