-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
KnoboGanzaaa Team Gemini Variant
- Thread starter westfork
- Start date
- Joined
- May 12, 2003
- Messages
- 1,606
That variant is a SEXY knife.
And I really LOVE the TG....it may end up being my "middle" knife.
Shane
And I really LOVE the TG....it may end up being my "middle" knife.
Shane
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2003
- Messages
- 595
Team Gemini family portrait:
Tim, here are some more weights for you (taken on a more precise scale):
black - blue/black G-10 polished handle edges (Knob Creek Spring 2011) 20.85 oz
sage - olive G-10 M/O (offered at KC Spring 2011, purchased Dayton Show) 21.25 oz
satin - brown/black micarta (Alaska Ganza Fall 2011 #1A) 19.10 oz
satin - tan micarta bowie (KnoboGanza Fall 2011 #26) 18.70 oz & 18.95 oz No Fullers
black - orange/black G-10 polished handle edges (Knob Creek Spring 2011) 20.85 oz
Tim, here are some more weights for you (taken on a more precise scale):
black - blue/black G-10 polished handle edges (Knob Creek Spring 2011) 20.85 oz
sage - olive G-10 M/O (offered at KC Spring 2011, purchased Dayton Show) 21.25 oz
satin - brown/black micarta (Alaska Ganza Fall 2011 #1A) 19.10 oz
satin - tan micarta bowie (KnoboGanza Fall 2011 #26) 18.70 oz & 18.95 oz No Fullers
black - orange/black G-10 polished handle edges (Knob Creek Spring 2011) 20.85 oz
Last edited:
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2011
- Messages
- 627
nice pic
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2009
- Messages
- 4,506
Team Gemini family portrait:
Tim, here are some more weights for you (taken on a more precise scale):
black - blue/black G-10 polished handle edges (Knob Creek Spring 2011) 20.85 oz
sage - olive G-10 M/O (offered at KC Spring 2011, purchased Dayton Show) 21.25 oz
satin - brown/black micarta (Dayton Show 11-2011) 19.10 oz Similar to Alaska Ganza #1A but not tigerhide.
satin - tan micarta bowie (KnoboGanza Fall 2011 #26) 18.70 oz & 18.95 oz No Fullers
black - orange/black G-10 polished handle edges (Knob Creek Spring 2011) 20.85 oz
Thanks for those weights! Now that is impressive... a whole team of Gemini's.
:thumbup: So which one feels best in your hand?
The middle one should be the linen tigerhide (probably an extra leftover from the AKGanza) as mine looks just like that after I hold it for a bit with wet/oily hands. Just clean it off with some starting fluid to remove the oils from handling (won't hurt it at all) and it should make it pop like my earlier pic. Here is what it looks like when not freshly cleaned up.
Oh, and Shane, it makes a great "middle" knife.
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2003
- Messages
- 595
I'd have to say "all of them" depending on what I was doing at the time.
The smoothed linen micarta is definitely the most comfortable.
The machined rough tan micarta would give me the most confidence in a slippery situation.
The G-10 (with its added weight & strength) would be my "go to" if I needed to abuse the knife.
Now as to the overall feel:
The lightweight bowie is quick, and the G-10 models (especially the M/O) feel indestructible. The M/O appears to have a thicker blade especially at the tip. This could be machined differently or possibly just a much thicker coating. The linen/satin version just looks the classiest.
Actually the picture was taken freshly unpacked new from the Dayton Show and I did scrub on it a bit to see if there were other color layers in the micarta. Just black and dark brown - The reddish tone is just my picture. Absolutely no reddish layer as in a tigerhide. I like the dark brown & black though. I don't know if this was just a different source of "tigerhide" or if it is called something else. At the time of the Knoboganzaa, the Busse shop did tell me there were no AlaskaGanzaa TGs left over and then this one was at the table at Dayton soon afterwards. I suspect it was simply an experiment with a different micarta.
Here it is dry:
and moistened with water: (oops - I guess this was the other side)
I would think that tigerhide would have some thin layers of red also. I think these will look really sharp once a bit of blade oil finds its way to them.
edited: OK, Tim. I think you are correct. Looking at the dry picture I do see some faint reddish lines.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2011
- Messages
- 523
Um coming from Texas and having worked on a ranch for quite some time I consider myself very livestock smart. But what IS THAT AWESOME LOOKING LONGHAIRED MIDDLE EARTH LOOKING CREATURE A YAK?
