Moore Maker Boys Knife

Arathol said:
Lots of older pocket knives were made this way. The pile side had what was called a glaze finish, done with a fine emery wheel. Thats the fine vertical lines you see on the back of the blade. The polished mark side is called a crocus finish. Its pretty much a mirror finish, done on a hard leather wheel impregnated with a fine polish called iron crocus. This polishing was done on the mark side so an etch could be applied on the blade.
This knife seems to be an attempt to reproduce the production methods used years ago.... The problem is, on this knife the etch is applied to the back side of the blade on the glaze finish instead of the polished side where it should be, and the polished side looks like a bad rag wheel buffing, or maybe a chemical polish that was applied before the back side was ground.....:(
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Correct. It's interesting to think that crocus finish was originally obtained using Walrus hides on the buffing wheels and getting a mirror or crocus (black oxide) finish was no mean feat. I agree about the etching placement too-knife would be better off without it;)

Canal St. often used this crocus/glaze finish on their knives but I've heard it argued that the finish was originally a cost-saving feature in the very old days long before this or CS efforts. No idea if it is the case (crocus being costly & tricky) but it's an approach that I don't enthuse over. Don't like the mix of finishes really.

Useful to get an open-minded review of this knife, but it looks to me that the GEC 15 or 14 are well ahead in all aspects of fit & finish.
 
Will Power said:
Correct. It's interesting to think that crocus finish was originally obtained using Walrus hides on the buffing wheels and getting a mirror or crocus (black oxide) finish was no mean feat. I agree about the etching placement too-knife would be better off without it;)

Canal St. often used this crocus/glaze finish on their knives but I've heard it argued that the finish was originally a cost-saving feature in the very old days long before this or CS efforts. No idea if it is the case (crocus being costly & tricky) but it's an approach that I don't enthuse over. Don't like the mix of finishes really.

Useful to get an open-minded review of this knife, but it looks to me that the GEC 15 or 14 are well ahead in all aspects of fit & finish.
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Walrus hide is very thick and far more durable than most leathers but it can take quite a while (years) to properly tan for making a wheel. It also had been the preferred medium for high grade polishing in several industries for a very long time. Doing a proper crocus polish on a walrus hide wheel is an expensive proposition these days. Walrus is nearly unobtainium today, and there are plenty of legal hoops to jump through if you find a place that will send you some. There is no doubt though that a few older knife making companies have a bit of old stock on hand from decades ago....
Years ago, most cheaper knives only had a glaze finish. The crocus polish was often used only for the mark side of the master blade on better quality knives so the etching could be placed. As most etchings were done using a mask on the blade and some sort of acid, the rough glaze wasn't suitable for a sharp image. A mirror finish provided a nice smooth surface to create a clean looking etch that stood out. More expensive higher end folders such as pearl handled congress knives often had full polish on all the blades.
 
Editing my post from earlier... I don't like to publicly complain before reaching out to the manufacturer for fixable issues. I was really excited to see these being made for Moore Maker, and like the overall look. The centering on mine was off, but that is currently being corrected. This is the Osage Orange. 20200605_192702_compress31.jpg
 
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Being Moore Maker knives, I'm assuming they're carbon steel; 1095 or the like?

I like that the spine sinks below (or at least flush with) the handles, but the F&F issues will prevent me from searching one out.
 
Coreysbu said:
I don't like to publicly complain before reaching out to the manufacturer for fixable issues.
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Just for the record, I wasn't complaining about the knife.
I was reviewing the FnF for those asking me questions about it.
These things matter to some people before they spend that kind of money.
There is nothing that needs to be fixed on mine, just some cosmetic issues that don't effect function.
 
JohnDF said:
Just for the record, I wasn't complaining about the knife.
I was reviewing the FnF for those asking me questions about it.
These things matter to some people before they spend that kind of money.
There is nothing that needs to be fixed on mine, just some cosmetic issues that don't effect function.
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Hey John, sorry I wasn't referring to your post. Your review was very helpful and fair. I was referring to my original post... my centering was way off on my knife but it was most likely an anomaly. I wouldn't want people making their decision on one bad knife, which is now in the works to be fixed. :thumbsup:
 
Coreysbu said:
Hey John, sorry I wasn't referring to your post. Your review was very helpful and fair. I was referring to my original post... my centering was way off on my knife but it was most likely an anomaly. I wouldn't want people making their decision on one bad knife, which is now in the works to be fixed. :thumbsup:
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It's all good. :):thumbsup:
I just wanted to make sure people knew i wasn't complaining, I really like the knife.
I've complained in the past about some Rough Ryder garbage I'd gotten, but that was justified. :D
 
Good looking knife. I like these. But.

Do they have half stops?

Did I really read that they only harden them to 56hrc? That seems a bit low to me.
 
JohnDF said:
No half stops, and not sure about the hardness.
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Thank you, sir. I did some quick checking, on the FAQ portion of their website they do in fact confirm they are only hardened to the 56+/- ballpark. I wonder how that effects performance. I would think that’s leaving it a little soft, and leaving quite a bit of performance on the table for 1095.
 
BP that's just a boilerplate determination for all of their knives. Any 1095 knives made for them by Canal Street were hardened to 57-59 with the majority falling in the 57-58 range.
 
That's pretty standard for traditional knive so they are easy to sharpen, don't chip or lose their tip when abused.
 
The nice things you could get with the original crocus finish using walrus hides are crisp transitions at the swedge and a sharp spine. Today the rag wheel polishing will round the transitions and spines.
 
Mine turned up later than expected. Cannot be happier with this knife! The wood scales(white ash) looks amazing on both sides. I do like the polished front and the crocus finish on the blade, something you do not see much of on today's knife offerings. A snappy blade action both ways has to be a positive feature on a knife and this one does not disappoint. fit and finish is good all round, but I do think that large images tend to make something you cannot generally see with eye become displeasing and could sway someone away from a purchase. Not a bad thing you may think, but more knives for the rest of us.......LOL I do think Eric put together a definite winner on these boys knives. Thumbs up Eric, keep going with the good work and look forward to the next run.

Those of you that do not like the etch on the blade, may think twice about trying to remove it. This type of etch is not like the one seen on GEC knives, smooth to the touch. If you had a four wheeler you could go off roading over it. or even uses it as a nail file. Yes exaggerating but it will be noticeable if you don't have the correct tools for blade finishing.

Russell

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Rusty1 said:
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Congratulations. :cool::thumbsup:
Don't they have a solid, well-made feeling to them? I love that about them. :cool::thumbsup:
 
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