6 best hunting knife manufacturers

The ten thousandth town of Vorsma, by renown, can argue with many millionaires: here, since the 18th century, workshops for the production of various blades have been concentrated, and the traditions of handicraftsmen are still alive: speaking of knives from Vorsma, we are talking primarily about small private workshops.

Although it cannot be said that the firm of A. Sedov (not to be confused with S. Sedov, who also lives in Worm ... and guess what he does?) Is so small - even if there are few employees in it, but the fruits of their labors are well known. The production is based on the basic knife design system, and the client can choose the blade material and handle design that interests him - for example, if you like the Leader hunting knife, then you need to give 14,500 rubles for a damask blade and figure casting from nickel silver: a knife D2 steel (4900 r.), Damascus (4050 r.) would be an excellent working variant. Well, in any case, you can choose the handle to your taste. If desired, nickel-silver casting for the design of the handle can be bought from the masters and separately, in order to “elevate” the previously bought knife or home-made product.

The choice of steels for this workshop is one of the best: they work with “diamond” steel XB5, with damask, and with several types of Damascus. Fans of foreign steels will be met in the catalog by acquaintances Elmax, S390, M390, AISI. So the possibility of choosing a knife "by itself" is very great, although it is a question of a set of standard designs.

The Dagestan blades are the “brand” of tsarist times, and the modern production of knives in Kizlyar (not to be confused with the Kizlyar Supreme brand, these are different companies) successfully combines tradition with modern fashion: you can choose from the catalog companies and classic Caucasian daggers with silver trim and tactical knives of imported steel. At the same time, the prices of Kizlyar blades are quite low-cost, if you do not aim at exclusive models with expensive finishes. That is why, among the lovers of knives, the word "Kizlyar" has become a household name: someone sees in it good-quality "working" blades without any frills, someone contemptuously twists his lip - they say, mass stamping. However, Kizlyar knives are not only mass “Cranes”, “KO-1”, “Kites” or “Bikers”, but also original works for “very different money” (“Isma”, “Caspiy”, “Leopard” ).

Alas, it was precisely the mass character that once served the company in a bad way - the term “Kozlyar”, which appeared due to numerous flaws in gross budget products and an indifferent attitude of the customer to customer reviews, was even established on the Nozheman forums. Some of the problems, of course, were more aesthetic than actually affecting the use of the knife (for example, the asymmetry of the descents, which the author also has on Pavlovsky Hunter-2, which does not prevent this knife from working for 8 years), already required a close selection of a good hunting knife when buying.

Anyway, Kizlyar knives remain one of the most common, so there will be no problems with the choice, and the reviews of recent years on specialized forums are much more favorable than the words addressed to PP Kizlyar LLC ten years ago. Now the company already offers a lifetime warranty on factory defects of mass models.If you need a good working hunting knife, and not a beautiful “shelf” for the collection - then why not?

Let's continue about the masters of the Nizhny Novgorod region: Yuri Semin began his work in 1995, and now this master can already be recognized as famous throughout Russia and beyond. In 2016, Semin’s knives could be introduced at the 21st (!) Exhibition, which ran from Moscow to Irkutsk. And, what is there to conceal, the fact of acquiring a knife of a particular master, and not the faceless brand of any company, can also become an argument when choosing: manual work will always be appreciated.

What does the master offer us today? There are many interesting things in the standard series. For example, practical “folds” can be ordered with damask blades, which not so many companies offer. Close to the prices for Damascus knives made of steel D2 - one of the most popular overseas "semi-november" (chrome content - 12%).

Do you like big knives? Then it is worth looking in the direction of models like “Kazak” (224 mm of the blade), “Pharaoh” (247 mm), “Caesar” (246 mm). Well, do not forget about the machete. He makes wizards and axes, and even a stone (!) Ax is offered to lovers of “full exclusives”.

What first comes to mind by association to the word "Damascus"? Of course, damask - blacksmith works with this steel, and offers blades of crucible damask and alloyed. The price of them, alas, many times more than that of any other options from the "simpler" steel, and they are made by the master only for prepayment.

Another representative of Scandinavia, moreover, counting history from the 19th century: although the Mora brand itself appeared not so long ago, since the merger of the firms KJ Eriksson and Frost Knivfabrik in 2005, they both started production a long time ago. Eric Frost knives began to be produced in 1891, and Krang-Johan Eriksson made knives since 1912, so Mora is the union of two of the oldest and largest Swedish factories for the production of knives.

As befits a true Scandinavian, Mora knives perfectly combine accessibility, practicality and quality. The price in Russia for products under this brand starts from three-digit ones: knives such as Morakniv Classic 611 cost less than 1000 rubles, and for this money you get really high-quality assembled knife with a blade made of durable carbon steel. Well, in the more expensive series, either Sandvik 12C27 stainless steel or “laminate” are used.

In short, if you are looking for a perfect embodiment of the concept of a working knife, which is inexpensive, practical and reliable, then the circle of fans of Mora knives will surely accept you.