Anyone have the MKC Montana yet?

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shinyedges said:
Kind sir, it's 390.00. 😂

I can't even type it with a straight face, I guess there's a person willing to throw their money at anything. I'm about ready to folder paper into the shape of a knife for 20.00. Not that thick construction paper either, the standard printer paper.
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For a minute I thought for sure you must be joking. All the far more interesting options available at half that price. Bonkers. Like wipe the white powder off your nose first before you talk to people kind of bonkers.
 
Maximumbob54 said:
For a minute I thought for sure you must be joking. All the far more interesting options available at half that price. Bonkers. Like wipe the white powder off your nose first before you talk to people kind of bonkers.
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The price is probably fair for what they had to invest to bring this folder to market assuming the heat treat is good (not verified yet). Problem is there are other US makers who have been in the game for much much longer that can offer something similar for less, or higher quality for just a little more. But I also don’t think educated/experienced knife buyers/users are their target market so they may end up doing well. I hope they succeed and are profitable so long as they do business in an ethical manner. I’m always rooting for American companies. I respect them for taking the risk on themselves instead of resorting to various crowd funding or pre-order methods. But I still won’t be buying any of their knives.
 
johnnytoxin said:
The price is probably fair for what they had to invest to bring this folder to market assuming the heat treat is good (not verified yet). Problem is there are other US makers who have been in the game for much much longer that can offer something similar for less, or higher quality for just a little more. But I also don’t think educated/experienced knife buyers/users are their target market so they may end up doing well. I hope they succeed and are profitable so long as they do business in an ethical manner. I’m always rooting for American companies. I respect them for taking the risk on themselves instead of resorting to various crowd funding or pre-order methods. But I still won’t be buying any of their knives.
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Brother. They were already tested and shown lacking at 59 HRC. And that’s one wild hard sell to get people to buy a liner lock folder at higher than either Spyderco or Benchmade pricing when their knives are better designs and cost far less. If they can’t bring a competitive priced product to market where the market is already filled then it seems doomed to fail once the brand name and novelty collectors have had their fill if they show up at all.
 
Maximumbob54 said:
Brother. They were already tested and shown lacking at 59 HRC. And that’s one wild hard sell to get people to buy a liner lock folder at higher than either Spyderco or Benchmade pricing when their knives are better designs and cost far less. If they can’t bring a competitive priced product to market where the market is already filled then it seems doomed to fail once the brand name and novelty collectors have had their fill if they show up at all.
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If they were verified to be at 59HRC then I agree it is a hard sell. And I would argue that is not doing business in an ethical manner. We are in agreement. I don’t follow this social media hardness tester guy you are referring to so I am unaware of who is providing the hardness testing data.

Edit: A few posts back someone posted a video claiming the Montana was 61HRC….still not great but which is it? 59 or 61?
 
johnnytoxin said:
If they were verified to be at 59HRC then I agree it is a hard sell. And I would argue that is not doing business in an ethical manner. We are in agreement. I don’t follow this social media hardness tester guy you are referring to so I am unaware of who is providing the hardness testing data.

Edit: A few posts back someone posted a video claiming the Montana was 61HRC….still not great but which is it? 59 or 61?
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I thought 61. The only place I have seen 59 is in this thread
 
johnnytoxin said:
If they were verified to be at 59HRC then I agree it is a hard sell. And I would argue that is not doing business in an ethical manner. We are in agreement. I don’t follow this social media hardness tester guy you are referring to so I am unaware of who is providing the hardness testing data.

Edit: A few posts back someone posted a video claiming the Montana was 61HRC….still not great but which is it? 59 or 61?
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Here’s a screenshot I just took from a third party HRC tester who has tested multiple models from the company.

IMG_2447.jpeg


Edit: all of the above are Magnacut.
An absolute waste of steel.
 
No, have not handled Montana yet - I really want to but haven’t been lucky enough to purchase.

Was on MKC website 10 minutes early before the big drop & started clicking in advance of the designated time.

