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KA-BAR Gives 20+ Year-Old Classic an S35VN Upgrade

April 25, 2025

Well here’s a surprise: KA-BAR has released a new version of the time-tested Dozier Folding Hunter. The selling point on this version is a blade made from the best steel the model has ever seen, S35VN.

The Dozier Folding Hunter is a legendary knife from a legendary maker. Dozier is a major star in the knifemaking firmament, his name one of very few that gets mentioned with the same veneration as Bob Loveless or W.D. Randall. The Folding Hunter was an effort to capture some of the Dozier magic in a production folding knife that could be purchased by just about anyone; while the price of the basic version has gone up a little bit recently, for many years the Folding Hunter was the response when someone would ask for the best knife under $20.

The clip may not be the most high-tech, but it is reversible

Needless, to say, nothing has been altered about the actual Folding Hunter design here. The blade is still a 3-inch, Dozier-style drop point, with an almost spear point-like symmetry and just the right amount of width. But the S35VN steel is a major upgrade from the AUS-8 or D2 options that existed before, making a knife that already could be called upon to do just about anything that much more flexible.

The handle is the same unassuming, yet deeply comfortable shape that it has been for more than 20 years (the Folding Hunter originally released all the way back in 2003). The FRN scales have a simple but effective traction pattern molded into them, and the pocket clip, while neither deep carry nor loop-over, does its job just fine and can be swapped to either side – as can the thumb stud, so the lockback Folding Hunter is 100% ambidextrous. It’s also a feather in the pocket at a mere 2.4 oz.

The S35VN Folding Hunter is available now.

Knife in Featured Image: KA-BAR S35VN Dozier Folding Hunter

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