Here's another great Chad Los Banos design; the M-type. Boker says that this is Chad's entrance into the larger folding world. This one is a bit heavier than I'd like at 4.6 ounces, but it's forgiveable because of the nice design. This knife costs about $43 in stores, and is made in China. It's model number 560. Here are the details...
Handle Details: The M-Type has a very nice handle, which is 4-3/8" long. The handle consists of two liners, one locking, and a black G-10 scale. The frame lock is jimped, although it's a bit stiff. The scale is a nice piece of black G-10, textured much like earlier CLB designs like the Subcom and Trance. The frame is titanium coated and has a grayish color. There are two finger grooves in the handle, one of which rests on the lock. There's a lanyard hole if you want to put something in there. The back of the handle is open so you can blow out debris, and the handle is held together with six (three on each side) Torx (T-6) screws. They're titanium coated, too. A Torx (T-8) screw is for the blade pivot, and it's adjustable for tension. The pocket clip is right hand only, but it's reversible for tip up or tip down carry, and is held in place with two Torx (T-6) screws. The right (locking) side of the frame has three oval cut-outs, probably for weight reduction.
A complaint here... the ball detent in the frame lock makes the knife very hard to open. I disassembled the knife and smoothed the blade pivot area and sanded it down, lubed it, and reassembled. It still required two hands to open. Even using Cutlerylover's "blade flicking" technique didn't work. I eventually got it where I wanted it by disassembling the knife and running a coarse stone over the ball detent until it was good enough to open the knife one-handed, but still hold the blade shut.
Blade Details: The M-Type's blade is 3-5/8" long and made of 440C, and is hollow ground. It's 1/8" thick and has the same titanium coating as the frame. The left side of the blade is marked with the Boker Plus logo, and the CLB logo on the tang. The right side of the blade has "1329" on one side of the thumb stud and "440 C" on the other. The right side tang has "China" lasered on. It has dual tumb studs, but unfortunately, no flipper. A flipper would've really helped on this knife, especially with the opening problem. The back of the blade has jimping so your finger doesn't slip forward when using it. There's a slight recurve shape to the blade, but it's not enough to make sharpening or cutting difficult. The left (non-locking) side of the blade has two washers - a bronze one on top of a nylon one - between it and the frame. The right side has just one bronze bushing. An unsharpened swedge is on the back half of the blade. The blade locks open solidly, and cuts very nicely. It takes a razor edge quickly, and holds it for a reasonable amount of time.
The M-Type is quite a nice knife, and is worth the money. I'd like to know what "1329" on the blade means. You can see it at Boker's website here... http://www.boker.de/us/index.php?c=3000&a=01BO560&s1=type&s2=0&s3=9999&p=&pp=0
Here are some photos of the M-Type...
Back side...
Locking liner...
Back side...
Handle Details: The M-Type has a very nice handle, which is 4-3/8" long. The handle consists of two liners, one locking, and a black G-10 scale. The frame lock is jimped, although it's a bit stiff. The scale is a nice piece of black G-10, textured much like earlier CLB designs like the Subcom and Trance. The frame is titanium coated and has a grayish color. There are two finger grooves in the handle, one of which rests on the lock. There's a lanyard hole if you want to put something in there. The back of the handle is open so you can blow out debris, and the handle is held together with six (three on each side) Torx (T-6) screws. They're titanium coated, too. A Torx (T-8) screw is for the blade pivot, and it's adjustable for tension. The pocket clip is right hand only, but it's reversible for tip up or tip down carry, and is held in place with two Torx (T-6) screws. The right (locking) side of the frame has three oval cut-outs, probably for weight reduction.
A complaint here... the ball detent in the frame lock makes the knife very hard to open. I disassembled the knife and smoothed the blade pivot area and sanded it down, lubed it, and reassembled. It still required two hands to open. Even using Cutlerylover's "blade flicking" technique didn't work. I eventually got it where I wanted it by disassembling the knife and running a coarse stone over the ball detent until it was good enough to open the knife one-handed, but still hold the blade shut.
Blade Details: The M-Type's blade is 3-5/8" long and made of 440C, and is hollow ground. It's 1/8" thick and has the same titanium coating as the frame. The left side of the blade is marked with the Boker Plus logo, and the CLB logo on the tang. The right side of the blade has "1329" on one side of the thumb stud and "440 C" on the other. The right side tang has "China" lasered on. It has dual tumb studs, but unfortunately, no flipper. A flipper would've really helped on this knife, especially with the opening problem. The back of the blade has jimping so your finger doesn't slip forward when using it. There's a slight recurve shape to the blade, but it's not enough to make sharpening or cutting difficult. The left (non-locking) side of the blade has two washers - a bronze one on top of a nylon one - between it and the frame. The right side has just one bronze bushing. An unsharpened swedge is on the back half of the blade. The blade locks open solidly, and cuts very nicely. It takes a razor edge quickly, and holds it for a reasonable amount of time.
The M-Type is quite a nice knife, and is worth the money. I'd like to know what "1329" on the blade means. You can see it at Boker's website here... http://www.boker.de/us/index.php?c=3000&a=01BO560&s1=type&s2=0&s3=9999&p=&pp=0
Here are some photos of the M-Type...
Back side...
Locking liner...
Back side...
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(though it does a decent job, considering thickness and length).