mdwest
AH ambassador
I have a new favorite knife..
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I still very much consider myself a "hobby" quality knife maker.. but Ive made probably 300+/- blades at this point, and have developed a pretty decent eye for "quality, and a solid understanding of what works, what doesn't, what is true/real craftsmanship vs pretty easy tasks to master, what materials work well for what the knife is intended to do, etc..etc..
the blade above was made by MT Maker (steve crites).. Steve donated a similar knife as a door prize for the @Bos en Dal SAFARIS party at TTHA this year.. when he showed me the pics of what he intended to donate, I became immediately jealous and had to have one for myself..
next season I wont be carrying an mdwest knife.. this one will be on my belt... the craftsmanship is excellent (far, far better than what I am capable of).. and the edge on this thing is an absolute scalpel.. Im super proud to own it..
CPM 154 stainless steel, desert ironwood handles, stainless and micarta spacers.. and a really well-executed leather sheath..
Instagram@mtmakerllc is his Instagram...
prices are well below market honestly for this quality of work, the materials used, etc..
A quick follow up on this knife..
I just spent 4 days in camp finishing out deer season with a bunch of .mil veterans.. over the course of the weekend we collectively took 8 good sized hogs and 2 doe..
I very intentionally worked this new knife HARD to see what it could and couldn't do.. and let a couple of the other guys in camp give it a workout as well... it ended up gutting and quartering 5 pigs and 1 doe.. and then we used it to debone 4 of those pigs...
It got through all of those tasks without having to touch up or re-sharpen the blade at all..
the leading 2" or so of the blade could now use a slight touch up.. the rear few inches are still scalpel sharp..
The steel choice and the heat treatment on this thing are pretty incredible.. Im super impressed..
Im definitely going to be carrying this all next season and using it as much as possible.. its a joy to hunt with..