Small, Shockingly Stout, and Available: Montana Knife Company Blackfoot 2.0 Review

The new year marks the last few days of deer season in my home state. After spending all fall pursuing target bucks and “shooters” exclusively, January is about fun and harvest in my household. And harvest I did.

On New Year’s Day, I found myself standing over two mature does in the big woods of Middle Tennessee. I pulled the Montana Knife Company Blackfoot 2.0 from my pack and got to work.

I was very excited to test the knife. Over the last few years, Montana Knife Company has made quite the splash, and I had been hearing nothing but praise about the blades created by owner and Master Bladesmith Josh Smith. But they’re always sold out.

Fortunately, in 2025, MKC made an effort to keep a few knives, like the Blackfoot 2.0, in stock at all times. Cutting up two deer would be the perfect way to see what the hype is all about.

In short: The Blackfoot 2.0 ($300) is a small knife in the world of big game hunting knives. But don’t let the small size fool you; It can take an absolute beating without chipping. It slides through hide like butter, and cracks through ribs like a hatchet. The edge retention of the 52100 ball bearing steel isn’t as good as that of more popular MagnaCut blades, but it’s still impressive in its own right and easier to sharpen.

A G-10 scaled handle provides a sure grip with slippery hands, a PVD finish protects most of the corrosion-prone blade, and it lives up to all the hype. It’s one of the more versatile fixed-blade knives I’ve carried. And you can buy one now.

Field Dressing

As I crouched down to begin the long processing job ahead of me, the basic, ergonomic handle of the Blackfoot 2.0 felt just right in my hands. This knife doesn’t sport sharp angles and lines. Both the blade and handle are simple designs. But the blade’s drop-point is a classic, time-tested shape.

The handle is contoured only where it matters, with a sharp uptick at both the rear and front, and a small hump in the middle. While small, it sat perfectly in my closed hand.

My initial field dressing cuts were made with ease. The relatively thin, short 3.375-inch blade was perfect for removing guts from my deer. It’s not an overbearing knife, as so many fixed-blade hunting knives are, and it is capable of scalpel-like precision. That’s pretty dang handy when trying to avoid accidentally cutting something open that shouldn’t be.

Most notable was how easy it was to free up the intestinal tract from the rear of the animal. The small, sharp blade made quick work of the task, and the Blackfoot cut through moveable, fatty tissue better than any fixed-blade hunting knife I’ve ever used.

But, I honestly expected that type of performance from the blade design. Due to the compact build, I figured the knife would excel in those situations. The true test, however, was the next part.

You don’t have to split open a deer’s ribs to field dress it. But in my opinion, it makes it a lot easier and safer to remove the windpipe. Given the size of the Blackfoot 2.0, I had some serious doubts about the knife’s ability to perform such a task well. The knife doesn’t look like it’s designed for heavy-hitting work. A more traditional, thicker, larger hunting blade seems more at home in that realm.

Despite my concerns, I figured, “Hell, let’s push this thing to the max and see what it’s capable of. Maybe I’m wrong.” I made a few light, sawing cuts into the sternum to create a groove for the knife to rest in. Once that was done, I placed the deep belly of the blade in it and proceeded to baton the daylights out of the back of the knife.

With two and a half smacks, the rib cage was split wide open. I repeated the same process on my second whitetail doe, and the small blade performed the task with ease, yet again. That in itself surprised me.

What’s more impressive, though, is how well the blade took the beating. I assumed some portion of the edge would show immediate signs of damage. There were none, zero, nada. That is shocking for such an unassuming blade. There were no chips whatsoever, and I started to see the light in the blade design. Yes, it’s small, making it great for precision work, but dang, the thing can take a walloping.

Skinning

After getting my deer hung back at home, I made quick work of skinning them with the Blackfoot 2.0. After making an initial incision through the first deer’s hide on its hind legs, I pushed the blade forward.

The blade shape naturally pushed the hide on the “ramp” of the edge, and the knife glided through the hide like a set of scissors through gift wrap. The hide was off in short order.

On the second deer, I started to notice a bit of a hiccup in the knife’s edge if I went too far into the belly of the blade. Surely, I had dulled it a bit with my ribcage shenanigans. If I rotated the knife to place the hide closer to the tip, cutting became much easier.

Toward the end, the gliding sensation I experienced at the start of the job turned into a bit more of a sawing and hacking sensation. The edge was definitely still serviceable, but I did notice certain areas were starting to dull.

That isn’t surprising, given that I field-dressed and skinned two deer with it, although I will point out that the deer were hanging. I was making relatively few cuts while skinning and was pulling the hide off mostly by hand. I’d say the edge retention is plenty good for processing a singular big game animal, but not as great as other knives I’ve used.

I had a big job ahead of me as I planned to process my two deer entirely. As such, I needed to be as efficient as possible and admit that I began using other knives alongside the Blackfoot 2.0. For deboning and trimming meat, I love a long, thin blade. In fact, I’ve found a low-flex fillet knife to be quite good for the task.

However, I understand that many Western big game hunters don’t have the luxury of having a litany of knives on hand in the backcountry, where quartering and deboning meat may be necessary. So I removed two quarters off of one deer, backstraps, flanks, tenderloins, and neck meat with the Blackfoot 2.0. I deboned the cuts off of both quarters with the knife as well.

