Mike Bradshaw’s Large Hunter smokes the author’s test regimen.

I came across Mike Bradshaw’s knives thanks to a recommendation by a knifemaker friend, R.W. Fred. The knifemaking community always helps other knifemakers—call it the “Brotherhood of the Blade.” After visiting his social media account for a quick look, I messaged Mike and he sent me his Large Hunter to test.

Bradshaw’s Large Hunter Specs

Knife: Large Hunter
Maker: Mike Bradshaw
Blade length: 4.5”
Blade steel: CPM MagnaCut stainless
Rockwell hardness: 63.5 HRC
Blade @the widest: 1.375”
Blade @the thickest: .13”
Blade grind: Hollow on a 12” wheel
Scales: OD green G-carta by GL Hanson
Fittings: Nickel silver
Overall length: 9.125”
Sheath: Black Kydex
Maker’s price for a similar knife: $200

Light Cutting Tasks

Up first: the paper slice to check the original edge. This is the best way to show slicing in the still-image format of publications. The Large Hunter zipped through drafting paper in a jiffy, making a nice zipping sound on each cut. The edges of the slices were smooth with no tears. I had a hard time keeping my fingers out of the way, nicking one fingernail in the process.

Skiving 8-ounce leather was next on the agenda, and the Large Hunter produced some of the thinnest slices I have ever cut. It crunched the leather very smoothly in even slices that were controllable. The hardest part was moving my fingers out of the way fast enough. In addition to skiving the leather, I also sliced it. Again, the cuts were straight with no tearing.

Medium-Duty Cutting Tasks

It was time to whittle a firestick from seasoned cedar. The Large Hunter came through in flying colors, producing perfect curlicues with clean cuts. It was easy to control cutting depth but the handle was a tad sharp in the choil area. The unwanted sharp spot showed up again when I applied more pressure for deep cuts. A little touch up with sandpaper would fix the problem.

Batonning the Large Hunter through a cedar block was next. Four whacks and the cedar was split. I split it four times then split those four pieces four more times for kindling. The knife batonned great, with good balance between blade and handle. There was no damage to the edge.

Heavy Cutting Tasks

From there, half-inch sisal rope was on the slicing block. The Large Hunter crunched its way to 200 clean cuts pronto. This knife is extremely sharp and holds an edge perfectly. The handle had a few hot spots that could be corrected fast with a piece of 220-grit sandpaper. If you’re wearing gloves, it’s no problem.

To push the edge further, I gave it 30 hard whacks into a whitetail deer antler. All that did was scatter antler chips all over my workbench—it didn’t do a thing to the edge. Excellent heat treatment, Mike!

As a final gauge of the edge, it was back to the paper slice to see if the edge picked up any damage or dulled at all. Nope, still sharp and smooth cutting. Great job, Mike.

Final Cut

Soften the edges of the handle more to relieve the hot spots. Easy fix. The Large Hunter can tackle a lot more than field processing big game. It has a super sharp edge for slicing and a bite for the larger chores.

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