- Joined
- Jan 8, 2005
- Messages
- 597
I didn't originally plan for this to be my next knife purchase. Prior negative reviews in the forum put me off. And a plastic handle? But it did win the 2004 Field and Stream Best of the Best award. And I realized my Ruger P97 has a plastic handle too, and I've had no problems with it. What did I really want in a new knife? Flat ground blade - my favorite grind. Big - my favorite size. So finally, I bought it. Here's a short review and lots of photos.
Lone Wolf Tactical Hunter
The official specs are Blade Length: 4.80 in, 12.19 cm Length Closed: 5.90 in, 14.98 cm Overall Weight: 8.40 oz, .238 kg Blade Material: CPM-S30V high-carbon stainless steel Handle Material: Titanium w/ Black Nylon scales Pocket Clip: Stainless Steel Fasteners/Rivets: Stainless Steel
This thing is really, really big. Its much bigger than it seems to be at first because its so damn chubby. I'm used to knives like the Skirmish or Cuda Maxx or even the AFCK, all of which are flat. This knife doesn't even try to be flat. Here it is next to some favorites, for size comparison:
Can it be pocket carried? Yes. I stitched up one of my right hand side pocket sheaths and it doesn't print too bad, although a lot more than the Skirmish does. I always take the clips off my knives, and this one doesn't fare too well, asthetically, when you do that. You get a protruding center pin and a weird depression on the side, as well as two screw holes you don't want to put the screws in to fill up because either they stick up too, or they touch the blade if you tighten them down too much. Here's the side view and top edge looking down to show you.
On the good side, the blade centered perfectly in the handle, unlike the experience some other folk reported:
The liner lock and liners are very thick and strong, although the spring tension was not as stiff as, say, my little Pro Hunter. It's easy to close. It passed the whack test and also the "wrap blade with towel and try to manually defeat the lock" tests very well.
For a last photo, I thought these two items made a good pair:
Ok, so I didn't do any destructive testing or anything like that. I'll just give you my subjectives so far:
Pros:
This is by far the sharpest out of the box knife I have ever received, period. Easily shaved hair. Easily "whiffed" off strips or corners of paper. Delicately shaved a transparently thin slice of a styrofoam packing peanut. I love the full flat grind, its just sharp as hell, but at the spine its mighty thick. I'm totally pleased by the blade itself.
Quality control seems excellent. Centered well in the handle. Liner lock worked perfectly, seems ground properly. No up and down blade play at all. Slight movement if you try it bend the blade to the side, doesn't worry me, its a folder after all. Although the Skirmish seems stronger in this dimension, which I attribute to thinner washers and the whole titanium framelock thing.
I wanted big... I got BIG. I like a folder to have defensive capability - it surely has that. And (just as I had hoped) it works perfectly to hold it with your index finger in that second finger groove instead of the first, and what you get is all the reach of a full six inch sheath knive.. in a California legal concealable knife. I that that very much.
I don't like clips, but this one, before I took it off, struck me as well designed not to bite your hand or get in the way too much.
Cons:
Ok, big is good. But it seems kind of... awkward. Not like the Skirmish or the Maxx, which are big but have this flow going on to them. This one is like that truck called the Avalanche... big and practical for what you need but its just not a beauty.. more of just a damn big truck. The knife is very much not flat (I've said that before but it just stood out compared to my other knives) so pocketing is not the greatest.
When you take the clip off you get a protruding center pin and empty screw holes. Also, there's no option on where to put your clip.
Plastic handle. Yes, its not "plastic" like my old model airplanes. But G-10 would be, I don't know, a million times better. Maybe a billion? I think I'm going to try and make some nice, flatter, wooden scales for it, along the lines of the T-2.
Big question: would I buy it again, now that I've played with it for a while? You know, I'm not sure. The Skirmish has almost the same length of blade and reach (iwhen you hold the Hunter in the normal grip style) and its far flatter, more stylish, and at least as if not stronger. Its a very well made knife and I do just love that blade - the blade itself is just what I wanted. I think it would be a perfect camp knife, outdoors knife, hunter's knife. And of course, that's what its made for. As a concealable urban tool and defense weapon.. its kind of chubby. But its growing on me.
