Cold Steel Master Hunter

[Lamewolf]

I've been reading a lot of reviews on the Cold Steel Master hunter, most of them good and a few bad ones. I like the idea of the laminated steel and I love the general purpose design of this knife. Been wanting a Falkniven F1 for a long time and just can't seem to make myself drop that much money on one and the CS Master Hunter looks very similar (I actually like its looks better). So, I just put in a order for one and decided to give one a try. It looks like it would make a great bushcraft knife for wet conditions since it is stainless steel with a molded plastic (they call it Concealex) sheath. I have an old Cold Steel ODA in Carbon V steel that is no longer available and it a very well made knife that has been through a lot in the last few years and it has the same style of sheath which has held up real well. But is just really too big to carry for general purpose use and the Master Hunter looks as though it will be fairly tough and corrosion resistant and has a great general purpose design like the F1. Anyway, this will be my poor man's F1 and will see service on my belt during fishing trips in the backwoods. So, does anyone else own a Master Hunter ? Give us your review of it - pros, cons ?

[MrFixIt]

I don't have one, but have seen some of the reviews.
And I agree @ the Falkniven, just a little too much coin to drop.
Let us know what you think of it when it arrives, please.

[Lamewolf]

Well, I finally got the Master Hunter and I must say I am impressed with the quality. Out of the box it is shaving sharp. Fit and finish is super and the sheath is great. Haven't had time to test it out yet and will post more when I do.

PS: I did try the spine of the blade and it is square enough to make a nice shower of sparks from a ferro rod, will be adding a loop for one to the sheath asap.

[Lamewolf]

Last night after work I decided to give the MH a little workout. Made some feather sticks with it on seasoned poplar, did a little batoning, and some light chopping - not something I would normally do with a knife this size but wanted to test the durability of the edge. After I was done, all it took on the edge was a little stropping to get it back to hair popping sharp like it was new out of the box. Granted, I didn't overdue this little test as I didn't have a lot of time, but it seems to compare to other knives I've used in the past and I love the feel of the handle. I think its going to make a great field knife especially when around streams and lakes while fishing since I won't have to worry about rust. I really prefer carbon steel, but have always liked the looks of this knife - just never managed to get my hands on one of the carbon V models. Wish Cold Steel would get smart and start using good old 1095 anyway !

[MrFixIt]

Thanks for the review Lamewolf. Cold Steel knives in 1095?
That would be awesome!

[Lamewolf]

Made a couple of upgrades to the Master Hunter this weekend. First, I convexed the edge using wet/dry paper on a computer mouse pad then stropped it to a mirror shine on a leather strop with compound. The reason I did this was because some folks have reported edge rolling or chipping and a convex edge is somewhat stronger in my book. Also, since the spine of the bade has good square shoulders on it and does good with a tremendous shower of sparks from a ferro rod, I used a piece of black leather to add a ferro rod loop to the sheath. The more I play with this knife, the more I like it. The one fault I have found with it is the fact that the outside laminations on the blade seem to be easily scratched. Not a big deal since this adds some "character", but I would have thought it would have been a bit tougher. Again, the knife would be much better had it been made of 1095 carbon !

[crashdive123]

Glad its working for you.