I see u troll just about every MT thread talking about the Matrix/777 issue. But I have heard ZT accused of ripping off an MT design.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/856679-Bradley-ZT-amp-Protech-OTF-Knives-from-2011-Blade-Show In this bladeforums thread I posted it appears that ZT may have ripped off the scarab at one point. I don't see this talked about much or taken into consideration and
I don't know the back story or the resolution but there may be two sides to this strange and seemingly rare spat in the knife industry that ZT and MT have with each other. I would personally like to know the facts since every MT thread on this forum has a totally thread derailing dump taken on it.
There isn't much of a back story. ZT made two prototypes of an OTF that looked somewhat similar to a Scarab. The design was ultimately scrapped. Marfione apparantly flipped his lid because I guess he feels he created the automatic OTF and that no other company may build one without his say so. Just a glimpse into his crazy.
Not to take this further off point but yes it happened and it was a crappy situation. But the fact is that it has either been handled or is being handled and IIRC it was asked that we stop bringing it up. I am sure MT will be taken to task by Kai's legal dept if there is legal recourse.
Back on point, I guess I am just not a fan of AO. Seriously thinking about de-assisting my new Cryo. I don't like the lack of control on opening. Maybe I'm just a control freak.
So we just sweep it under the rug and forget that it ever happened? Negative. I refuse to let it go and I will bring up Microtech's blatant theft of the ZT0777 every chance I have. I can be
asked to stop, but I won't until the mods feel it necessary to ban me. I will not let anyone forget about the designs that MT has stolen as long as they continue to make knives.
#1 You keep saying that MT has stolen 'designs' plural. The only thing that I have heard of is the Matrix/777 so is it designs or just a design.
#2 In that short two page thread that I posted of a ZT knife that probably would have been popular one poster calls the knife out as a copy and another says that the internals were completely interchangeable. I find it really interesting that ZT did not release this knife. It is time that this all this dirty laundry gets cleaned.
#1 - Marfione stole the SnG design from Strider and made a small batch of knives that they sold at the Vegas Gathering a couple years back. They had no permission from Strider knives to do so, but did it anyway. This knife was the predecessor to the Select Fire and used the same opening mechanism. They changed the SnG design a little bit and the Select Fire was born.
That Cobra OSS looks exactly like a Mikov doesn't it? No permission to use that design either.
The 0777 was just blatant and it was Tony being bitter and petty about the OTF prototypes from the year before. There was backlash (obviously) and they decided to change the design a bit and finally release the Whaleshark that everyone had been expecting years earlier. Seems to be par for the course, tweak the stolen design just a bit so that it isn't so blatant.
Let's not get into the bridges that were burned between Marfione and every major knife maker that he collaborated with. Why do you think that the LCC and ATCF designs have not been revisited when they are such popular designs?
#2 - Internals to all DA OTF knives are very similar. The same basic internal design has been used on DA OTFs for as long as they've been around. MT moved the location of the actuation switch. Groundbreaking...
I was really into MT's when I really got into knives. Once I heard all the dirt I just couldn't buy MT knives anymore in good conscience. I wouldn't buy from them if they were offering buy 1 get 4 free.
