Ruana Knives: opinions wanted!

Hm.. it seems that they make fixed blades with rat tangs.
I don't think they tend to be durable choppers if they're rat tang.
I have no personal experience so take my comments with a grain of salt.
 
Off the top of my head since I dont have my books to hand:

Rudy Ruana was one of the early benchmade/custom knife makers of the 20th century-part of the group that included the likes of William Scagel, W.D. Randall, Bill Moran, Bob Loveless and others. The current knives are made by his son-in-law, Vic Hangas, and other family members-like Lile and Randall knives are now.

As I understand it all knives are handforged and the quality is good. They are made to be used rather than just looked at, though they do have a line in fancy bowies.

Price wise the current boss, Vic Hangas, said in an interview for an article in one of the Knives Annuals, that the knives were priced for the average working man. That was some time ago, and prices have climbed since then, which is fair enough, as they seem to be on a par with a good handmade knife by other makers.

Interesting knives with an interesting history.
 
The old Ruana knives made by Rudy himself are a lot more collectable, but are far more crudely made than the new Ruana knives. Both old and new Ruana knives are very well made and make great users, since they were/are forged from good high carbon steel. But, the new ones are much better as far as even grinds and fit and finish is concerned. The old ones never seemed to light my fire, but I have been very, very tempted by a few of the newer models. Prices are getting kind of steep though.
 
I have an older Ruana, made in 1981. I don't recall which model it is, but it is the one with a fingergrooved stag handle and clip point blade.

It takes a nice edge and seems to be a tough knife, although I have used it very little. I got it used for quite a bargain, and it still has the original sheath. If I didn't have a Marbles Fieldcraft, it would see more use. The stag is beautiful, and the blade has a nice patina.

From the way it feels on a stone, I would say the steel is hardened to at least 59...maybe closer to 60 RC. But that is just a guess, albeit an educated guess.;)

I wish I could tell you more, but the only example I have to go by seems to be an excellent prospect for a using knife.
 
Hi,

Mjjbecker, and Danbo are right as far as Ruana's history goes, they were, and are great knives.

I'll just weigh in on construction. Most of the standard size line is forged 1095, with the Bowie's being zone tempered 5160. They make a bird & trout model called the Steelhead that is stainless(ats-34, or 440c, I believe). The handles are cast right on to the tang, so if you can break it, I guess you can abuse a knife better than most:D. You can see a step board on their website.
I'm not sure of the rockwell, but think Coonskinner is right, as the blade of my woodcraft style skinner feel's a bit higher than blades of a known hardness.

They come with a very nice, & even satin finish on the blade. One thing that is very impressive is the quality of the sheath's, very well designed, & made.

The only things I can find fault with, are that the handles can be a bit small. But I have very large hands, and you can change grip style's, if you order from the shop, I believe. They are a bit hard to find.



HTH:D:).
 
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