Aug
In 1973 custom knife maker Lloyd Pendleton made his first ever knife. His first ever customer and the person who bought this knife was a certain Lynn C. Thompson – the President of Cold Steel.
After this, they became friends and later collaborated on two of Lloyds most popular knife designs – the Pendleton Hunter and this little beauty, the Pendleton Mini Hunter.
Normally, when I see the word ‘Mini’ in front of a product name I get a slight feeling of dread. The ‘shrink it’ effect is not always a good idea as often many of the features and benefits are lost.
This, I am pleased to say, is not the case with the Pendleton Mini Hunter. It’s a faithful redesign that retains all of the great features of its larger sibling but has been designed to be as small as can be whilst remaining practical.
When you first open the box, there’s an ‘awww’ moment – it looks like a knife designed for a child!
In its sheath it’s about the length of my hand – just over 7″ long.
The blade on the Cold Steel Pendleton Mini Hunter is great quality, made from Japanese VG-1 steel. VG-1 is the predecessor to VG-10 and is a quite a high end steel famed for it’s enhanced corrosion protection and toughness.
The blade measures 3″ altogether, with the handle being 3.72″. The thickest part of the drop point blade is 3mm, tapering toward the tip. The blade is incredibly sharp, straight out of the box, and the quality of the steel suggests that it should hold it’s edge well. As it’s VG-1 steel it’s possible to give this a fantastically sharp edge that should hold well and this knife is incredibly sharp, straight out of the box.
The blade may seem small, but it’s actually very practical. It’d be more than possible to tackle some really tough tasks – breaking down an animal carcass for example – that you’d not normally consider using such a small knife for. It might be small, but it’s incredibly tough and would make an excellent light carry for a range of tasks and especially as a handy camp companion.
The handle is made from Kraton and feels very comfortable. It’s rubbery feel offers excellent grip and is more than big enough to be held comfortably. It has a handy lanyard hole in the handle end and a finger guard to stop your hand from slipping forward.
The sheath is a great looking black Secure-Ex number, with a reversible belt loop and plenty of lashing holes. A tough press studded strap holds the knife firmly in place and even with the strap undone I couldn’t shake the knife free.
In the hand the Cold Steel Pendleton Mini Hunter feels great. It’s light yet feels tough, big enough for comfort and small enough for really good control. The more I played with this knife, the more I liked it. It really felt like a useful knife, I wouldn’t hesitate to add this to my kit. It’s also incredible value for money – offering great design and materials for a surprisingly low price, especially when compared to similar specced rivals.
This mini hunting knife is an excellent all rounder – small, light and extremely practical. If you are looking for a top quality knife that is easy on the pocket (both size wise and price wise!) then you’d be mad not to take a punt on this. It’s a cracking little knife.
