- Joined
- May 14, 2012
- Messages
- 302
I wanted a new lightweight folding knife in the 3 blade area for general use, backpacking, camping, hunting, house and yard work. My requirements were simple- decent steel, lightweight, easy to use left handed and fairly inexpensive. Not too much to ask for, right?
What I found was the Knives of Alaska Lightweight Hunter. It is approximately 7.5 overall length with a 3 blade (2 7/8 cutting edge), approximately ½ thick and a weight of 3.2 oz with smooth green G10 handle scales and a D2 blade hardened to RC 59-61 with 18 to 20 degree (36 to 40 inclusive) sharpened angles. All of this at around $60!
While looking the knife over, I found that the handle was large- larger than I thought was necessary since there is a good ½ of space between the tip of the blade and the end of the handle area when the knife is closed. However, when I had the opened knife in my medium/large hand, the handle gave me a solid purchase and left me with the feeling I wouldnt have any problems if I used this to dress a deer.
The liner lock is incorporated into a piece of metal under the right side G10 scale and locks up at about 25%. The companys literature says it will withstand 100 lbs of pressure but I dont intend on using this knife as a survival tool or wrecking bar so I probably won't find out. The thumbhole in the blade made for easy opening and I found the liner lock easy to close one handed with my left hand. There is jimping on the blade about 2 up the spine, perfect positioning for using the forefinger as a guide.
When I disassembled the knife, I noticed that the screws on the right side of the knife were slightly counter sunk and the screws on the left side were slightly raised to the handle. Nothing major, but just something I noticed. The blade is centered.
All of the screws are T-8 and were set with a mild thread sealant that came loose with modest pressure. The left side scale has a metal insert near the pivot point where a bronze washer sits. The bronze washer also extends through the pivot point and there is a plastic washer on the right side. Disassembly and assembly were very easy and wouldnt pose a problem for thorough cleaning. The blade returned to center after assembly with no need for any tweaking on my part.
The blade was sharp when I opened the package, but not quite shaving sharp. I took out my protractor and DMT stones and measured a 20 degree (40 inclusive) angle and proceeded to touch up the edge, keeping the 20 degree angle. A few minutes later I had it hair shaving sharp, perfect for my intended tasks. With that accomplished, I put the knife in my pocket and just about forgot it was there. I used it for the most mundane tasks around the house for several days- cutting rope, branches, opening mail, whittling and all of the other tasks we ask of a knife. After a few days of carry, I took the knife in the kitchen, it was still sharp enough to cut tomatoes cleanly!
I took this as a good sign and decided to use it to take apart a whole chicken. The knife worked great for dismantling the bird and even did a decent job boning. (Sorry, no pics of the chicken- my hands were too messy and my wife was telling me to hurry up with dinner!
) I wouldnt have a problem using this knife in the field to dress game.
Conclusions- This is a lot of knife for the price! It wasnt razor sharp out of the box, but it took minimal effort on my part to make it that way and the grind angle was right on the money for my tastes. I have seen a lot of pricier blades ground to some severe angles that took some effort to bring down to what I was looking for. Even though the handle screws were countersunk on one side and slightly raised on the other, I really didnt notice when using the knife. The blade has held a good edge for quite a while now and shouldnt take much to retouch when needed. When I need a good lightweight knife, I will be reaching for this one as an EDC or a hunting knife. I really don't think you could go wrong here, especially for the price.
What I found was the Knives of Alaska Lightweight Hunter. It is approximately 7.5 overall length with a 3 blade (2 7/8 cutting edge), approximately ½ thick and a weight of 3.2 oz with smooth green G10 handle scales and a D2 blade hardened to RC 59-61 with 18 to 20 degree (36 to 40 inclusive) sharpened angles. All of this at around $60!
While looking the knife over, I found that the handle was large- larger than I thought was necessary since there is a good ½ of space between the tip of the blade and the end of the handle area when the knife is closed. However, when I had the opened knife in my medium/large hand, the handle gave me a solid purchase and left me with the feeling I wouldnt have any problems if I used this to dress a deer.
The liner lock is incorporated into a piece of metal under the right side G10 scale and locks up at about 25%. The companys literature says it will withstand 100 lbs of pressure but I dont intend on using this knife as a survival tool or wrecking bar so I probably won't find out. The thumbhole in the blade made for easy opening and I found the liner lock easy to close one handed with my left hand. There is jimping on the blade about 2 up the spine, perfect positioning for using the forefinger as a guide.
When I disassembled the knife, I noticed that the screws on the right side of the knife were slightly counter sunk and the screws on the left side were slightly raised to the handle. Nothing major, but just something I noticed. The blade is centered.
All of the screws are T-8 and were set with a mild thread sealant that came loose with modest pressure. The left side scale has a metal insert near the pivot point where a bronze washer sits. The bronze washer also extends through the pivot point and there is a plastic washer on the right side. Disassembly and assembly were very easy and wouldnt pose a problem for thorough cleaning. The blade returned to center after assembly with no need for any tweaking on my part.
The blade was sharp when I opened the package, but not quite shaving sharp. I took out my protractor and DMT stones and measured a 20 degree (40 inclusive) angle and proceeded to touch up the edge, keeping the 20 degree angle. A few minutes later I had it hair shaving sharp, perfect for my intended tasks. With that accomplished, I put the knife in my pocket and just about forgot it was there. I used it for the most mundane tasks around the house for several days- cutting rope, branches, opening mail, whittling and all of the other tasks we ask of a knife. After a few days of carry, I took the knife in the kitchen, it was still sharp enough to cut tomatoes cleanly!
I took this as a good sign and decided to use it to take apart a whole chicken. The knife worked great for dismantling the bird and even did a decent job boning. (Sorry, no pics of the chicken- my hands were too messy and my wife was telling me to hurry up with dinner!
) I wouldnt have a problem using this knife in the field to dress game. Conclusions- This is a lot of knife for the price! It wasnt razor sharp out of the box, but it took minimal effort on my part to make it that way and the grind angle was right on the money for my tastes. I have seen a lot of pricier blades ground to some severe angles that took some effort to bring down to what I was looking for. Even though the handle screws were countersunk on one side and slightly raised on the other, I really didnt notice when using the knife. The blade has held a good edge for quite a while now and shouldnt take much to retouch when needed. When I need a good lightweight knife, I will be reaching for this one as an EDC or a hunting knife. I really don't think you could go wrong here, especially for the price.