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2003
- Messages
- 595
They are highland cattle. They were brought to America in the mid 1800s to cross with longhorns so the breed could survive the winter cold of the Canadian prairie provinces. The small calf in the photo was born to my wife's favorite cow (in my avatar) when she was pushing twenty years old. It is an ancient breed that is still as described by the Romans when they first encountered them in Britain. Genetically they are one of the closest related surviving breeds to the extinct bos taurus which was the ancestor of the European cattle breeds. They are also one of the few cattle breeds that can be crossed with a yak and produce fertile offspring at times. They are out pushing through deep snow to find grass when other local cattle have holed up 30 degrees earlier.
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2009
- Messages
- 4,506
Westfork, that is almost exactly like mine. It is a very dark batch of linen tigerhide which I confirmed with Amy and it does feel great in hand. That's pretty cool that you were able to score one after all, maybe someone cancelled an order before the show so they wound up with a spare. 
The Bruiser and Pumpkin sure are sweet looking too. :thumbup:
Texas, based on the horn shape, short nosed facial shape (like cattle) and coloring I am pretty certain that those are Scottish Highlanders and I know for a fact they are not Yaks, Bos Grunniens. (edit: oops, Westfork already answered this while I was typing up this reply)
This should show you the difference between Scottish Highland cattle and Tibetan Yaks, both of which are very old breeds. Both of them taste great!
These were some Scotty yearlings we held at our place for a couple days with our Yaks in the distance behind them. We were debating a hybrid breeding program, but decided against it for a few years as it is much more expensive to feed cattle than Yaks over winter.
These are our Tibetan Yaks, none of which are full grown, but a good idea of the coloring available in the America (brown, black, or black & white is pretty much it) and their nose shaped like oxen which is what they are. They leave tracks like elk and have the slotted pupils like goats, sheep, deer, elk etc. They are easy keepers, very easy to work with, extremely cold hardy and very efficient eaters (about 1/3rd to 1/2 of what the same sized beef consumes), not to mention tastier than buffalo.
One motto for yak versatility is "Push, Pack, Pull, Meat, Milk, Wool"
This is what they looked like last winter.
This is what they typically look like after shedding their winter coat if you don't comb them out to harvest the wool. We didn't have a squeeze chute yet.
And later the same day after getting cleaned up, the same little yearling.
This gives you an idea of their full grown potential as bulls which are much bigger than the cows.
Our bull with his dad back in February this year. Age comparison of 18 months vs 6 years.
A really nice gal that my wife works with is from Tibet and she told us an interesting folk tale from back home. Supposedly, a long time ago both the Buffalo (yes, our American Bison) and the Yak were there in the Himalaya Mountain region. The Buffalo decided it was too cold with not enough food for them all to stay so the Yaks worked out a deal for the Buffalo to leave and to give them all of their extra hair that they would no longer need in order to stay warm so that the Yaks would stay and be able to conserve energy. Interestingly, there has been archaeological evidence that the Bison did at one time exist in that region.
The Bruiser and Pumpkin sure are sweet looking too. :thumbup:Texas, based on the horn shape, short nosed facial shape (like cattle) and coloring I am pretty certain that those are Scottish Highlanders and I know for a fact they are not Yaks, Bos Grunniens. (edit: oops, Westfork already answered this while I was typing up this reply)
This should show you the difference between Scottish Highland cattle and Tibetan Yaks, both of which are very old breeds. Both of them taste great!
These were some Scotty yearlings we held at our place for a couple days with our Yaks in the distance behind them. We were debating a hybrid breeding program, but decided against it for a few years as it is much more expensive to feed cattle than Yaks over winter.
These are our Tibetan Yaks, none of which are full grown, but a good idea of the coloring available in the America (brown, black, or black & white is pretty much it) and their nose shaped like oxen which is what they are. They leave tracks like elk and have the slotted pupils like goats, sheep, deer, elk etc. They are easy keepers, very easy to work with, extremely cold hardy and very efficient eaters (about 1/3rd to 1/2 of what the same sized beef consumes), not to mention tastier than buffalo.
One motto for yak versatility is "Push, Pack, Pull, Meat, Milk, Wool"
This is what they looked like last winter.
This is what they typically look like after shedding their winter coat if you don't comb them out to harvest the wool. We didn't have a squeeze chute yet.
And later the same day after getting cleaned up, the same little yearling.
This gives you an idea of their full grown potential as bulls which are much bigger than the cows.
Our bull with his dad back in February this year. Age comparison of 18 months vs 6 years.
