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The Hood Hunter by Hood/Fehrman
Well folks, I think we did it. Eric Fehrman (Fehrman Knives) and I have been working with this design for nearly a year. After testing a number of prototypes I think we are where I wanted to be.
It's a stunning piece of work. Light weight yet it boasts the blade speed to do some serious chopping.
Recently I took the final design blade out to the willow patch and ... Snick... The willow just fell off it's base. No argument just simple performance. Wider blades have contact with the wood for just a millisecond too much time and you can feel the willow grip the steel... Just a touch. This baby is through the wood before gravity even knows there's a change.
After the willow I looked for a bit more of a challenge to the "snick" powers of the blade. Not far away I found a nice patch of Hawthorn. Hawthorn is very dense and springy and the bane of hunters hereabouts. It's in the rose family. I've whacked on this stuff many times and hated the way it whacked me back. With some concern I hauled back for a slash on the bush and let 'er rip. Snick! off came a 1 inch thick piece of Hawthorn! That was amazing. Ultimately I was able to snick through a 1 1/2 inch piece of the stuff.
The blade then did double duty in the kitchen and by the fireplace. I split wood and sliced tomatoes. The blade held it's edge as if was re-growing itself. As most folks know kitchen duty is tough on a knife. This baby did it all without breaking a sweat.
Some Specs:
OAL 16"
Blade length 10": (cutting edge to tip from front of choil) 9.75"
Blade width:1.4"
Blade thickness: 1/4"
Weight: 17.1 oz !!!
Steel: CPM-F3V - RC 58-60
Handle slabs: Linen Micarta
Finish: Black (standard) or Satin ($50)
Pricing for Hood Hunter 10 inch
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Blade numbers 1-9
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Blade numbers 10 up
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Black w/o Sheath $435
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Black w/o Sheath $365
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Satin W/o Sheath $475
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Satin W/o Sheath $400
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Sold Out
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Sold Out
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More info:
Remove the handle scales and you'll find a chamber. The chamber will hold survival items or... fill it 1/2 full of number 4 steel shot.... then go chop. You'll understand the concept of a shock absorber for a blade. Even without the shot the chamber is calculated to reduce the vibration harmonics induced when you hit hard wood, knots or bone. It's a smooth chopper, an angry slicer and because of the "Guards" , it is a fine carver on man or meat.
Some thoughts:
What we learned with many fixed blade knives is that a large grip is potentially fatiguing for folks with small hands. For years I used my Randall #1-9 exclusively and the grip on it is small compared to most blades it's size. For some reason that grip has stood the test of time, not many people complain about the size of the Randall grip after working with it. I wondered why. The first Hood Hunter had a grip identical in size to our Anaconda but it still felt ... off... compared to where I wanted to be. After working with several blades that I thought were easy to control I realized the smaller grip was part of the reason.
I looked at how I chopped and with a larger grip it is hard to maintain control and still have a loose grip for a "snap". There's just too much material to get a secure circumference control and maintain a grip loose enough for a snap chop. When we reduced the grip size I got the chopping control and the comfort back. The smaller grip is also much better with gloves.
We are also working through some handle slab alternatives. In one set, the inside of the slabs has been routed out so you can see clear through the handle section (photo below). This allows the addition of 550 cord or a secure leather wrapping that will enlarge the handle. We can also have slabs cut from thicker Micarta for folks with larger hands. This will retain the relatively narrow grip yet increase the "beam" for a more solid platform if needed.
A little about the Steel:
Our CPM-3V blades are custom treated to RC 58/59. This steel has proven to have more than twice the toughness of A2 steel.
From the steel maker at: http://www.crucibleservice.com/eselector/prodbyapp/plastics/cpm3vp.html
CPM 3V is a high toughness, wear-resistant tool steel made by the Crucible Particle Metallurgy process. It is designed to provide maximum resistance to breakage and chipping in a high wear-resistance steel. It offers impact resistance greater than A2, D2, Cru-Wear, or CPM M4, approaching the levels provided by S7 and other shock resistant grades. CPM 3V is intended to be used at 58/60 HRC in applications where chronic breakage and chipping are encountered in other tool steels, but where the wear properties of a high alloy steel are required.
The wear and toughness properties of CPM 3V make it an excellent alternative to shock-resistant steels such as S7 or A9, where they typically wear out too quickly, but where grades such as A2, CruWear, or CPM M4 tend to fail by breaking or chipping. CPM 3V offers the highest impact toughness of any tool steel with this range of wear resistance.
How does it perform in the real world... I've never found a steel that is tougher, more resilient and holds a better edge. Fehrman's proprietary heat treatment process improves the steel even more... Check out these photos of a Fehrman 3V blade under going destruction tests.
Finally...the Blades:
As we use the knives we will add more photos to this section.
Just on the photo you want to view.
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