- Joined
- Nov 29, 2005
- Messages
- 887
Which Himalayan Imports small knife (or knives) would be best for use in cutting patches for muzzleloading rifle shooting?
For those of you less familiar with the procedure (some of you are old hands, I'm sure, but there may be people here who've never even seen an old-style gun), after one pours the gunpowder down the barrel, one puts a greased piece of cloth over the muzzle, puts the lead ball projectile onto the cloth, then pushes the ball into the muzzle until it is roughly flush with the end of the muzzle. One then uses a knife to cut off the excess cloth. The ball is then rammed down onto the gunpowder with a ramrod. The cloth helps wedge the ball in place and helps form a seal so that when the gunpowder goes off, a relatively-larger amount of energy is imparted to the ball.
The knife used for this is typically small, sharp (= a good one will maintain a good edge), and, I think, would most conveniently have a fairly thin or flat blade. That last is not essential, I suppose, but I imagine that a very thick blade might be a little trickier to maneuver so that you're not as likely to wear the finish off the muzzle of the gun by rubbing it with the side of the blade.
It occurs to me that a kagas katne (if they really are made to keep an edge) might be about the right thing. A bilton might work. I've seen a baby Chitlangi whose spine was 8 millimeters thick at the widest point, and I think that might be a bit thick for this application. It seems to me that the R6 and gool models might also have some promise.
Any thoughts, anyone?
For those of you less familiar with the procedure (some of you are old hands, I'm sure, but there may be people here who've never even seen an old-style gun), after one pours the gunpowder down the barrel, one puts a greased piece of cloth over the muzzle, puts the lead ball projectile onto the cloth, then pushes the ball into the muzzle until it is roughly flush with the end of the muzzle. One then uses a knife to cut off the excess cloth. The ball is then rammed down onto the gunpowder with a ramrod. The cloth helps wedge the ball in place and helps form a seal so that when the gunpowder goes off, a relatively-larger amount of energy is imparted to the ball.
The knife used for this is typically small, sharp (= a good one will maintain a good edge), and, I think, would most conveniently have a fairly thin or flat blade. That last is not essential, I suppose, but I imagine that a very thick blade might be a little trickier to maneuver so that you're not as likely to wear the finish off the muzzle of the gun by rubbing it with the side of the blade.
It occurs to me that a kagas katne (if they really are made to keep an edge) might be about the right thing. A bilton might work. I've seen a baby Chitlangi whose spine was 8 millimeters thick at the widest point, and I think that might be a bit thick for this application. It seems to me that the R6 and gool models might also have some promise.
Any thoughts, anyone?
