Boss!!!! Fyi.

[cavetech]

Hi Sarge:

I'll bite.

How do you know?

I just ordered one to play with. This thread got me curious.

Thanks, Steve

 

[Thomas Linton]

Steve, the handles are molded on to a partial tang that's wider than your usual stick tang, runs about 3/4 the length of the handle, and has scallops cut into the edges of it that the plastic fills into when the handle's molded on. Absolutely can't bust the silly things, only way to get one off is with a hacksaw. Ask me how I know.

Sarge

1. Great value for the $$. Great cutter.

2. Try driving it point first into a chunk or trunk by pounding on the end of the handle with a baton of wood. You will have no trouble removing the handle - in pieces. Why do such a mean thing to a nice little knife? It is a means of making smaller pieces of wood out of a larger piece.

One might expect the same result with any stub-tang knife.

Conventional batoning (hit the back of the blade) has not phased my remaining example or my More 2000 -- but I'm careful.

 

[Sylvrfalcn]

Hi Sarge:

I'll bite.

How do you know?

I just ordered one to play with. This thread got me curious.

Thanks, Steve

I've cut a few of 'em apart and rehandled them in antler. Just don't care for plastic, that's all. Honestly never have busted one. Then again, in 47 years spent on three continents, I've never yet found a situation where hammering the point of my knife into a log with a baton had any real world utility. But that's just me.

Sarge

 

[Thomas Linton]

Hey, Sarge, I'm with you. Did I say I was surprised? It's like hammering on a typical screwdriver.

I only tried it 'cause someone at BritishBlades assured the world that Mora's were up to it. There is a school of thought that the Moras are the "greatest knives for bushcraft."

For $10 (price I paid), not much was at risk - only a plastic handle. (Replacement was not beyond the uncrafty and wood feels better to my prejudiced senses.)

They advocated the technique for Bushcraft work to take down a tree when you don't have an axe or a saw. Guess that's why I carry a saw.

 

[Sylvrfalcn]

Guess that's why I carry a saw.

I like saws. :thumbup: They're safe, efficient, and "discreet". Whacking away at wood with a large heavy blade makes a sound that really carries. Not especially a problem, but definitely a consideration if you're somewhere that you don't necessarily think announcing your presence is a good idea.

Sarge

 

[DaddyDett]

I keep looking at the Frost Triflex knives, and wondering how come I need one. They look decent enough, but the price makes me think "gun show junk".
How do they come so inexpensively, after import duty etc.?
I am looking for a I dont care if I lose it, but it works like a champ knife for canoeing, fishing, and camping.

DaddyDett

 

[Fiddleback]

I got a Mora #1 and a Triflex too. Great knives. More utilitarian than I used carry out with me, but lately I've been re-evaluating my knife tastes. (Ever since I met a Khukuri and made a knife of my own.) Really a stout little cutter. Blades are nice and stiff, and razor sharp right out of the box. I'm gonna stick one in each tackle box, bug out bag, and car emergency kits. They are so cheap, but when you hold them you get the feeling of the usefulness. No frills. While you're there get yourself an Opinel. I'm having to admit after using the Opinel that the French aren't totally worthless.

 

[cavetech]

Hi Andy:

This thread just got my intrest. I am still skeptical about the quality of such cheap knives, but I ordered a triflex, opinel, okapi just to see what they were like.

About the French..........yes they are.

Thanks, Steve

 

[Svashtar]

I'm a bit confused, just having learned about these. So there's the #1 carbon, and the triflex is a different kind of laminated steel, and then there is a stainless model as well, correct?

I saw a black triflex on buy-it-now at ebay for just $10.98 which looked cool. And there was an OD green model for the same price but I think that was regular carbon.

I have all the Cold steel Twistmasters, but might get a small Opinel for comparison. They look nice, but not sure about the French and knives though... (-;

Norm

 

[Yvsa]

I have all the Cold steel Twistmasters, but might get a small Opinel for comparison. They look nice, but not sure about the French and knives though... (-;

Norm

The Opinels are great knives and come with a convex blade, yep you read it right, a convex blade.:thumbup:
I prefer the carbon steel ones of course, don't know how the stainless is.

From what I understand the Okapis are pretty soft but that's not always bad. Means it can be sharpened with most anything abrasive.:thumbup:

 

[Leatherface]

I like the looks of a couple of those...The Mora #1 and the medium size Opinel might have to find themselves in my pack...

What is the triflex?? is it similar to the Mora #1?

 

[Sylvrfalcn]

Yvsa, the stainless Opinels do fine, leads me to suspect the steel is imported from Sweden. Not all that far fetched really, I've got Laguiole knives from three different makers with blades made of 12C27 Sandvik. I'd definitely give the carbon steel Opinels a slight edge (uh, is that a pun or what?) over the stainless ones, but the stainless models make for great low maintenance tool/tacklebox knives. A feature that Opinel's added to some of their current production knives is a "makes sense" idea I really like. They've added a notch to the inboard side of the twist collar, allowing you to lock the blade in the closed position for safe carry. Winner of an idea. :thumbup:

Sarge

 

[Fiddleback]

Hi Andy:

This thread just got my intrest. I am still skeptical about the quality of such cheap knives, but I ordered a triflex, opinel, okapi just to see what they were like.

