Inspired by the traditional Canadian Belt Knife, the L.T. Wright Large Northern Hunter is a versatile, effective, well-balanced, and attractive example of the knife-maker’s art. It is well suited to either chopping carrots in the kitchen or skinning a deer in the field. As such, it will effectively serve both a man of the field like Esau while hunting or a homebody like Jacob while making pottage (Genesis 25:27).
The sturdy 3.87-inch high-saber-grind blade is made of 1/8 inch thick AEB-L stainless steel and comes razor sharp. The nicely rounded Micarta handle fits the hand extremely well. With a price from ltwrightknives.com at the time of this writing of $171 including the sheath, the knife represents a good value for a high-quality, American made knife.
Background
About a year ago, I reviewed the LogOX A2 GenOX Bushcraft Knife. That knife is made for LogOX by L.T Wright Knives. I liked the GenOX so much that I decided that I should take a look at some of L.T. Wright’s other designs. I was especially intrigued by his Large Northern Hunter. I contacted Mr. Wright and asked if he could provide me with a sample for testing and evaluation. He was kind enough to agree. Three days later, a package arrived in my mailbox via USPS Priority Mail from LTWK, 130 B Warren Lane, Wintersville, OH 43953.
First Impressions
The simple white flapped cardboard product box was 10.5 x 3.5 x 2.25 inches in size. The box was more than adequate to protect its contents while not wasting resources that should be put into the product rather than the packaging. The knife came wrapped in corrosion-inhibiting Uline PW32 Proteck Wrap, which was then wrapped in tissue paper, which was in turn placed in a plastic bag. The knife came out of the protective wrappings smooth-shaving sharp.
There was a cardboard sheath around the blade with the words “Caution, Sharp Knife. Store Clean and Dry.” I often rant against sharpness warnings like this on knife packaging. In most cases, I feel that this wording is a byproduct of an excessively litigious culture. But the Large Northern Hunter is so much sharper than the average knife that I think that the warning may actually be warranted in this case.
The Micarta handle is attached to the tang with highly polished brass rivets, and includes a brass-lined lanyard hole that is large enough to accommodate a paracord lanyard.
The product box also contained a beautifully crafted dangler-form sheath made of heavy-gauge leather with strong stitching and strategically place rivets. The sheath includes a sleeve that is appropriately sized for holding a ferrocerium rod. The sheath is made for L.T. Wright by JRE Industries of Schaumburg, IL. The well-constructed, American-made sheath is an excellent companion for the well-constructed, American-made knife.
The box also contained an “LTWK Handcrafted Knives” patch, sticker, and business card, as well as a letter from L.T. Wright containing maintenance tips along with some other helpful advice. I liked the quote from John 14:6 on the back of the business card: “Jesus answered: ‘I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
For maintenance, L.T. Wright recommends keeping a thin coat of oil on the knife using a Sentry Solutions Tuf-Cloth or Ballistol Sportsman’s Oil. Mr. Wright likely selected these products based on the fact that both are non-toxic. For merely occasional contact with food, that is probably sufficient. If a knife that needs to be kept oiled will be in regular contact with food, I would recommend the use of food grade mineral oil instead. Since AEB-L stainless steel is quite corrosion resistant, I decided not to oil the knife at all during the time it was in use in the kitchen. I am happy to report that despite frequent exposure to water, the knife remained completely corrosion free.
The letter also recommended storing the knife in a soft case rather than the sheath, using a Sno-Seal type of product to keep the leather of the sheath from drying out, and using Loctite on all of the screws on the sheath.
The name “Large” Northern Hunter may cause some to imagine a knife like the one carried by Crocodile Dundee. This is not the case. The 3.87 inch blade is “large” only in comparison with the 3.118 inch blade of the Small Northern Hunter. This size is altogether fitting and proper. Moderately sized knives are generally better suited to a wider variety of tasks than larger knives.
The lifetime guarantee appropriately does not cover corrosion or abuse. But it also does not cover normal wear and tear, which was a little disappointing.
In the Kitchen
Mr. Wright indicated that the Northern hunter was designed for use both in the kitchen preparing food and in the field dressing game. So I prepared to turn the knife over to my wife, “Kari”, for the initial testing phase.
This preparation involved placing the knife in the dishwasher so that it would be thoroughly clean. Kari recommended that I hand wash the knife instead, but I did not listen. Kari was right, and I was wrong. The dishwasher seemed to dull the finish on the Micarta handle somewhat. It is always wise to follow Kari’s advice in the kitchen. Over the course of the ensuing two months, the knife was in constant use in the kitchen. It quickly became Kari’s favorite knife. She used it for tasks like cutting peppers, carrots, frozen chicken, steak, tomatoes, and a host of other food items. It performed these tasks with consistently good results. I also borrowed the knife from time to time for various tasks like opening packages.
The kitchen testing phase had just two drawbacks. One minor drawback was that the knife was so much sharper than any of Kari’s other knives, that she received a couple of small cuts early on in the testing process. Incidental contact with the edge that would not have resulted in cuts from her other knives did result in cuts while using the Large Northern Hunter. The other drawback was potentially more significant. Since the knife quickly became Kari’s favorite, I was afraid that I might have trouble removing it from the kitchen for field testing.
I am happy to report that my fears were unfounded. Kari surrendered the knife for field testing with good grace.
The Deerslayer
I dressed the blade with an AccuSharp Diamond PRO 2 Step knife sharpener, put on a light film of mineral oil, and entrusted the knife to my friend “The Deerslayer”.
I call my friend the Deerslayer in tribute to Natty Bumppo, the main character of James Fenimore Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales. My friend has earned the Deerslayer title, since he harvests deer more consistently than anyone else I have ever known. He is constantly looking for people with space in their freezer so that he can bless them with some of his abundant supply of venison. With his extensive experience in field dressing and processing deer, I felt that the Deerslayer’s perspective on using the Large Northern Hunter in the field would be more valuable than my own.
After about a month of use, the Deerslayer returned the knife along with a cooler full of venison. He found the Large Norther Hunter to be especially effective for skinning deer. For field dressing he still prefers the small, generic hunting knife that he received as a gift from his uncle while still in elementary school. Decades of practice have made the use of that knife second nature to the Deerslayer. For most processing, he prefers a 6 inch fillet knife. But for skinning, he found the Large Northern Hunter to be an outstanding tool.
At Kari’s request, I returned the knife to the kitchen after the Deerslayer was finished with his testing. But the next time I go deer hunting, I plan to take make off with the knife once again.
AEB-L Steel
AEB-L steel was originally designed for razor blades. I guess that explains why it takes an edge so well. It is made by the Bohler Company of Austria. It is composed of 85.31% iron, 13% chromium, 0.67% carbon, 0.6% manganese, 0.4% silicon, and 0.02% sulfur. Since it contains more than 10.5% chromium, AEB-L is classed as a stainless steel.
Conclusions
The Large Northern Hunter is a versatile knife suitable for use both in the kitchen and in the field. It takes an excellent edge, is highly corrosion resistant, is a convenient size and shape, and has a comfortable handle. It is quite attractive, and is American made. I highly recommend it.
Disclaimer
L.T. Wright was kind enough to provide me with a sample of his Large Northern Hunter Belt Knife testing and evaluation. LogOX was kind enough to provide me with a sample of their A2 GenOX Bushcraft Knife for a previous review. Sentry Solutions subsequently provided me with a sample of their Tuf-Cloth for testing and evaluation. I tried not to let the kindness of any of these vendors interfere with the objectivity of this review, and I believe that I have succeeded. I did not receive any other financial or other inducement to mention any vendor, product, or service in this article.