Arno Bernard iMamba praise

[madcap_magician]

While I only have experience with the analogous CPM-154, I'd say it's a good steel but not really ideal. It also seems that they only run it around 59 HRC. I'd probably be okay with that in a $200 knife but I get increasingly picky as the price goes up. When the entry level is $450, that's a hard sell.

To put it into context, think about the competition in that price range. For instance, CRK is offering S45VN and MagnaCut at 60-62 and 63-64 HRC respectively. Cheburkov is running S90V, M390, and Elmax in the 61-63 range. All of these will offer superior edge retention and for what it's worth, better corrosion resistance too. Sure, RWL34 has a toughness advantage versus all but MagnaCut here and the lower hardness should accentuate that. Still, Elmax and S45VN are tough enough that I don't see it being much of a factor here and MagnaCut is a straight win.

Coincidentally, I just emailed them the other day about this. I was tempted by the change to a skeletonized blade but not enough to overcome the issue here. After some discussion about MagnaCut, Ruan over there said "I will definitely take a closer look and maybe try a piece of steel out and see how it performs." That could be good news. People with similar interests might want to reach out...

One can only hope! I felt the same way about Arno Bernard as I did about White River - excellent designs and execution, but the steel was run a bit soft and a bit dated and limited in choice. And White River is using MagnaCut now!

 

[cutchu]

While I agree on Chronos point, there is always a time span that stems from a new technology (or blade steel). It usually takes time to for it to propagate throughout an industry. It seems that it rings very true for "the hottest new blade steel" to be used on some or all knife offerings from every brand. Think of all the "newest" blade steels discussed here at BF over the past 10 years.

I personally find iMambas to be great knives, in my humble opinion. We all have different brands we buy and carry.

 

[BTTLBRN]

I see the comments about a slightly smaller iMamba, my sentiment is the opposite - I wish it was just a hair bigger.

My experience with RWL34 is a bit limited, I have an iMamba and two Grimsmo Norsemen in the steel; I have noticed that the edge retention isn't quite the same as other steels that I use quite a bit. Sharpening however is pretty effortless, and they snap back on a strop very quickly.

 

[cutchu]

I see the comments about a slightly smaller iMamba, my sentiment is the opposite - I wish it was just a hair bigger.
My experience with RWL34 is a bit limited, I have an iMamba and two Grimsmo Norsemen in the steel; I have noticed that the edge retention isn't quite the same as other steels that I use quite a bit. Sharpening however is pretty effortless, and they snap back on a strop very quickly.

I like the current size very much. But if they were to offer one in a different size than the current one, I also would want it go bigger instead of smaller. I really like the size of the large Spartan SHF, even if slightly heavy for extensive EDC, especially in the summer in shorts. It think the hollow grind of the iMamba blade, in addition to some scale milling internally, would keep it fairly light.

 

[Officer's Match]

I really think the iMamba is a handsome knife, especially sans flipper. It appears the pivot bolt is a style trademark of sorts, but I actually would love to see one without the perimeter holes, especially a PJ one.

 

[Chronovore]

I personally find iMambas to be great knives, in my humble opinion. We all have different brands we buy and carry.

That's certainly true. Reflecting on the post to which I was initially responding, I too am in the boat where I want to love this knife and I want to buy one but the issue in question jams up my justification algorithm.

 

[Sharp & Fiery]

Nothing wrong with RWL-34 in my opinion. We all have so many knives that I highly doubt we would ever use one blade and sharpen it to extinction. Haha.

Also we must remember that steels readily available in SA are the ones to use. Importing large amounts of USA steels will drive the price of the knives upwards.

Oh please, oh please don’t go to magnacut.

 

[ChazzyP]

For my part, I like having a lot of different flavors of knife steel, though I'm mostly partial to stainless or semi-stainless tool steels. I didn't have anything in RWL-34 before picking up my iMamba and AB's use of that was definitely a contributing factor in getting mine. While I have lots of knives with different steels that have better edge retention, are more specialized/esoteric, or more current, I'm still partial to well done examples of ATS-34, 154CM (CPM154, too), 440C, and even AUS8 or VG-10 among others. I find that even in the knife world variety is indeed the spice of life. Some of each is just fine by me.

