Kestrel knives review- never buying another

[sndmn11]

Which one are you looking into? I have the

Great information thank you. What steel do you recommend then? I also have an S30v and was considering D2

Cruwear, magnacut, m4 would be fine choices.

 

[KestrelKnives]

I have recently come across a good deal on a kestrel mountain caper here in the classifieds. I was looking for something ultralight to take hunting because my "heavy" knife stays back at camp. I also wanted it because I do a lot of biking as my cardio for hunting and I wanted to carry a lightweight knife in case I ever need one. I also backpack and so on...
No disrespect to you if you own a Montana knife company blade but I personally am not paying $200+ for a ball bearing knife. I saw they just came out with a speed goat in magnacut which sounds a lot more intriguing but that's a topic for another day.

The mountain caper is a really good blade with a really high quality steel which is S90V. I have two S90V knives and I am new at sharpening "super steels" so I wanted to compare my sharpening to how it feels when it comes from the manufacturer. I have now sent 3 emails to kestrel asking if they can sharpen my knife and have not received a single response. I have contacted Benchmade about my other S90V knife and they responded in one day. Same with Montana knife company when I messaged them with a question I had.

Now, my goal isn't to come on here simply to talk shit about a company. I just want to make my fellow roksliders aware of what you're getting into if you order from kestrel. Either be really good at sharpening super steels or know someone who does because you're likely not going to hear from them.

Hey Jon,

Thank you for sharing your honest experience with Kestrel Knives in the past. I want to acknowledge upfront that you’re absolutely right, in the past, the company did not respond to customers the way it should have, and the community was left feeling unheard. I recently took over as the new owner of Kestrel Knives, and one of the first things I promised myself was that our community would never be treated like that again.

Kestrel Knives is entering a new chapter built on world-class customer service and stronger communication. I deeply value your feedback and want to make this right. Please send in your Mountain Caper anytime, and we’ll sharpen it for you free of charge not just this time, but anytime you need it. That offer extends to anyone reading this: if you own a Kestrel, you’ll always have a place to send it for care.

We’ll also be sharing more about what “A New Chapter for Kestrel Knives” means in the coming weeks with our email list, but at the heart of it is this: taking care of our customers and standing behind every blade we make wether that is a knife from the past or going into the future.

Thank you again for your patience and for giving Kestrel another chance. I hope we can earn your trust moving forward. Please contact us at [email protected] when you are ready.


— James Louvier
Owner, Kestrel Knives

 

[Jon_G]

Hey Jon,

Thank you for sharing your honest experience with Kestrel Knives in the past. I want to acknowledge upfront that you’re absolutely right, in the past, the company did not respond to customers the way it should have, and the community was left feeling unheard. I recently took over as the new owner of Kestrel Knives, and one of the first things I promised myself was that our community would never be treated like that again.

Kestrel Knives is entering a new chapter built on world-class customer service and stronger communication. I deeply value your feedback and want to make this right. Please send in your Mountain Caper anytime, and we’ll sharpen it for you free of charge not just this time, but anytime you need it. That offer extends to anyone reading this: if you own a Kestrel, you’ll always have a place to send it for care.

We’ll also be sharing more about what “A New Chapter for Kestrel Knives” means in the coming weeks with our email list, but at the heart of it is this: taking care of our customers and standing behind every blade we make wether that is a knife from the past or going into the future.

Thank you again for your patience and for giving Kestrel another chance. I hope we can earn your trust moving forward. Please contact us at [email protected] when you are ready.


— James Louvier
Owner, Kestrel Knives

That knife is long gone for the exact reasons I posted. I didn't have nearly a fraction of the knowledge of sharpening knives that I have now and so I sold it. I could have paid someone to sharpen it for me but I wanted to get taken care of by the people that made it. Since that wasn't an option, I sold it.

With your message, I may be tempted to buy another one and see how much things really have changed in your company.

 

[Coopsdaddy]

I have 3 and really like them,the last owner did suck at replying to any messages.
I’m keeping mine as I do like them for a light weight option.
I also own a 300.00 custom 3v from Ukraine but fall back on my bugout and 12 doller moras more than anything.

 

[arlenmyles]

I have three kestrel knives. One titanium, one ovis hunter and a custom 4in one that I had made. These knives are all about 5 years old so there may be different steels or heat treats that are used now. We wont talk about the titanium one with a carbide edge because it is a unique design theory that I fount to work just OK. I am no novice to sharpening. I sharpen every blade I own and have done so for many years with fantastic results. I love the shape and the design of my kestrels but I do not gravitate to them anymore. I found that the steel simply does not hold an edge. The ovis I relegated to a kitchen knife and is constantly dull. This may be due to the fact that I am failing to completely remove the burr but I do not find that I have the same issues with other knives. I have a high end folding knife made from Nitro V that is also very difficult to sharpen properly. Nitro V is not for me due to difficulty I have found in the sharpening process. The corrosion resistance is great but I need a knife with higher edge retention for ease of use and my sharpening style.