Ripped off

Like everything else there is a good and a bad way to do things.

I've batoned a #12 Opinel through a 5" Olive tree with no problems. So have many others.
How is this possible? Its simple. Keep the lock disengaged and your hand away from the handle.
Do not under any circumstances hold on to the handle while batoning. All that force transfers into the pin or the blade-tang junction.

If the blade goes out of place, stop, and re-position it.

Ka-Bars get a bad reputation for having "weak tangs", but in reality, most of the time they break because of weak technique.
You get people who bear down hard on the handle while bashing the blade with a log. This will break most knives, and the cause is solely operator error.

If you think batoning is as simple as driving a knife through a log with the force of another log go right ahead. But don't blame the manufacturer, or anybody else for your own mess.
 
deluxewarplaya said:
...Some people like to purchase knives and put them on display or worse still, hide them in a box in the bottom drawer and only ever brought out to show off. Posers like that piss me off...
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I normally don't post anymore in any forum I belong, because it mostly seems like a waste of time. But this time I had to say something.

I am a collector. I love knives for the beauty of their shape, the materials and the craftsmanship that it takes to make them: for me they are ART. So I guess I am a "poser" that "pisses you off", right? Well, who do you think you are to pass judgements like that? Learn to understand and respect others, you will be a better person.

Sorry your knife broke on you, but I somehow have the feeling that you actually deserve it. Karma's a bitch sometimes.
 
legion681 said:
I normally don't post anymore in any forum I belong, because it mostly seems like a waste of time. But this time I had to say something.

I am a collector. I love knives for the beauty of their shape, the materials and the craftsmanship that it takes to make them: for me they are ART. So I guess I am a "poser" that "pisses you off", right? Well, who do you think you are to pass judgements like that? Learn to understand and respect others, you will be a better person.

Sorry your knife broke on you, but I somehow have the feeling that you actually deserve it. Karma's a bitch sometimes.
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hell yea he got what he deserve.
 
Did the knife not come with a warranty? If so, I would have just sent it in without taking it apart, you may well have voided the warranty by taking it apart.

Did you cut the handle off of the knife to see what broke inside? You must have, I don't see how it would have that big slit in the botton otherwise.

I also think that you were not using the proper technique while batoning and you were just wailing away on the knife blade AND on the handle trying to split the wood.

How did the guard get broken? By looking at the pieces and what-not, it almost seems to me that you had to have been hammering on the handle too, otherwise, I don't know how the guard would have broken off the top like that.

If the handle just slid off the tang after it broke, and if the knife didn't have a warranty, I'd have just mixed up a bunch of 2 ton epoxy and used some chopped fiberglass as a filler and glued the handle back on. The epoxy would totally fill the handle and the slots in the tang piece and make it pretty damn solid.

I've handled Muela knives before and they are as nice as anything else in that price range.

I think you got what you deserved. You broke your knife, you're not happy about it, and of course it's not YOUR fault. So piss and moan about it. :jerkit:

I don't think you're going to get much sympathy.
 
Why you guys jumping on the OP so much.

He never said what he was doing it for and he never said what kind of wood he was batoning through.

I think it is a good idea to "test" the gear in controlled environment. A bit of batoning isn't too much to ask for if it is done right.

The problem is that there are so many videos and pictures that show quite the opposite. What some people do is they go and find the biggest log the knife lenght will allow to split. Then they drive the knife right in the middle bashing furiosly through any knot on the way. That's an accident waiting to happen, regardless how strong the knife is. There are many pictures and videos of knives thicker that 1/4" broken in half to prove that.

On the other hand, you can find a piece of wood of appropriate thickness, check it out really quick and then go on with batoning. It takes just couple of seconds more. If knife has 6" blade, there is rarely any need to hammer it through 5" log. I'm sure you can find 2" log to use for kindling. 3" if you must. What is it a forrest with only 5" trees? Some how I doubt that this is the case. Also that same 6" log can be attacked from the sides fisrt, splitting off the wet pieces first, then you will get to the dry wood. By the time you make 3 inch log out of 6 incher, you will have a pile of wood for kindling and can split that left over 3" couple of times to feed the fire. If you see a bad knot in the wood, why not to choose a different piece or split it in a different way. Even if you won't break the knife going through it, the good chances are that you damage the edge and will have to spend half an hour sharpening the nick out and polishing it again (that is if you brought your sharpening tools with you).
Using some sense you can baton with a Mora, or even a folding knife. It's not all that bad. If you do it in a stupid way, then expect some stupid results.

That being said, I also agree that knife in question has not the best handle design. I would be upset to to find such construction when I was expecting a full tang. The metal used as an extension is of questionable properties as well.
 
cramsey3006 said:
Did the knife not come with a warranty? If so, I would have just sent it in without taking it apart, you may well have voided the warranty by taking it apart.

Did you cut the handle off of the knife to see what broke inside? You must have, I don't see how it would have that big slit in the botton otherwise.

I also think that you were not using the proper technique while batoning and you were just wailing away on the knife blade AND on the handle trying to split the wood.

How did the guard get broken? By looking at the pieces and what-not, it almost seems to me that you had to have been hammering on the handle too, otherwise, I don't know how the guard would have broken off the top like that.