 

[Chronovore]

For my part, I like having a lot of different flavors of knife steel, though I'm mostly partial to stainless or semi-stainless tool steels. I didn't have anything in RWL-34 before picking up my iMamba and AB's use of that was definitely a contributing factor in getting mine. While I have lots of knives with different steels that have better edge retention, are more specialized/esoteric, or more current, I'm still partial to well done examples of ATS-34, 154CM (CPM154, too), 440C, and even AUS8 or VG-10 among others. I find that even in the knife world variety is indeed the spice of life. Some of each is just fine by me.

This is a thing, and I've certainly picked up knives in various steels just because I didn't have a knife in that steel.

I also carry budget knives on a regular basis and that's okay. Heck, 14C28N has been a regular part of my carry life since 2004. Of course, my determination of "okay" is relative to price.

With an entry level of $450 and more compelling versions with inlays crossing the $600 line, my expectations will have risen with the price and the formula for justifying the expense reflects it. I feel the same way about minor issues with fit and finish. On a $50 knife, I might not care or might just try to fix it myself. On a $500 knife, I'll send it back if it isn't perfect.

 

[ChazzyP]

This is a thing, and I've certainly picked up knives in various steels just because I didn't have a knife in that steel.

I also carry budget knives on a regular basis and that's okay. Heck, 14C28N has been a regular part of my carry life since 2004. Of course, my determination of "okay" is relative to price.

With an entry level of $450 and more compelling versions with inlays crossing the $600 line, my expectations will have risen with the price and the formula for justifying the expense reflects it. I feel the same way about minor issues with fit and finish. On a $50 knife, I might not care or might just try to fix it myself. On a $500 knife, I'll send it back if it isn't perfect.

I'm not really gonna argue with you about this as we all have our own opinions on how we value certain steels and what we look for in knives at various price points. I'm always glad to see your posts and hear your thoughts.

I've got any number of pretty expensive pieces in what might well be considered "lesser" steels. Say, just for a few of those, two Shiros in S30V and even one in 440c. Granted, they are older pieces and were bought off the secondary market, but Shiro was offering M390 and Elmax too by the time mine were made. Those knives cut every bit as well as my Bears in M390 and Vanax37, and all my knives need sharpening at some point. I think frequency and manner of use has as much to do with it as edge retention. Sharp & Fiery 's point about how many knives most of us have relative to loss of steel to sharpening is well taken.

Shiro also used RWL34 early on. Made by Damasteel it's a powder metallurgy steel (RSP process) and AB describes its hardness for the iMamba at R59. That's equivalent to CRK's older heat treat which was fine enough for equivalently priced Sebenzas for many years. I'm glad I've still got a bunch of those as well as my iMamba which shares much of the same design language as well as a South African heritage. To each his own....

 

[smithkzn]

Nothing wrong with RWL-34 in my opinion. We all have so many knives that I highly doubt we would ever use one blade and sharpen it to extinction. Haha.

Also we must remember that steels readily available in SA are the ones to use. Importing large amounts of USA steels will drive the price of the knives upwards.

Oh please, oh please don’t go to magnacut.

I have some of my grandfathers knives - sharpened to nothing!

 

[smithkzn]

This is a thing, and I've certainly picked up knives in various steels just because I didn't have a knife in that steel.

I also carry budget knives on a regular basis and that's okay. Heck, 14C28N has been a regular part of my carry life since 2004. Of course, my determination of "okay" is relative to price.

With an entry level of $450 and more compelling versions with inlays crossing the $600 line, my expectations will have risen with the price and the formula for justifying the expense reflects it. I feel the same way about minor issues with fit and finish. On a $50 knife, I might not care or might just try to fix it myself. On a $500 knife, I'll send it back if it isn't perfect.

Alas they’re making $400 knives in China. I watchlisted a Elishewitz Ek integral on Knifecenter this morning. Went back to preorder and saw where it was made! No thanks. Can’t they charge $50’or $100 more and make the darn things in USA?!

 

[Chronovore]

Alas they’re making $400 knives in China. I watchlisted a Elishewitz Ek integral on Knifecenter this morning. Went back to preorder and saw where it was made! No thanks. Can’t they charge $50’or $100 more and make the darn things in USA?!

While I like to see domestic manufacturing and can justify a small price increase for it, I don't have a problem with knives being made in China if the price and quality are right. As a coated titanium integral in M390 with brass hardware and a leather sheath, I suppose the EK Integral is priced fairly but I don't know. I also don't know how much higher the price would be if it was made in the USA or how that would affect sales projections for what it is.

AFAIK, the iMamba from Arno Bernard is made in South Africa.

