Knives of Alaska...Thoughts?
 

Looking at some of these for a Christmas present for my dad.

He is a Whitetail hunter and I would like to get him a nice set of knives for gutting, skinning, and processing Whitetail.

Which ones from KOA should I look at and does anyone have some experience with these knives?

I don't have any experience with them but I can tell you a few things based on the materials used and maybe someone that knows more will come along.


They use mostly d2 tool steel which is very good for some and not for others.

The steel is very hard which means good and bad.

They will hold a really good edge, they will chip relatively easy, and they will be hard to sharpen. They will also stain and rust but are fairly resistant to both.

craftsmanship I'm sure is very nice.

The potential to chip is not a design flaw. Its a known tradeoff in d2 steel for longer edge retention.

As Ive said in another thread IMO the outdoor edge swing blade cannot be beat for Whitetail hunting and a forschner (victorinox) curved boning knife for processing.

KOA are nice , but you can get a custom for as much or less.

Just not worth the price in my opinion. They are very brittle if you intend to try and pop where the rib cage meets. I sent mine back to them, got a replacement and immediately sold on ebay. It was the set with 3 knives a cleaver, a caper and a regular style knife. For the price I'd suggest a good quality hunting knife and a good quality butcher set.

I purchased the Stag Tripple Knife Combo, and it is not only beautiful but also functions very well. Good luck.