If the handle just slid off the tang after it broke, and if the knife didn't have a warranty, I'd have just mixed up a bunch of 2 ton epoxy and used some chopped fiberglass as a filler and glued the handle back on. The epoxy would totally fill the handle and the slots in the tang piece and make it pretty damn solid.

I've handled Muela knives before and they are as nice as anything else in that price range.

I think you got what you deserved. You broke your knife, you're not happy about it, and of course it's not YOUR fault. So piss and moan about it. :jerkit:

I don't think you're going to get much sympathy.
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Did you even watch the video? He says he cut the handle off. Secondly, he said he cut the guard of so it would be more useful to put hit thumb on the back.

To the OP: To me it looks like a piece of garbage design. I would just toss it and move on. I wouldnt even bother on a warranty with a design like that. Sorry about your blade
 
I can't believe you guys are bashing this guy for his original post and youtube video. His later post dinging on collectors was off mark but did you guys actually listen to the video and see the tang design? He clearly stated that HE CUT the rubber grip off to see what happened. Not only was that not a full tang but it actually appears to be a two piece tang. There appears to be a rivet that attaches the blade and tang to the REST of the tang. Whether you baton or not, think its a stupid idea or not, that design is a classic POS and every one of you on your soapbox would have been pissed when it broke while you were _________ (fill in the blank, limbing, chopping, accidentally sitting on it, etc.) No knifemaker would look at that design and be happy with what they came up with.

Sorry your knife broke, you were robbed in my opinion.

Pete
 
No way around it that is a crappy knife. Cast iron "tang" pinned in place? In all my years of playing with knives, even cheap knives, I've never seen such a poor design.

I also think advertising that as a full tang means this company knows better and is trying to rip people off. You might want to look into a class action against them. That kind of crap needs to stop!
 
Not sure, but I got the impression that the knife shop guy said it was full tang, not the company itself.
 
cultivateitnow said:
No way around it that is a crappy knife. Cast iron "tang" pinned in place? In all my years of playing with knives, even cheap knives, I've never seen such a poor design.

I also think advertising that as a full tang means this company knows better and is trying to rip people off. You might want to look into a class action against them. That kind of crap needs to stop!
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Yes, that handle looks like a cast pot metal to me and as such, it is not so much a question of if it fails, rather when it fails. I don't even think that batonning is an issue, as I would expect that handle to fail with chopping as well.

So, I think the OP has a legitimate gripe where knife construction is concerned. As for his comments about collectors, I think an apology is in order.
 
Sound wasn't working when I watched the video. Had the volume maxed out on my laptop and on youtube. Couldn't understand a word of it.

Still, taking it apart like voids any kind of warranty that was on the knife. Should have just returned it, IMO.

Muela sells thousands and thousands of knives around the world. The design must be able to hold up well enough. The knives get good reviews on some survival forums I've been on.

I still want to know if he was hammering on the handle. The guard is obviously metal, how did he break the top piece off if he wasn't hammering the handle? If you hammer on the handle of any knife, if it breaks, then its your fault. Period.

I've split 2" logs with my Mora Clipper, 1/2 tang, plastic handle. I don't hit the handle and I don't put undue pressure on the handle while doing it. Hasn't broken yet, and I'd have to say that the tang design on the Muela is probably a stronger design.

Went back and watched the video and still not enough sound for me to hear what he says.

I still say it's his own fault.
 
i have a Muela hunter very pleased with it

Not all knives are for extreme use. It depends on the design, steel and other factors.

There is a tendency especially in the US to the using of knives in extreme conditions .

That is fine when the manufacturer has welcomed such tests but we forget the original use of the knife.
 
I watched the video twice and imo it doesnt matter if it was battoned correctly or not that thing is definately a POS look at the crappy tang on that thing, hell i would trust my opinel more than that thing. It sucks your knife broke and it sucks someone told you it was a full tang when you bought it, but its broken now anyway so go get a new ESEE, it will take an A$$ whoopin and come out smiling and if you do break it send it back for replacement PERIOD... But for the record dont bust on someone who collects knives if that is what they like than more power to them, thats what its all about anyway doin what you like. I like to get"em dirty!!!!!:D
 
This is why people buy BRKT's, Busse's, and ESEE's... because while it is very unlikely to ever break any of their blades... IF you did... you get a replacement for free...
 
deluxewarplaya said:
Please make me feel better.:grumpy:
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That will be hard.

As has been made perfectly clear this could have been avoided with a decent technique but it is hard to get away from the fact that that knife is not of the highest quality.


deluxewarplaya said:
Some people like to purchase knives and put them on display or worse still, hide them in a box in the bottom drawer and only ever brought out to show off. Posers like that piss me off. I also think that's a waste of money.
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Hmm, you are on a worldwide knife forum, a forum consisting of knife enthusiast and collectors and you write ^that^ then expect sympathy and advise :confused:.
 
One more example of a shoddy knife giving battoning a bad name amongst the community that has never had to split wood on a regular basis... Man, it amazes me how one can judge a practical technique because knives that are not designed to be used in that way get broken. It's called a 6 dollar tramontina...
 
richard thurman said:
hey the knife was not meant to be used as a ax. it is not meant to be used as a prybar. he is a very very very stupid person and we should take all of his knifes away so he wont hurt him self. give him a plastic knife to play with until he has more brains than a rock.
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:thumbup:
 
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