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Passaround - Ultralite Hunter

Thank you Sir! I will be watching for it to arrive.

best

mqqn
 
Specs

Overall length: 8 1/4"
Blade: 4" x 1/16" thick with a scandivex edge
Handle: Tan canvas micarta
Steel: O1
Weight: 3 7/8 oz

First Impressions

When I first got the knife in hand, my first thought was this wasn’t something that I’d use as a hunting knife. The handle felt a little short, though seemed fine otherwise. On top of that, the blade struck me as being too thin and the lack of a belt loop made me feel like it could get lost somewhat easily if just tucked into a pocket while out hunting. Still, it seemed just right for a kitchen or food prep knife.

Testing

I put the knife through quite a few tests, though I wasn’t able to give it a proper test of its capability as a hunting knife (deer season doesn’t start until September). Trying it in various holds, it wasn’t the most comfortable knife for me. In side holding, the step down from the handle to the side of the blade was a bit much and put my thumb into an odd position. Pinch holding wasn’t much better because the blade is so thin. I don’t feel like I could get through dressing a deer with this as my only knife. For small game such as rabbits it’d work, just not for anything much bigger. I did get out in the woods with it hiking along a game trail and as expected, it did fall out of my pocket a time or two (lower right leg pocket on a pair of carpenter jeans). That’s the main thing I can say about the sheath, it needs a belt loop or at least a clip of some sort to attach it to your pocket.

As for use as a food prep knife in the kitchen or even outdoors, this is a joy to use. It’s perfect for that and I wouldn’t change a thing. The thin blade makes it a great slicer and the convex edge holds up well under use. I used this to prepare two or three meals and didn’t have a problem at all. As an observation, the O1 tool steel does patina rather quickly.

Over all Opinion

This is great knife for kitchen use, though it’s not something that I would use as a hunting knife. It’s going to be right at home in the kitchen though or out doing some light yard work (keep check on your pocket often if you’re doing a lot of bending, kneeling etc).

A few Pictures

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Nice review, JSM.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

One point of clarification, the sheath that is with the knife was not done by a John. Peter (KYenglish) made that sheath when he had it, basically to keep the knife protected.
Much more appealing than a cardboard sheath, as far as I am concerned:D
 
Good review JSM.
The nice thing about a pass around is getting different folks views on the knife.
Like CB said,the sheath was thrown together on the quick by kyenglish,but I like to think more for finger protection than blade protection.;)
John always provides a nice heavy duty sheath with his knives & the customer can request theirs with or without a belt loop or add a pocket clip.
 
One point of clarification, the sheath that is with the knife was not done by a John. Peter (KYenglish) made that sheath when he had it, basically to keep the knife protected.
Much more appealing than a cardboard sheath, as far as I am concerned:D

Thanks for clearing that up.
 
Just a quick heads up for mqqn: the knife should arrive at your place tomorrow.

I would've sent you the tracking info, but I couldn't figure out how to send you an email or PM... :confused:
 
No worries - thank you for the heads up -

I will watch for it and post here when it arrives - thank you muchly!

best

mqqn
 
The Ultralight Hunter arrived in the cornfields of Illinois today safe and sound.

I took some "as arrived" shots, and then played with the knife and on my stones.

It arrived nice and sharp, but I like to play, and sharpening on my stones by hand gives me a good initial feel for the knife.

The knife is a good size - small enough to be light and easy to carry, yet large enough I think you could use it for whatever you need to do. I know John's 01 would hold up. The fairly coarse micarta used for the scales will give good traction in the hand even in blood or when otherwise wet, I can say that from experience with other knives handled with the same material.

I will find some stuff to do with the knife in it's time with me. It will go to the range tomorrow, and then tomorrow night I should be able to get some pictures of the ULH with the XD XT - that should be a contrast!

On to the pictures -

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This knife has my favorite spine treatment, nicely rounded. John does this very well, even on this thin material.

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You can see a little wear showing on the handle, this is where the burlap (or whatever cloth weave was used to make the micarta) showing at the surface and it is getting an interesting coloration at wear points. This adds to the rugged personality of the knife, even though it is relatively demure in size.

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A quick in-hand shot -

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I had to get some of my EDC rotation knives out to get to my stones, so I snapped this shot -

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Thanks for having me in he passaround, and I will find some ways to test the knife and provide my thoughts.

best

mqqn
 
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Good to know that it made it to you okay. Looking forward to the review.

Thank you - and the knife was well packaged. I live out in the "sticks" so it usually takes an extra day or two for things to get to me as compared to addresses in the city.

I am looking forward to having some fun with this one.

best

mqqn
 
The ULH has been helping with dinner chores -

Tonights victim -

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This tomato was very ripe (and delicious!!)
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No sweat!
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Next we will make a figure 4 and some fuzz sticks with it's little KYe brother.

best

mqqn
 
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At the Moon household, knives spend a good deal of time cutting meat in the kitchen. Anyone who has seen my pictures of previous reviews will know I could not let the ULH get away without cutting up a few racks of ribs!!

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These ribs were still a bit frozen, but no problem for the ULH. For kitchen use, the coarse micarta works very well when the going get's wet and slippery.

best

mqqn
 
I spent a little time this evening with the ULH and a pair of scissors and I made a soda-can ultralight camp stove. Seemed fitting.

Here is the original thread where our own member leghog showed a technique for a small alcohol stove that is as light as a piece of paper!

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ake-your-own-stove-in-minutes-Extremely-light

I cut the can apart with the ULH - and while it worked, it made more of a jagged cut than I liked, so I pulled out some scissors and cleaned up the cuts.

I used the ULH for piercing and cutting out the top of the can, and of course it worked very well.

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I don't have any alcohol around, and I am sure not going to use any JD!! I'll get some alcohol to test the stove later, and I will be prepared to show how to make these stoves at the October Gathering.

Thanks to leghog for the idea!

I will get the ULH out for a hike in two days as I am off of work this week.

I will take the XD XT Tactical Bowie, the KYe passaround Pocket Rocket and the Ultralight Hunter passaround out in the woods and do some bushcrafting to compare all three.

By weeks end, I will have enough pictures and stories to be able to post my required reviews in a couple of forums.

Thanks to everyone for your patience as I dealt with my role as head mechanic for the mqqn family the past week and a half. I finally have most of the grease out of my hands and fingernails.

best

mqqn
 
Holy cow - I did not realize I have been playing with this knife for a month!

I emailed John to find out where the knife goes next, and I will consolidate my review and get that posted in a few different forums that I know people will like the knife play.

best

mqqn
 
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