Steel Will Roamer R345

Steel Will were a new name in knives, well they were until I realised that the parent firm, SMG, also make Gletcher CO2 pistols. Those utterly wonderful chaps at Heinnie Haynes are now stocking the Steel Will brand and one of their knives really caught my eye. The Roamer is a large, fixed-blade camp/ bushcraft knife with its original design brief being a skinning knife for big game, it’s a bit of overkill if you buy it for rabbits, deer shooters are fine. It’s sharp out of the box and the handle ergonomics are very good. It has three open tube type fastenings on the thermoplastic elastomer ‘TPE’ handle. The rear one can be used to fit a paracord lanyard.

The Roamer comes in either a black or orange handle. As well as the superb grip there are seven jimping groves along the spine of the knife for the thumb to sit nicely on. There is also a small guard and the blade shape is very ‘skinner-ish’ and it even has a 6mm radius cut out in the choil area to use with a fire starting ferrous rod. The Roamer is very strong, with a full-length tang, which, projects right through the handle. It even extends out of the back to form a hammer/ glass breaker, a nice touch. The sheath is a black leather type, with a press stud securing strap and a steel D-ring supported belt hanger. It is well made and feels solid in use; some leather sheaths on budget type knives are paper thin and not made to a high standard, but not here, as it’s a welldesigned quality item to match the knife. I really like both the look and feel of this knife, for five pence under fifty quid it’s a proper bargain as well.

Thanks to Bruce and Richard at HH.