Get me a list of midtechs please

[marcinek]

Bumping for answers.

For you questions or the OP's?

 

[Eagle Scout]

A small list of the semi-production folding knives that could be defined as "midtech" I own (or on the list to own...)

Holt Septer
NCC MK-1/s
Laconico Jasmine
Valence Gamma
Ferrum Forge Archbishop/Masterblaster/Septer
Chaves Redencion
Liong Mah Warriors
Nadeau Typhoon
Curtiss F3
Pena Ti Slipjoint

 

[Mo2]

So Hinderer, CRK, Olamic, aren't because the brand namesake doesn't touch them, and most other production pieces that are sharpened or anodized by a guy that works for a guy with his name on the blade is midtech? Or does it have to be done by the namesake person?

Who at olamic would need to touch the knife to make it midtech?

Were tim britton's knives midtechs? Quartermaster? Mantiss?

CRK is not low batch and I do believe that olamic is midtech. They mod all there knives whether they get scales and blades made in house or outsourced.

Quartermaster and mantis is a scam brand. All made in China. Nothing in USA.

 

[marchone]

Midtech?

 

[Ajack60]

Midtech?

Flipper, if Shirogorov doesn't advertise their knives as mid-techs, then it's not one.
You know when you buy something, and it says " some assembly required ", that's the way I view the term mid-tech. It's a great marketing strategy, but that's about it.

 

[madcap_magician]

I think the best way to define midtech is actually relational rather than in terms of designer or quality.

A midtech is a version of a custom knife design that is streamlined by some level of high-quality factory involvement in production. So parts are manufactured and then assembled and finished by the knifemaker personally, often with simplified, less elaborate designs or materials while still maintaining the custom touch and high quality.

I'll admit this isn't super helpful, because common parlance for midtech is basically all-encompassing of ultra-high quality production manufacture in small batches, and many of those companies, like CRK, Olamic and Reate, use well known knifemakers as designers. But their designs are often specifically for the manufacturing company rather than using the manufacturing company to make production versions of existing custom designs.

So to me the critical components of a midtech are:

1. Factory production of some components that a custom maker would ordinarily make themselves, i.e. initial CNC machining of handle components and/or blades.
2. Hand finishing and assembly of parts by the maker.

 

[morvlorv]

A small list of the semi-production folding knives that could be defined as "midtech" I own (or on the list to own...)

Holt Septer
NCC MK-1/s
Laconico Jasmine
Valence Gamma
Ferrum Forge Archbishop/Masterblaster/Septer
Chaves Redencion
Liong Mah Warriors
Nadeau Typhoon
Curtiss F3
Pena Ti Slipjoint

Thank you, i will check some of these out.

 

[RBid]

This topic has generated more interesting conversation than I expected. The emphasis on defining “midtech” has left me wondering about how the word effects people. Not what it means to them in terms of definition, but what it means to them in terms of specialness or value.

I have a Wayfarer 247 that I love. I enjoy carrying and using the knife. The F&F, design, etc won me over after handling it back to back to back with other high end production, midtech, and custom knives at Blade West. Added to that was hand picking mine out, as I haven’t ever seen the particular configuration before. So, in addition to the value points commonly associated with any high end production piece, there is an added component of rarity/specialness that I connect with. I’m not a person who strives to be a unique and special butterfly through material in my daily life, but Olamic makes it very easy to get a great knife, distinct from others. I have to acknowledge that this particular knife has connected with me in a way that I usually don’t care about.

Rolling that over in my mind, I’m left wondering what feels ‘special’ to others.

 

[Mikel_24]

So, let me get this straight. Basically the diference between production and midtech is that the later is manually assembled by de maker himself?

So we get to pay extra coin for having the screws (let's focus in a screw construction for illustration purposes) turned by THE MAN instead of a plain company worker?

Sounds fishy to me.

 

[Mo2]

So, let me get this straight. Basically the diference between production and midtech is that the later is manually assembled by de maker himself?

So we get to pay extra coin for having the screws (let's focus in a screw construction for illustration purposes) turned by THE MAN instead of a plain company worker?

Sounds fishy to me.

There is so many different definitions of it for so many people.

But it's not fishy at all. Some people buy the maker. They care less about how it was made or what it costs. Some want more than just a Chinese made knife that the maker made. They want maker involvement. It varies for everyone. If there is a demand they do it.

Here's Lucas take on the midtech..
https://knifenews.com/lucas-burnley-weighs-in-on-the-mid-tech-question/

Talk to any maker or collector and you’ll hear a different interpretation of what is or isn’t ‘mid-tech.’ Custom knife maker and designer Lucas Burnleyhas decided to abandon the term completely for his BRNLY Brand products. Burnley’s custom work is still marked by his full name on the blade. But when it comes to BRNLY models, the maker believes that the knife world and the term itself have changed so much that ‘mid-tech’ no longer accurately represents these products.

Originally, Ken Onion coined ‘mid-tech’ to describe a specific run of his Boa model. According to Onion himself, the parts were cut by an outside source, but he performed many of the other knife making processes in-house. “Mid-tech was supposed to let people know that it was made in part by the maker,” Burnley says. “But at this point, it’s gotten such widespread use that it includes products and brands outside of that original definition.”

Burnley feels part of the confusion stems from massive changes in the knife making landscape. Fifteen years ago, affordable CNC, laser cutters/engravers, and 3D printers were thin on the ground. Burnley, who owns a Haas CNC milling machine, says that this tech has come down in price so that small shops and even lone makers can afford them – and thanks to online resources, learn the skills necessary to run them. “Processes that were limited to larger-scale production are now more accessible to smaller craftsmen.”