A really nice gal that my wife works with is from Tibet and she told us an interesting folk tale from back home. Supposedly, a long time ago both the Buffalo (yes, our American Bison) and the Yak were there in the Himalaya Mountain region. The Buffalo decided it was too cold with not enough food for them all to stay so the Yaks worked out a deal for the Buffalo to leave and to give them all of their extra hair that they would no longer need in order to stay warm so that the Yaks would stay and be able to conserve energy. Interestingly, there has been archaeological evidence that the Bison did at one time exist in that region.
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2003
- Messages
- 595
Tim, Thank you for the information on your AKGanza Team Gemini and the dark run of tigerhide. It answered a lot of questions.
Wow! I never knew that yaks could be so good looking. You guys have a fine looking bloodline up there. I like that white blaze. I have never seen a yak up close except maybe at the National Western Stock Show now and again.
TexasPride, My wife liked your description - AWESOME LOOKING LONGHAIRED MIDDLE EARTH LOOKING CREATURE. Maybe in this picture they look more like cattle to you since it is fall and have their short summer coat. The parents of the calf you saw are the bull on the right @ 1950# and the cow beside him @1350#. My herd is the "American" type which are more rangey and long legged than the well sprung short legged Scottish type that can't take our summer heat. All are pure blooded but genetically selected for their environment over the decades.
They maintain their instincts to kill predators and to dig through snow for food and to walk out of a blizzard instead of bunching up and dying like most breeds tend to do.
They adapt well to all seasons as long as there is shade available in the heat of summer.
Breeders in wolf country don't expose their highlands to dogs so that they will go by instinct and kill wolves on sight. I am afraid that ours are not as well conditioned.
Oh, and to keep this on subject, the cattle were awed and impressed by the Busse team Gemini!!!
Wow! I never knew that yaks could be so good looking. You guys have a fine looking bloodline up there. I like that white blaze. I have never seen a yak up close except maybe at the National Western Stock Show now and again.
TexasPride, My wife liked your description - AWESOME LOOKING LONGHAIRED MIDDLE EARTH LOOKING CREATURE. Maybe in this picture they look more like cattle to you since it is fall and have their short summer coat. The parents of the calf you saw are the bull on the right @ 1950# and the cow beside him @1350#. My herd is the "American" type which are more rangey and long legged than the well sprung short legged Scottish type that can't take our summer heat. All are pure blooded but genetically selected for their environment over the decades.
They maintain their instincts to kill predators and to dig through snow for food and to walk out of a blizzard instead of bunching up and dying like most breeds tend to do.
They adapt well to all seasons as long as there is shade available in the heat of summer.
Breeders in wolf country don't expose their highlands to dogs so that they will go by instinct and kill wolves on sight. I am afraid that ours are not as well conditioned.
Oh, and to keep this on subject, the cattle were awed and impressed by the Busse team Gemini!!!
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2009
- Messages
- 4,506
Thanks Westfork! We can keep it on topic but still make it fun and interesting, variety adds to the flavor.
My wife thinks those little baby calves are "absolutely adorable".
That herd you have is impressive, the bull is a big boy with a heck of a set of horns.
We are expecting our first two pregnant heifers to calve out any day now. The one in the pic with my wife is bred to a Highland, so we will see what that turns out like. The way we understand it the female hybrids are supposed super fertile at 18 months (instead of 22-24) and all males are sterile, but bigger and stronger.
A big bull yak will top out between 1600-1800 lbs but the cows usually don't get much over 1000.
Are those Anatolians? Our Anatolian Shepherd/Great Pyrenees mix looks a lot like them but with thicker fur.
This is what I was talking about with the slotted pupil "minus" eyes that is lit up in the camera flash. We had them for over a month before we discovered this due to how dark their eyes are making it hard to see.
It looks like the Team Gemini is also INFIyak approved.
They did lose interest in it after they realized it was not bringing them a new round bale of hay though. Hunger rules.
My wife thinks those little baby calves are "absolutely adorable".
That herd you have is impressive, the bull is a big boy with a heck of a set of horns.
We are expecting our first two pregnant heifers to calve out any day now. The one in the pic with my wife is bred to a Highland, so we will see what that turns out like. The way we understand it the female hybrids are supposed super fertile at 18 months (instead of 22-24) and all males are sterile, but bigger and stronger.
A big bull yak will top out between 1600-1800 lbs but the cows usually don't get much over 1000.
Are those Anatolians? Our Anatolian Shepherd/Great Pyrenees mix looks a lot like them but with thicker fur.
This is what I was talking about with the slotted pupil "minus" eyes that is lit up in the camera flash. We had them for over a month before we discovered this due to how dark their eyes are making it hard to see.
