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Pros: Blade Sharpness, Overall Quality, Materials, Handle Material
Cons: Weight
Great hunting knives
I purchased this three knife set back in 1998 for elk hunting and I can't believe how long the blades stayed shaving sharp. I field dressed and capped eight elk (in six years) without the need to re-sharpen them and carrying them for six years in a back pack and on a four wheeler ATV. I personally have never re-sharpened these blades. The D2 steel is VERY hard and can chip if dropped just right in rocks if the edge is hit but that is the trade off for a stupid sharp edge that stays sharp for years. I managed just barley nick the cleaver when I dropped it. It is a beast of a blade. The bull nose slices like a razor though the heaviest meat. The skinner / gut hook glides hide off an elk. The capper is quite tiny and light but is perfect for capping around eyes. The original Santoprene SureGrip rubber handles felt great using bare hands in the bitter cold but after about ten years they desolved into sticky gooey mess. Could have been from the oil I kept on the D2 steel to stave off rust...... which they never did in six years of hunting in the snow. Not sure. I sent all three blades back to Knives of Alaska to have them fully re-conditioned, re-sharpened and had them install real Elk horn handles. The knives now look brand new and the elk horn is beautiful! The soft Santoprene looks very plain but is a much better choice of material (IMHO) for use in the field than hard stag horn but............ the stag horn they used really looks good on the blades. The re-work was a bargin price of only $ 117.00 for all three blades. No telling what it would cost today but they sure treated me right back then. Great knives at a fair price for heavy duty animal processing. The only other blade I would like (to belt carry to compliment this three) is their five inch Drop Point hunter for all a round general cutting. At 2.45 lbs. for the set of three with sheath.........they are too heavy for belt carry but great in a back pack. Great product.