I was on a recent Exotic Writer’s hunt on the Thumbtack Ranch in Texas. It was put on by DiamondBlade Knives, Zero Tech Optics, Warthog Sharpeners, Savage Arms and Federal Ammo. After we had shot a few animals, I got to skin and process a lot of game-the perfect testing ground for knives.
During this hunt, I got to test a lot of knives which I will cover over the upcoming months. But today, I want to cover the Knives of Alaska Alpha Wolf D2/Cub Combo Suregrip combo. The combo set comes in four variations-Two made out of SV metal and two made out of D2 steel. Both of the above are offered with stag handles or with Suregrip handles. Obviously the stag handles are more attractive and cooler looking but they’re also roughly $200.00 more. But the blade designs are identical.
Live Inventory Price Checker
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Knives of Alaska Alpha Wolf D2 Cub Combo Stag Handle Knives Natural |
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Knives of Alaska Alpha Wolf D2 Muskrat Combo Stag Handle Knives Natural |
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Knives of Alaska Alpha Wolf D2 Cub Combo Stag Handle Knives Black |
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Knives of Alaska Alpha Wolf S30V Cub Combo Stag Handle Knives Natural |
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Let’s get into why I love this combo. Let’s start off with the Cub Bear which is the perfectly designed caping knife. It has a 2 3/8in blade and is ¾-in wide. This is the exact design that I require in a caping knife.
A caping knife can perform multiple jobs for the outdoorsman.
- Caping out the heads on our big game animals. The extreme point allows you to skin delicately around the eyes and lips on your trophy. It also is great for skinning out the feet and toes on your bears.
- Years ago, I always preached that you needed a clip-point knife to mark the pattern when gutting/skinning your animals. (The pattern is the cut up the belly line and out to each hoof). But Charles Allan who is a Master Brown Bear guide and has skinned boatloads of big brown bears, moose, and other big game, has convinced me that a caping knife also works great for marking the pattern. That is what he uses.
- I do a lot of bird hunting. I was down in Texas earlier this week on a sandhill crane, dove, and duck hunt. I also do a lot of pigeon hunting with Umarex airguns. I breast out all of my birds with a caping knife.
The blade also has a finger choil and a thumb choil, which allows you to choke down on the blade so you have full control when making intricate cuts.
ALPHA WOLF
The Alpha Wolf has a nice drop-point skinning blade. The spine is ground down so even though it is a drop-point knife, it also has a point, so you also use it to mark the pattern. So the Alpha Wolf is a great knife for skinning your big game animals.
Some of you might wish that the handle had a textured surface, but I feel that with the Suregrip handle, I have a firm grip and, oddly enough, a little more so when the handle is wet. The handle has a large hole in the rear, which allows you to attach a thick leather lanyard.
The combo comes with a thick sturdy looking sheath. Maybe I’m nostalgic, but I love leather sheaths but it has to be a sturdy one. Many knives come with a flimsy leather sheath. This one is stoutly made.
I love that this one is double-stacked. By double stacked, I mean that the two knives lay on each other. This makes the knife more convenient to carry on your waist; you don’t have to skip a belt loop to fit in a thick sheath.
One thing that I will caution you on, the knives aren’t snapped firmly in place, so if you’re a mountain hunter like me, then I’d advise twisting a thick rubber band around the handles and the top of the sheath to hold them firmly in place so they don’t fall out.
The MSRP on the Alpha Wolf D2/Cub Combo Suregrip set is $179.99 and as is usual, we will close with the specs.
The Alpha Wolf is a full-tang drop-point hunter-style blade. The special hand-sharpened convex edge reduces drag when skinning and fleshing. Double-drawn heat tempered for maximum edge-holding ability. The Cub Bear companion knife is known among hunters the world over as the premier caping knife with its scalpel-like point that has proven itself time and time again with professional hunters and taxidermists. Comes with a high-quality, vegetable-tanned, oiled leather combination sheath.
About Tom Claycomb
Tom Claycomb has been an avid hunter/fisherman throughout his life as well as an outdoor 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 #ad for $.99 if you’re having trouble.”