Ken Warner BGG - Folding Hunting Knife

Update with an observation on the "10Cr17" steel: I found the edges on both the fixed blade versions nice and sharp but pretty obtuse, so I reprofiled both knives with flat bevels on my KME and then convexed them on sandpaper/mouse pad. When I was sharpening the upper edge (sharpened swedge, really) on the "double" edged model, I discovered a tiny crack in the edge, so I kept sharpening until it was gone, resulting in the swedge being about 1mm below the level of the rest of the spine, rather than flush with it. That took a good loooong time, and the rest of the sharpening took about as long as I typically spend on my CS knives in AUS-8. I looked up the specs on 430 stainless (which is given as the AISI equiv. of 10Cr17 on a couple sites) and it says that it is not heat hardenable. Whatever steel these blades are actually being made from, it definitely doesn't respond to grinding/abrading like I'd imagine unhardened or case hardened "spoon" steel would. :thumbup:
 
G. Scott H. said:
No worries. I ordered a double edge with green and black scales last night. :D:thumbup:
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Ah, great! between us we now have the complete set! ;)

G. Scott H. said:
Update with an observation on the "10Cr17" steel: I found the edges on both the fixed blade versions nice and sharp but pretty obtuse, so I reprofiled both knives with flat bevels on my KME and then convexed them on sandpaper/mouse pad. When I was sharpening the upper edge (sharpened swedge, really) on the "double" edged model, I discovered a tiny crack in the edge, so I kept sharpening until it was gone, resulting in the swedge being about 1mm below the level of the rest of the spine, rather than flush with it. That took a good loooong time, and the rest of the sharpening took about as long as I typically spend on my CS knives in AUS-8. I looked up the specs on 430 stainless (which is given as the AISI equiv. of 10Cr17 on a couple sites) and it says that it is not heat hardenable. Whatever steel these blades are actually being made from, it definitely doesn't respond to grinding/abrading like I'd imagine unhardened or case hardened "spoon" steel would. :thumbup:
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Well, I'm glad you can confirm the "10Cr17" steel used on these Ken Warner knives canNOT possibly be unhardenable "spoon" steel.

As I said throughout this review Ken Warner is a legend with an undeniably great reputation in the knife world -
to have knives with his signature - specified and designed by him -
that used steel UNsuitable for knives would be just plain stooopid -
he has the world of cheap steels that are far more suitable to choose from -
I would believe that his 10Cr17 steel is nominally 1.0% Carbon with 17% Chromium -
ie: just like he says "440C-equivalent steel".

I am a bit surprised that you thought both the fixed blades had obtuse edges.
My KW03 single edge gray/black Micarta had a few flats on the edge -
so I ran just that part of the edge over the Work Sharp Knife & Tool Sharpener - Ken Onion Edition -
I use a "guided freehand" on this sharpener - which is merely holding the blade vertically to the belt
The belt is at 17.5deg - and allowing for flex the resultant edge is about 20deg per side -
this is very acute for an outdoors knife - 20deg is the usual acute angle for good Western kitchen knives.

After the sharpening to remove the flats - usb microscope pic at approx ~110x magnification

The resultant sharpened edge was almost indistinguishable from the parts that I did not sharpen -
so the original edge had to have been about 20deg per side too.

--
Vincent

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Hey, Vincent. Well, it looks like the collection is still incomplete. :D I forgot to mention that I actually received the double edge with the gray and black scales. I thought it was gonna be the green/black, but I actually like the look of the gray, so I kept it anyway. As for the angles, I noticed it when I went to strop them. I realized I had to raise the spines on both to a fairly high angle in order for the edge to touch the strop. No idea of specific angle, but I'd guess somewhere around 25*? When I gave them flat bevels on my KME I used the 20* setting (so something slightly under that at the actual edge) and it took a fair amount of work to get down to a fresh apex. After convexing the flat bevels once more on sandpaper, the angle I need to use for stropping is noticeably less than before. Probably a different guy working the belt sander at the factory the day mine were made or something. :D Seriously, though, at this price it's not surprising that QC varies from knife to knife. In any case, I'm totally happy with these little guys. :thumbup:
 
G. Scott H. said:
Seriously, though, at this price it's not surprising that QC varies from knife to knife. In any case, I'm totally happy with these little guys. :thumbup:
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The original prices were much much higher -
Ken Warner Knives
even the prices now on the website are significantly lower than when they were introduced.

I think these may be some kind of financial settlement stock -
hence the real bargain prices.


Ken Warner Utility - left -KW03 (single edge); right -KW04 (semi-"double" edge) - both gray/black Micarta.

--
Vincent

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I picked up the folder with some Christmas money because... Hey, cheap knife! It will definitely be a beater. The only complaints I have are the knife needs a diet, the damn thing is so fat. Thinner scales would make a pocket clip viable. Lastly, the button release is kind of terrible, because it just tears my thumb up. I might fill the button in with silicone.

All in all, decent knife for about $15. It may become my new car knife.
 
dkb45 said:
I picked up the folder with some Christmas money because... Hey, cheap knife! It will definitely be a beater. The only complaints I have are the knife needs a diet, the damn thing is so fat. Thinner scales would make a pocket clip viable. Lastly, the button release is kind of terrible, because it just tears my thumb up. I might fill the button in with silicone.
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The big FAT handle was the whole point for me -
knew from the start this was a "monster"
and not going to be a clip knife -
tried my best to convey this in my review.

Although a big over sized handle would allow artistic carvings/creations -
Micarta may be difficult to work without good power tools
(any hazards from Micarta dust?)