The small blade handled all of the tasks easily. Separating the pelvis and getting the hind quarter off was no problem. Again, I thought the blade size would be a hindrance in this department, but it wasn’t.

I preferred the thinner blade over my larger hunting knives when it came time to remove muscle groups from the hind quarter. Precision cuts were handled easily, and I was able to leave hardly any meat on the bone with the Blackfoot 2.0. It wasn’t as quick and effective at the task as a fillet knife, but I was able to get just as clean cuts with minimal meat waste with the Blackfoot 2.0

Trimming Cuts

When it came time to trim my meat for the grinder and freezer storage, the Montana Knife Company Blackfoot 2.0 was certainly no longer razor sharp. However, after mostly processing two entire deer, the edge had zero chips and looked as good as new to the naked eye.

I’ve never had a hunting knife that didn’t have at least light chipping after processing a big game animal. This was a first.

I decided to try trimming the fat and silver skin from a few cuts of meat, just for kicks. There are certainly better blades for this task, but I wanted the Blackfoot 2.0 along for the entire ride.

Despite having no flex, the knife easily removed silver skin, albeit in smaller quantities at a time, thanks to its short blade. Fat removal was more than doable, though it would have been easier if I had touched up the blade beforehand. But it was still getting the job done. Pretty impressive.

After processing two deer, the small hunting knife had lived up to the MKC hype. However, I noticed one problem with it. The knife is extremely prone to corrosion.

I never really used the Montana Knife Company Blackfoot 2.0 in wet conditions. At one point, it was exposed to light rain, but I dried it off thoroughly. Yet, rust spots started appearing on any part of the blade that wasn’t covered by the corrosion-resistant, black PVD finish. That was quite a shock to me.

The first time it happened, I assumed water had collected in the sheath (although it has a drain port), and I was able to remove the rust. However, it kept appearing on the MKC logo and the “USA Made” lettering at the base of the blade. It doesn’t pop up anywhere else on the knife, so clearly the PVD finish does its job; however, the rusty logo is an obnoxious, purely cosmetic eyesore for a $300 knife.

I would also say I’ve had knives that hold an edge better. I’m certain some of my blades would have stayed sharper when tasked with the same project. That’s not to say it dulls easily. It doesn’t, and has more than enough edge retention to get an elk or deer packed out of the woods. There are better, though.

52100 Ball Bearing Steel vs. MagnaCut

While it may seem odd to omit discussing a knife’s steel until the very end of a blade review, I did it here for one very specific reason.

The Blackfoot 2.0 is available in two variations: one made with 52100 ball bearing steel, and one with MagnaCut. The version promised to always be in stock, and the one I own is the knife sporting the 52100 ball bearing steel. When the knife arrived, I knew absolutely nothing about that particular steel.

And I didn’t want to taint my review with online research beforehand. I didn’t want to know what the steel was supposed to do. I wanted to know what it actually did, unburdened by my expectations from online research. Because of that, I didn’t look up a single thing on 52100 until writing the conclusion of this review.

My recent online research put a smile on my face. It clearly outlined exactly what I experienced with the knife. 52100 ball bearing steel excels at toughness and resistance to chipping. It’s what makes this knife so ready to attack bone-cracking tasks without wavering.

However, it’s much more prone to corrosion. That would explain why the small lettering and logo on the knife, not protected by the PVD finish, constantly develop rust spots. It would also explain why the black finish was put on the blade in the first place.

The 52100 steel doesn’t hold an edge quite as long as MagnaCut, which I found to be the case. However, it’s easier to sharpen. I’m not an expert sharpener, but even with my novice skills, I was able to get the blade back to a field-ready state after processing two deer.

I thought the Montana Knife Company Blackfoot 2.0 would be too small to earn the title of my favorite hunting knife. It just seemed too delicate for the heavy-duty tasks that arise while processing big game.

But after cutting up two deer with the thing, I was shocked at how capable it is in those scenarios. Thanks to the 52100 ball bearing steel, the edge can withstand considerable abuse and remain unscathed.

When it comes time for precision, the small blade easily outpaces heftier knives. For the act of actually cutting up an animal in its entirety, it’s pretty tough to beat. I’ve also used the thin blade to breast out ducks, geese, and pheasants. All of my other “hunting knives” are wholly incapable in that department, and the versatility of the small blade really starts to stand out as a solid do-all hunting knife.

But I’m still not certain I’d call this my favorite hunting knife, although it is in the running. I love the versatility. The provided sheath locks the blade in securely, and the small package fits anywhere. It’s an easier carry than most fixed blades, but it has a robust build you can rely on.

However, it doesn’t hold an edge quite as well as other blades, and the rust spots, while cosmetic, annoy me. You can solve both issues by getting the MagnaCut version, although you may encounter edge chipping, and it will be slightly harder to sharpen. Trade-offs, trade-offs.

I’m torn between what I value more, but I can say this: the Blackfoot 2.0 in 52100 ball bearing steel is available right now, and it’s a killer knife. If you need a versatile fixed blade for any adventure, it will deliver.