It looks like the Team Gemini is also INFIyak approved.
They did lose interest in it after they realized it was not bringing them a new round bale of hay though. Hunger rules.
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2003
- Messages
- 595
Tim, It will be interesting to see what the yak/highland hybrid looks like. Which breed do they tend to resemble?
I had a highland cow with eyes similar to that. Freaky blue horizontal stripes. Tried breeding it into a line but found that all the animals from that blue eyed line had their instincts too highly tuned and were too smart for their own good. They would be great survivors on their own but were just too tough to work. Tasted good though.
Nice looking dog. Both Pyrs and Anatolians make great livestock protection dogs. Yes, those are our Anatolian shepherd pups that we got after our border collie was taken by a mountain lion. At least the Anatolians keep the big cats out of our yard and even away from the pastures. We still find about six half deer (usually the front half) each year when I walk the pups around the farm though.
Here they are when we brought them home:
The following winter when the 160# Newf didn't seem so big any more.
They are now about 170# and 35" at the shoulder - With all the loud snarling and body slams during their play time, the predators don't come in too close any more.
Problem is they seem to be in the house more than outside:
And I'll be darned if I couldn't find a dog picture with a Busse or Swamp Rat in it.
Edited to add a YouTube link to them playing in the snow:
http://youtu.be/uAitpZl8IkY
I had a highland cow with eyes similar to that. Freaky blue horizontal stripes. Tried breeding it into a line but found that all the animals from that blue eyed line had their instincts too highly tuned and were too smart for their own good. They would be great survivors on their own but were just too tough to work. Tasted good though.
Nice looking dog. Both Pyrs and Anatolians make great livestock protection dogs. Yes, those are our Anatolian shepherd pups that we got after our border collie was taken by a mountain lion. At least the Anatolians keep the big cats out of our yard and even away from the pastures. We still find about six half deer (usually the front half) each year when I walk the pups around the farm though.
Here they are when we brought them home:
The following winter when the 160# Newf didn't seem so big any more.
They are now about 170# and 35" at the shoulder - With all the loud snarling and body slams during their play time, the predators don't come in too close any more.
Problem is they seem to be in the house more than outside:
And I'll be darned if I couldn't find a dog picture with a Busse or Swamp Rat in it.
Edited to add a YouTube link to them playing in the snow:
http://youtu.be/uAitpZl8IkY
Last edited:
Jaxx
Moderator
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2006
- Messages
- 19,784
Nice TG Bowie, man! I like it. :thumbup: Kinda kickin' myself for not going after one...but it was a toss up between this and a Fusion Fury... I just had to handle one of those! Hopefully I'll get another shot at one of these sometime in the future... 
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2010
- Messages
- 1,998
I thought this was a thread about the Team Gemini variant from Knoboganza, which I also scored but have yet to receive, so I really liked this thread.
But now it has turned into a thread about cattle and dogs, and it's even more awesome now. I don't think I've ever even seen a real yak before, only the cartoon ones on Ren & Stimpy.
But now it has turned into a thread about cattle and dogs, and it's even more awesome now. I don't think I've ever even seen a real yak before, only the cartoon ones on Ren & Stimpy.
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2003
- Messages
- 595
Well, since Tim managed some photos of his Alaska Ganza Team Gemini with his yaks last night, I had to let the pups evaluate the Knob O Ganza Team Gemini this morning.
NEVER BRING A KNIFE TO A DOG FIGHT* - unless it is a Team Gemini bowie variant. *Actually it was a good idea - Baxter would have nailed his brother for stealing that dog biscuit if the knife wasn't there.
somehow it doesn't look like an 8 inch blade here.
You will love the knife:thumbup:
But now you are just encouraging me to wander off subject again
Here was a highland twin whose mom rejected her (she recognized the first twin as hers and thought this one was a sneaky snacker). It was cold and wet the day she was born so our newfy looked after her in the house.
Here is that dog helping with bottle calf duties.
NEVER BRING A KNIFE TO A DOG FIGHT* - unless it is a Team Gemini bowie variant. *Actually it was a good idea - Baxter would have nailed his brother for stealing that dog biscuit if the knife wasn't there.
somehow it doesn't look like an 8 inch blade here.
You will love the knife:thumbup:
But now you are just encouraging me to wander off subject again
Here was a highland twin whose mom rejected her (she recognized the first twin as hers and thought this one was a sneaky snacker). It was cold and wet the day she was born so our newfy looked after her in the house.
Here is that dog helping with bottle calf duties.
Last edited: