I've got one and it is the only knife I "use" when I go hunting. It takes a very good edge with little work, and keeps it at least through gutting skinning and quartering two deer. Since I have had the knife, I haven't had more deer on the ground at the same time, so at least two is the limit of what I can report for edge retention. It is narrow and pointy enough to get into those hard to reach places like hip joints, around the pelvis, etc. It is great in that regard, but I'm not a fan of the bead blasted finish. I sanded it down to a satin finish that I like much more. I also carry a alaskan hunter but it rarely gets used for anything. The finish on both of these knives was rougher than what I expected. The tangs both show lines that look to be remnants of the blade blanking process., much deeper than the finish. I think they use bead blasted finish because they can get away with less refinement in the initial finishing steps. I don't have a problem with the handle size or shape. Too be honest, I don't have "ham hands," but I could use a larger handle. 440C is still the standard by which all stainless steels are compared. Some newer steels come out ahead in this comparison, but 440C is still the benchmark.
If someone said that I could have only one knife (from my assortment) for hunting, this would be the one that I chose.
It is not a general use blade. It won't chop or hold up to use that a 14 inch long, 2 inch wide, 1/4 inch thick piece of 5160 will, but it will skin game all day long.
