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Hultafors Craftmans Heavy-Duty GK Knife Review

August 22, 2013 By Thomas Xavier | Updated: November 23, 2017 3 Comments

On the heels of writing about the Mora Classic I will be checking out the Hultafors GK: the beast of Mora-style knives!

The Hultafors GK is essentially a traditional Mora knife on steroids. The steel is a mystery carbon steel from Japan. The knife is made somewhere in Asia (I would personally guess China), and is marketed in Scandinavia. The Hultafors GK is a true product of the global age, and in this particular case, I would say it benefits for it. Tough, relatively lightweight, cheap and dependable, it’s a solid hiking knife if you think you might need something a little more heavy duty than a traditional Mora, but if weight is also a concern.

more than just surviving knife reviewHultafors Craftmans Knife Heavy-Duty GK – Amazon / eBay

As you can tell, the handle on this knife is much thicker than the handles on most Moras. The Hultafors GK has a lot of heft and yet it fits the hand really well. The balance point is not quite at the hilt, which leads me to assume that the tang must be reasonably long.

testing outdoor camping knife

In terms of shape, the Hultafors GK is chunky. The spine is not very well finished, but at its low price point, it’s definitively safe to say that it’s intended to be a beater knife rather than a show piece.

wide camping knife hultafors gk

The sheath has great fit even if it is a bit boring and utilitarian. The same is true of the knife, however, so the sheath goes well with the overall look of the knife.

tough heavy duty hiking knife

mora style knife by hultafors

I cut off the belt loop as it just didn’t function the way I wanted it to.

hultafors craftmans heavy duty gk knife sheath

Instead I decided to use the flashlight holster from my Fenix LD20.

fenix ld20 holster used with knife sheath

As you can see, the flashlight holster has a generous clip for belt attachment.

hiking and camping knife review

Surprisingly, it actually fits the Hultafors GK sheath perfectly. Such a great combination!

pictures knife review hultafors gk

hultafors-craftmans-heavy-duty-gk-survival-knife

And it looks pretty damn good, I think.

knife review by more than just surviving

The advantage to using the flashlight holster is that it can swivel relatively freely, so even when sitting down the sheath is never uncomfortable.

hultafors craftmans heavy duty knife images

The sheath retention is nice. I wouldn’t carry the knife upside down, but it shouldn’t magically fall out either.

survival knife mora style

The drainage hole on the sheath is very generous, and being right at the bottom, is in the ideal spot (unlike the Mora Classic sheath’s drain hole).

drain hole in sheath of knife

The tip of the blade is super heavy duty. Not a huge fan of it, though, as it creates a limit on any detail work.

strong blade tip not good for detailing

Ergonomics, however, are fantastic. The injection moulded handles mean all the design and tech has gone straight to comfort. Function before form is personified here.

reviewing mora style fixed blade by hultafors

The handle length makes this knife a good fit for nearly any sized hands (possibly with the exception of some insanely large basketball players’ hands!). Those with XL hand sizes will find this knife very comfortable.

comfortable handle knife for big hands

Although the blade is a bit thick behind the edge, you can still pinch the blade when skinning. A bit uncomfortable, but if you really need to you definitely can.

comfortable fixed blade cheap price point

Cutting performance is adequate taking into account its thickness. Don’t expect a laser thin cut, but for how chunky it is, it’s pretty damn good.

strong sturdy and lightweight knife by hultafors

The tip is barely acceptable for detailed work. I’m pretty sure Hultafors expects people to pry with this tool because it’s really obviously overbuilt.

testing out hultafors craftmans heavy duty gk knife

Making a notch with this knife required much more effort than making one with the Mora Classic, though I can’t say I am surprised about that.

survival knife review real testing

However, the Hultafors GK does beat the Mora Classic effortlessly in the batoning department. The Hultafors GK does extremely well at batoning for its weight class, mostly because of its thick scandi grind, which helps to push material apart smoothly.

product review post hultafors gk knife fixed blade

All in all the Hultafors GK is an amazing knife, especially at it’s price point.

  • Hultafors 380020 GK Heavy Duty Knife
    Hultafors 380020 GK Heavy Duty Knife
    Price: Out of stock
‹ ›

It’s lightweight, comfortable, extremely heavy-duty, and batons exceptionally well. The only thing it doesn’t do well is detail work, but it’s not made for detail work anyway, and being realistic, you can’t have an overbuilt blade and expect it to cut like a laser (nor can you have a laser and expect it to take a pounding). All things considered, the Hultafors GK is an amazing buy if you ever need an extra beater knife around.

Hultafors Heavy Duty GK Availability

Amazon Availability // Amazon.com • Amazon.ca

Compare Prices // eBay

Filed Under: Hultafors Reviews, Knives, Reviews Tagged With: Bushcraft Knife, Camping Knife, Fixed Blade Knife, Outdoor Knife, Survival Knife 3 Comments

About Thomas Xavier

Knife aficionado and lifelong tinkerer. Into bushcraft, hiking, and gear.
Coauthor of survival blog More Than Just Surviving.

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Comments

  1. Yuriy says

    November 5, 2017 at 3:29 am

    Oh, this is news. On a standard box with 10 knives GK it was written Sweden. But I bought knives a few years ago.
    I wonder where produce the Mora knives of the same price…

    Reply
  2. Yuriy says

    October 27, 2017 at 3:33 am

    Hultafors GK made in Sweden the blade made of Japanese steel SK-5.

    Reply
    • Thomas Xavier says

      November 4, 2017 at 11:01 pm

      The GK is made in Taiwan, not Sweden. This was confirmed by Hultafors themselves (feel free to email them).

      Reply

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