Junglee Hattori Fighter

C

Confederate

Joined
Sep 5, 2005
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Can anyone give me the lowdown on the Junglee Hattori Fighter
fixed blade? It's blade is 440C and it's a nice looking knife. Smoky
Mountain has it for $75. What kind of quality can I expect from Junglee?

hattori.jpg
 
Junglee imports their blades from various factories, I understand, but generally they're considered good. I remember quite a few people here on BF complimenting on the good fit&finish of those fighters. I probably wouldn't hesitate for $75.

When did they switch from MVS-8 to 440C? Was there a change in wuality otherwise?
Does the company even still exist, I can't seem to find their website anymore?

I wonder if the Katz Knives Alley Cats are from the same shop, since they look like they've made from virtually the same blanks, and the price point (MSRP) is similar.
 
I have a few Junglee folders. Great quality for the price, made in Japan.

The blades you're showing I believe are made in Taiwan.
Have not had any experience with those, but they've always caught my eye.
 
I very rarely see a knife in a catalog and say, hey, I'm going to buy
one of these. But these Hattori Fighters caught my eye in the latest
catalog from Smoky Mountain. One thing I like is that they put the
serrations on the top. I have the Special Forces knife made by
Junglee and don't even recall where I got it, but it, too, seems like
a decent knife for the price ($32). It combines the best features
of a fixed blade and a folder, with an inside-the-pants clip on sheath
for good measure.

I know that 440C is a decent stainless, but I don't know anything
about MVS-8.
 
What do you mean when you say you don't like the curved belly and the wasp waist? Do you mean that you don't like the way it's curved? I'm also confused when you talk about the wasp waist. I'm only looking at a picture, so I'm at a loss.

Thanks for your comments.
 
The Junglee Hattori fighter made in Taiwan is junk compared to the original Junglee Hattori fighter and that is why they are $75. The reason why they are even that much money is because the originals were made in Seki Japan, were of very high quality and cost well over $200, allowing Junglee and smokey mountain knifeworks too look like they are giving them away. so Junglee was able to switch to a high production manufacturer in Taiwan and cut their cost down to nothing thereby making more profit for less retail and us "Americans" would never notice the difference.

Sog did the same thing with their Trident Bowie. The new one is Taiwan made.

Same thing happened with Timberlines Aviator, a smaller version of their very high quality Specwar fixed blade which at a retail of $391.00 was not worth making as they were loosing money. The aviator was junk and not even in the same class as the specwar.
 
Well, for $75 is this knife a bargain or just garbage? Naturally, one
can't expect to get a $200+ knife for less than a hundred, but
there are knives that are fairly good for that price. After all,
there are worse places a knife can be made than Taiwan.
 
Confederate said:
Can anyone give me the lowdown on the Junglee Hattori Fighter
fixed blade? It's blade is 440C and it's a nice looking knife. Smoky
Mountain has it for $75. What kind of quality can I expect from Junglee?

hattori.jpg
Click to expand...


You really seem on the fence about the knife...why not buy it?

There's only so much you can tell from specs, posts, and pictures on the net.

If, holding it in your hands, you don't think it's worth what you paid for it, send it back.
Smoky Mountain has an excellent, liberal return policy; and it's not like you'd be abusing the policy by returning a knife
that you needed to examine up close and decided was not worth the money.
 
The only difference between the one that says Junglee and Hatori is the handle material. Junglee uses rubber compound on the end of the handle and Hatori uses ebony. Same knife as near as I can tell from what they sell on Ebay. Steel is the same etc. keepem sharp
 
Yes, Smoky Mountain is great about taking things back, but that's not
the problem. I can't tell a good grade of 440C just by looking at it. Shoot,
even S&W advertises that it uses 440C, but as we all know, it's not
all that great when push comes to shove.

I hate to admit it, but $$$ is a factor here and this is a compulsive buy.
If I knew, for example, that I was getting a fairly good grade of steel,
I'd probably get it. And of course I'd like it to be a bargain. Not everything
Smoky Mountain sells is a bargain, though it's a darn good place to start.
 
Confederate said:
Yes, Smoky Mountain is great about taking things back, but that's not
the problem. I can't tell a good grade of 440C just by looking at it. Shoot,
even S&W advertises that it uses 440C, but as we all know, it's not
all that great when push comes to shove.

I hate to admit it, but $$$ is a factor here and this is a compulsive buy.
If I knew, for example, that I was getting a fairly good grade of steel,
I'd probably get it. And of course I'd like it to be a bargain. Not everything
Smoky Mountain sells is a bargain, though it's a darn good place to start.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, wondering how you can tell if the 440C in that knife is high quality...
 
rifon2 said:
Hmmm, wondering how you can tell if the 440C in that knife is high quality...
Click to expand...


I seriously doubt it is 440C. In fact I'd bet that it is not if you have it tested.

The original Jungle Hattori fighter and the Katz Alley Kat fighter were great knives, this is just a copy.
 
Funny, I have eyeballed those fixed blades many times over the last 2 years or so, but never gave them a second thought, just not knowing much about the company...
 
As far as I know, there's no way to tell how good the steel is. When a company like CRKT advertises a knife and says that a blade is RC 56-58, that it can be a 56 and still be in tolerance. CRKT's AUS8 blade steel doesn't seem to be as good as Cold Steel's, but when you buy on sight alone, there's no way one can judge the grade. Knives and blades can look identical and yet be vastly different.
 
rifon2 said:
Hmmm, wondering how you can tell if the 440C in that knife is high quality...
Click to expand...

I assume by "high quality" that you mean "with optimal heat treat".
If we don't have a member who has one of the current blades, then one thing you can do is check on Junglee's other knives and see what they are like.

I have a Junglee Marshall that is well made, though it has a design flaw in the handle. The blade is AUS10 made in Seki. I tested the hardness and and found it to be Rockwell C 58. This is a little bit lower than I would like to see, but it is not junky either.

I would bet that if the Hattori is advertised as 440C it is 440C. It seems from what I have seeen and read that a blade made in mainalnd China may not exactly be 440C, but rather a quite similar Chinese alloy. Seems like the blades I have seen brought in from Taiwan use the exact steel that is advertised.

As they say, "my 2¢"
 
hattori stil makes the origial in seki japan. small is about $145, large is $240. i baught mine @ japanese knife direct. steel is aus8 w/vanadium+chromium (i think). comes w/ cocobolo scales. i'd pay more and go with the real deal, then go for the made in taiwan=china!!!! (my $.02!)
 
knarfeng said:
The blade is AUS10 made in Seki. I tested the hardness and and found it to be Rockwell C 58. This is a little bit lower than I would like to see, but it is not junky either.
Click to expand...
How do you check the Rockwell hardness of a blade? CRKT advertises its AUS8 as being RC 56-58. I'd like to find out how good its blades are. The tolerance seems too wide for me on this one.

Thanks.
 
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