The Magnum Elk Hunter from Boker, a good
quality knife at a budget price. This would be another
knife that fits in the "Great survival knives under $20"
category. As with a lot of knives in this
price range, the blade is just 440 stainless, made in
china, so if that turns you off, stop
reading now. Otherwise...
The magnum line is boker's inexpensive line of knives aimed at
delivering attractive designs with impressive quality and
outstanding price-performance ratio. The magnum elk hunter is a
fine example of that philosophy. The blade is of course,
full tang, 4 1/3 inches in length and a full 5/16th thick. The
total overall length is just over 8.5 inches. The handle is
rosewood and rootwood separated by a stainless steel band. The
Rootwood has a unique appearance on each knife, as you can see
on this example there are some nice tiger stripes at
the front half of the handle, this knife really has to
be held to be appreciated.
As you can see from the images on this page, the sheath,
which is included with the elk hunter, has a
fairly cheap appearance to it, top grain leather, it is
not. However, on closer inspection the sheath material
is actually really tough, and what appears at first to be
cheesy faux leather is actually a pretty decent little
sheath. It improves in appearance as it
gets broken in. If there is any weakness in the
sheath, it might be the stiching, but we'll have to wait and
see on that.
The handle has a lanyard hole, with a brass lined
insert to complete the overall quality feel of the
knife. A lanyard is probably a good idea on this
particular knife, the handle finish is fairly smooth, and
tapers off toward the back, a lanyard could aid with grip or
help you hang on to it under wet conditions. Other than
that, the balance and comfort of the magnum elk
hunter rival knives with much higher
pricetags.
The Magnum Elk Hunter has a listed MSRP of $29.95 in
Boker's catalog, but you can find it under $20 bucks online if
you do a little shopping around.
