MORE THAN JUST A PRETTY RED KNIFE
I honestly don't know why I can't post pictures with this review. Pictures help the selling point with the product, same as any other review, so sorry if you need pictures but Amazon didnt offer the option to upload any. The Victorinox Red Alox Hunter Pro is a sweet knife. It's solid and well constructed. The alox is the type of aluminum scales, which if you know anything about knife grade aluminum, it's very tough and durable. Nutnfancy on youtube had table drilled through an aluminum bolster on an Espada in order to fit it with a lanyard. He described the process as being very difficult. So for Victorinox to use an even TOUGHER formula for their knife scales for the Hunter Pro Red, fills me with confidence in its durability. The blade steel is 420. It's a high carbon steel, which makes it durable and gives it good edge retention, and knowing Victorinox and their heat treatment sciences, this is a great blade. I do not know if this is the exact same 420 type that Buck uses on its 110-124 series. Theirs says 420HC, and Victorinox just calls it 420 but also states in its blade specs as being a "high carbon steel". Looking at the blade out of the box it is very sharp and the blade Steel lives up to its company statement. All it needs is to be run on a stone to fix the bevel on the card side of the blade where it says "SWISS MADE". They ground it a bit thin on the degree scale. The opposite side which is the brand side is just fine. It seems to have a 12°-17° bevel, so adjusting the opposite side will need to happen before I polish it further to get it "uber sharp". The red paracord lanyard that comes with it is exquisite. Alot of people on youtube despise the lanyard and refuse to use it with the knife, but I love it. I just love the knife itself, the aesthetic makes me want to order a Swiss Army Knife Farmer Red or a Compact Red just to compliment it. The red color on the Alox is anodized so it will be very durable and not rub off easily, thankfully. Many reviews on youtube are favorable to this knife. There was one review by a user who was flat out stating to viewers NOT to buy it. Upon viewing the video, his reasoning was that his particular knife had a loose blade, as well as a slightly dull blade. He also had issues with the fact that he had to open the knife with two hands, and lamented that he couldn't swing it open one handed like spring assisted blades. In the end his reasons to hate on the blade were null and void, because he either had major quality issues (which doesn't happen often at all with Victorinox) and needed to return it to Victorinox for a replacement, or he bought it from an illegitimate seller and got a rip-off blade (which he did say he bought from an individual seller). Possibly he was sent one of their returned knives after it had been abused. I do have to tell you that this is not meant to be a TACTICAL show blade. It is a TOOL knife. You have to open it with two hands because its sturdy and not loose. Also, because Victorinox has awesome QC and engineering, you CANNOT take this knife apart like a Tactical folder in order to alter or adjust it. It comes ADJUSTED. Cleaning it is easy, Victorinox advises to fill a bowl or bucket with warm soapy water and swish it around for a bit before rinsing it with clean water. This is a KNIFE that you can use everyday, for the rest of your life . . . if you take care of it the way you are supposed to. • Keep it SHARP. If you use it everyday, maintain the edge. If you abuse the edge retention by using it and using it to eventual dullness, then you WILL HAVE TO sharpen it on a stone system or knife system, and that will eat your blade up. So hone it regularly with a ceramic rod, or steel hone so you don't lose blade. If you do this you will NEVER have to sharpen this blade unless you somehow manage to chip the blade, and to do that, you are seriously abusing this blade. • Uses . . . unless you are happy taking this blade into the hunting field and putting it through some of the tasks it's been designed for, such as camp duties and cleaning deer (or other game), EDC is what Victorniox says its primarily designated for. So you can use it in a warehouse, construction job, outdoors job like an arborist or landscaper, electrical technician (though a Swiss Army Knife Spartan or Farmer would be best for this), etc. • Cost . . . The Hunter Pro is expensive. But it's made with an expensive process with high quality materials, and it's made to last. But if you don't need a TOOL knife, spend less on some other showy trick blade if that's all you want. Bruce Lee once said that there are some teachers that will teach you techniques that are flashy, full of noise and action, and these people would teach you be admired by your friends and feared by your enemies. But Lee taught useful things and how to disarm or disable a person in as few moves as possible, and that when he was in a real fight he wouldn't make his trademark showy sounds and would take someone down with one move if possible. Again, this knife is a tool, not a gravity knife or a switchblade. There are people who will admire this blade for its looks and people who will put it to use. YOU will ultimately decide what it is you do with it. A tool is just a neutral object, its use is determined by correct use or abuse. Read more
