Boker on order as a sharpening mule.

[The Tourist]

I just ordered a Boker Mosier to try out as a mule. I know little if anything about the knife, other than it looks pretty striking.

I did sell a half-dozen Boker Plus G4 models, and the clients raved about them. And I am finding a new interest in using smaller fixed blades for EDCs. As I've stated before, I'm looking for sturdy knives and I intend to look at many possible examples.

Does anyone here already own this knife, and do you have an opinion?

[The Tourist]

I think I have to add this idea. The manner in which I 'test' a knife is extremely different from the general meaning of the word "test" as used in this forum.

I'm not looking to find a way to make a knife fail, rather, I'm looking at how I can make a knife succeed.

For example, when a boat is first completed or goes through extensive repairs, the first trip out is often called a "shake-down cruise." That is, a short but comprehensive trip to subject the boat to the actual use the owner might need or want.

A client who buys one of my knives is not seeking to smash it, but he wants to know how much work is involved in perfecting the edge, does it carry well, is it worth the amount asked, or simply does the knife fit his hand. Even after the sale I contact the client and ask him or her how the knife is performing in his real-world use.

A defective knife is simply returned to my supplier. A poor knife (but one with some attributes) goes out to Wyoming to a friend who is a wilderness camper. If harsh use is going to destroy a knife, it is better to smash a mule than one of his good knives.

Granted, I am very blunt and opinionated about certain styles, brands or designs. Some very expensive knives are abject failures and not worth a nickel's value. This weekend a client told me that he loves his Boker Plus G4--a former mule which was my personal EDC that I gave him over dinner. Price does not equal value.

We do smash cars to test their ability to protect their owners--I do not dispute that. But we also have automobile test tracks, and airplane companies will utilize test pilots. It is my steadfast opinion that you do not have to hit a knife with a sledge-hammer to test the quality of its edge. I also keep a small inventory of replacement parts from knives that were to be retired. I consider it part of my overall job to fix things.

But my job and the tests conducted by Noss are two very different aspects of knife ownership. My concern is the Q/C before delivery to the new owner.

[Zixinus]

The best method I can think of is to try them on wood. Really, with most knives, that's what you will be cutting anyway, especially in the wilderness (where the point of the knife sorta is to allow you to create equipment that you would otherwise have to carry). So, get some semi-junk wood, or split some logs from a certain tree and do stuff to them, like making feather-sticks, splitting them or watching what they can do to them.

An idea I would have, is to take a task, like making X amount of tent pegs, and measure how long it and difficult it is to do these tasks.

My problem is that I am not sure what kind of things you can do with wood. The only thing I can think of is sizing wooden sticks down (for example, when you need X long sticks for an even shelter) or making simpler tools (like spoons).

I would wager that the test regiment should be dependent on the type of knife. You will obviously will want to do much more fine work with a smaller knife than with a larger one.

[sixgun_symphony]

You may want to check the local pawnshops and gunshows for a good, used knife if you want a "mule" for hard use and abuse.

I found a very nice, vintage solingen steel knife with stag handle at a pawnshop. It was orange with rust, but it cleaned up very nice and took a very fine edge.