i finally received the item from amazon. I am not too happy with it. if i were too guess the steel is 440A, and very poorly heat treated, if at all. I tried to do some simple kitchen chores just to try it out, and just after slicing and dicing one whole chicken, the knife went totally blunt. I was able to get it razor sharp within a minute, as the steel is very soft. The knife is an ok deal for a price, but i would not want to use it as a primary knife, maybe a beater knife or utility knife around the house. The steel is way too soft for any practical use, unless you just want to baton with it, then it should hold up fine.

recently purchased a number of knives with a very specific criteria. no "tactical", no paracord, no giant bowie, no folders, just a nice sized, natural handle bush knife, for CHEAP. all were in the $10-16 range. this was one of them.

to be honest, not the best knife made. no, it wont contend with a $300 custom knife, but for under $20 this is a lot of knife. nice fit and finish, came sharp, didnt really punish them, but in the limited amount of trials i gave the blade seemed to hold a decent edge. at the end of the day, id take 20 of these over one $300 knife hands down. actually, id just get one and spend the other $285 on something else.

and for the record. im giving this same review to all 8 of the knives i purchased for this "experiment". all seemed to hold edges well, some better than others, the fit and finish was better on some than on others, but easily acceptable on all, and all well worth the few dollars they cost.

** addendum to this knife only, imo, this one had the nicest sheath of the bunch. dosent affect the function of the knife any, but if its a concern to you, this is probably the budget knife you want.

The ITEM'S DESCRIPTION READS, "Straight edge hawksbill blade made of 440 stainless steel." However, it cannot be 440 stainless and also rust. The knife I received, the ER-052, after a couple uses and thorough cleaning is showing a couple dozen rust spots.

In my opinion, the Elk Ridge ER-052, is another Amazon listed rip-off from China that Amazon seems to think is just dandy to sell us, in spite of of inaccurate descriptions of the item, the materials used to construct it and more.

Pros:
Sharp
Sheath is decent

Cons:
It is NOT 440 Stainless Steel and mine has started to rust.

This knife is really sharp. Cut my finger getting it out of the sheath. lol
I like the shape and the sheath.

The good, Looks like a good knife and sturdy. The bad, metal is soft and dulls quickly. Hard to keep a sharp edge. Skinning a deer killed the edge. I wouldnt buy again