Helle Utvaer Knife

I own abou a dozen Helle knives. This is my favorite. Excellent balance and strength. The full tang makes it stronger than the Temagami making batoning and bushcrafting no problem. The wood grips on mine have beautiful grain and the red spacers are a nice touch. The sheath is an open top design that slants upwards and seats the knife very securely. Helle knives are the sharpest knives I have found on the market and this one shaves easily. This knife will be on my belt for hiking and camping or hunting for years to come. A little expensive but worth it. An excellent knife.

I really wanted to like this knife. The design seems right on--rugged but easy on the eye. It didn't meet expectations. The handle is too small for my very average hands. Felt as though it would be extremely easy to have grip slip on to the blade. The sheath was really sloppily constructed--uneven seams and lots of glue.

A beautifully crafted knife. Sturdy and functional. I haven't put it through the rigors of bush crafting. I've seen positive reviews testing the knife Under such rigors. for me, a good camp and companion knife in the woods. I would not put through the heavier rigors of batoning, digging, but that's mainly because I have other knives for that purpose (and I don't want to risk damaging this one) Pricey, but so it is with designer knives. Only complaint is really the price, but not regrettably so.

Great knife as advertised but I feel expensive for what it is. The sheathe is ok but a ferro loop would greatly enhance it.

This was my first fixed blade knife. Since then I have purchased a number of Enzo's including the trapper, camper, and necker. This knife feels incredible in my hand and the wood is beautifully figured and perfectly contoured. The problem is that it came rather dull for half of the blade and it does not hold and edge very well. The steel is surprisingly soft. I have even found dents in the edge after taking it in and out of the sheath (which is surprisingly poor for the money). Its a beautiful knife but for $200+ the sheath has to have better retention, the steel needs to distinguish itself from a $14 mora, and the heat treat needs to be spot on. I just cant see where my money went on this one when I'm so blown away by my $120 Enzo trapper in elmax.

Very poor quality for the price. Large gap between pommel and scale and scales feel unfinished & rough in a few spots. The grind is noticeably ununiform and dull blade. For an expensive knife, it has a very cheap feel to it. People with large hands will not like this knife. Sheath needs a retaining strap like the helle gt (great knife) has. And sheath also has no drain hole. Usually i enjoy displaying my new knives for awhile before i start using them. The utvaer will be thrown right into service. Will update in six months, if not sooner...

The Utvaer is a solid camp knife that is surprising light and arguably one of the most handsome blades you will ever see when you hold it. The Sandvik steel used in the blade holds the edge for a good amount of time but, as with all new blades, you should strop the knife regularly for the first few uses to strength and touch up the edge. The scandi grind is taken down to zero degrees and has no micro-bevel - something I appreciate but if you chop with it or batton with a zero degree ground edge, the edge "could" chip in a spot. Again, strop and strop to help aid the edge until the blade is broken in well enough.I have medium to smaller hands so it fits like a glove. If you have larger hands then this isn't the blade for you. Again, I have medium sized hands and when gripped for work, the Utvaer leaves zero room for movement. It fits me well but many will not like it and probably find it uncomfortable.It works wood well for notching, feathersticking, very good for skinning medium to large game, great in the kitchen, and is so light you hardly notice using it. This knife does not fall into the one-knife-rules-them-all category. I have battoned with it for kindling with wood about 2 inches in diameter but nothing larger. For bushcrafting tasks it is simply awesome!!! If you really like Mora knifes this is a beefier, more robust, studier blade than the Mora but does everything the Mora 511 or Companion can do but better without fear of destroying the blade.The spine is rounded which is great for bushcrafting as 90 degree sharpened spines can slice up your thumbs when using them to assist in detail cuts/carving. But the rub to a rounded spine means you cannot strike a ferro rod on the spine. So, you need to use the exposed pommel, which is at 90 degrees and does a so-so job as a ferro striker. But the exposed tang is short and you cramp up trying to strike the rod while keeping the razor sharp edge away from your wrists and arm.In the end this is a totally awesome bushcraft knife for BUSHCRAFT/CAMP chores. Its not big battoning blade, not a chopper and its lack of a sharp 90 degree spine limits it use in tender making and fire starting.If you are in the market for a companion blade, skinning blade, bushcraft blade or something light but robust to take on lengthy hiking.camping trips and you DONT have big hands, this blade will serve you well for years to come. It also is so aesthetically pleasing that other that see the blade will ask to about it.Pros - light weight, comes razor sharp, scandi grind bites into wood and is fantastic at notches and detailing, good skinner, full tang nordic blade, holds edge much longer than a lot of carbon blades.Cons - Not for larger than average hands, not for chopping, fit-and-finish is a bit rough due to lack of final QC before shipping, no sharpened spine for processing tinder and use with ferro rods, a bit expensive for the over-all fit/finish of the knife.

Incredible

I just received my knife and here are my initial thoughts: The knife is beautiful with very elegant, simple lines, which appeal to me.

Beautiful wood grain handled knife - its appearance is stunning. The knife handle fits a large hand just barely.

Awesome knife. Well balanced in the hand. Sturdy enough for every day use in the outdoors. Great for an EDC.