Feedback on Lon Humphrey Knives

BMCGear

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Jan 4, 2014
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I'm in need of a good fixed blade knife. General purpose belt knife to wear in the woods, camping, etc. Do you have a Lon Humphrey knife? Tell me about it! What do you like and is there anything you dislike? I'd love to see some pictures.
 
I've owned a few of his knives. The quality of the build is very good, but definitely has some imperfections/every piece is different due to the hand forged aspect of them. Some of the stainless non forged models may be different in that regard, but I've only owned his 1095 stuff. I've met him in person a few times and he's a nice guy, knows his stuff.

Overall, The good
-Solid heat treat
-Every forged piece is unique
-Simple designs that work well (No mall ninja stuff here)
-Plenty tough (3/16ths thickness is common for him, combined with HT)
-Good ergos (at least for my size L hands)

The bad
-I find his knives to be a bit thicker than I prefer (3/16ths) so they don't slice especially well
-Prices have started to creep up (Last two years or so)
-Sheaths mediocre at best (usually generic sheaths from the dealers)
-Every forged piece is unique (yes, this is good and bad)

Edit: Forgot to say that I owned a forged Sterling, and a forged White tail.
 
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I've owned blades from Lon for about 7 years (Deathwinds, Whitetails, a Rebel, and most recently a Gunfighter). Lon makes good stuff, meant to be USED.

I agree with the points raised by 42pixels about the sheaths. A bit clunky, but solid.

Lon's blades are relatively affordable for hand-forged work. He is very responsive to emails & posts on his Facebook groups. In short, I think he CARES about making an excellent quality product that meets the needs of his customer.
 
I own one of Lons knives, a rustic bravo. I like it a lot, it feels great in the hand and I love the whole hand made aspect, I really appreciate something I know a person and not a machine has put the time into. But I will say as far as functionality goes I like my brkt gunny hunter a little more. The bravo seems to hold a working edge great but I find it a little hard to keep a keen edge on it, but that's honestly probably my fault because all I do to both knives for the most part is strop them and the brkt is convex so it's gonna take to the strop a little better. Overall I am glad I bought it and would buy a second one so if you're thinking about it I say go for it!
 
Lon Humphrey makes knives which work.

Here is my LH. Bought years ago and it works a charm. Came with an excellent sheath made specifically for my knife. Fits like a glove.


IMG_0819.jpg



Its sharp
IMG_0856.jpg
 
Lon also has a shop dog (AKA shop foreman!) named Hephaestus. He's a Great Dane, and a big honkin' dog.
 
I have a gunfighter Bowie in 1095.... what an amazing blade. It's big, so consider if it's right for you--but, in terms of performance, it's excellent. I've carved, chopped, and batonned wood with it, did food prep in the kitchen, and carved/ hacked, etc a 60 pound pig on a spit with it... all in all, it stayed sharp beyond what I expected from 1095, it was very comfortable, and it is just beautiful. I'll get something pics up for you soon. I'll be buying more from him.
 
Lon Humphrey makes knives which work.

Here is my LH. Bought years ago and it works a charm. Came with an excellent sheath made specifically for my knife. Fits like a glove.


IMG_0819.jpg





Its sharp
IMG_0856.jpg


Wow, LOVE your knife!! Yours is by far the best LH I've ever seen...man, I just can't get over how ba-dass your sticker/bowie is.

OP - If you like the brute de forge look, then LH is a great way to go for sure...I'll give the same advice I always give though; check out the custom fixed exchange here...it's overflowing with great GP belt knives on a daily basis - good hunting!
 
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