Nuga LKW Knives Master Crusher

Fabulous blade design but handle too narrow for me. I bought this as an all-round outdoor knife for various environs including the Canadian wilderness (think Aspen parklands or endless trees and massive grizzlies). Tropical humid perhaps not with it being a high carbon steel but then you have a bit less need for building a warm shelter in the tropics. However, this is a blade of excellent design! The blade subtly droops some belly which is fab for skinning during a hunt or survival. This knife is axe-like despite being under 400 grams. Much better chopper than my Fox Tracker, Utica B6 or Cold Steel XL voyager. Mid-blade thickness and grind is what is needed for chopping and what a great chopper it is as you would expect. I vigorously tried the knife out on a large pile of wood - possibly hazel - some wet, dry and green logs. Nothing on the way to petrification though. Blade was fine: no rolls dings or chips. No effect on the blade edge apart from dirt marks. I tip tested it.. when i got home i saw the very very tip beyond the secondardy bevel was slightly askew the left when looking from above, but i corrected it by pressing the tip along my (soon to be replaced) pine bed frame at home. The only real issue with this knife is the handle which is way too narrow. The knife dangerously moves about in the hand. I'm sure if liners were added it would fill the hand better and also be better for messy hunting meat/prep work. I believe this may be an issue with young knifemakers as i have another fantastic blade design by a youngish Ukrainian guy which again has a handle which is too thin. I am a middle-aged with medium glove-sized hands though i have done plenty of handwashing clothes and must have inevitably built the muscle up over the years like most would. But the hand grip space would be smaller and knife thickness would be less of a issue if i had larger finger muscles.. yes? I strongly suspect if i had made the knife myself in my youth i would have turned out a similarly sized handle. One can apply insulation or washi tape around it but it thickening the handle after production might get in the way of putting it back in the moulded kydex sheath. The way out of this problem is for the maker to trial the knife with different sized and aged people. Or give it a thick broomhandle similar to LT Wright knives such as the Next Gen. I don't necessarily recommend that but it might be an improvement on such a narrow handle. I personally will use a lanyard for safety though many bushcrafters would say that's essential anyway. I know from the forestry work i've done that cutting yourself is real easy if things aren't secure or are misused/ attention is distracted. Though O2 is generally a good choice for a chopper (tough yet 'hardenable' rather that tough n soft 1060 etc) I would like to see this blade done in a tough stainless - well-tempered N690, 3V or a high end steel such as Magnacut - though that last one would probably add quite a bit to the price.

Beautiful work really nice craftsmanship ordering was fairly easy just an FYI to overseas customers call your credit card company to let them know you're making an international purchase and it's pretty easy to order and shipping was prompt