Needless to say, I missed out.

Bought an MKC Stoned Goat Ultra though and I am REALLY impressed.

Bought a TRM Frag Neutron and a TRM Lizard Bulldog while waiting for the Montana to restock.

TRM Atom & Neutron are obvious competitors when shopping for a premium USA made liner lock around $400.

I will own a Montana someday.

Life is good - have fun…
 
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I have no business or standing to get into any kind of debate about optimal / sub-optimal Magnacut HRC - the really smart metallurgist folks will show up here soon enough.

From the bunch I’ve read and little I understand, toughness resulting from slightly lower HRC permits that thin geometry and acute edge angles MKC knives are known for. Perhaps toughness, and the ability to sharpen more easily, are intentional features of the MKC heat treat that they traded off a bit of edge retention for?

Regardless, I can report the edge on my Stoned Goat Ultra came out of the box wicked sharp and is more than good enough for me. After I use it and make it dull, I’ll try to sharpen it myself. If I can’t, I will mail it back to MKC and they will sharpen it for free - forever.

I still want a Montana folder. Have fun…
 
MrMoose said:
I have no business or standing to get into any kind of debate about optimal / sub-optimal Magnacut HRC - the really smart metallurgist folks will show up here soon enough.

From the bunch I’ve read and little I understand, toughness resulting from slightly lower HRC permits that thin geometry and acute edge angles MKC knives are known for. Perhaps toughness, and the ability to sharpen more easily, are intentional features of the MKC heat treat that they traded off a bit of edge retention for?

Regardless, I can report the edge on my Stoned Goat Ultra came out of the box wicked sharp and is more than good enough for me. After I use it and make it dull, I’ll try to sharpen it myself. If I can’t, I will mail it back to MKC and they will sharpen it for free - forever.

I still want a Montana folder. Have fun…
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Well, the thing is that Magnacut was developed to retain good toughness at higher hardness. This means that you could have a thin blade designed for slicing that is hard enough to retain a good edge and tough enough to not break in reasonable use (while being extremely resistant to corrosion). It's also not hard to maintain the edge with simple diamond plates and ceramics. If you run it at a lower hardness to maximize toughness then you basically defeat the purpose: it can be plenty tough at higher hardness, no need to compromise. If that's what you're going to do then all you're really doing is trying to cash in on a premium steel without giving it the premium treatment consumers deserve. Like Benchmade did in their initial release of the Bailout in 3V (they fixed it pretty quickly).

But, a knife is more than just numbers on a scale. Victorinox knives cut plenty well with 4116 at 55 RC and are popular for good reason. If the Montana design appeals to you and you've got the cash then I'm sure it will cut just fine, just maybe not for as long as could be done. Most people will likely never notice.
 
oldmanwilly said:
Well, the thing is that Magnacut was developed to retain good toughness at higher hardness. This means that you could have a thin blade designed for slicing that is hard enough to retain a good edge and tough enough to not break in reasonable use (while being extremely resistant to corrosion). It's also not hard to maintain the edge with simple diamond plates and ceramics. If you run it at a lower hardness to maximize toughness then you basically defeat the purpose: it can be plenty tough at higher hardness, no need to compromise. If that's what you're going to do then all you're really doing is trying to cash in on a premium steel without giving it the premium treatment consumers deserve. Like Benchmade did in their initial release of the Bailout in 3V (they fixed it pretty quickly).

But, a knife is more than just numbers on a scale. Victorinox knives cut plenty well with 4116 at 55 RC and are popular for good reason. If the Montana design appeals to you and you've got the cash then I'm sure it will cut just fine, just maybe not for as long as could be done. Most people will likely never notice.
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Sir, will you please bottle up and sell me some of that positive good attitude because I am in drastic short supply and could really use some.
 
59-61 are still way too soft and the idea of softer for toughness sake is faulty for the steel in question. I believe testing to see if it is really magnacut is underway.
 
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