I’ve dealt with Knives of Alaska since 2005, but somehow, I’ve overlooked the Knives of Alaska Brown Bear. Maybe because I never really set down and studied it, or more likely because I never sat down and discussed what it was designed for by the designer Charles Allen, owner of KOA. This all changed on a recent hunt.
I just flew home from a multi species hunting trip with Charles and Ron Spomer. Even though the knife was designed to be used in Alaska on brown bear and moose, it also works well in the lower 48 for the same tasks on smaller animals.
Knives of Alaska Brown Bear Knife
It is also a good camp knife to chop limbs, cut kindling to start your camp fires and cut stakes for your tent. It is a super heavy-duty knife and will hold up to some tough camp tasks. It is not a dainty backpacking knife.
The KOA Brown Bear knife is also the first knife ever produced by KOA and was voted “Most Innovative American Designed Knife” at the International Blade Show in 1994.
With all of the above said, you might almost find it laughable as to how I got impressed with this knife. We were on an East Texas duck, deer, hog and squirrel hunt and testing various knives. After a few days we had a pile of squirrels and cleaned them the last day for dinner.
I was surprised when Charles brought the KOA Brown Bear to the party but quickly understood after seeing him prep the pile of squirrels. In a hot second he lopped the heads and feet off all of the squirrels. Wow, it made short work of them. Charles then went on to explain its many uses and what it had been designed for.
I could then see how that it could be used to easily chop through the sternum on any big game animal as well as the pelvic bone. The sharp rounded tip can be used to skin large animals like brown bear and moose much like the smaller Knives of Alaska Muskrat is used to skin smaller animals like muskrat on a trap line. The rounded tip functions somewhat like an Ulu design that the Eskimos use.
As you might expect, we then used a Diamond Blade Pinnacle II caping knife to make the circular cut around the middle. Ron grabbed one end, and I grabbed the other, and we played tug-of-war and pulled the hide off on each end.
I found the handle comfortable to use, and the handle design ensured a secure grip. There is also a finger hole in the rear end of the blade that you may also like to further enhance your grip. The KOA Brown Bear is offered with four handle options:
- SUREGRIP
- G-10
- STAG
- WOOD
As you would expect, the Knives of Alaska Brown Bear knife comes with a nice heavy-duty leather sheath.
If you’re in the market for a heavy-duty camp knife or a knife that can chop through the larger bones on your big game animals, then check out the Knives of Alaska Brown Bear. The MSRP on the Knives of Alaska Brown Bear is $189.99-$389.99 according to which model you choose and is usual, we will close with the company specs and comments.
SPECS
- STEEL D2
- BLADE LENGTH 6”
- KNIFE LENGTH 10 1/4”
- BLADE RC HARDNESS 55-57
- BLADE BEVEL 22-25
- WT. 15.6 OZ.
About Tom Claycomb
Tom Claycomb has been an avid hunter/fisherman throughout his life as well as an outdoors writer with outdoor columns in the magazine Hunt Alaska, Bass Pro Shops, Bowhunter.net and freelances for numerous magazines and newspapers. “To properly skin your animal you will need a sharp knife. I have an e-article on Amazon Kindle titled Knife Sharpening for $.99 if you’re having trouble.”
