Blade-Tech Mouse II vs. Al Mar SLB vs. ?

M

macarthu

Joined
Oct 5, 2003
Messages
59
Does anyone care to comment on either of these knives? I'd like to get high quality small production folder but am having a hard time deciding between these two. Basically my parameters are semi-traditional design, ~2" blade, flat grind, pocket clip and quality manufacturing/materials. I know I can trust the quality of the Al Mar construction and the design is more pleasing. On the other hand, I prefer a lockback to a locking liner, and the high flat grind and blade shape of the Wegner suggests better slicing capabilities. Any thoughts on these two or any others I might be forgetting. My price range is $60-70 delivered. Thanks

multimedia_1956_1068832339864.JPG


knifesite_1769_1734228
 
I've owned both of these but sold them. I would probably give the edge to the SLB for construction quality. The Bladetech I owned had a bit more vertical blade play than I liked. That said, the Bladetech comes with an S30V blade, a steel that is a marked upgrade from the SLB's AUS 8. My advice would be to order a Bladetech being prepared to to ship it back if it turns out to be not quite right.
 
I can't comment on the Mouse other than to say I've heard good things.

The Al Mar on the other hand I can say is a great little knife. Don't worry for a second about the liner lock, the knife and lock are constructed as if it were a full size blade. As far as slicing ability the SLB has a thin enough blade to do a fine job.

The only thing I didn't like about it was the thumb stud, it was to long and had a square shoulder. I took it off, chucked it into my hand drill, and filed it down shorter and rounded the shoulder to be a little easier on the thumb. That's a personal preference thing and I don't know if they are using the same stud these days(I got this one shortly after they came out).

:)
 
I own both.
The Al Mar is lightweight and it does NOT feel like a smaller SERE2000, but rather like a small gentleman's knife. Its build quality is first-class, and it is beautiful. But it is not a small SERE as I would have liked it to be.

The Mouse 2 is more of a heavy-duty small knife. You feel that you can do anything with this knife, and with its flat-ground blade, it gives an even better cutting performance than the Mouse 1. You cannot escape the slight blade play of the regular lockback, but then you can trust it to play the part of a larger knife.

Great knives, but different character into each one of them.
 
My wife carries the mouse2. I have one on order for my watch pocket.

I'd rathr have the lockback. On the mouse2, it has finger serrations on the front and rear of the opener hole so you can hold it to skin/do fine detail work and also in normal mode.

Thats a nice feature.

Tim Wegner put his own experience of skinning as a major hunter of big bruins into this knife.

I know it would do [ skin ]a big fat bruin with no problems.

Great little knife. When one has a choice between linerlock and lockback, the lockback gets the nod. It's a stronger lock design and less prone to failure. The lock mechanism has withstood the test of time for hard use.

Brownie
 
Thanks for all the helpful replies. I was already starting to lean toward the Mouse II and think I will go ahead and place the order. Will let you know how it works when it arrives.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top