Tom Horn
Illinois

Feb 26, 2019

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Materials, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Not Your Grandpa’s Field Knife

Master Hunters flat ground blade arrived sharp. I was expecting a 20 degree edge, but when I put it in a edge angle finder, I found it was about a 17 degree edge. That’s CPM 3V confidence. I’m aroused. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Master Hunter has a nice thin edge for slicing, well balanced, strong point, w/good belly for skinning. The 4.5” blade is my ideal size for field dressing whitetail, and such. The 3/16” thick CPM 3V gives plenty of strength of spine, and could baton your kindling wood, no problem. The beefy Kray-ex handle is ergonomic, super grippy, fairly comfortable, and impervious to the elements. Fine fit and finish. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Since hunting season has passed, and I was going to make some beef vegetable soup, I went to the butcher as he was finishing up trimming some steaks. He had some nice chuck trimming I took home to the cutting board, to try out Master Hunter. This thing slices better than my wife’s Santoku knife. It went thru sinew and gristle like a hot butter knife thru a slab of butter. As I worked, it became a natural extension of my hand, as I went from cutting board, to whacking things directly into the pot. The belly comes naturally into play slicing down onto a 90 degree plane (cutting board, downed game). I’d love to have a second one just for the kitchen. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Secure-Ex sheath is quiet, safe, and secure; nothing to write home about. You can remove the nylon webbing and add a Tek-Lok/mini Tek-Lok for more secure/fast on-off belt retention (available @ KnifeCenter.com), or, wrap the Secure-Ex sheath in leather w/leather belt loop for more traditional look (sheath becomes a sheath liner). >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> This is similar to S30V, S35VN to sharpen; so, I recommend a Work Sharp Pocket Sharpener, Work Sharp Guided Sharpening System, or one of the many fine DMT diamond sharpening products (all available @ KnifeCenter.com). I wouldn’t use a Ken Onion Work Sharp Sharpener on it, unless you are Ken Onion (can mess up the point, real quick). Steeling your knife on a professional grade butcher steel can help your knife remain sharp between sharpening, and greatly prolongs the life of the blade. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you are ready to upgrade your field knife, there are few knives that will perform better than Master Hunter, and I’d venture, none better at this price point. I think Grandpa would be excited, too.

3V
Earth

Jul 23, 2022

Pros: None

Cons: None

My new favorite knife!

23 July, 2022 So, I've been waiting around 2 years or so for the 3V version of the Master Hunter to be available again. And it finally has returned! As a huge fan of the SRK line (I own the SK5 SRK, 3V SRK, and SRK-C) in no small part because of the near-perfect Kray-Ex handles and very good Secure-Ex sheaths, I knew the Master Hunter would be just about ideal for me as its blade is a little shorter than even the SRK-C, has a full-flat grind, slightly wider blade than even the full-size SRK, and more-pronounced belly, and a handle identical in size and shape to the full-size SRK. The Master Hunter has literally exactly everything I not only need, but even everything that I want! Except that chipping-prone San Mai is for me a deal-breaker horrible metal choice. So I've waited. And waited. And waiiiteddd... for the 3V version... Was it worth the wait? Well, I dunno. Cuz in those 2 years of waiting I've spent a few thousand dollars on a bunch of knives trying to find a suitable substitute. Meh, no joy. My initial expectation was right; the 3V Master Hunter is easily my favorite fixed knife now. Anybody need a bunch of customized Beckers and Elmax Fallknivens, etc.? 😜 I will note that it's not a perfect product though. The secondary bevel (cutting edge) was ground pretty sloppily. It's super-sharp thanks to a steep grind angle that can't be greater than 17⁰, maybe even 15⁰-ish(?). But it's visibly uneven and begs correction by skilled honing hands and/or sharpening jig. Also, the knife doesn't click into the sheath the way I'm accustomed to Secure-Ex sheaths clicking. It's a very snug and secure hold; no wiggle or rattle AT ALL, and I really appreciate that though, for sure! The nose also gets pinched by the sheath just below the spine for about 2 inches so you'll see that scuff (by plastic) line on the blade. It's really very minor and more "scuffs" the oil away from that specific spot on the blade than actually affecting the metal. Over time I'm sure it will scuff off the coating/texture right in that spot though. To me, this is simply a complete non-issue, and probably the cost (I'd gladly pay) to have an extremely secure and 100% silent sheath hold. Pretty minor stuff, but I'm just being complete... Oh yeah, it's not made in Italy as it's described. It's made in Taiwan. I don't know if that matters to you. Doesn't to me, but everyone's different. Just wanted to correct the record that as of today, these are Taiwanese, not Italian.

Dysk
USA

Feb 21, 2018

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Materials, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Sheath/Scabbard

Strongly recommend!

The master hunter CPM-3V stonewashed knife is super sharp. Plus, CPM-3V blade lasts so long even after heavy use in wood crafting and carving. I use it not only in the camping but also in the kitchen for regular cooking. I feel like it seems much better than middle class kitchen knives. As for the buttoning, I have no idea with this knife. Cos I dont use knives with rat-tail tang and without convex/scandi-grind for splitting purpose. Compared to a previous version (CPM-3V DLC), I prefer this version because finish of the blade is natural without black-coating which easily comes off in use. The blade is full height flat-grind with micro bevel. The grip and basic design are pretty same with the last version. I will recommend strongly.

Marc
California

Feb 08, 2018

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Materials, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Finish

Beast

I am in love with this thing. I was worried about the kray-ex handle feeling too squarish, but it feels amazing in my hand. It's super light and built like a tank. It came razor sharp and so far it's held an awesome edge. Gotta love the CPM 3V. I was kinda bummed that they ran out of the ones with the black DLC, but I'm still very happy I have this blade.

J. Patrick
Chesterfield, MO

Aug 11, 2022

Pros: None

Cons: None

Just. Get. It.

Quality is above and beyond, razor sharp, 3V steel. Waited months to get mine, it was more than worth it. On par with a Buck 110, Spyderco Para 2, Benchmade Bugout - a classic in every sense, a "must" possession.

Arkadiy
PA

Dec 11, 2018

Pros: None

Cons: None

Excellent working knife !

Rasor sharp blade.Cutting deer meet like butter - blade moving inside to the meat just in one way very quick.Handle is made very well - hand do not sqeese out on blade or other back way.Change a sneath on other type - leather sneath to prevent any trouble for cutting edge when sit on hunt (ke-dex not so flexible when my bally pushing knife handle from the top to down knife in the sneath).Knife working on foods in a kitchen better when any kitchen knife.Thanks to COLD STEEL (made in Italy - !).

Patrick
Pollock, La

Oct 20, 2024

Pros: Blade Material, Handle Material, Materials, Weight

Cons: Blade Sharpness, Finish, Overall Quality, Sheath/Scabbard

Not as good as the reviews claim

I purchased this knife after doing a lot of research. The knife arrived with an uneven grind and not very sharp. From doing more research I found that the Taiwan made versions are not as high quality as the previous ones that were made in Japan. Knife Center customer service was great and refunded the knife without an issue. The sheath was also a very tight fit and the alignment of the blade to the handle was off. I was extremely disappointed in the QC from this company. Buy American if you want good quality.