TAO from United States, MT Public Profile

I bought this as a hunting knife in order to keep my cold-sensitive fingers from being frostbit, again. The insulating wood handle is perfect in that regard. Palm-filling, but with a shape that allows great control with or without wearing gloves, the ergonomics of this knife are fantastic! In my large hands, it felt good regardless of the grip I used. Sharp right out of the box, the Nying only needed a little stropping to get scary sharp.

As for the flaws, the handle material is just ugly; mine has black knots (though tight) and no figure at all, unlike the product photo. The blade, though polished, has deep tooling marks, like finishing it was done in a rush. Neither of these seems to affect performance, but just a bit disappointing after seeing the pictures and other Helle knives up close.

If you can get it at a good price, this is a great utilitarian knife!