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HotSteel Fixed blade review - Another Brazilian knife in Southern California

The HotSteel fixed Blade is a Ltd Edition knife from Brazilian knife makers Peter Hammer and his protege Silvana Mouzinho.

Specs:

420F Carpenter Stainless

HRC 52-54

9" OAL

3.5" Blade

5 mm thick

Hollow ground blade

Drop point

Leather Belt/boot sheath

Size comparison in relation to the Wotan & Benchmade Adamas. It is about a half inch shorter than the Adamas but about 1/8" thicker.

The testing I did for this knife was pretty much the same as for the Wotan. It did as well as the Wotan did in:

Sch 40 PVC hole drilling with tip. 35 Seconds.

Sharpening Bamboo pungees, easy.

Tip strength, plunged into my Cherry Wood stump and lifted with handle for the picture below. PASS.

I am holding that stump with the knife as parallel to the ground as I can, while trying to keep it still enough for an in focus picture.

I couldn't perform the puncture test on the 3/8" High density cardboard like the Wotan, because it got wet during "California Stormwatch 2013". So I did something else.

Batoning easily through a 2 x 4 and still paper curling sharp.

The final tests were:

Viability for entrenching use : Any piece of steel is great for entrenching. I thrust this into my back lawn 50x's just like the Wotan, but the razor edge was gone afterwards. I tried using my Spyderco Sharp maker to bring the edge back, but I will need to use the DMT Angle finder Diamond files to get her back to shaving sharp.

Defense against another knife/blunt object: Even though I knew what would happen, I did strike the edge of the HotSteel with my Nimravus (154CM 58-59 HRC) and I received the same results as the Wotan. 1 divet in the blade where the Nimravus hit.

My opinion:

I like the heft and the ergonomics of the knife, the deep finger choil adds to the confidence in using the knife. In it's current configuration this knife would be great for medium duty camping chores. To step up to the big league, heavy duty tactical game, Mr. Hammer & Ms. Mouzinho would have to upgrade the steel to a D2 or better.

Recommendation:

As stated above, in it's current configuration I would recommend this for MEDIUM duty only. If it eventually comes in a better steel, such as D2, 440C or better. I would be first in line to get one.

4 members like this

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Replies to This Discussion

FeaturedPermalink Reply by Craig Henry on October 21, 2013 at 16:28

I like the design on that one. Great review Brad.......as usual!

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Permalink Reply by Brad T. on October 21, 2013 at 18:20

I truly like the size & feel of this knife, but 420f stainless just isn't up to par for Heavy duty use. I still wouldn't trade it.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on October 21, 2013 at 20:12

Interesting comparison. I like the look of the knife and it appears to handle jobs well. Having a slightly better steel would be ideal!

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Permalink Reply by Ron Cooper on October 22, 2013 at 1:08

Another great review of an interesting Brazilian knife. One I may have never heard about were it not for your review, I might add.

Thanks, Brad -- I'm enjoying your South American exchange program! (Love your "iKC" stump, too!)

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Permalink Reply by Alexander Noot on October 22, 2013 at 7:23

Yeah, it looks like a cool knife. Shame about the bladesteel though. Especially since a lot of better bladesteels aren't all that much more expensive.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on October 23, 2014 at 20:31

longer term, wonder if any changes or further challenges for this knife?

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Permalink Reply by Brad T. on October 24, 2014 at 17:53

Not really into changing this knife any as the blade steel is soft at 52-54 HRC. It can be treated as beater and dumped in an old drawer after it can no longer be sharpened. I might trade it for the right item.

Steve Hanner said:

longer term, wonder if any changes or further challenges for this knife?

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Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on October 24, 2014 at 19:12

Well that is a little soft and probably not worthwhile too bad, the knife looks good but it can look good in a drawer as well.

Brad T. said:

Not really into changing this knife any as the blade steel is soft at 52-54 HRC. It can be treated as beater and dumped in an old drawer after it can no longer be sharpened. I might trade it for the right item.

Steve Hanner said:

longer term, wonder if any changes or further challenges for this knife?

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Permalink Reply by Alexander Noot on October 28, 2014 at 4:43

Just an observation about the fact that it's still sharp after testing.

The testing Brad did on it show how well the design works. The grind is good too which is why it's sharp.

However you didn't really get into cutting anything severely abrasive (carboard, sisal rope etc). Battonning also doesn't really stress the actual cutting edge.

In cutting use (slicing etc) you'd quickly notice this knife getting duller. A similar knife in a better steel would be useable for a MUCH longer time.

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Permalink Reply by Brad T. on October 28, 2014 at 8:10

But the entrenching test of thrusting the blade into the dirt 50x did remove any cutting edge it had upon arrival. I imagine it may perform as well as a Buck 110 as the steel is similar. If they had used the 52100 steel like the Wotan, it may have fared better.

Alexander Noot said:

Just an observation about the fact that it's still sharp after testing.

The testing Brad did on it show how well the design works. The grind is good too which is why it's sharp.

However you didn't really get into cutting anything severely abrasive (carboard, sisal rope etc). Battonning also doesn't really stress the actual cutting edge.

In cutting use (slicing etc) you'd quickly notice this knife getting duller. A similar knife in a better steel would be useable for a MUCH longer time.