BIGCAT ROAR Handmade Damascus Hunting Knife - Fixed Blade Hunting Knife with Sheath and Walnut Wood Handle - 12″ Outdoor Knife - Leopard Hunter

Nice, quality knife.

This knife is equal to one of high name-brand pedigree, though it’s probably made by some anonymous craftsman laboring in a smoky shop somewhere in India, Pakistan, Longquan Province (China) or Spain, where there is a strong tradition of fine hand workmanship in metals.It may not be immediately apparent at a casual glance, but there are some subtle and unusual things going on with this knife. Note how the centerline of the blade and the centerline of the handle are not parallel, as is typically the case. By being cranked slightly downward at about 2° or 3° (see photos), the handle is better positioned to leverage force for chopping or power-slicing than were it aligned with the blade at 180°. Notice, also, how the cross-guard is set slightly off the perpendicular with both the blade and the handle, a nuanced feature that visually resolves the problematic juncture of the non-coincident centerlines. Now note how the cross guard fairs into the handle with a seamless radius, a design element that pleases the eye and that is pleases the touch even more. And try holding this knife by hooking your forefinger around the guard to engage the hollow in the blade on the other side. How does that feel? And if you’re mindful of the edge, you can caress and fondle this knife while reading your Patrick O’Brien or watching past episodes of “Yellowstone.” You don’t have to be a twisted blade-perv to appreciate this.Moving down to the blade itself, which is 9 in. long, has a spine thickness of about .170-.175 in. thick and a maximum width of 1.70 in., you’ll see how (unlike other Bowie’s) the blade’s silhouette or outline is entirely curvilinear without any angular junctures along the spine as with conventional clip-point Bowie’s, as shown in the photo. The blade’s polygonal cross-sectional shape is unusual, too.Some Damascus steel is crumbly and brittle, suffering from a variety of forging errors, carelessness and inexperience. Not so this steel. It takes and holds an edge, and I would guess by the way it behaves on my hard Arkansas stone that it’s somewhere around 58-59 on the Rockwell hardness scale. It was sharp out of the box, but not shaving sharp. It it didn’t take much work to get it that way. On my belt grinder, I steepened the honing bevel a bit to make the cutting angle more acute, and despite this, the edge holds up nicely under normal use. But curiously, the razor edge I strop on today seems to evanesce by tomorrow. A few laps on the leather seems to restore it, but I swear that difference between sharp and razor sharp seems to disappear overnight. Could it be that those few molecules out there on the edge just evaporate in the evening air? Seems like a case for Mr. Holmes or Ms. Poirot.One other thing in the odd-phenomenon dept. I still can’t figure out why the blade is so light weight, as other reviewers have also noted. Maybe this is related to the disappearing-edge mystery. Anyway, despite all this, the steel is true Damascus. One reviewer wondered why the layering of the steel on the spine of the blade isn’t visible on the polished tang. Well, Damascus when ground on edge and then left alone in this state (not acid etched) will not show it’s layers. An experiment with a knife-blank billet of Damascus will show this.One reviewer complained that some parts were loose and that others fit poorly. The knife I received has a high level of integrity, meaning everything is integral with everything else. Nothing is loose, no seams mismatched, everything is just as it should be. Flawless.This knife seems to sell out fast because the supply is probably limited, it being a hand-made item and not a factory-run product. So I’d recommend without reservation that you buy one of these now. The many photos of it on the Amazon site are true, trustworthy representations. Why wait til they run out of stock again?

Such a great knife, durable, and made of grade A materials, I'm so happy

First off, if your'e wondering if this is real folded pattern welded damascus for only $70 - it is. You can tell by the texture left by the acid etch - this is the real stuff. It has a strong but random pattern brought out by the etching and a good polish. Mine, at least, was not very sharp ootb due to having quite a burr on the right side edge. I knocked that off on a diamond stone and currently have it to the point where it will slice paper pretty cleanly but still have a ways to go. The blade does have a slight recurve that complicates sharpening a bit. How the previous reviewer determined that the steel was too soft I have no idea, as it seems fine to me. The blade it light and fast and balances about two inches in front of the guard. The blade length is ten inches and thickness about 3/16 of an inch. The clip is long - about 2/3 the blade length - and entirely unsharpened, which is a pity as a proper bowie clip should have at least enough of an edge to deliver an effective backcut. Of course, most commercially made bowies these days come the same way but you can always fix it yourself if you have the skills.The handle - the handle is great! Fits my hand perfectly and the pinky hook on the butt ensures a secure grip even with the beautiful smooth polished wood it is made of. It is hands down the most comfortable grip of any knife I've ever owned. Fit and finish of the handle, mosaic pin, stainless guard and blade is is outstanding.The sheath is attractive and of good quality leather nicely embossed and stitched although the retaining snap is a little weak and the strap of a much thinner leather. But - and this is a very big but that prevented a 5 star rating - they dressed the edges with some black substance that comes off on everything - hands, clothes, everything it touches. I've rubbed at it with cloths and paper towels for over half an hour so far and the damned stuff is still coming off. Unless your'e a Johnny Cash impersonator and habitually dress in all black, you won't want this thing anywhere near you. I'll probably end up making a kydex sheath anyway when the weather warms up but such a problem on an otherwise nice sheath is disheartening. I'm surprised it wasn't mentioned in the other reviews.If your'e looking for an attractive, well made, light and fast damascus bowie - don't let the sheath deter you but be aware of it. Maybe mine was an anomaly or maybe you know how to seal the edges so you won't have the problem, but even if it came sans sheath, it would still be a fine value for just the knife itself.Edit - Found a way to beat the sheath edge problem - coat the edge with liquid wood hardener. It seals the the edge after drying quickly and no more black crap rubbing off. Also leaves a shiny edge.