 

[smithkzn]

While I like to see domestic manufacturing and can justify a small price increase for it, I don't have a problem with knives being made in China if the price and quality are right. As a coated titanium integral in M390 with brass hardware and a leather sheath, I suppose the EK Integral is priced fairly but I don't know. I also don't know how much higher the price would be if it was made in the USA or how that would affect sales projections for what it is.

AFAIK, the iMamba from Arno Bernard is made in South Africa.

I’m very happy with iMamba being South African. I’m South African living overseas. I just try limit buying Chinese production as far as possible. The CCP is clearly strategically manoeuvring against the West over the long term. If I can have my very small protest I will try.

I quite like how Spyderco do it. They obviously have to make knives in different production countries for cost reasons (it must be terribly expensive manufacturing in USA). But they give you options with USA, Japan, Taiwan etc. I really appreciate that.

 

[Sharp & Fiery]

I have some of my grandfathers knives - sharpened to nothing!

And this brings up a thought that I have been contemplating. I have my Dad’s knife and a couple from both my grandfathers that have been sharpened almost to nothing as well. They are very cool to have and sentimental to me.

With the collections we all amass these days…what will our children want when we go? Probably the one we used most, the one they all saw us use. The pristine ones will be sold off by our kin because, possibly, in their minds, they weren’t important enough to use.

Just food for thought.

 

[smithkzn]

And this brings up a thought that I have been contemplating. I have my Dad’s knife and a couple from both my grandfathers that have been sharpened almost to nothing as well. They are very cool to have and sentimental to me.

With the collections we all amass these days…what will our children want when we go? Probably the one we used most, the one they all saw us use. The pristine ones will be sold off by our kin because, possibly, in their minds, they weren’t important enough to use.

Just food for thought.

Excellent point. While they are young they will fool around with them and break and loose them like I did. Best to keep the sentimental stuff for when they’re older.

 

[Tsujigiri]

Didn’t even see that! Looks gross to me… cost cutting…
hopefully the order I placed a few weeks back will still be the old style.

I'm really late to this, but how would the skeletonized blade cut costs? You can machine the old fuller by just angling an end mill in from the side in one pass. The new design would require a much smaller diameter tool to get those tight radii at the base, which would necessitate lower feedrates. Plus you're removing a lot more material, and blade steel is one of the more difficult materials to machine. To me, the new design looks much more costly and time consuming to make.

 

[Danny Linguini]

I'm really late to this, but how would the skeletonized blade cut costs? You can machine the old fuller by just angling an end mill in from the side in one pass. The new design would require a much smaller diameter tool to get those tight radii at the base, which would necessitate lower feedrates. Plus you're removing a lot more material, and blade steel is one of the more difficult materials to machine. To me, the new design looks much more costly and time consuming to make.

Just guessing here … but I think the cut for the skeletonized blade is probably done when the overall blade shape is cut from stock, then finished later. Waterjets can make some pretty intricate cuts. If anything, it’s probably cheaper than machining in a fuller.

 

[Tsujigiri]

Just guessing here … but I think the cut for the skeletonized blade is probably done when the overall blade shape is cut from stock, then finished later. Waterjets can make some pretty intricate cuts. If anything, it’s probably cheaper than machining in a fuller.

Hmm I like how you're thinking, but the new cutout is also chamfered on both sides, which the old fuller doesn't appear to be. Again, due to the narrow interior corners, this would require a small diameter tool. Also, chamfering in general is pretty time intensive; it can nearly double the machining time on a part. So even if the main cutout is done by waterjet, which a small shop like this might not have access to, the machining time alone should be more costly on the new design.

 

[smithkzn]

While I like to see domestic manufacturing and can justify a small price increase for it, I don't have a problem with knives being made in China if the price and quality are right. As a coated titanium integral in M390 with brass hardware and a leather sheath, I suppose the EK Integral is priced fairly but I don't know. I also don't know how much higher the price would be if it was made in the USA or how that would affect sales projections for what it is.

AFAIK, the iMamba from Arno Bernard is made in South Africa.

I am South African ;-) Lived down the road from Chris Reeve before he abandoned ship for US. Very mature knife making scene in South Africa, excellent engineers. I suppose I have a general thing against China’s politics. The people are great, as are most everyday citizens everywhere; certainly China’s production and industry is world class and very well priced. It’s the darn politics I try not fund. Probably because my country was destroyed by Marxist politics.