Gary Wines Bushcraft Hunter knife

Gary Wines Knives produce a range of Bushcraft-types and I have on test their Bushcraft Hunter. As I discovered he is ex SAS and also friends with that other legend Lofty Wiseman, who went on to write the SAS Survival Handbook as well as being involved in the leading edge of survival training and equipment design.

Bushcraft, which is essentially living off the land has been popularised by Ray Mears and become a sort of no nonsense hobby. One of the primary tools for this is a simple knife that will be used for many things – shelter building, trap/ tool making and animal preparation etc.

STAG OR WOOD?

The generic bushcraft design is about as simple as it gets – full tang build, wooden scales and a drop point blade often with a Scandi grind for ease of sharpening. Gary offers three knives – Large Bushcraft Hunter, Medium and Junior Bushcraft models.

Made in Sheffield, which is nice, the build offers full tang construction made from 01 tool steel with a hardness of 56 Rockwell. They are 4mm thick and the Hunter retains this for near 95% of its length, much like my Fallkniven PH there’s something very comforting about a piece of steel that’s never going to quit! All knives have a lifetime guarantee!

The Hunter is a drop point and the blade length is 5.5” with an overall of 10”. The edge is marginally hollow ground with a deep riccaso at the rear that effectively acts as a finger stop, which is useful; especially for edge-up work. You get the choice of either Rosewood or staghorn scales. There’s a 6 mm lanyard hole and the handles are glued and fixed with brass rings and nickel pins. Fit and finish is good.

BASIC BUCKET

The leather sheath is a basic, bucket-type that engulfs ¾ of the length with no ancillary retention. It’s well stitched and the 2” belt loop is both sewn and riveted, there’s the option of a fire steel loop too.

In use it proved well up for any tasks I put it too and is strong enough for battening wood etc. The deep riccaso and handle shape give equal edge up/down practicality. Edges like the front and rear of the handle and spine could do with bevelling to make them more comfortable. Doubtless these would smooth up with use! I would have liked to see jimping on the top of the spine and riccaso to improve grip. The sheath is unlined so care needs to be exercised when drawing or sheathing!

Overall a nice piece of kit with just a few small areas needing addressing, none of which would put me off buying one. I think hunters will probably opt for the Medium Bushcraft model with its 4 3/8” blade. The Small Bushcraft Junior offers a 4 1/8” blade. Prices are keen given you are getting a hand-made item and at least £100 cheaper than a Ray Mears-branded Bushcrafters too! The icing on the cake is that these knives are fully endorsed and recommended by John Lofty Wiseman!

FOR

Well made and practical

AGAINST

Could do with jimping in certain areas

VERDICT

Good prices and well worth consideration