Pap, I imagine it DID take several guys if they were trying to carve up a moose with a Ruana stamp (sorry, could not resist).

Thanks for chiming in, as I only go by the media echo chamber of the internet, being no Ruana collector. I have only one other, a newer 14B.

When I was quite a bit younger, Randalls started at $25, and a Ruana started at $10, and all I knew was that they were cheaper, they were rougher, but that the old guy in Montana was respected by every other knife maker in the US (all 12 of them!), and I knew I wanted a knife from this mysterious guy who was so well respected, despite rougher knives.

So, I treasure the little skinner made when Rudy was still in the shop, and which pretty much seems able to do most anything a larger skinner does. Very secure, index or thumb forward, just a little hoss. And also greatly admire the folks there, all three of them, still chugging along just like Rudy's old handmade milling machine.

If anyone has yet to see these, check them out...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBKnLe7tYmU

http://bigskyjournal.com/Article/local-knowledge-ruana-knives

Quite frankly, my admiration of them is why I bought a newer knife and have another on order, it seems like a donation to a living history museum and getting a knife as a thank you.

Couple more mediocre shots of old smokey....





Hey, Pappy, did you read the older knife book (title unrecalled), where the author was discussing Ruana, and mentioned a 1961 hunting trip where his guide was using a Ruana to skin an elk? The writer was so impressed, he offered to buy the knife, and the guide replied, "gitcher own...I'm busy."