Does the addition of one or two processes often associated with production automatically disqualify a knife from being called a custom? Some may feel that way, but Burnley thinks not. He never viewed CNC as a means of automation or increased production. Rather, it became a new method for developing his custom work. He treats it has another tool in his repertoire, a skill that he chose to learn himself.

However, Burnley notes that as custom makers are adding these processes to their work, production companies of all sizes are also leveraging custom techniques. Brands like Reate produce hand-ground, hand-rubbed blades. Outfits like Millit and Three Rivers Manufacturing implement multiple manual processes on batches of knives. RJ Martin himself chipped in for the recent TRM Neutron, sharpening each blade himself. ‘Mid-tech’ can now encompass all these situations and more.

So Burnley suggests approaching the problem from the opposite direction. “The big question isn’t ‘What is mid-tech?’ The big question is, ‘What is production?’” He says that production can mean mass production, like a run of 10,000 knives from one of the big brands. But today, it has expanded to also mean a batch of 100 knives from one of the smaller shops. That’s where he sees the BRNLY label falling. “It’s very subjective, but we’ve always strived for transparency,” Burnley explains. “The only area I’m able to accurately comment on is my own little niche. But for us, production is a more definable term. I no longer feel comfortable using the term ‘mid-tech.’”

He does however acknowledge the term’s importance, and the enormity of Ken Onion’s contribution in coining it. “Ken gave something that’s been 100% adopted by the industry.” And no matter what it comes to mean over the years, ‘mid-tech’ will always be part of the community’s lexicon. “The thing about terminology is that once it’s ingrained, it’s hard to remove it – no matter what aspects of the industry it grows to encompass.”

 

[madcap_magician]

So, let me get this straight. Basically the diference between production and midtech is that the later is manually assembled by de maker himself?

So we get to pay extra coin for having the screws (let's focus in a screw construction for illustration purposes) turned by THE MAN instead of a plain company worker?

Sounds fishy to me.

Usually most midtechs under this definition have final finishing done by the maker, which includes final blade grind and sharpening and finishing the handles, not just turning a few screws. The factory work is usually simply cutting parts to rough shape and milling holes or initial bevels. You are also paying for the design, since a midtech design would ordinarily not be otherwise available except as a custom or in the very rare case that a mass producer picks it up.

It's not really paying extra coin, either, the purpose of the midtech is generally to provide a middle ground between the high cost and low availability of the full custom piece and the low cost and high availability of a licensed production design. So midtechs are... gasp... in the middle. Quality and materials are much better than a full production design usually is, but they're less expensive and more available than a completely custom order from the same maker would be. So it's actually paying fewer coins.

Not everything is a conspiracy.

The advent of midtech knives, however you define them, is one of the best things to happen to the knife collecting and using world in the last 15 years.

This topic has generated more interesting conversation than I expected. The emphasis on defining “midtech” has left me wondering about how the word effects people. Not what it means to them in terms of definition, but what it means to them in terms of specialness or value.

I have a Wayfarer 247 that I love. I enjoy carrying and using the knife. The F&F, design, etc won me over after handling it back to back to back with other high end production, midtech, and custom knives at Blade West. Added to that was hand picking mine out, as I haven’t ever seen the particular configuration before. So, in addition to the value points commonly associated with any high end production piece, there is an added component of rarity/specialness that I connect with. I’m not a person who strives to be a unique and special butterfly through material in my daily life, but Olamic makes it very easy to get a great knife, distinct from others. I have to acknowledge that this particular knife has connected with me in a way that I usually don’t care about.

Rolling that over in my mind, I’m left wondering what feels ‘special’ to others.

I always thought of Olamic as a sort of custom production shop. Same base design with a bunch of different customizable options that you can buy direct from the manufacturer. But Olamics are definitely in the same quality level, no matter what you call them.

 

[Someone1]

Let's be honest. The term midtech is bogus. Always has been. It's always been a small maker using another company to do most of the manufacturing while he slaps his name on it after he does what the actual manufacturer won't do.

It's the difference between a sourced bourbon and a bourbon distilled in house. Sure, the sourced bourbon might be bottled and branded by some random company, but it's still not distilled and aged by the company. They'll take anything as long as it meets the required taste profile. Wouldn't matter if it's distilled and aged in China or Kentucky. They'll slap their name on it and add some bs pedigree and call it their own. But it's not. That's a midtech knife. It's not their own. Doesn't make the quality of the bourbon or knife bad. The marketing makes it dishonest. And people should have an issue with the dishonesty.

And yes, Tim Britton, Quartermaster, and Mantis all meet the definition of midtech makers. The outsource the main production then bring the parts in, fit them together, do some random work on them including sharpening, and then engrave their name on them like they made them in Texas or wherever. They didn't. It's a sham. Same with most "midtechs" you can find today.

By the way, Bulleit and Michters are two of my favorite bourbons and they're both sourced. But i don't try to defend that. I won't make up crap to defend midtech producers either. They simply take what someone else made and find a way to justify that they were involved enough in the process to slap their name on the product as if it's theirs.

 

[Someone1]

Why hasn't anyone answered the question:
What would Sal Glesser need to do to produce a midtech?

 

[Mo2]

And yes, Tim Britton, Quartermaster, and Mantis all meet the definition of midtech makers

None of these do anything. They all just get the knives shipped to them and they then box the knives up in usps boxes and ship them.