Diamond Hoof Knife Review

Recently we won a Diamond hoof knife in a drawing held by Farrier Product Distribution. Since it is not one that we typically use, we figured it would be a good first product review. The knife that was sent to us was the right hand drop blade hoof knife (DROPR). 

Observations as the knife was unpackaged:

  • The blade is fairly narrow 
  • The hook at the end of the blade is quite long 
  • The fitment of blade to handle is rather poor
  • The handle is comfortable 
  • The blade angle is steep with the rest of the blade being left thick
  • The drop loop is not a graceful curve, but has a bit of an angle at the bottom of the drop
  • The blade is coated in some kind of black anti-rust coating. 

I spent a day using the hoof knife as it came out of the package. While I am not typically a huge fan of a drop loop knife due to the type of feet I generally work on, it didn’t take long to get used to it. The handle was quite comfortable (probably the best part of the knife). It was not however as sharp as I would like right out of the box. It scraped more than cut for the first several horses I used it with. After a day of using the knife straight out of the box, I decided to modify it and try again. I ground the hook of the knife down somewhat and re-profiled and sharpened the blade so that the bevel was a smooth transition into the spine. Trying the modified knife on the second day, it was a much nicer cut and feel.  

In summary, with some modifications this could be a decent knife to use, especially for a cheaper backup knife or for a student or part-time farrier. The narrowness of the blade would lend to it wearing out rather quickly for a full-time farrier that is sharpening a knife everyday and just is not as nice and refined as the handmade hoof knives most full-time farriers generally use. In this case the Diamond hoof knife will stay in a toolbox in one of the trucks just in case a spare is needed.