How rare are T-mags?

seelow123

seelow123

Joined
Oct 4, 2008
Messages
4,647
I need a little help guys.

I got offered a T-mag for my benchmade onslaught and at first was very interested until i watched some videos on it and realized that they don't go for that much so i'm not so sure it's worth it. Can you guys enlighten me and let me know if it's a good idea?

I apologize if this is not an appropriate for this forum. I figured you guys know the most abou this knife.
 
Spyderco doesn't give out production figures for anything except Sprint Run knives. However, the T-Mag sold very poorly, so I doubt more than one run of them was made, probably somewhere between 1000 and 1500 pieces.
 
The Deacon said:
Spyderco doesn't give out production figures for anything except Sprint Run knives. However, the T-Mag sold very poorly, so I doubt more than one run of them was made, probably somewhere between 1000 and 1500 pieces.
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I guess people didn't dig the magnet idea very much and that's a shame. If they made one with a linerlock or even a back lock i would be all over that. It's a fantastic looking knife IMO.
 
It is a very nice small knife, but the magnet feature is a flop. i got one, but it sits alone. I don't trust the magnet messing up other gear, even though it isn't strong enough to secure the blade -- in effect, it's a slightly sticky slipjoint.
 
They were sold at mass for 50 dollars each. Most of us ordered several and I have seen them sell for 100 on a regular basis. Mine hangs on my fridge for a quick access blade to open packages. You definately need to use the coil and protect yourself. The magnet is strong enough to hang it on the fridge but definately it does not keep the blade open. As a collector there is value. As a user it is limited.
 
Spyderco sold them on their site for $50 in 08'. The only way to keep the knife open is to keep your forefinger in the choil in front of the blade. No lock!

I sent mine back for a refund.
 
I had one and while the quality and finish was perfect I couldn't get past the magnet lock. I was at a shop last week and saw a Turnbull custom for a boatload of money and it had the magnet lock. Ralph has a cool idea but only for cutting threads off your Sunday duds.
 
The T-Mag, unfortunately, was a flop. An interesting idea that didn't' pan out in actual usage. Originally they were pretty hefty in price, given the materials involved, but were eventually closed-out for $50 a pop (probably at a loss, or at least not much gain). I picked one up at that price, and while the build quality was very nice, the functionality of the mag lock was poor to say the least. Worse than the weakest slipjoint. The magnet was quite strong, but the leverage made the "lock" about as strong as a wet noodle. It's a shame, because if it were made as a slip-it like the UKPK it would have been great. It was beautiful, with a great blade, and sexy carbon fiber handles.

I sold mine for about what I had into it (price +shipping) and was happy.

Babe Ruth might have had 714 home runs, but he also had 1330 stikeouts. Plenty of other legends, Hall of Famers, and future HOFers have had more strikeouts. They're not all winners, and the T-Mag wasn't one.
 
FWIW, a few folks have posted that they replaced the T-Mag's magnet with one that was stronger and oriented differently. They say it improved both closed and open blade retention considerably. Not suggesting that makes the T-Mag is worth more. Just that, at the right price, one might be an interesting piece to tinker with.
 
The worst part about the magnet lock is that if you have a metal desk at home or at work every time you walk to close to it - "thunk" - your pants leg sticks. Same even happened to me getting in and out of my car.
 
I agree with planterz on the slipit idea, it would be phenomenal with a backspring although the ukpk carbon fiber is fairly similar i just love the t-mags blade shape.
 
clockman said:
Spyderco sold them on their site for $50 in 08'. The only way to keep the knife open is to keep your forefinger in the choil in front of the blade. No lock!

I sent mine back for a refund.
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I don't really get this post.

Did you not realize the T-mag didn't have a lock when you bought it? Did you buy it on a whim?
 
With better magnets oriented properly, becomes useable as a VERY light duty gent's folder. I still prefer my beat-up Delica 3 though for any real use.
So not very rare. Great refrigerator magnet though lol.
 
seelow123 said:
I don't really get this post.

Did you not realize the T-mag didn't have a lock when you bought it? Did you buy it on a whim?
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I think what he probably meant was that he still expected it to require a reasonable amount of pressure to close. For example, I don't consider it unreasonable to assume that the blade should remain open if I dropped a regular size marshmallow on its spine from a height of one foot.
 
The Deacon said:
I think what he probably meant was that he still expected it to require a reasonable amount of pressure to close. For example, I don't consider it unreasonable to assume that the blade should remain open if I dropped a regular size marshmallow on its spine from a height of one foot.
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Oh, lord... Here come the marshmallow spine whack tests. ;)

I kept mine, mostly to increase my CF collection. I much prefer other folders for use.
 
It is still listed at spyderco.com at the MSRP of $200 knife. It is US made, S30V and carbon fiber. Before Spyderco dumped them at $50 it was selling on-line at about 120 - 150.

If the magnetic lock is too loose for your use, you can tighten the pivot pin and it will be a lot harder to close during use.

It will pass the marshmellow test with the magnetic lock.

It's biggest problem is when it is clipped to your pants, it picks up the keys off the bottom of your pocket.
 
I'm interested in one for various reasons. Anyone willing to part with one for a reasonable price, given that most folks aren't happy with them based on above posts? PM me.
 
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