Moly Vanadium Knife Blade Questions

M

MrWesson

Joined
Jun 19, 2006
Messages
6
Hi All,

I seeking advice/ opinions on the two cheap knives I stumbled across below, while web-surfing the other night.

Are they both cheap because the materials their blades are made from are crap? Or is it something else?

I had a very difficult time (even with ‘Goggling’ it) on finding info on how moly vanadium performs as a knife blade. I could not really find any info that spoke to its blade use characteristics directly. I did however, read on a few sites about how it’s used in gun rifle barrels, and seems to be act pretty good and tough for that purpose. But, as I said, nothing on how moly vanadium performs as a knife blade.

As for the 420C steel, I read that it will not hold an edge all to well and is not that tough either. But what does this mean? Would it break under moderate to heavy use/ abuse?

Could someone please tell me more about these two blade materials, namely moly vanadium, and 420C stainless steel, and if buying them, in even a cheap knife, is worth it.


Muela 18N Mirage Tactical Fixed Blade - $39.95 (List Price: $60.00)
Muela Mirage Tactical. 7" partially serrated black finish moly-vanadium stainless clip point blade, 12" overall, black Kraton handle with black chrome plated guard, lanyard hole, black leather belt sheath.
Website: Knife Outlet (Product Code: M18N)


m18n.jpg



Alice-Military Tactical W/Top Serrations - $21.00
Blade: 420C Stainless Steel, recurve edge with back serrations. Hardness: 56-58 HRC Pommel/Guard: Alloy, black chromed. Grip: Kraton. Sheath: High-impact polymer.
KratonTM Handle, Serrated Blade, Quick release sheath, BLADE LENGTH: 6 ¼, HANDLE LENGTH: 5", OVERALL: 10 9/16.
Website: Swords of Honor Armory (Item # SOH-CAS-KMC016)

greatsword_1910_207377124
 
They are good knives, I had one of the lower ones you show for many years and really used it pretty hard hunting and fishing.

I hacked down saplings for shelters camping, dug in dirt and other camp uses, and it never gave up.

Sharpened easy and held a great edge.
 
Mr Wesson here-

On the knife you just told us about: Do you remember which blade material it was?

Moly vanadium -- or -- 420C?

Thanks!
 
I have the muela mirage -- very good blade. I've used it for camp chores and quite harshly too. Shelter building etc. It is very corrosion resistant and holds an edge well. I have not suceeded in chipping or denting the blade even on the fairly hard woods in Australia.

You will find that the knife can be optimised with a little work and the slicing performance will increase exponentially.

NIB, the blade is a thick 3mm I believe with a thick section of uncut stock at the upper half of the blade and then a hollow grind on the lower half of the blade. This is ok if you don't cut much with the knife but if, like me, you use it to prep meals in camp, it can tiresome. Potatoes wedge and carrots are more likely to crack open than slice open once you hit the section of the blade with the full stock.

I took a set of files to it and reprofiled the blade. I took off some of the untouched stock at the upper half of the blade spine -- thinned it out as it were. That drastically improves the slicing performance of the blade.

It handles very similarly to the USMC marine knife -- what many call the 7inch Kabar. It has the benefit of greater corrosion resistance and a nice Kraton like handle. My only complaint is the hollow grind and the thick blade stock left at the top half of the blade. However, as I said, that can be fixed easily. And if you are not fussy, it will not pose a major problem.

Hope this helps you.
 
BTW, between the Muela's and the Nieto's, I'd pick the Muela's. Better edge holding and the grinds are more suitable for serious outdoor use. I had rather catastrophic edge failure on a Nieto when chopping wood -- surprised me. I have not had problems with Muela's in this respect and looking at the grinds, the Muela's are significantly thicker.

Good luck and enjoy -- the spanish make pretty decent products at a good price. Not great but decent
 
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