Iron Will K1 Ultralight Knife Review, By Les Welch

[Justin Crossley]

Hey guys, Les has been using this knife since last season and just finished up a great review. Give it a read. It may be just what your kill kit is missing.

Iron Will K1 Ultralight Knife Review

 

[Bill V]

Thanks for the review Les! The final version of the knife has an extended sharp edge on the top and finger grips extending up to it. The purpose is to use the top edge pulling up to rip through the hide. I have found that using the top edge to make all the cuts through the hide, the belly of the knife will stay sharp enough to skin and debone about two animals, including caping. This will vary based on personal methods, but I think you can count on it to get you through one elk for sure. The half ounce carbide sharpener can be used to touch it up as you go also. Just pull it through 10-20 strokes with very light pressure. Let me know if there are any question.

 

[lost creek]

Thanks for the review Les. This looks like an interesting knife. I'm always on the lookout for a lightweight, durable, stay-sharp knife for deboning animals in the field; I'm using a Tyto replaceable scalpel blade at the moment and really like it. What are your thoughts on the A2 steel used in the Iron Will knife rusting? It looks like you already have a few pits on the prototype you used.

 

[Bill V]

Here is a photo of how to hold the knife and use the top sharpened edge to rip hide. The coarse hair on this hog will dull an edge quickly, so cut the hide upward as you go.

 

[justin davis]

What a great knife! Absolutely love mine. Has worked very well for me so far and so light!!

 

[Ridge Ghost]

Thanks for the review.

How does the A2 steel compare to other popular steels like S30V as far as ease of sharpening, holding an edge, etc?

I've never used a skeleton knife like this on an elk. I usually use a Havalon but I'm curious about these knives. How does your hand feel after working with the knife for an hour or two? Any more fatigue than a knife with a more full grip? Any preference on using the paracord grip vs no paracord?

This may somewhat defeat the purpose of an ultralight knife, but are there any handle scales available to beef up the grip?

 

[Hoghead]

How does the edge hold up on the hog hide?

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[Chasejohnson83]

Looks like a great knife! I may have to check it out.

 

[Bill V]

How does the edge hold up on the hog hide?

I made the hide cuts on two hogs with the top edge and it worked well. I touched it up with our carbide sharpener afterwards and had it shaving hair again in about a minute.

 

[Bill V]

I've never used a skeleton knife like this on an elk. I usually use a Havalon but I'm curious about these knives. How does your hand feel after working with the knife for an hour or two? Any more fatigue than a knife with a more full grip? Any preference on using the paracord grip vs no paracord?

This may somewhat defeat the purpose of an ultralight knife, but are there any handle scales available to beef up the grip?

There are lots of ways to tie paracord on a handle, but here is a video of my current favorite. It ends up being almost a half inch thick. I think you'll find it to have a nice grip and be comfortable:

It works fine without the paracord but not as comfortable.

 

[Bill V]

Stainless blade steels (44C, S30V, 154CM) work well but they don't have the toughness of tool steels like A2, so would break more easily if this much material was removed. I was going for a very lightweight knife (1 oz) that would hold an edge really well (A2 at 60 HRC hardness), not break, and get you through a backcountry elk or deer hunt by itself without resharpening if used properly. Tool steels are less corrosion resistant than stainless steels, so can get surface spots if stored wet. Our industry standard corrosion testing at a certified laboratory showed that damaging corrosion (pitting) took the same number of days as stainless steels, but surface spots showed up sooner. These can be polished out pretty easily and we sell a blade care kit with a diemaker polishing stone and blade oil dispensing pen for this situation. A2 can also darken or patina over time, but this is a surface effect and the base metal remains very strong and tough. A2 also sharpens fairly easily for a premium blade steel at this hardness.

 

[CNitro]

Getting a buddy into western hunting and just gave him my lightweight knife.... I believe I just found it's replacement for this fall.

 

[les welch]

Thanks for the review Les. This looks like an interesting knife. I'm always on the lookout for a lightweight, durable, stay-sharp knife for deboning animals in the field; I'm using a Tyto replaceable scalpel blade at the moment and really like it. What are your thoughts on the A2 steel used in the Iron Will knife rusting? It looks like you already have a few pits on the prototype you used.

Yes it does have a little oxidation. It’s same material as the heads. It’s preventable with the blade maintenance kit on the accessories page. Doesn’t affect the knife at all.


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[les welch]

Thanks for the review.

How does the A2 steel compare to other popular steels like S30V as far as ease of sharpening, holding an edge, etc?

I've never used a skeleton knife like this on an elk. I usually use a Havalon but I'm curious about these knives. How does your hand feel after working with the knife for an hour or two? Any more fatigue than a knife with a more full grip? Any preference on using the paracord grip vs no paracord?

This may somewhat defeat the purpose of an ultralight knife, but are there any handle scales available to beef up the grip?

No worries at all. The handle is paracord wrapped. I personally wouldn’t do it any other way. It’s then the same as a tyto. I’ve spent lots of hours with it in my hand. No problem.



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[robby denning]

Hey Roksliders, Bill brought to our attention that he hadn't properly trained Les on the use of the back blade and how it can extend the life of the main blade. He sent us a video that clarifies it. I put an Editor's Note in the review and the video. Here it is:
Editor's Note: The K1 prototype used for this review had a much shorter back blade than the final production K1 (see photos #1 & #2 above). The increased cutting area will increase time between sharpening. Also, Les didn't have access to the instructional video below. This video demonstrates proper use of the back blade. Had Les used this method and a final production K1, the knife should have remained sharp well beyond the elk butcher job. If you buy the K1, be sure and watch this video!

 

[KHNC]

Placed an order for knife and sharpener today. Look forward to skinning an antelope next month.

 

[justin davis]

Such a badass knife! Mine is sharp and Ready to go to work on a bunch of critters this fall.

 

[jenstapio]

Hey guys, Les has been using this knife since last season and just finished up a great review. Give it a read. It may be just what your kill kit is missing.

Iron Will K1 Ultralight Knife Review

Thanks for the review! I might have to try one of these out.

Hey guys, Les has been using this knife since last season and just finished up a great review. Give it a read. It may be just what your kill kit is missing.

Iron Will K1 Ultralight Knife Review

Thanks for the review! I might have to try one out this year.

 

[NorvTex]

Thanks for the review.

 

[KHNC]

I have an update on my K1 knife. I have used it to skin 1 antelope, a whitetail and two elk. Mine gets dull immediately when cutting hide. The back blade does help with this issue however. Resharpening is pretty easy. At this point though, my blade has been worn down alot by the carbide sharpener. It was necessary to adjust the sharpener to a different angle in order to continue using it to resharpen. Elk hide is the absolute worst to deal with. Any major hide cut required a resharpen. I love the concept and the weight of the K1. I will continue to use , but be aware that it does not hold an edge well when cutting hide.