Very true HD, the Muelas do seem to have a strong Spanish feel to them. They were my first real intro to good quality knives. And I agree, the DFLE has a feel in the hand that is the perfect definition of what a Bowie should be; comfort, strength, weight, and balance are just a few of the things I like about the DFLE.

And Unsub, don't feel dumb. If I remember correctly, the knives are manufactured in Spain, but I believe their corporate HQ is in South America.

As for the Muela sheaths, I love them. I've always been a fan of leather for my knives and Muela makes their sheaths to fit each knife perfectly. All the handles and scales on their blades seem to just mold to your hand; I've only ever handled one that felt wrong, and that one was a large Bowie style blade with marble scales. It was too smooth and heavy; nice looking, but you could just imagine it slipping in your grasp doing any serious work. I think it was meant more for a display queen, anyway.
The edge Muela puts on their knives is also better than most standard edges I find come from larger companies. I've never taken the time to actually measure what the actual angle is, but from comparing it to similar knives from Spyderco, Buck, and CRKT, it is probably closer to a 20 degree angle. I find them to be very sharp, and hold an edge really well. Again, this is my own personal experience, some people may have had differing results.

About cleaning up those old clasp knives; collectors say you shouldn’t do it, you’ll destroy the knife’s resale value. But those things…a few years back I bought a couple, and gave one away. They were sure nail-breakers. But then, I think they cost $6.00 per knife. I wouldn’t worry about destroying the resale value.

The knives do have good, sturdy marlinspikes. I always figured marlinespikes were the self defense weapons of choice, if a marlin ever tried to mug you in a dark alley. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

>> About cleaning up those old clasp knives; collectors say you shouldn’t do it, you’ll destroy the knife’s resale value <<

The rust is worth a lot huh? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I dunno. I don't really "get" collectors. Some tools are simply too good to use, and they are that way by design. They're made to be put away, I understand that. But other tools, like the knives shown, were intended to be simple and effective and useful. It would be sort of like collecting ... I was going to say bottles, but people collect those too. Actually I can't think of anything that people don't collect. Blah.

Anyway my feeling is that a usable tool should either be used or at a minimum kept in a state where it could be used. If you're going to keep it in a drawer for the next fifty years, polish it up and put it away with some desiccant to keep it clean.

Sometimes it's funny to walk into old tool shops because the owners will either be users or collectors. We're looking for old tools that can be cleaned up and put to use. Most antique tools are far better quality than consumer level stuff today, and can be had for a lot less money than a brand new top of the line model. So we'll pick up a chisel and check the socket, check the blade to see if it's been beat on with a hammer, look for a lamination line... In short we're looking at the useful life left in the tool. We really don't care who it was made by. Some shop owners give us a horrified look when we talk about attacking it with steel wool, lapping, sharpening, turning a new handle... and others give us a discount because they like the fact that we're putting it back to work.

Seeing rust bothers me, and others pay a premium for it because it looks older. Takes all kinds, I guess.

Not that I understand the issue, but...I don't think it's the rust that's so valuable. It's the age marks and patina. If you take an old tool and clean it up so it looks new, you've destroyed the quality which a collector values.

If you run across a signed James Black Bowie, (dream on!) leave the cleaning to an expert conservator who understands how to handle antique knives. The right approach will make it look better without ruining it for high-value collector resale. An amateur with naval jelly and a wire brush will turn a priceless heirloom into a worthless piece of junk that everybody will condemn as a fake.

If all you do is take the dirt and grit off it the collector value is fine.
We gave him good advice so as not to remove the patina only the grunge.
Cleaning with penetrating oil and using it to suck as much crud out of the mechanism won't hurt the vale although grinding off the rust with sandpaper or a dremel will. I have several WW1 blades and am into collecting the old stuff.

Here is a WW1 bayonet. It is spotlessly clean but still has all the "patina".

If you don't remove all the crud the piece will continue to deteriorate.
Ideally you want to preserve it perfectly in the state it is now.
Get all the dirt oil and moisture out. You would be amazed how much crud comes out of those folders when you stick some penetrating oil in the crevace and work the blade back and forth. Fill it up ,work it back and forth ,clean with a paper towel,
repeat.

Nice collection of knives.

So, taking some of your guys advice, I bought a can of that PB Blaster, and used it and a very soft brass wire brush to start cleaning the old WWII blades.

WOW! I couldn't even open the two folders without a pair of pliers before; but now, I can just get them with my bare hands. Most of the rust is off, and the patina is undamaged. I figure some more work with the PB will really make a difference; thanks for the tip on that stuff Momaw!

While I was cleaning them off, I noticed there are some nicks in the blades, and the blade on the big one has the tip bent. So I'm going to very carefully sharpen them to fix the edges, once all the cleaning is done. It'll probably be a higher angle, so I don't destroy the patina.

After spending some time on those blades, I got to looking at my DMLE and how I wanted a different edge on it. So, using my Lansky system, I started to try and bring the edge down to a 20 degree angle. About an hour later using the coarse stone, I still don't have it down to the angle I want. That's some tough steel you made there Dan! LOL! I'm figuring I'll have to pick up the coarse diamond stone to make the work a little easier, unless you guys have some better advice..?

So I bought an extra coarse diamond hone to help me get the blade down to the angle I wanted. It still took a little while, but it definitely went faster than if I had stuck with the normal coarse stone.

After that, I went through all the stone stages from coarse to fine, and I think it looks pretty good. It's gotta be as sharp as a surgeons' scalpel now. I've decided to make it my medium sized skinning knife; means I'l have to make more room in my hunting pack for another knife! LOL!

I may have to start working some more on my leather stropping skills and see what I can do to make it even sharper! LOL!