My eyes have seen and hands have held many hunting knives over the years. I love a good knife! Back in 2022, I started doing some research on getting a custom knife made. I was very particular about the overall design, but I had so many ideas. My Instagram feed kept blowing up with knives from Rob McKibbon at Niche Custom Blade Works and I listened to a podcast episode he recorded with Soul Seekers. My decision was made. I was going to have Rob make me a knife. We sent messages back and forth and I decided on an Alaskan Hunter 2.0 with custom scales.
My creativity took over and I started sending Rob ideas. He’s a busy man with custom orders and knowing what I was after, he recommended I contact Ryan Mohler @woodbymohler to have him create some custom scales.
These two gentlemen spent a great deal of their time with me through texts, phone calls and looking at custom designs I wanted to investigate. I freely admit I am a very picky person with gear. After about 17 different variations (no joke, it may be more), and talking with Ryan again about wood grain, I knew the design and scale material I wanted.
I sent a final image for the scales to Ryan and he nailed it (see image one, below, left). Here’s the cool thing. Ryan sent me images and communicated with me while he made the scales. He also let me know when they were sent to Rob. In turn, Rob texted me that he received the scales and got to work. I let Rob know the pins I wanted to Rob. After some discussion, I changed my mind on the pins and I opted for the expertise of the knife maker. He sent me progress videos and images throughout. That was VERY cool and got me even more excited! When he had finished and polished it up (middle image below), Rob sent me this picture and shipped it. The far right image is me holding it in my wee carny hands. It was amazing!
Truth be told, the resulting knife is far better than any idea I had!
My custom Alaskan Hunter 2.0 knife from Rob McKibbon at Niche Custom Blade Works and custom scales from Ryan Mohler @woodbymohler arrived at my door in the spring of 2023 and it is beyond words. These guys crushed this creation!
Alaskan Hunter 2.0
- W2 Steel
- Black Micarta
- G10 in Green
- Musk Ox Horn
- G10 in Green
- Zebrawood
- Mosaic Pins
The Alaskan Hunter 2.0 weighs far less than I imagined! It is ergonomic and easy to wield. I did remove the paracord loop at the end as I didn’t care for it. It feels great in my hands and I had the opportunity to use it on January 1, 2024, after I filled two doe tags in Tennessee. Unfortunately, the first thing it cut was my finger as I was careless. This knife was beyond sharp and barely touching it to my finger left a mark. Fortunately, I carry a first-aid kit and extra gloves. I bandaged myself up quickly and got to work…carefully. It cut through both deer like butter and remained incredibly sharp after.
Final thoughts. The knife is amazing and a work of art. Ergonomic. Wicked sharp. Beautiful! The only issue I had wasn’t anything these guys did or didn’t do. It has to do with the musk ox horn I chose for the mid-part of the scales. When it got blood on it, it swelled and the horn now has a slight edge to it in a couple of locations. I can feel it, but it’s very minor.
If you want a custom knife that can do some serious work, contact Rob McKibbon! Check out his IG page for some ideas! Not only is he a believer, and a coyote slayer, but he also makes a mean knife! Like, razor-sharp mean. I am absolutely in love with how my Alaskan Hunter 2.0 turned out and performed in the field. If you want custom knife scales and you are incredibly picky (like me), get in touch with Ryan Mohler and have some fun. The scales are beautiful and were a perfect choice for my knife. The dude is an artist with scales! The custom scales were $150 and the knife was $495. For you mathematicians, that’s a total of $645. This knife is worth far more than that and I appreciate all the hard work that went into the creation. If you have any questions, reach out to me and ask away. Count on me collaborating with these two again as I buy another custom knife in the future.
Beautiful work of art: a great knife!