Over the past few years, I have really been in search of the perfect knife. For awhile there, I was a replaceable blade knife fan. The thought of having to stop what I was doing to sharpen a knife up isn’t something that I wanted to deal with. What better way than to not sharpen at all and just switch the blade right? Well, that comes with it’s downfalls believe it or not. Whether that is cutting yourself trying to replace the blade or the blade actually breaking inside the animal, I’ve experienced it. Because of that, I decided to bite the bullet and try some fixed blades. The ones that I tried out worked great, but they weren’t exactly what I was looking for. One way or another, I’d find a flaw. When I saw the design of the new Argali Carbon Knife, my attention was caught hook line and sinker.
Before I get into the actual knife itself, let’s chat about the company for a minute. There are so many good companies out there in the hunting industry and I really think that picking who to give your business to, not only comes down to the product, but to what the company stands for. Do you identify with them? Argali is a conservation minded company out of Boise, Idaho focused on backcountry hunting. Their mission is to not only educate people about why we do what we do as hunters, but also to make your life easier on backcountry hunts. Argali sells an array of backpack hunting gear through their website and is pretty damn good at making films. They’ve been featured in Full Draw Film Tour and you can check out their films on their YouTube page.
So, what is this new Carbon Knife from Argali? Let’s look at the “why” first. Founder Brad Brooks set out to make an ultralight knife for backcountry hunting. One that was the weight of a skeleton-ized knife, with the feel of a full on handled fixed blade knife. He also wanted to be able to process an entire elk in the field without sharpening it. No big deal right? Yes, that was a tall order, but an order that was met believe it or not.
The Argali Carbon Knife is a drop point design made with the ounce counter in mind. At a mere 1.8 ounces, this isn’t going to be weighing your pack down. It may help make your pack heavier with all of the meat you cut up with it, but the knife is a feather. A feather that packs a punch being made out of S35VN steel. This steel is tough as nails, but not so tough that you couldn’t sharpen it yourself. The problem with harder steels than this is that they tend to be a bit more brittle and once they lose their edge, it is a pain in the butt to get it back yourself. Those knives are also more prone to snapping actually. I’ve seen it. The Carbon Knife doesn’t fall into that category.
The handle on the Carbon Knife is definitely another feature to point out. Made out of G10, this has a very tacky feeling to it. Meaning that it isn’t going to be slipping out of the user’s hand anytime soon. A hunter does have the ability to actually take this G10 off of the handle and apply paracord if they choose. I don’t see any reason to do so though. The handle is pretty ergonomical as well and a great size. Not too big, not too small. Some others out there I’ve found are either too skinny or the handle just doesn’t fit the hand as well. This handle is 4″ long.
This 3.25″ blade comes sheathed in an ultralight Kydex sheath. They come in both First Lite Fusion/Orange and just plain old black. In my experience, Kydex has always been super tough and I haven’t had any issues. Another cool feature of the sheath is that the user can actually change the tension by which it holds the knife via a simple screw.
Right off of the bat, when I first got this knife in hand, I was beyond stoked. The knife is wicked ultralight, which I always appreciate as a backcountry hunter. From the handle to the design of the blade and everything in between, I had a great feeling about adding this to my kit. Not to mention, this knife just plain looks great and is aesthetically pleasing. All of that aside, the real test would come when I got something on the ground.
In the past few months, I have had the pleasure of using this new Carbon Knife to process 2 black bears and a mule deer. All animals were skinned and cut up using the gutless method. The knife performed flawlessly. This thing is SHARP! Being the one cutting, I could feel it, but my hunting partners all commented on how easily the knife glided through the animal. While I didn’t feel like I had to sharpen the knife during these animals, I tried anyways, just so I could see if their was a difference. I was surprised to find that there wasn’t really a difference. This means that the knife indeed held its edge like it was suppose to.
Some other things that I appreciated about the knife were the shape, length, and jibbing. The back of the knife is actually slightly curved inwards. Argali does this so when cutting through the hide with the blade up, you avoid cutting the meat beneath. So, the point is actually up off of the meat, not level with it when making that slice through the hide. Pretty nifty. The blade length was perfect and I never felt like I needed more knife. The jibbing on the back of the blade is also handy. These are just super handy for being more precise with cuts when skinning or quartering. Overall, the knife performed better than I thought it would.
Pros
Cons
All and all, I am very happy with this knife and think it will be a resident in my backpack for quite some time to come. Finding good gear is fairly easy, but finding great gear is a challenge. I can confidently say that this knife isn’t anything short of great. It’s ultralight and packs a wicked punch. Whether a backcountry hunter or not, this new Carbon Knife from Argali should be on your radar. It has all of the benefits of a skeleton knife with the power of a full handled fixed blade. Winner winner chicken dinner…..or should I say venison dinner?
To learn more about the Argali Carbon Knife visit www.argalioutdoors.com.
This post contains affiliate links
Copyright 2019 Dialed In Hunter
Design by NXNW.
