Mineral Mountain Large Blades

T

TomF

Joined
Apr 15, 2000
Messages
463
Hello all!

At some point, when I can get out from under some expenses and clear a few bucks, I want to get a large fixed blade from Mineral Mountain. I like the style, the steel, and I've heard good things about the craftsmanship. But I've never seen one up close, so...

1) I've heard some rumours that the large blades are chisel ground. True or false? Doesn't seem like they reaaly should be, but I want to put my mind at rest.

2) I'm familiar with 5160 steel from HI khukris, so I know it can take a beating, when properly heat treated. How is the edge holding? Rolling, chipping, etc?

3) Ergonomics. How does it feel? Mostly, I'm interested in either the Cane cutter or the Brush Hog for serious chopping/machete type work (not felling trees, or at least not really big ones) So I want to know how the micarta handle feels after some real swinging.

Thanks for any feedback!

Tom
 
I would be curious as to how they cut. Most of the ones I have looked at have very narrow sabre grinds. However it is hard to tell from a picture what is ground and what is flat. For example on this blade :

http://www.plan-a.org/mmhw/images/brushhog.jpg

Is that ~1/2" bevel the only one on the knife or is that an edge bevel on top of a full flat grind?

-Cliff
 
Howdy folks. I hope you all had a good Memorial day weekend (I sure did!).

To answer your questions: All Mineral Mountain Hatchet Works knives and swords are hollow ground (I suppose he may occasionally use flat grinds, but I've never seen them). Many of the large knives have a false top bevel or clip (as in the example Cliff mentioned).

My personal experience has never included any edge rolling or chipping. The bowies and large knives I own have taken a good beating and have scarcely shown any wear or even dulling. Ted is a little vague about the exact method he uses for hardening/tempering, but there is some info on the site FAQ page if you're interested. I believe he has found the "perfect" formula for getting great edge retention and strength in his products.

In terms of ergonomics and wieldablity (is that a word?), I have been very happy with the balance and heft of his large knives/swords. Ted knows what he's doing when it comes to making his stuff functionable.

Last year I was staying at my father's cabin in Wisconsin, when he assigned me to prepare the bon fire one evening. He had an old, dull ax that wasn't doing so well breaking up branches for wood and kindling. Just so happens that I had brought my new "Wakezashi" sword by MMHW to show off(this was before I started selling them). As the sword was mainly for my martial arts training, I was very hesitant to use it for something like this. But it performed amazingly- and didn't show any sign of wear afterwords.

Lately I've been using the big White River Bowie for my camping/backpacking excursions. Now I've never owned bowies by another maker, so I can't provide a good comparison, but this knife is fantastic for chopping wood and general camp chores! It still shows no sign of needing sharpening!

Anyway, I hope that answers your questions. let me know if you have any more.

later..!

------------------
John Gonzalez
Exclusive Dealer
Mineral Mountain Hatchet Works
 
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Thanks John! You'll definitely be hearing from me! (When, I'm not sure
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Counting pennies...)

PS. John, do you have a preference/whatever toward either the Cane Cutter of the Brush Hog? That Hog looks both mean and sleek at the same time. From what I can see, it seems that the main difference between them is that the Cane Cutter tends to have a straighter blade, while the Hog has more belly and sweeps up toward the handle (a bit). I gather that this would give the Hog a bit more weight-forward feel than the CC. Does that sound about right?

Tom

[This message has been edited by TomF (edited 05-30-2001).]
 
I don't know what Ted does now, but I'll bet he hasn't changed his methods in the past few years. He dosn't like flat grinds, he hollow grinds on a 10 inch wheel. He zone hardends and tempers in an old Paragon oven. I don't have any of his recent knives ( mine are all at least eight years old) but I've done a lot of chopping on mountain cedar, mesquite, and scrub oak in west Tx and I've never had a chip or break in any of his knives or hatchets. His knives are literally indestuctible. In fact, he told me that if I ever broke one, he would replace it...just tell him how it happened.
Ted's blades are thick and heavy. I would recommend them to anyone who is not a minalimist backpacker. You can't go wrong if you want a heavy duty working blade.
 
I've gotten many strange and horrified looks while backpacking with a MMHW Medium Camp knife strapped to the side of my pack! Medium is definitely an understatement with a 10" blade too! But I like it, and don't mind the extra weight. It's a workhorse for sure. I keep saying it, but one of these days I'm getting one of Ted's Survival Bowie's. Excellent blades at an unheard of price.
 
Hey Tom. I personally prefer the Cane Cutter over the Brush Hog, but mainly for aesthetic reasons. I love the subtle curves on the CC. The Brush Hog is slightly heavier and more geared toward heavy chopping. Both sound like they would work just fine for you, so my advice would be to pick whichever looks better to you.

Tknife, Bill: thanks for the comments. I also get the strange looks from a lot of backpackers. All I have to say is, they'll wish they packed a 12" blade when a bear comes crashing through their tent one night.
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------------------
John Gonzalez
Exclusive Dealer
Mineral Mountain Hatchet Works
 
Thanks you all for your valuable input. I'm definitely getting a (few) MMHW blade(s)! Now come the hard part...saving money
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Tom
 
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