Oh happy muddy day! My 0500 has arrived.
I'll start off with fit and finish. The blade centres perfectly, the edge is ground evenly on both sides, the handle scales are perfectly even, no blade play. The lock functions very well, it passes the pressure test (no whacking) with no wiggle at all. One mild concern is that the closed retention could be a little stronger, but the washers always add a little friction keeping things in place. The stepping on the unlock switch is very nice and makes the knife reasonably easy to unlock. It still takes a fair amount of pressure, but that's a good thing IMO as it's less likely to release accidentally that way.
The feel of the pivot is very strange, not the same as a tight pivot, it reminds me of the sliders on a soundboard where everything moves fairly easily but sticks wherever you leave it. It takes a little push to get past the lock tension and snap the blade in place, but once again I wouldn't have it any other way. Lots of pressure on the lock means it'll keep everything nice and snug. To go along with that the thumb lugs (way too big to be studs) work very well. They're as grippy as everything else on the knife, and keep out of the way when the knife is open.
The thick G-10 handle slabs are incredibly grippy. Without a doubt this is the grippiest handle I've ever felt, and would probably shred any pocket in short order. Thus I loosened the tension on the pocket clip waaay back, it's got 1/32" between the clip and the scale right now. My favourite spot for a clip is just barely off the scale, so you can gently bump the clip and get a little tapping noise. This clip doesn't just carry deep in your pocket, it carries very, very deep and even folds a little bit of the pocket seam over the end of the handle. The only thing visible is the clip and that little nub sticking out the back. When pulling the knife out I've found it best to pinch it on the blade tip and handle spine, that or lift up on the clip as you pull it out. If you put any pressure on the clip it pretty much locks the knife in your pocket.
I don't think pocket retention will be a problem, this thing causes so much friction just sitting there I wonder if I'll have any pocket left by the end of the week
. At least I know it'll never slip out of my hand.
The handle fits fairly well with my fingers, not as nicely as the Spyderco Military or ZT 0200, but certainly much better than many other knives I own. Normally the tip of my thumb just rests on the back of the thumb lugs and my pinkie finger just has enough space at the end of the handle. When choked up on the blade my thumb rests squarely on the lugs, or I can go really close and use the "swoosh" in the blade that comes after the lugs.
The rigidity of the handle is quite impressive, especially considering the open back design, and I mean completely open back. The only thing keeping the handle slabs apart is the massive pivot, and one single post at the butt end of the handle. It's actually kind of scary to see the whole thing open like that, but not to worry as it's rock solid. I can get a barely noticeable amount of flex if I squeeze really hard. Otherwise it doesn't budge.
The knife is a little heavier than expected (6.762 ounces) but you won't hear me complain.
The M.U.D.D. won't replace my primary EDC any time soon, but I can see it coming in handy in the bush or kitchen, I bought this knife because it combines the rugged nature of the ZT knives with easy maintenance. I finally have a knife that's just asking to get deep in the gunk without worrying about "how am I going to clean out all those little spaces?"
Now for the pics...
Perfectly centered tip.
Very open back.
I'll start off with fit and finish. The blade centres perfectly, the edge is ground evenly on both sides, the handle scales are perfectly even, no blade play. The lock functions very well, it passes the pressure test (no whacking) with no wiggle at all. One mild concern is that the closed retention could be a little stronger, but the washers always add a little friction keeping things in place. The stepping on the unlock switch is very nice and makes the knife reasonably easy to unlock. It still takes a fair amount of pressure, but that's a good thing IMO as it's less likely to release accidentally that way.
The feel of the pivot is very strange, not the same as a tight pivot, it reminds me of the sliders on a soundboard where everything moves fairly easily but sticks wherever you leave it. It takes a little push to get past the lock tension and snap the blade in place, but once again I wouldn't have it any other way. Lots of pressure on the lock means it'll keep everything nice and snug. To go along with that the thumb lugs (way too big to be studs) work very well. They're as grippy as everything else on the knife, and keep out of the way when the knife is open.
The thick G-10 handle slabs are incredibly grippy. Without a doubt this is the grippiest handle I've ever felt, and would probably shred any pocket in short order. Thus I loosened the tension on the pocket clip waaay back, it's got 1/32" between the clip and the scale right now. My favourite spot for a clip is just barely off the scale, so you can gently bump the clip and get a little tapping noise. This clip doesn't just carry deep in your pocket, it carries very, very deep and even folds a little bit of the pocket seam over the end of the handle. The only thing visible is the clip and that little nub sticking out the back. When pulling the knife out I've found it best to pinch it on the blade tip and handle spine, that or lift up on the clip as you pull it out. If you put any pressure on the clip it pretty much locks the knife in your pocket.
I don't think pocket retention will be a problem, this thing causes so much friction just sitting there I wonder if I'll have any pocket left by the end of the week
. At least I know it'll never slip out of my hand.The handle fits fairly well with my fingers, not as nicely as the Spyderco Military or ZT 0200, but certainly much better than many other knives I own. Normally the tip of my thumb just rests on the back of the thumb lugs and my pinkie finger just has enough space at the end of the handle. When choked up on the blade my thumb rests squarely on the lugs, or I can go really close and use the "swoosh" in the blade that comes after the lugs.
The rigidity of the handle is quite impressive, especially considering the open back design, and I mean completely open back. The only thing keeping the handle slabs apart is the massive pivot, and one single post at the butt end of the handle. It's actually kind of scary to see the whole thing open like that, but not to worry as it's rock solid. I can get a barely noticeable amount of flex if I squeeze really hard. Otherwise it doesn't budge.
The knife is a little heavier than expected (6.762 ounces) but you won't hear me complain.
The M.U.D.D. won't replace my primary EDC any time soon, but I can see it coming in handy in the bush or kitchen, I bought this knife because it combines the rugged nature of the ZT knives with easy maintenance. I finally have a knife that's just asking to get deep in the gunk without worrying about "how am I going to clean out all those little spaces?"
Now for the pics...
Perfectly centered tip.
Very open back.
