Description
Eleven inches long with a deeply curved dark wood handle that drops away from the blade, finished with a flared pommel and a polished bolster.
| Overall length | 11 inches |
| Blade length | 5.5 inches |
| Handle length | 5.5 inches |
| Handle | Deeply curved dark wood with a flared pommel and polished bolster |
| Steel | Stainless steel |
| Hardness | 58–60 HRC, oil tempered |
| Weight | 10 oz |
| Included | Hand-stitched leather sheath |
Suited to: larger hands and longer cuts. A 5.5 inch blade with 5.5 inches of handle behind it is a balanced arrangement, and the curve means your hand locks in position rather than sliding as you pull through a cut.
What the drop in the handle does
The handle falls below the line of the blade, which angles your wrist down and puts the edge slightly ahead of your knuckles. In practice that means you can draw a long slicing cut without lifting your elbow, and it is why this shape keeps reappearing on skinning and camp knives. The cost is that it grips one way only. Reverse the knife and the curve fights you.
Ten ounces and 5.5 inches
Ten ounces is substantial without being a chopper. Most of it sits at the bolster, so the knife feels balanced at the first finger and stays controllable through detail work despite the length. It is heavy enough to batons through a small branch in a pinch and long enough to be awkward for close, fiddly cuts. If you want one knife for a weekend outdoors, this size does the job; if you want something that disappears on a belt, it does not.
The wood, and the sheath
The scales are a dark figured hardwood with visible grain running the length of the handle, sealed and polished rather than textured. That gives a smooth, warm grip that is excellent dry and slicker than a micarta handle when wet, so keep a cloth in the pack. Waxing it annually keeps that finish sealed. The sheath is burgundy leather, tooled, laced along one edge and finished with a fringe, which is decorative and also quiets the knife against a pack.
Care: stainless steel, so nothing needs oiling and nothing will patina. Wipe the blade dry after use and store the knife outside the sheath, since leather traps moisture even when the steel does not mind it. Bring the edge back on a bench stone and leave carbide pull-throughs alone. Where this fits among the alloys we use is set out in our knife steel chart.
Questions before ordering
Is it a good first hunting knife? It is a bit long for caping but very good for general field work. Our hunting knife guide sets out what to prioritise.
Is there a crossguard? No. The bolster gives you a small stop and nothing more.
Is there a patterned steel version? The Damascus hunter with pearl shell is the closest match in Damascus.
Model: BMK-860
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