About the French..........yes they are.

Thanks, Steve

Politically I tend to agree with you Steve. However that opinel is one hell of a well engineered knife. What other factory knife do you know of with a convex edge? Good workmanship too. I wasn't too pleased with both the design or the workmanship of the okapi. Especially compared to the similarly priced opinel. And, we do need the French... without them who is going to run up the white flag.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

I've been mucking around with the Moras and the Opinels lately a bit myself...

I've just gotten in one laminated model (#S-2) and one carbon steel model. (#2 1/2) NOT impressed with the laminated blades at all. they're very, very, soft and easy to bend. I bent mine to 45 degrees with my finger tips, but...on the other hand at least it bent back just as easily. It technically does hold an edge a bit longer than the carbon steel model, but not enough of a difference to really impress me. The laminated one is currently living with my parents.

The Carbon one I couldn't resist tinkering with, so I decided to refinish the handle on it. Thought that paint was never coming all the way out! I wound up putting a few hours into sanding that stupid handle. Once I was done with that I got some walnut stain and put a couple of coats on it, along with some clear high gloss gun finishing oil. I'd gotten impatient and rushed the job in the end, and basically botched it. I was getting ready to sand it and start over again when I was saying to myself "Man this thing looks like crap! How the heck did I manage to screw it up this badly?! I took a brand new knife and made it look a hundred friggin' years old overnight!!" "hmmm.....wait a minute...it does look a hundred years old....that's freakin' cool!! I'm gonna leave it!!"

I've got an Opinel #12 I've been mucking around with a little bit lately also. A couple of years ago I refinished it with a red oak colored stain, which came out pretty nice, but it's gotten beaten and hammered on enough that I might have to do it again some time soon. Love that Opinel #12...it's got a 5 1/2 inch blade or so. It's like a folding chefs knife when I go picnicking or hiking.

The best way I've found personally to get over the handles swelling, happens to also be the crudest. I took the locking collar and the blade out of the handle and stuffed a FILE inside there and filed away for ten minutes or so to loosen it and give it some play. I put the knife back together fully expecting it to have lots of side to side wobble, but it doesn't have hardly any, and has exactly zero when I lock the collar on it. The blade is loose enough now that I have to lock it shut as well as open now, but it's well worth it to me. I went to bed that night and deliberately left the knife in a glass of water. Woke up the next morning and opened her right up. Much better than the first time I got it wet and had to use a Leatherman to open it....

After looking that the Tri-Flex a few times on Ragnars site, I don't see any mention of it being a laminated steel. Here's a C&P for the Craftsman:

#780; The triflex Craftsmen has about 4 1/8" (105 mm) of blade, .098" thick. Triflex is a carbon steel with a differential heat treatment, so the edge is hard and the spine of the blade is tough. I have no personal experience with this type of blade, but I've been told it's the toughest of them all. I had to try some. Again, there is a solid plastic handle with a guard to keep your fingers off the edge. $11.

Notice it mentions differential heat treatment, but no laminate. I'm thinking about ordering ten or so of them.

I wonder how they come so cheaply myself. Best I can figure is a few things.

#1 they aren't the latest and greatest knife designs out there, Especially the wooden handled Moras. They're the same basic design as they were a hundred years ago, so there's not alot of labor or machinery involved in simply making a sharp blade and a comfortable handle. No fancy recurves, fighting spikes, finger grooves or anything like that on these...

#2 The sheath...uhmmm.....what more can I say? at least they're functional...

#3 they probably don't have class action lawyers hiding behind every corner waiting to put the company into bankruptcy the first time some bonehead uses on of thier knives to play mumbly peg with and accidentally pins his own hand to the picnic table.

But once again, I'm purely speculating here. All I know for sure is that they're fantastic knives at a bargain price.

 

[Sylvrfalcn]

I wasn't too pleased with both the design or the workmanship of the okapi.

Told ya they have to sort of grow on you Andy. Use a few very light passes on the grinder to thin out the edge, or do it by hand with a coarse carborundum stone. Polish it back up and hone it hair popping sharp. Use it for stuff you wouldn't want to use one of your "good" knives on. You'll discover that in spite of it's quirky appearance, it's a pretty good working tool for everyday cutting tasks.

By the way, which model Okapi did you get? I like the big lockblades, but I've also grown fond of one of the little square pointed "sailor's" models. They're incredibly light, hardly notice it's in your pocket, and that straight edge comes in handy in some of my arts and crafts type activities.

