What's up with the Cold Steel "Drop Forged Hunter"?

Um....no.

Maybe in your opinion but most will disagree.

 

52100 is my favorite high carbon steel -- Mike Stewart used it when he ran Marbles a decade or more ago. I have a Marble's Campcraft (a.k.a. Scout Knife, as Marbles used to market it way back) and a Marble's Fieldcraft, both in 52100 from his time there. Both take an extremely fine edge that lasts an exceptionally long time. No problem with rust although they developed a nice patina from use.

 

This ^^

 

52100 is a great simple steel. I have a Kramer Santoku in 52100 that is a laser, incredibly thin behind the edge. It is stable in thin edges, can be run pretty hard.

 

Your needs must be different than mine, and your wallet is obviously thicker.

A Mora No. 1 (with carbon steel blafe) at under $12 or so is a much better deal, IMHO, and does everything I need.

(admittedly I am not a fan of the plastic Mora sheaths though.)

 

the mora does provide an excellent low budget option, but the 52100 is really an excellent carbon steel, simple yet punches above it's weight & cost, the cleanliness of the steel helps a lot with this I expect -

mora doesn't really offer anything in the size/weight area that this 8" survivalist does - it really can double as a light machete/hatchet I expect

fwiw, the 4" version of this blade is only $36 now at knifecenter - super great utility/edc value - I'd get that over the mora any day, but I wish I could get it uncoated

 

The grind slices well and 52100 is a very good carbon steel if you like that wort of thing - and I do, especially in a fixed blade.
Thought he handle may not be the most ergonomic for long tern use sessions, you ain't going to break this bad boy.

 

How tall is that thing? 1 1/2”? It looks like a Hori Hori. A super-wide knife can’t turn easily.

The aforementioned Kramer knives in 52100 are excellent so I expect this would be too. The coating serves its intended bushcraft purposes.

 

My Drop Forged Hunter looks more gray than black and isn't really powdery on outside.

But I'm kinda new to this and what intrigues me is the steel. Because the knife has seen several days of occassional use and is still basically as sharp as it was the moment I got it out of the box.
I was excited to sharpen it to see how easy it gets sharp - but it just won't get dull. And I don't want to cut random stuff just to get it dull on purpose.
So 52100 steel holds an edge well, but will it be hard to get it sharp again once it gets dull?

 

It's a good knife. I have one for the truck "possibles" bag.

 

Saw a video where a guy shrink wrapped the handle. Problem of comfort and grip solved. Take care not to wrap where top of sheath clicks to knife is all. Getting one as an emergency blade, maybe two.