LionSteel M7 
Thinking about whether you should buy the lionsteel M7? Part with your well earned Ghoulash ??  for the Lionsteel M7?? It's not a cheap knife, it's not handmade and it's even less corrosion resistant than D2 but how does it perform in real life??
With a funky one piece Micarta composite handle and a full length tang (if not full width-it would be too heavy anyway and of no purpose)
How does the M7 look like after 7 days of field use??


























working around a river (not an estuary!), infact one of the many tributaries of the Danube- yep I could be anywhere!, the M7 was going to get wet. While I wasn't swimming with it, I didn't have any rags (except my clothing) or oil to wipe it down with so it got returned to it's sheath wet sometimes.






As you can see there are what I would expect to see with Sleipner, a few specks of rust forming. REMEMBER, SLEIPNER was designed to be used machining/milling applications where the tool (made from Sleipner alloy tool steel) will not be generally be subjected to a corrosive environment. 


















Later, back at the hacienda I could not wipe off those marks short of using a metal polish (which I didn't) BTW as I want to see what the blade/knife looks like after some months use. So if you're one of these people who must see a shiny newish looking blade after every cut etc, then this might annoy you. As there is a plethora of high quality stainless steel blade steels available today such as 14C28N, N690, ELMAX etc (I'm not listing them here there are too many!) You might want to buy a knife with a stainless blade, but for me there are other important considerations and these are:

How well does the steel hold it's edge?
Is edge rolling a problem?
Blade geometry?
Is it a useful blade?
What about comfort during real use??
Can the blade steel be toughed enough for such a big knife?

 All of the above points I'm checking out in an upcoming video review of this knife. So stay tuned!

Muela Rhino Hunting Knife review English Language

Muela Rhino Knife

Ok I made the vid you see below a while back but now just want to say some more about this very well made knife. Personally I think the knives Muela is making out of 14C28N are (no pun intended) a cut above the rest of their production. The finish dare I say it is very nice with attention to detail on the knife construction much much better than their regular line (and it's a very big range of models) of knives. I'm not going to make comparisons only let you decide if a knife like the Rhino is suitable for your uses. The name Rhino certainly conjures up a knife that is tough and it is. If you want a great little camp/hunting knife for sub 100 Euros, yeah that's right, sub 100 Euros you could do much worse. I guess with their huge production run they can sell such a knife at the "right price"



Remember too that Sandvik developed the 14C28N specifically for knife production, good on edge retention and resistant to edge rolling. it's quite common these days to see many knives with handle scales "bolted on" to the tang but in reality how many times do you remove those scales?? i've had a PUMA HUNTERS FRIEND (which came in various configurations) for over thirty years of action and it's stag handles are riveted on and they never broke or came loose. 



In fact it's cheaper to use bolts, but they look cooler than rivets. Riveting requires specialist machinery to fix the rivets properly or very skilled hands and that means very skilled labour and that means more costs. Anyway I digress. This knife deserves more publicity.

LionSteel M7

Hi ok this is an update on the LionSTEEL M7.
I asked some questions to LionSTEEL they only answered 


some I figure the questions  they didn't answer are because they were of a confidential nature???

Here they are again:
Q Do you cryogenically treat  the M7 or is it sub zero treated ie above 150C? My guess is if they did (either treatment) then they would say as this would be a selling point.

Q  What is the MPa rating of the Micarta you use? (I asked this question as I'm sure all Micarta's are not constructed to the same specs and as the handle forms part of the guard then I was curious to know how strong it might be)- Gianni Paulett did tell me that they do in fact buy in the raw material to CNC with their machines.

Q Do you PVD the blades A: "No they are chemically blackened" this is in my opinion better than teflon treatment.


Q Is the rounded surface on the spine for added rigidity No answer here, my guess is that it is, from an engineering standpoint.


Video field review is taking place so stay tuned!

LionSTEEL M7

The LionSTEEL M7 is currently LionSTEEL'S flagship fixed blade knife model. Ok M7 what's in a name?? Probably 7 inches long and M for Molletta??? Who knows?? It's a catchy model number.

Ok I will get straight  to the point (no pun intended!) 

The LionSteel M7 is a: Big drop point, flat ground, flat edge bevel, proven blade design, practical shape for an outdoor knife. No need to reinvent the wheel. 

The finish is all Italian, ie well finished, simple and stylish.

I'm going to say who this knife is good for right up.

Serious outdoor enthusiasts; not too concerned by weight; those who will camp without tent; those who will not be hunting per se; camping in the tropics/jungles; Boreal forest use if you don't want to bring a hatchet; Campers who like to "build things" People who want a simple geometry to sharpen if you are not that experienced at sharpening.


The M7 is Not for: coastal camping or taking to islands in the sea unless you've got freshwater to wash it down with. Besides that you're going to need a good fishing knife on a tropical island- I know I've been there done that-one tree no inhabitants two people, self reliant. 

Dimensions at a glance: 5.5mm (0.22 inches) spine thickness, total weight 410gms (14.46 Oz) according to the manufacturers site. I'm guessing the black version is a PVD (that's Physical Vapor Deposition)* since Sleipner is perfect for this type of coating but I will tell you exactly what it is in the UPCOMING VIDEO  field test and review in a real situation and putting the M7 through it paces.

