Choice of hunting knife

[GasramGandu]

Inder which of the Muela knives is the one you have in the US?

[Yaj]

Freaking shucks

You don't wanna know how much I paid for that.. almost three times

-Inder

I paid 3 grand for it too, when I didn't know better. Bought it from one of those sellers at Heera Panna in Mumbai. He had one of their boar knives too with stag handle, was asking for 6K for that but even though I was itching to I never went back for it. I still dream about it sometimes



http://www.elenhunting.com/Merchant2/gr ... halero.jpg

It was similar to the second knife from the left.

Yaj.

[kanwar76]

Inder which of the Muela knives is the one you have in the US?

Hi GG ,

I bought Muela Bison with stag handles., its one of the old models I think, see pic on the previous page

Always wanted to have one stag handle knife, found this one in budget..

-Inder

[Grumpy]

Bob Loveless and his partner Jim Merritt have only been working a few hours a day, one or two days a week for some time however because of Jim Merritts protracted illness and Bob Loveless' age ( he's 78 ) Bob has now effectively retired and is just finishing off some back orders. This is what I've been told by someone who has known Mr Loveless for several years and lives quite close to Loveless' Riverside, CA home.

Yes, I know that Spyderco use VG-10 steel for the Bill Moran. VG-10 normally has an RC of 60-62, however Spyderco rate it at 59-60 for the Moran - obviously the actual hardness depends on the tempering process and the temperatures involved. The AUS 8 steel used for the Beretta/ Moki Loveless designs has a RC of 57-59. Both average as pretty well ideal but the steel used for the Moran is a tiny bit harder and should retain its edge for a little bit longer.

Both VG-10 and AUS 8 are Japanese steels.

By the way, the knive I lost was made of D2. Touted by some authorities as a wonder steel it is, in my opinion, best avoided. RC is quoted as 60-62 but that provided for knifemaking is usually rated at 62-64. It retains an edge very well and for a very long time however when the edge goes it goes very quickly and is an absolute bas*ard to resharpen. Where most stainless steels can be brought back to absolute sharpness with a few passes each side from a fine diamond rod D2 needs completely resharpening in multiple stages. A waste of time in the field. D2 is not stainless steel and stains quite badly if left exposed to blood. It is susceptible to acid and it is not a good idea to cut a lemon or orange ( for example ) with a knife made of D2 steel without cleaning it off immediately as the acids will cause the blade to blunt remarkable quickly.

"Inox" us the same as "Rostfrei" which is the same as "stainless". In itself it doesn't mean too much as there are some crummy stainless steels around.

The problem with Muella is the same as those concerning Aitor and Cudeman - the Spanish knifemaking trade generally - which is consistency. Although their quality has improved considerably in recent years they all still manage to allow what amounts to second quality knives to escape the factory on occasion. The grade of 440 steel that they use varies in quality and hardness - depending from where they source it presumably - the fit of components isn't always very good and the level of finish can be variable as well. The major problem I suspect is that they also make very cheap knives - usually from 420 stainless - and the construction attitudes sometimes leak over the their main-stream production. A good Spanish knife can be very good.......get a Monday morning special though and it can be rather poor.

[Grumpy]

"Bombs are for big spenders like.....Grumpy."

Not any more - I'm a skinflint.

I derive a lot more pleasure nowadays - and for some time - from picking up a bargain - firearm or knife - than shelling out a fortune....................and have a lot more dosh left in the bank as a result.

You wouldn't believe what some of my guns cost - how inexpensive I mean.

[Risala]

Yaj,

The current price listed for the knife is $ 29,which is a steal.

Did you order it via mail order from the link posted,if you did pl let me know

then I am going for it

Sanjay

[Yaj]

Sanjay as I mentioned in my earlier post I bought it a few years ago at one of the shops in Mumbai selling imported stuff.
Ordering a knife by mail is quite a gamble,I have lost two knives, a Spyderco Shabaria and a Buck Alpha in the mail .
If you do order by mail make sure it is by EMS with tracking.Its worth the extra money.
Regards,
Yaj.

[WyoJoe]

I used to have a friend that used the Kershaw Alaskan Blade Trader for a lot of field care work. Does anyone else have any experience with this knife?

Not with this model of Kershaw. But I do have experience with a different model of the blade trader. They are good utilitarian knives. The model I have is older & has a fillet blade instead the blade with the gut hook.

[GasramGandu]

Thanks for the info, Joe. The fillet blade sounds like a better option than the gut hook.

[kanwar76]

Hi Yaj,

Is it legal to order knives via mail if yes then what you reckon how much will be the shipping for same size knife from US?

Sanjay: The place i bought it from in Bangalore is closed down for good but there is one more dealer who deals in Muela and last time I was there he was telling me that they can order any Muela knife...don't know how much is true but if you want I can enquire..

-Inder

[Yaj]

Sanjay: The place i bought it from in Bangalore is closed down for good but there is one more dealer who deals in Muela and last time I was there he was telling me that they can order any Muela knife...don't know how much is true but if you want I can enquire..

-Inder

Inder I have ordered and received knives/khukris by mail in the past,so i think legality is not a problem.The largest was a 25" khukri from HI which came by airmail post by mistake.There I had to convince the custom officers that I was a collector before they released it.
I have never had problems when the parcel came by EMS.It comes with the customs clearance stuck to it. EMS charges range from 25-35 $. Sometimes it costs more than the knife itself but at least it assures you receive the knife
Regards,
Yaj.

[kanwar76]

Thanks Yaj

-Inder

[shooter]

hi everybody

my experience of hunting knives is limited to victrinox hunter model.
theoritically to bowie knife (though that is not strictly a hunting knife.) and the long edged weapons.

so a few newbie level questions:
what exactly is a hunting knife. (its not a weapon for hunting)
what exactly are the quality that are unique to hunting knife?
as far as i know, the gut hook is not a standard feature.
the blade length, shape etc is not constant.

should it be suitable for quartering or butchering?

i am 100% sure the some knives in the pics posted have too short a blade to be effective for butchering.

i have used 'desi kasai chhura' translated as country made butcher knives. im sure all my indian friends here know what im talking about. it is long and HEAVY.
before anyone of you make fun of this country bumpkin, i would like to add this kind of knives are being used by butchers all over india for centuries and give very good reasults.

i have only butchered goat but many butchers use them on buffalo which is comparable in size to any game. i know of a lot of people firsthand who have used them for game inthe past and swear by them.

now i can understand they havent tried these 'vilayati' knives so one cant compare but shouldnt a knife better than these desi ones be heavier rather than the ones with 2.5 inch blade.?

[veejosh]

The Knife mentioned in Yaj's post (a Muela) has INOX written and the one I picked up was from the VICTORINOX showroom in Connought Place, N. Delhi for Rs 1300/- about 2 years ago. They had several other knives too.
I had read of damascus steel knives in one link and it says of WINDLASS in DEHRADOON.Do we have someone to check it out or if any one who has some idea of the same. The address is :
Windlass Steelcrafts
11-A, Rajpur Road,
Dehradun - 248 001
India
Phone: 91-135-686269, 91-135-686470
Fax: 91-135-655830
Vikas

[Mack The Knife]

The INOX bit is just coincidence as the company that imports Victorinox products also imports knives from Muela. This is why you found both brands in the same showroom.

Mack The Knife