- Joined
- Jan 8, 2000
- Messages
- 311
My eagerly awaited package arrived today containing a "Bufalo" series knife made by Muela.
The Bowie knife version of the Bufalo series had been reviewed by "Tactical Knives" in the July 1999 issue, and I had heard good things about the company's upper-end knives from someone in this forum who had bought one while he was in Spain.
When I peeled off the packaging, I saw the knife was contained in an olive green box which worried me a bit. You see, this is actually the second Muela I've purchased. The first one I bought a few years ago from U.S. Cavalry, and I didn't like it at all - it arrived with a dull edge, it felt cheap and chincy and it was ugly to me so I had returned it immediately.
Now I was seeing the same drab green box before me once again. But when I opened the box, I found a very different knife from the one I had briefly held two years ago. It was a VERY substantial knife, beutifully crafted and ground perfectly with attention to detail. For a look at the knife, here's a link to a picture; It looks like it was inspired by the Randall 14:
http://www.aceros-de-hispania.com/Imagenes/muela/34.jpg
THE BLADE :
This blade is definately a different alloy than the cheaper U.S. Cavalry knife I had before. The U.S. Cavalry Muela was thin, and seemed to flex easier than a good temper should have allowed. In contrast, my "Bufalo" was substantially thicker (measured .180" on the spine), and the edge, to my delight, was as hair shaving sharp out of the box as my Fallkiniven A1 had been when it arrived. The satin finish was exquisite, and the hollow grind was clean and precise. Stamped on the blade along with the Muela Bufalo logo was 440, which was conspicously missing on the cheap Muela. I have been told their "molybden-vanadiové" steel is equivalent to 440C, and after push-cutting paper I think it's plausible. On this particular blade style, the swedge is not sharpened. I wonder if the false edge on the Bufalo 17 is sharp.
THE SHEATH:
Leather! It's a beutiful, thick, REAL black leather sheath nicely sized to the knife. One snap around the handle keeps it cosily in place, and the sheath hangs from the belt freely with no contigency for a tie down at the bottom.
THE HANDLE:
A gorgeous, hand filling laminate that evenly meets the brass guard and brass butt with no gaps or imperfections. I have large hands, and the finger indentations are spaced perfectly for me, so those with small hands may find the indentations to be less than ideal. The full tang is visible as a flush circle at the bottom of the hilt, of same diameter as the blade spine.
FIT AND FEEL:
Like I said, it feels like it's made for my big mitts, so it fills my hand rather well. Balance is right behind the guard, which makes the knife feel light and agile. The weight (340g) is enough to feel substantial in the hand without being noticeably heavy in the sheath. The feel and workmanship is easily that of a typical $250 - $300 production knife, yet because of the relative obscurity of Muela's higher end knives here, I got it for less than my Fallkniven A1.
It's almost too beutiful to use hard, although at the price I had found it at a Spanish website, I had intended to do so. Although the swedge is not sharpened, this knife still seems more like a fighter to me than a worker. At least that's what I've convinced myself which conveniently means I'll have to order some more knifes from them. He he he. Maybe one of those stag handled bowies or brass bolstered skinners....
The Bowie knife version of the Bufalo series had been reviewed by "Tactical Knives" in the July 1999 issue, and I had heard good things about the company's upper-end knives from someone in this forum who had bought one while he was in Spain.
When I peeled off the packaging, I saw the knife was contained in an olive green box which worried me a bit. You see, this is actually the second Muela I've purchased. The first one I bought a few years ago from U.S. Cavalry, and I didn't like it at all - it arrived with a dull edge, it felt cheap and chincy and it was ugly to me so I had returned it immediately.
Now I was seeing the same drab green box before me once again. But when I opened the box, I found a very different knife from the one I had briefly held two years ago. It was a VERY substantial knife, beutifully crafted and ground perfectly with attention to detail. For a look at the knife, here's a link to a picture; It looks like it was inspired by the Randall 14:
http://www.aceros-de-hispania.com/Imagenes/muela/34.jpg
THE BLADE :
This blade is definately a different alloy than the cheaper U.S. Cavalry knife I had before. The U.S. Cavalry Muela was thin, and seemed to flex easier than a good temper should have allowed. In contrast, my "Bufalo" was substantially thicker (measured .180" on the spine), and the edge, to my delight, was as hair shaving sharp out of the box as my Fallkiniven A1 had been when it arrived. The satin finish was exquisite, and the hollow grind was clean and precise. Stamped on the blade along with the Muela Bufalo logo was 440, which was conspicously missing on the cheap Muela. I have been told their "molybden-vanadiové" steel is equivalent to 440C, and after push-cutting paper I think it's plausible. On this particular blade style, the swedge is not sharpened. I wonder if the false edge on the Bufalo 17 is sharp.
THE SHEATH:
Leather! It's a beutiful, thick, REAL black leather sheath nicely sized to the knife. One snap around the handle keeps it cosily in place, and the sheath hangs from the belt freely with no contigency for a tie down at the bottom.
THE HANDLE:
A gorgeous, hand filling laminate that evenly meets the brass guard and brass butt with no gaps or imperfections. I have large hands, and the finger indentations are spaced perfectly for me, so those with small hands may find the indentations to be less than ideal. The full tang is visible as a flush circle at the bottom of the hilt, of same diameter as the blade spine.
FIT AND FEEL:
Like I said, it feels like it's made for my big mitts, so it fills my hand rather well. Balance is right behind the guard, which makes the knife feel light and agile. The weight (340g) is enough to feel substantial in the hand without being noticeably heavy in the sheath. The feel and workmanship is easily that of a typical $250 - $300 production knife, yet because of the relative obscurity of Muela's higher end knives here, I got it for less than my Fallkniven A1.
It's almost too beutiful to use hard, although at the price I had found it at a Spanish website, I had intended to do so. Although the swedge is not sharpened, this knife still seems more like a fighter to me than a worker. At least that's what I've convinced myself which conveniently means I'll have to order some more knifes from them. He he he. Maybe one of those stag handled bowies or brass bolstered skinners....
I also cheated and used the Babel Fish site to do instant (but crude) translations.