*Ok Just got news from LionSTEEL, the black version of the M7 is NOT a PVD process but the blade has been chemically blackened.
Gianni Paulett from LionSTEEL also told me that the blade angle from the spine is 8 degrees.


If you go to LionSTEEL's site  they state the following blade dimensions: 7.09 inches in length or 180mm. My actual measurements were as follows: I measured a blade length of 150mm in a straight line (along the spine) from tip to the end of the cutting edge. The actual cutting edge length is about 162mm. As you can see they are NOT anywhere near what LionSTEEL say. This discrepancy may in part be due to that by a kind of unwritten knifemakers convention the blade length is generally measured  from the hilt to the tip. let's not confuse this with the "actual cutting edge", which in this case is about 162mm! A much greater proportion of the LionSTEEL M7 is taken up by handle and non cutting surface. This for me is a pet peeve as manufacturers should quote the actual cutting length I believe.


You can see the obvious from the above picture eg choil etc. What's not so obvious is the spine profile seen below.

People are not talking about this subtle blade design here but I will because I believe it to be a very good engineering strategy:
Quick thoughts, the curved spine profile (from thumb rest to the tip) increases spine strength and rigidity, no need for a fuller or blood groove. Secondarily there is a comfort aspect in un-gloved hand to place palm on the back of spine for control during carving.

The rear of the knife is recessed on handle to improve grip during swinging. It's not a light knife for 7 inches but not too heavy either.

The handle has been milled too 

on it's outer surface to increase grip either in the un-gloved or gloved hand. This is absolutely necessary for a knife of this size as despite the listed applications, which is actually one, ie cutting tasks, the LionSTEEL M7 is not guaranteed against chopping tasks etc or any other thing that may constitute knife abuse.........Remember this- don't abuse the knife, ie don't "cold work harden the steel" by bashing the sh*t out of it with a lump hammer/rocks or the like. It's a knife.
Anyway what I was saying was that if you are swinging this knife you want to be able to hold onto it securely. And you can with this feature. The handle can easily accommodate hand sizes from size 8 and upwards, without being too big for a size 8, below this eg size 7 your hand will simply be too small.

The tang is not full width, so what??? It's not an issue. It's (the tang) embedded in a composite one piece block of milled









Micarta.  4 axis  machined (this is nothing special in terms of machining/milling but sort of novel here.

At the butt end of the M7 there is good sized  lanyard hole

The M7 bears Molletta's name (the original designer of Knife Research fame)



on the reverse side to Lion Steel and the alloy type, Sleipner, (JFYI Sleipner is the 8 legged horse from Norse Mythology)




 an Uddeholm product. Educate yourself with a bit of metallurgy by reading Uddeholms pdf on Sleipner alloy.
A cold working tool steel (non PM steel (powder metallurgy) to replace D2 or use in place of D2 where better chipping resistance and tougher characteristics are needed.


How about the carrying system??? A lot of knife manufacturers fall flat on their faces when it comes to the sheath or scabbard design and materials. Not LionSTEEL.
Here it is:

Kydex and a ballistic nylon/Cordura, snap lock for added safety for knife retention. I say added safety as the Kydex sheath provides a super positive locking mechanism.








In the above two pictures  you can see the infolded Kydex at the entrance to the scabbard/sheath. There is little chance of the M7 being accidently released as some pressure is required to extract it. The M7 can not be removed silently or in a hurry. Notice the attention to detail with the small notches placed to prevent thumb slippage. 


There is almost too firm a grip on this big knife, you will not shake it loose and one has to apply some force to remove the M7  from the sheath. The reverse side has a drainage hole (remember Sleipner is NOT a stainless steel- it has only 7.8% Chromium (Cr) which is less than D2 at around 12% and just for reference, a stainless steel such as AISI 440C at around 16-18% Cr!

Attachments come by way of press studs for vertical tip down or vertical tip up. The press stud attachment to anchor the handle can be reversed to accommodate a left-handed removal by also reversing the carry system, ie undoing all of the scabbard bolts.



How does it compare with other similar sized knives? Knife Research's (BTW also made by LionSTEEL) Legion or no longer in production Carthago knife?? The M7 has a wider blade, no fuller/blood grooves, does not come in G10 at the time of writing. No ceramic sharpener included.





Maintenance 

Working around salt water you will have to remove the M7 handle to wash the tang thoroughly. This could void the warranty? Wipe down the blade with a clean rag, lightly oil with edible oil.


Anyway I don't want to say anymore about the M7 as I really need to get it out now into the field for some serious testing (but not abuse LOL)
Time will tell about this model especially the micarta handle as micarta tends to absorb water easily unless sealed and this handle isn't sealed. Plus the milling process exposes the ends of the canvas fibres which will wick moisture/water/oil etc when subjected to it, for example sweat. G10 may have been a better option, as it tougher and more water resistant. I need to find out from LionSTEEL exactly what are the physical properties of the Micarta they are using. Still waiting on an email response.

Ok Gianni just told me the Micarta is bought in LionSTEEL do not in house manufacture it.

LionSteels M7 prices at the time of writing is:

Satin finish: 240 Euro
Chemical black finish: 250 Euro