Brute Force!
Case Winkler Recurve Utility No. 6 — All The Right Stuff
The Case Winkler Recurve Utility No. 6 is 9.5″ of brute force featuring a tough
80CrV2 high carbon steel and durable canvas Micarta scales.
W.R. Case & Sons is known for making some mighty fine pocketknives, and they’ve offered some fine fixed-blade hunting knives in their line over the years. But nothing like this. Say hello to the Case Winkler Recurve Utility No. 6 and prepare to shed any notions you had of what a Case knife “is.” Designed by custom knifemaker Daniel Winkler and U.S. Navy SEAL Harry Bologna, the Recurve is a beast of epic proportion.
The Recurve’s hybrid Kydex/black leather sheath is extremely versatile and includes
a special front addition for housing a Slim Zippo lighter for firestarting.
Power Pedigree
The Recurve, the second knife in W.R. Case & Sons American Heroes Series, draws on Bologna’s 20 years of field experience and Winkler’s decades as a custom knifemaker. At 9.5″ overall and tipping the scales at 11.80 oz., the Recurve is a handful. The bulk of the weight can be attributed to the thickness of its steel, which is over 1/4″ thick (0.26″ to be exact). The team chose 80CrV2 high carbon steel — known for its sheer toughness in the field, topped off with a non-glare, black oxide Caswell finish for corrosion resistance. The 4.75″ recurved blade is a deep-bellied drop point with a flat grind for endurance in the field and the concave recurve on the lead edge of the blade helps grab whatever gets in its way.
The Recurve’s handle scales are a grippy, coarse finished canvas Micarta — available in black and natural tan. The handle is ample enough for big meathooks and, at the base, the tang is exposed for pummeling — plus there’s a lanyard hole to boot. The lanyard hole can also be used for lashing and there’s a second one located at the top rear of the handle. The 50/50 split between the Recurve’s blade and handle in the overall length makes for great balance — the center point of the knife’s weight is located right around the top lashing hole.
The Recurve’s black sheath is nothing short of a work of art, not only rivaling the best factory offerings, but custom ones as well. It’s a hybrid with leather inners to house the knife and Kydex outers to add stiffness. The back Kydex portion has a spring-steel belt clip attached which can be relocated for various modes of carry (vertical/horizontal) and is also reversible for right or left side draw while the front has a Kydex add-on which houses a (get this) Slim Zippo lighter for firest
arting.
Built To Last
Winkler’s fixed-blades are field proven by special operators and grunts alike from many years of use in the Middle East, as well as other formidable locations, and have stood the test of time. The Recurve is a knife you can pass down for generations — it’s that well made and tough. The price tag is admittedly steep at $395.95, but you’d be hard pressed to tell a dime’s worth of difference between Winkler’s custom fare and the W.R. Case version featured here. In fact, the blade and handle components are made in Winkler’s Boone, NC, shop and delivered to Case to assemble and finish at their factory in Bradford, PA. The Recurve Utility No. 6 is a knife that can build shelters, chop wood, butcher large game and anything else you’d want a big knife to do. In spades.
W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery
Ph: (800) 523-6350
GUNS December 2018 Cover
