Heavy Duty Field Knife (HDFK)
The Heavy Duty Field Knife was designed as a collaboration with Lorien Arnold. It is a well made, extremely durable, high performance large utility knife designed for comfortable extended rough use. The steel is Delta heat treat optimized Crucible CPM 3V at HRC 60-61 with very good edge retention and edge stability. You’ll be surprised how sharp this gets and how well it holds an edge. If you have never used 3V like this, it is gonna blow your mind.
This steel does not need to be extremely thick to be nearly unbreakable, so this was taken down to .025″ before sharpening and it was sharpened 20 degrees per side. It’s a hard-use knife that cuts well.
They’re hand ground after machining utilizing tooling and a process we developed to reproduce the complex bevel geometry found on a competition cutter with three world championships on it. We’re developing that capability for another project but decided to include it on this new pattern. It incorporates a very shallow S grind that is mostly flat, but convex at the shoulder and behind the edge and includes an approximate 100″ hollow grind in the center of the grind.
Some might consider this a tactical knife but the point is not reinforced and it is not shaped or balanced as a weapon. It is a hard working cutting tool that could be carried into combat, a big skinning knife and a hard use woods knife.
This is our most developed hand grip yet. It supports multiple positions to reduce fatigue and accommodate multiple tasks including a pinch grip and choil grip at the balance point for detail work, a regular hammer grip and saber grip and also a rearward 3 1/2 finger grip that allows you some extra length that makes it a surprisingly effective chopper for its size. The full size handle has been thoroughly tested and designed to minimize hand and arm fatigue during extended use.
Unnecessary weight is removed where possible and the tang is internally skeletonized for a neutral balance. The scales are 3D sculpted CNC machined. The blade is made of .220″ 3V with a heat treat that has been optimized for edge durability in rough use. You can baton and pry with it. You might damage the edge if you set your mind to it, but the knife itself is practically unbreakable.
A side effect of this heat treat is a higher percentage of free chromium, so although it is not stainless, it is nearly so.
Specs:
CPM 3V, Delta heat treat, tested 60-61 HRC, .220″ thick at ricasso
Total length 11.825″
Blade length 6.5″
Weight 12.8 oz
Grippy 3D machined scales in micarta and Terotuf.
Black oxide treated 18-8 stainless steel fasteners
Includes a very nice Mashed Cat Sheath with TekLok or Drop Loop.
