Review Hess knives

BP_

BP_

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Anyone have any of these? I posted in traditional because they seem to be more on the “traditional” side of fixed blades. What are your thoughts on them? Quality? Craftsmanship? I’ve read about them as much as I could but I’d like some real world reviews from some folks who have actually put them to use. I just picked up a whitetail and it’ll be on its way to me shortly, we’ll see how it does.
 
I have a Whitetail and I absolutely love it. I’ve used it the last couple years on some deer and antelope. I’m not sure if it was something I did or just a fluke in the metal but I have a tiny chip on the blade edge that appeared after quartering a deer. I suppose I could have done it while getting into the socket on the back quarters. It’s tiny and will eventually sharpen away so I’ll just touch it up and keep using it. I’d like to get my hands on a Tiburon for comparison someday.


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315 said:
I have a Whitetail and I absolutely love it. I’ve used it the last couple years on some deer and antelope. I’m not sure if it was something I did or just a fluke in the metal but I have a tiny chip on the blade edge that appeared after quartering a deer. I suppose I could have done it while getting into the socket on the back quarters. It’s tiny and will eventually sharpen away so I’ll just touch it up and keep using it. I’d like to get my hands on a Tiburon for comparison someday.


DFA44-CAF-8-F84-4606-B56-D-355-E36-F78-C6-A.jpg
Click to expand...

Very nice. I was debating between the whitetail and tiburon. Figured if I liked the whitetail I’d pick up a tiburon next. They look like well made knives. Seems like a winner at that price point.
 
I have a few of these including the Whitetail and Tiburon. They are nicely made and have well fitting sheaths. I haven't used them for cutting anything, but they appear they would be good cutters.
 
I’m bringing this thread back up because I’ve found a website that seems to be acting as the web portal for Hess knives. You can find it by searching for Hess knives, it’s a pretty nice site, and it allows for custom options.

I know Hess seemed to have a period of obscurity awhile back, so I’m thrilled to see them back available. I put in an order for an all stag frontiersman! I’ll update again when it arrives.
 
They’re pretty nice at the price point. I think you’ll enjoy it. I only have a couple but they seem to be decent quality knives, especially for the price.

Communication can be a bit confusing, but if you reach out in my experience I’ve always gotten a quick and friendly response.
 
Have had a Tiburon for years now. Been my main woods knife pretty much that whole time. No issues with it, stays sharp, easy to sharpen and is the perfect size for about everything. Didn’t like the sheath tho, and have made my own pouch style sheath that centers the guard in line with my belt. Had it probably 7-8 years now.

Lost it for about a week once. Guess all the kitchen knives didn’t cut as well as it did and it had been borrowed for kitchen duty. Really good slicer. Mine is the stacked leather handle with aluminum pommel, and I did put a small micro bevel on the edge but other than that and some wax based leather conditioner/water proofer on the handle I haven’t done anything outside of use and sharpening. Mixed of hard and soft woods being I grew up Illinois and currently live in Kentucky. Did really well when I was stationed at Fort Bliss, would take the hide off jack rabbits and Coyotes like non other. Little big for squirrel for my taste but still works well.
 
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Well, lets do a comparison of the Hess Whitetail vs the GEC73/H73. I think the 73 make for a batter size comparison but I will defer to the superior wisdom of the thread.
Whaddya think?
Hess-Whitetail-VS-GEC-73.jpg

From top to bottom:
GEC73, Cocobolo
Hess Whitetail, also Cocobolo
GECH73, American Chestnut
 
Southern Appalachia said:
AdamFuzzyballs AdamFuzzyballs did you get your knife yet? I have a bird and trout and whitetail on order and was wondering if the 2 week lead time is accurate
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Hey! I haven’t yet, though I reached out this past week and Hess informed me that they have my knife finished, but we’re waiting for sheath snaps. They should be back on schedule now, and I’m expecting it to ship tomorrow hopefully.

It’s worth the wait to me, but I’d say it’s possibly a touch longer than two weeks at the moment!
 
I think they've gotten a decent influx of orders when people were reminded of them (and where they could order from) a few weeks ago, lol. Andy doesn't quite churn out knives as fast as his father Don did, but they should be catching up soon.

I put in an order for a cocobolo Caper and a maple burl Whitetail just under 3 weeks ago. The Whitetail will go to my son when he's old enough. The Caper... He'll have to pry that out of my cold, dead hands.

They're pretty phenomenal knives!

Here's my redwood burl Tiburon.
VqzWPsk.jpg
 
Fixall said:
I think they've gotten a decent influx of orders when people were reminded of them (and where they could order from) a few weeks ago, lol. Andy doesn't quite churn out knives as fast as his father Don did, but they should be catching up soon.

I put in an order for a cocobolo Caper and a maple burl Whitetail just under 3 weeks ago. The Whitetail will go to my son when he's old enough. The Caper... He'll have to pry that out of my cold, dead hands.

They're pretty phenomenal knives!

Here's my redwood burl Tiburon.
VqzWPsk.jpg
Click to expand...
Once the Whitetail comes in, would you be kind enough to take a few side-by-side pictures with that and the Tiburon? I have a whitetail and I’m curious to see the comparison of the blade shape and spine thickness next to each other.
 
As promised, here’s a write up I did for Hess.

Hess Frontier, Stag and Carbon

As posted in a recent thread in the traditional forum, I ordered a Hess Frontier fixed blade a little while ago. Having received it and carried for about a week, here’s my following review Fit and Finish is tremendous, especially considering the meager price these Hess knives go for. At the...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com

Here’s a teaser😉
960E300E-EFBC-4E65-94AD-EA8C6BB689DB.jpeg
 
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