Sarge

 

[Fiddleback]

Sarge I got the second one down. The largest that doesn't lock. Its a neat knife, and the blade came really sharp, but the handle was not glued up too well and the two sides didn't match up leaving a ridge down the spine. Additionally the dang blade snaps closed onto a pin that would damage the edge. I had read here that you have to close them carefully to avoid that damage, so I didn't ruin the knife. Still, its a flaw in the design. Don't get me wrong, I like the knife, and I'll keep it in my collection (I love ethnic knives), but if I had to pick a knife that I would have to depend on it would be last on my list.

 

[cavetech]

Politically I tend to agree with you Steve. However that opinel is one hell of a well engineered knife. What other factory knife do you know of with a convex edge? Good workmanship too. I wasn't too pleased with both the design or the workmanship of the okapi. Especially compared to the similarly priced opinel. And, we do need the French... without them who is going to run up the white flag.

Well put, Andy!

Steve

 

[Svashtar]

Politically I tend to agree with you Steve. However that opinel is one hell of a well engineered knife. What other factory knife do you know of with a convex edge? Good workmanship too. I wasn't too pleased with both the design or the workmanship of the okapi. Especially compared to the similarly priced opinel. And, we do need the French... without them who is going to run up the white flag.

Not to hijack the thread, but got this the other day and it kind of cracked me up. Some good quotes here. Of course, any French members of the Cantina are automatically exempt from any association with same:

•• "France has neither winter nor summer nor morals. Apart from these drawbacks it is a fine country. France has usually been governed by prostitutes." - Mark Twain.

•• "I would rather have a German division in front of me than a French one behind me." -General George S. Patton.

•• "Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion." - Norman Schwartzkopf"

•• "We can stand here like the French, or we can do something about it." -Marge Simpson

•• "As far as I'm concerned, war always means failure" Jacques Chirac, President of France "As far as France is concerned, you're right."
--Rush Limbaugh

•• "The only time France wants us to go to war is when the German Army is sitting in Paris sipping coffee." -Regis Philbin.

•• "The French are a smallish, monkey-looking bunch and not dressed any better, on average, than the citizens of Baltimore. True, you can sit outside in Paris and drink little cups of coffee, but why this is more stylish than sitting inside and drinking large glasses of whisky I don't know." -P.J O'Rourke (1989).

•• "You know, the French remind me a little bit of an aging actress of the 1940s who was still trying to dine out on her looks but doesn't have the face for it." -John McCain, U.S. Senator from Arizona.

•• "You know why the French don't want to bomb Saddam Hussein? Because he hates America, he loves mistresses and wears a beret. He is French, people." -Conan O'Brien

•• "I don't know why people are surprised that France won't help us get Saddam out of Iraq. After all, France wouldn't help us get Hitler out of France either" -Jay Leno.

•• "The last time the French asked for 'more proof' it came marching into Paris under a German flag." -David Letterman

•• "Only thing worse than a Frenchman is a Frenchman who lives in Canada." -Ted Nugent.

•• "War without France would be like ... uh ... World War II."
---Anonymous

•• "The favorite bumper sticker in Washington D.C. right now is one that says 'First Iraq, then France." -Tom Brokaw.

•• "What do you expect from a culture and a nation that exerted more of its national will fighting against Disney World and Big Macs than the Nazis?" -Dennis Miller.

•• "It is important to remember that the French have always been there when they needed us." -Alan Kent

•• "They've taken their own precautions against al-Qa'ida. To prepare for an attack, each Frenchman is urged to keep duct tape, a white flag, and a three-day supply of mistresses in the house." -Argus Hamilton

•• "Somebody was telling me about the French Army rifle that was being advertised on eBay the other day -- the description was, 'Never shot. Dropped once.'" -Rep. Roy Blunt (MO)

•• "The French will only agree to go to war when we've proven we've found truffles in Iraq." -Dennis Miller

•• "Do you know how many Frenchmen it takes to defend Paris? It's not known, it's never been tried." -Rep. R. Blount (MO)

•• "Do you know it only took Germany three days to conquer France in WWII? And that's because it was raining."
-John Xereas, Manager, DC Improv.

•• The AP and UPI reported that the French Government announced after the London bombings that it has raised its terror alert level from Run to Hide. The only two higher levels in France are Surrender and Collaborate. The rise in the alert level was precipitated by a recent fire which destroyed France's white flag factory, effectively disabling their military.

•• French Ban Fireworks at Euro Disney (AP), Paris, March 5, 2003 The French Government announced today that it is imposing a ban on the use of fireworks at Euro Disney. The decision comes the day after a nightly fireworks display at the park, located just 30 miles outside of Paris, caused the soldiers at a nearby French Army garrison to surrender to a group of Czech tourists.




***************************

N.

 

[DaddyDett]

I have always been a little mystified by the fact that the people whom have fought the hardest for France through history have NOT been French.....

Le Legion Etrangere

DaddyDett