Maybe I'll get a T-2 next!
Lone Wolf Tactical Hunter
The official specs are Blade Length: 4.80 in, 12.19 cm Length Closed: 5.90 in, 14.98 cm Overall Weight: 8.40 oz, .238 kg Blade Material: CPM-S30V high-carbon stainless steel Handle Material: Titanium w/ Black Nylon scales Pocket Clip: Stainless Steel Fasteners/Rivets: Stainless Steel
This thing is really, really big. Its much bigger than it seems to be at first because its so damn chubby. I'm used to knives like the Skirmish or Cuda Maxx or even the AFCK, all of which are flat. This knife doesn't even try to be flat. Here it is next to some favorites, for size comparison:
Can it be pocket carried? Yes. I stitched up one of my right hand side pocket sheaths and it doesn't print too bad, although a lot more than the Skirmish does. I always take the clips off my knives, and this one doesn't fare too well, asthetically, when you do that. You get a protruding center pin and a weird depression on the side, as well as two screw holes you don't want to put the screws in to fill up because either they stick up too, or they touch the blade if you tighten them down too much. Here's the side view and top edge looking down to show you.
On the good side, the blade centered perfectly in the handle, unlike the experience some other folk reported:
The liner lock and liners are very thick and strong, although the spring tension was not as stiff as, say, my little Pro Hunter. It's easy to close. It passed the whack test and also the "wrap blade with towel and try to manually defeat the lock" tests very well.
For a last photo, I thought these two items made a good pair:
Ok, so I didn't do any destructive testing or anything like that. I'll just give you my subjectives so far:
Pros:
This is by far the sharpest out of the box knife I have ever received, period. Easily shaved hair. Easily "whiffed" off strips or corners of paper. Delicately shaved a transparently thin slice of a styrofoam packing peanut. I love the full flat grind, its just sharp as hell, but at the spine its mighty thick. I'm totally pleased by the blade itself.
Quality control seems excellent. Centered well in the handle. Liner lock worked perfectly, seems ground properly. No up and down blade play at all. Slight movement if you try it bend the blade to the side, doesn't worry me, its a folder after all. Although the Skirmish seems stronger in this dimension, which I attribute to thinner washers and the whole titanium framelock thing.
I wanted big... I got BIG. I like a folder to have defensive capability - it surely has that. And (just as I had hoped) it works perfectly to hold it with your index finger in that second finger groove instead of the first, and what you get is all the reach of a full six inch sheath knive.. in a California legal concealable knife. I that that very much.
I don't like clips, but this one, before I took it off, struck me as well designed not to bite your hand or get in the way too much.
Cons:
Ok, big is good. But it seems kind of... awkward. Not like the Skirmish or the Maxx, which are big but have this flow going on to them. This one is like that truck called the Avalanche... big and practical for what you need but its just not a beauty.. more of just a damn big truck. The knife is very much not flat (I've said that before but it just stood out compared to my other knives) so pocketing is not the greatest.
When you take the clip off you get a protruding center pin and empty screw holes. Also, there's no option on where to put your clip.
Plastic handle. Yes, its not "plastic" like my old model airplanes. But G-10 would be, I don't know, a million times better. Maybe a billion? I think I'm going to try and make some nice, flatter, wooden scales for it, along the lines of the T-2.
Big question: would I buy it again, now that I've played with it for a while? You know, I'm not sure. The Skirmish has almost the same length of blade and reach (iwhen you hold the Hunter in the normal grip style) and its far flatter, more stylish, and at least as if not stronger. Its a very well made knife and I do just love that blade - the blade itself is just what I wanted. I think it would be a perfect camp knife, outdoors knife, hunter's knife. And of course, that's what its made for. As a concealable urban tool and defense weapon.. its kind of chubby. But its growing on me.
Maybe I'll get a T-2 next!