Through years of hands-on experience and user feedback, the v1 holds special appeal for those who rely on their knife daily.

Both v1 and v2 are available in the micro bevel grind profile.

Before the index guard, there was this — the original Cael pattern, and for a certain kind of owner still the definitive one.

Why it stays in the range

The v2 added a built-in guard for safety in low light; the v1 keeps the handle uninterrupted. Years of hands-on use and customer feedback taught us that people who carry a knife every day often prefer exactly that — the freedom to choke up, roll the grip, and work the blade from any angle without a guard in the way. A guard protects; an uninterrupted handle converses. Both philosophies are right, which is why both knives exist.

Same blade, same intent

The 100mm blade is the same story as its successor: slender, precisely contoured, built for the exacting work of deer processing. It slips through the close, careful stages of the gralloch with the control the Cael name is known for, and both versions are offered with the micro bevel grind for a tougher, longer-wearing edge on high-volume work.

Who chooses the v1

Deer managers who have carried one for years and see no reason to change. Owners who use one knife for everything and want nothing between hand and edge. And commissioners who simply prefer the cleaner line of the original — this is, after all, the pattern the reputation was built on.

The steel is yours to choose

Most Caels leave the bench in one of our working stainless steels: RWL-34, a high-chromium stainless with excellent edge retention and corrosion resistance; PMC27, a powder-metallurgy steel with a fine grain that takes a keen edge and asks very little maintenance; or AEB-L, the razor-blade stainless whose fine carbides give a very keen edge with good toughness. Traditionalists can have O1 tool steel — a carbon steel that sharpens to an exceptionally fine edge and rewards a little oil and attention.

For something quietly spectacular, we pattern-weld our own stainless Damascus in-house from RWL-34 and PMC27 — Vinland, Gysinge, Ladder, Odin’s Eye, Thor and a dozen other patterns, each combining high corrosion resistance with exceptional edge retention. On a Cael, Damascus turns a working tool into an heirloom without costing it a day’s work.

The sheath is part of the knife

Every sheath is handmade in-house and moulded to the individual knife it will carry — not to the pattern, to the knife. Leather comes in classic black or brown, or a custom colour; hand-tooled work is available, up to and including engraved silver panels. For those who work in all weathers, Kydex is offered on our hybrid leather carry system.

Numbered, recorded, guaranteed

Every Cael is numbered and entered in the workshop ledger — steel, handle, date, owner — and carries a lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects. It arrives sharpened and papered, sent signed-for and insured. Decades from now, the number on the blade will still tell its story.

Commissions start with a conversation, or with a design: the design tool lets you set out the steel, handle, pins, engraving and sheath, and send the draft straight to the bench.