So I picked up a Winkler SD1 from @Delkancott and while I liked it, it had a lot of competition. Between my Izula 2, fletcher pro 6-5, Bradford guardian 3, etc. it just didn't see the carry time it deserved. So, I sent it on down the line and picked up a blue ridge hunter. It fills the gap in Winklers line up between the belt knife and the SD1. Very similar in size to an ESEE 3. Straight out the box I immediately fell in love. The handle felt tailor made for my hands. The maple has beautiful figuring and the caswell finish is smooth and uniform. Today, on top of being my birthday, was overcast, windy and my only day off from work this week. So I found a few minutes to go outside and play with my new knife. Cut a few rounds from a tree branch that fell during the hurricane. Batoned right through them with ease. The edge, while finely polished, was pretty obtuse. Dont get me wrong, it was definitely sharp, but wouldn't shave hair. Imagine my surprise when it sliced rather thin curls while feathering a stick. I definitely need to practice my feather sticks, but it sliced thin curls very easily. I did get 2 hot spots on my hand while using it. The first being right around the first knuckle on my index finger. The area around the guard and handle scales has a little bit of a sharp edge. Nothing that can't be dealt with. The second was my thumb when I would bear down on the thumb ramp. As you can see the jimping is quite aggressive. While I wouldn't consider anything I did today "hard use", the edge held up very well, and it was a joy to use. I heard a lot of grumblings about the stock sheath but I really like it. I took off the belt clip and put on the leather plate and carried it horizontally in the small of my back all day. While it didn't disappear it was very comfortable to carry this way all day. I'm really looking forward to carrying and using this knife for a very long time. One more glamour shot.
Holy cow I forgot I even put this out there. Lol. There's not a whole lot more to say. I still love it. It carves a mean chicken
