While working on his audio original, The Long Hunters, Steve Rinella researched the types of blade tools carried by commercial whitetail hunters such as Daniel Boone in the mid-1700s. He sent some specs to Riley Kirkpatrick at Kirkpatrick Forge, who made him a custom “belt axe.” It was so badass that we asked Riley to make more of the axes for our own MeatEater Store in celebration of The Long Hunters launch. These are the epitome of American-made, hammered out one by one by Riley Kirkpatrick using S7 steel, with 6 hours of labor into every axe. Each axe is fitted with a handmade hickory handle.

To see the process of making these axes, go to @stevenrinella on IG and check out Steve’s post from January 9, 2024.