Hen & Rooster model HR263 Whittler, opinions?

jblyttle

jblyttle

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Sep 3, 2014
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Hello all, I was wondering if anyone here has any experience with this knife? I have searched for reviews but come up empty. It may be a relatively new model, but I figure that someone has tried it. I am looking for an alternative to the Seahorse Whittler, as it is set up similarly but is about half the cost. It's description states that it is handcrafted in Germany, but I feel like it is one of those German parts/assembled elsewhere/finished in Germany models. It has Solingen stainless, and has 3 blades; small coping, small pen and larger wharncliffe that uses two springs. I'm sure that it is good quality, certainly for the price, and I don't mind adding a knife to the collection so I will probably buy it regardless, but it would be interesting to hear any opinions. Thanks.
 
Not familiar with that model, but I have a congress made by them with the same specs that is terrific:
 
I bought two HR263 whittlers a while ago. Both were substandard to "German made" knives IMHO. The blade tangs were stamped German Stainless - Hand Made. the wharnecliffe blade on one was very crude and had a pitted surface. The other had a loose coping blade that rubbed on the adjacent blade. I have read that these are actually made in China and distributed from Germany. I sent both back and got a Case Seahorse in chestnut bone - a much nicer knife.

Mike
 
biomed said:
I bought two HR263 whittlers a while ago. Both were substandard to "German made" knives IMHO. The blade tangs were stamped German Stainless - Hand Made. the wharnecliffe blade on one was very crude and had a pitted surface. The other had a loose coping blade that rubbed on the adjacent blade. I have read that these are actually made in China and distributed from Germany. I sent both back and got a Case Seahorse in chestnut bone - a much nicer knife.

Mike
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Thanks, that is the type of info that I'm looking for. I'm now leaning more towards a Hen & Rooster HR364, available for about the same price, a congress made in Germany with carbon blades.
 
Why not get a Böker Germany carbon Whittler? It's a fine knife and comes in a number of bone/wood options. Well made and affordable too.

IMG_2602.jpg
 
While it's more of a "traditional" whittler with a stockier frame than the one you pictured, my Hen & Rooster 2-spring whittler is pretty good for the price. I don't know the H&R model number but I have the box at home so I can check. The F&F is better than a lot of other modern German knives I've handled, the jigged bone is nice, and there are no real problems I can think of. Like you, however, I tend to prefer a seahorse whittler, so if I carry a whittler it's generally a Case. However my experience with the H&R seems to be overall more positive than biomed's, though I've heard the same about H&R's knives being German steel assembled in China -- IIRC my Taylor-Schrade splitback whittler has a remarkably similar frame in size and contour. I will check more closely when I arrive home to see if there's any possibility they are related.

H&R whittler pictured here, with my '78 NKCA gunboat:

 
Nice Hen that Whittler Tsar, not see one of that sort before.

Thanks, Will
 
Will Power said:
Nice Hen that Whittler Tsar, not see one of that sort before.
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Thanks! Come to think of it, I haven't seen it a similar one since, even from the same dealer who seems to have multiple pieces fairly often (I now own 3 of the 50 Queen stag skate key Barlows, 2 from the same dealer as the whittler :o). I mainly bought it because of the color and price, but it turned out to be a better hunk of knife than I thought it would.

Really love the bone on that Boker, it sure is purdy. :D
 
I have a slightly different style H&R whittler. Mine is about 3 3/8" closed, maybe just a bit more. The main blade is a 2 1/2" clip point. The secondaries are a coping and a pen, both 1 3/8" long, but probably only have about 1" cutting length and are pretty narrow. I can't remember why I stopped carrying it, but it probably had to do with the fact that I found it a bit small to use for whittling, plus the secondary blades are much smaller than you'd think looking at the length. The fit and finish was pretty decent.
 
I have been wondering about the "German stainless" steel used in Hen & Rooster slip joints. I just picked up the 333-DS which is a small 3 3/8" (~3.3") 3-blade Stockman. Seems like a good knife but I am not knowledgeable about the steel. I suspect it is 440A which makes me frown a bit when you consider the price. But this knife in deer stag is nicely put together. I suspect the whittler is a nice little slip joint.

I got this stockman as a semi-peanut sized slip joint for regular carry.

I am interested in comments on the steel.....

(Sorry about adding to this thread after months, but I felt my comments didn't merit a new thread.)
 
I did a bit of research on the German stainless question a few years back, and what I found suggested it was very similar to 440B, with .80 - .85 % carbon, and hardness in the 57-59 range. I couldn't pin it down any more than that. I have several H&R stainless knives, and they take a good edge and perform as you would expect in that hardness range.
 
Good info Black Mamba. Is this one of those deals like the Puma SGB knives where they claim the steel is German made but the knives are made in China? I really don't have a problem with that, other than knowing what is what. I really like this little Stockman. It is very tight and looks similar to the ones pictured earlier in this thread. I am generally not a stockman pattern fan, but this one sort of grabbed me. The box says "made in Germany" and I suspect the steel is similar to the stuff Case uses. I got this one a couple days ago. Been wanting more options with small slip joints in terms of regular carry than I have now.
 
My understanding is that any H&R that says "Solingen" on the knife is made and assembled in Germany, while "made in Germany" could mean German parts assembled in Asia.
 
Mike Thanks, I've been extremely pleased with the Böker carbon knives I've bought, they usually have nice thick bone too which is a bonus. The Whittler in particular is a very useful compact knife.

Regards, Will
 
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