Ernie Emerson: new Govt Mule knife line....

[RustyShackelford]

Any forum members buy or handle the new Emerson Government Mule knife?
It has a few + design features. The US Navy EOD series blade is cool but limited to military & LE only.
The price seems a bit steep for a field knife.
I still like the Gerber LMF II Infantry blade.
It's about $89.00 and has a lot to offer.

 

[ugaarguy]

Any forum members buy or handle the new Emerson Government Mule knife?
It has a few + design features.

What design features do you like about it?

The US Navy EOD series blade is cool but limited to military & LE only.

That's because that version has a Beryllium Copper blade. Beryllium and all Beryllium alloys are extremely toxic in any form that can be inhaled. Beryllium damages the lungs on its own, and it's a carcinogen. Skin exposure to Beryllium in powder form is known to cause skin rash and warts. Hence, it's not even safe to sharpen that knife outside of a controlled environment with proper PPE and industrial hygiene systems. You can read about Beryllium hazards and protection here - https://www.osha.gov/dts/hib/hib_data/hib19990902.html.

Even if it wasn't toxic Be-Cu can only be hardened to 45 Rc, which is not that hard in terms of knife blades, so the edge retention is going to be very poor.

The price seems a bit steep for a field knife.

I'm not convinced it's going to do anything better than a $120 Ontario SK-5 Blackbird or a $157 Benchmade Nimravus, both of which have similar length blades of the same steel and similar construction. $300 is solidly in Chris Reeve, HTM, and Lion Steel big fixed blade territory.