Not that I have any problems with the button -
covering it with silicone seems like a great idea -
can you please show how well it works for you?

Thanks,

--
Vincent

http://picasaweb.com/UnknownVincent?showall=true
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http://UnknownVT.Shutterfly.com
 
It definitely is a big chubby knife. I like the hand filling feel of the knife, but the scales could be thinned down if you wanted to. Rasp, files, and sandpaper would do the trick. You could also just thin down one scale, then drill and tap the liner for a clip. I'm keeping mine as is, but I would like to find a nicer pouch to carry it in. I don't have any issues with the button on mine. It sounds like there may be a sharp edge around the screw hole on yours or something. :confused:
 
Be careful with the dust from grinding Micarta. It isn't as bad as G10, but still not a good idea to inhale, just like sawdust. No need for a respirator, just work on it outside or wear one of the hospital masks. I use the hospital masks for working on G10.
 
Just bought one off Ebay. It won't lock up! Seems as though the liner is a little long. Trying to figure out how to repair or rework... any suggestions?
 
pmeisel said:
Just bought one off Ebay. It won't lock up! Seems as though the liner is a little long. Trying to figure out how to repair or rework... any suggestions?
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I have two of them now, and the second one was like that when new. If I opened it normally with the thumb stud, the lock bar wouldn't engage the tang, but if I opened the blade to about 90* and then gave it a firm wrist flick to open it the rest of the way, it would engage just fine. After a bit of use the issue sorted itself out. Give it a try. Oh, and make sure to keep your digits out of the blade track in the handle in case it doesn't lock open and rebounds off the stop pin. :eek::thumbup:
 
pmeisel said:
Just bought one off Ebay. It won't lock up! Seems as though the liner is a little long. Trying to figure out how to repair or rework... any suggestions?
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My suggestion is to contact the seller and get a replacement (or refund).
A knife ought to work properly straight out of the box.

Don't even think about trying to repair it -
because then they might not exchange it.

eBay has a good purchase protection policy.

Best of luck,

--
Vincent


http://picasaweb.com/UnknownVincent?showall=true
http://UnknownVincent.Shutterfly.com
http://UnknownVT.Shutterfly.com
 
I bought two as well, and the lock bar wouldn't engage in neither of them. I applied a drop of quick release between the lock bar and the liner of them both, then with a very small/ thin screw driver I coaxed the lock bar to engage at approx. 50%. Then I let sit for about ten days. (Ten days was the duration because I had forgotten about them for that long). I disengaged one of the lock bars, and it locked up with out a hitch. The second knife was good as new also. Give it a try,and it should work for you,Good Luck.
 
Update. Had to work a needle file on the lock engagement surface for a few minutes to get it to lock up. Then the lock engagement was spotty, sometimes it would lock easily, sometimes I had to re-open more vigorously.

Meanwhile, the button for the lock disengager fell off. So, I opened the knife full lock engagement and left it set for a week. Later today, I am going to reglue that button.

I think it will wind up OK but it's been a hassle. I bought it off Ebay for less that 1/3 of what Ken charges directly -- so I suspect something was up.....

I bought it to check out the design and experiment a bit, so I am not that upset. But it is odd that a knife made by a knife legend would cause trouble.

BTW, the blade is beautifully sharp. Once this knife is right I will carry for general woods walking and hunting.
 
I just wanted to throw in my two cents on the blade steel. The website says it's equivalent to 440C and I feel that is pretty dang close. I have the fixed utility version and I use it daily at work for cutting open boxes and tearing down cardboard. The edge holds up fairly well to that kind of abuse. I like the sheath too. I'm left handed and the sheath is ambidextrous so I didn't have to make one :) I also didn't really care for the tip shape so I ground it down into more of a drop point. All in all, I'm very happy with this knife and the steal quality. I also reprofiled the edge to about 15 degrees per side. Its a real slicer. It's a great bargain and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a budget blade that will hold up to some abuse.
 
Nice mod. :thumbup: I love the sheaths on these too. The combo of ambidexterity and the pocket clip mean I can carry the knife clipped inside my right front jeans pocket just like a folder yet have the edge facing the correct direction. A future project I have in mind is to mold up a few similar sheaths out of Kydex for some of my other smaller fixed blades. :cool:
 
I went looking for this thread today because I was trying to remember how long I've had mine. Still a great knife. My cold weather EDC.
 
I'm a little confused. A man who a is "a legend in the knife world" puts his name on a $15.00 knife?

edit: Sorry, I just realized this is 9 year old thread.
 
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I talked with Ken many times. He was always "just another guy" at gun shows, more down to earth than the many "wannabe experts" often there. He was a regular at the local flea market on weekends right up to the year before he passed away. When we talked knives it was obvious his main concern was performance. He also talked about affordability and cost vs value. Personally I never cared much for those folders but regret not getting a couple when I had the opportunity.

Thanks for bringing this thread back.
 
Sibyrnes said:
I'm a little confused. A man who a is "a legend in the knife world" puts his name on a $15.00 knife?

edit: Sorry, I just realized this is 9 year old thread.
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He had a few different lines and also designed some with a few custom makers a bit. On the production side, Knifeware/Blackjack was the high end, middle was Knifeware Japan, and then these. All were good value for the money.

Here's a few things on him -

https://blademag.com/knife-history/he-made-em-famous-a-tribute-to-ken-warner .

https://www.knifemagazine.com/industry-icon-ken-warner-has-passed-away/ .
 
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