Argali Backpack Hunting Knife Vs IW K1 knives

brsnow

WKR
Joined
Apr 28, 2019
Messages
1,847
Interested on in field use. I have had great results with IW broadheads, but like the handle of the Argali better. If the K1 holds an edge like the broadheads that would be great. Appreciate any insights.
 
Joined
Jul 30, 2019
Messages
820
I am assuming you are talking about the Argali Carbon knife. I recently bought this for my Alaskan moose/black bear hunt. I used the knife to skin and quarter an entire moose. Also used it to detach all 4 hocks. Not once did I have to resharpen the edge. It worked flawlessly. I bet I could get another skin and quarter out of it on another animal before needing to resharpen. I am extremely happy with it.
 

WTFJohn

WKR
Joined
May 1, 2018
Messages
358
Location
CO
I am assuming you are talking about the Argali Carbon knife. I recently bought this for my Alaskan moose/black bear hunt. I used the knife to skin and quarter an entire moose. Also used it to detach all 4 hocks. Not once did I have to resharpen the edge. It worked flawlessly. I bet I could get another skin and quarter out of it on another animal before needing to resharpen. I am extremely happy with it.

I'm loving mine as well; so far this year I've broken down/skinned out a bear, a deer, and an elk. It's lighter and retains an edge better than the Benchmade I used prior. I've touched up the edge between animals since the hunts were days/weeks apart, but have no doubts it would do more than one in a go.
 

Beendare

WKR
Joined
May 6, 2014
Messages
8,247
Location
Corripe cervisiam
Gotta throw that Benchmade into that mix. ...I'm thinking of picking one of these up.

I wasn't a fan of the 'Skeleton' knives until I got a chance to work with one of these....very nice...and S90V steel that holds an edge like crazy.

...
 
Joined
Oct 29, 2016
Messages
698
Don't rule out the Kestrel Mountain Caper.
S90v did a gutless method on a big blacktail along with deboning.
Did a fantastic job without a touch up.

I'd imagine the benchmade altitude would be pretty much identical being the same steel.
 

Kevin_t

WKR
Rokslide Sponsor
Joined
Dec 2, 2012
Messages
1,162
Location
Colorado
Ive used both the Benchmade Altitude and the Argali knife. Both work really well for backpack hunting. The S90V holds an edge like crazy but it harder to sharpen.
 
Joined
Oct 17, 2015
Messages
1,186
Location
British Columbia
I've used the k1, Benchmade Altitude, and the Argali Carbon Knife all on different elk this year, my pick goes to the Argali Carbon Knife.

The k1 as a pure skeleton knife was a bit too draconian, handle edges were 'sharp' or just laser cut. I don't wrap my knives because of the same reason why I don't like folding knives, it just starts filling up with hair, muscle, and fat and it's a pain to clean up. I didn't quite enjoy the length of the belly for skinning either. I'm also pretty harsh on my gear. I didn't have time to clean it for a couple of days backcountry hunting and it tarnished really bad. Scrubbed it down pretty aggressively with some mother's polish to get it back. It's leaving my kit. The A2 tool steel is killer for a broadhead but I think it's application as a knife just wasn't there for me.

The altitude felt awesome in the hand, big step up over the k1. That edge holds amazing, it was just a refined machine when working on an elk. You really have to make sure to stay on the sharpening with it, just some light touch-ups at 1200 grit during butchering. But I like my knife razor-sharp. The handle was also just too skinny for me for an entire animal, I felt secure but not 100% confident with it in my hand. I did manage to chip it on the bone but I'm a little more aggressive than others. Great knife, the hardness down translate to a bit more brittleness if taken too aggressive.

The Argali Carbon Knife then came into play. The hold, jimping points on the back for your palm, front of the handle and on the knife gives such a secure confident connection. The G10 cut out handle gives the perfect amount of extra girth as well. Sharpening is also a breeze with this knife even if you're going a bit past a needed sharpen. You can get the hair cutting edge back really quick. The S35vn in my experience is just the best of all worlds for a skinning knife.

I used a DMT double-sided Fine/Extra Fine stone on all of them https://www.amazon.com/DMT-FWEF-Diafold-Sharpener-Extra-Fine/dp/B00004WFTV

Some pictures of the Carbon Knife that I kept of the three and some weights. I am getting a custom Kydex sheath for it though, I can't believe it weighs as much as the knife.

IMG_2062.jpeg

IMG_2063.jpeg

IMG_2066.jpeg

IMG_2068.jpeg

IMG_2073.jpeg

IMG_2075.jpeg

IMG_2060.jpeg

59728482386__90AD79CD-1C33-4E6B-B566-D10A1F3B1A8D.jpeg

RenderedImage.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Top