A while back my friends at The Knife Connection sent me a Winkler Utility Knife to put through some hard use tests. When say hard, I mean hard use. This knife has been put through the wringer in my barnyard and has been dropped in chicken sh*t piles. Not that that is a real standard of durability, but that’s only a small taste (yum) of what this knife has been though in my service.

Winkler is a brand most recognized for their badass, hard-use knives that hold a special place in the hearts of military vets and outdoorsmen. The brand carries a unique mystique in that they got noticed by the military…and Hollywood.

The Winkler story goes like this, as told on their website . . .

“Daniel Winkler began making knives in 1975 and became a fulltime bladesmith in 1988. He earned accreditation as a Master Bladesmith from the American Bladesmith Society in 1993. As a historical enactor, he drew inspiration from the knives and axes of the American Frontier- a time when the tools a man carried meant sustenance and survival...