Brad Duncan Manual Whip

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plasmaphase

Joined
Aug 14, 2001
Messages
70
I ordered Brad's Manual Whip directly from Brad as a result of his post Monday morning (two days ago) in "The Knife Exchange" section of BladeForums.com. It arrived today. You can see a picture in Brad's post here:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=167202

I am absolutely amazed by this knife! The picture doesn't come close to giving an accurate portrayal. First of all, the knife and blade are much bigger than I expected -- at it's widest point, the blade width is a full inch. Although the post puts the blade length at 3&1/4 in., it is actually almost 3&1/2 inches. The OAL length is just over 9 inches. Fit and finish are superb. The back edge of the blade is rounded by beveled edges which have been sanded, polished and bead blasted. The hollow grind profile of the blade tapers to a thin, precision, nearly flat portion, which makes up the final 3/16 inches (approx) of blade width adjacent the cutting edge.

The carbon fiber scales perfectly match the thick titanium liners, which are joined together by seven pins at an otherwise open back. The folder handle takes up nearly my entire hand and has a comfortably large weight with good balance.

Brad's description of his new Pivot/Bearing system as "super smooth" is accurate. On his website, he says the blade opens as fast as an auto -- I agree completly. Holding the knife closed, with the blade backside pointing to the ground, I can easily open the blade by snapping the pivot end of the folder/handle either in a downward or upward direction. The knife sounds an authoritative, metallic "snap" as the blade pops open.

This is one great knife!
 
Congrats on the new knife! I have admired Brad's work for many months now and am on the verge of ordering one of his knives soon. Does anyone know if all his new D/A's and manuals incorporate the new Pivot/Bearing system?? I am wondering if the liner is recessed enough, or Positioned in some way so accidental disengaging is not a concern or has plenty of tension to keep it in place? It sounds like Brad builds his knives more than strong enough and have not read one negative comment on his work. I just need to be resured as I don't have funds to buy a different knife if not totally confident in the lock up and have not had the oppurtunity to see Brad's work in person, unfortunately.
 
Ed, I'll give you my thoughts on your questions. Hopefully you'll also get further replies, from other owners of Brad's knives and/or Brad himself.

The linerlock seems quite strong. The knife doesn't close when I hit the back of the blade against a table top. There's a lot of tension applied by the liner to the blade -- if I open the blade very slowly, there is a loud "clink" as the liner snaps into the detent on the back end of the blade.

By the way, I made two technical errors in my review, the OAL is eight, not nine inches; and the opposing liners/bolsters are joined by eight, not seven, pins. Technicalities aside, the more I use the knife, the more I love it. It is my daily carry. I've shown it to a number of different people, and to a person, they are amazed by the speed and smoothness of opening -- by the sharpness of the blade --and by the overall feel and quality of the knife.

I did talk to Brad briefly about the knife and I'm pretty sure he said that he is using the new bearing design in all of his new knives; but you should have Brad verify this.

PlasmaPhase
 
PlasmaPhase, Thank you for your reply. I checked with an online vendor that has several of Brad's knives for sale and they also confirmed that the new knives all have the smooth bearing system. It is neat that you got such a good deal on your knife and that is was carried for a time by the maker.
 
Thanks Ed. I really lucked out on this knife! I'm considering changing my forum-name to "Mr.Lucky(Knock on Wood)"

PlasmaPhase
 
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