Interesting *original* MTech - it's a Natchez killer from the future

M

meanwhile

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Nov 20, 2005
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After a year or so of making Lynn Thompson regret the bad karma he acquired in copying the Grohman knife, MTech have moved at least two sizes up the bowie from their extremely well reviewed $15 Trailmaster clone, the MT151

http://www.knifetest.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2407

..with this completely orginal (?) Natchez sized bowie:

yhst-16507483819514_2254_79371092


Unlike the Natchez it is full tang and stainless (8Cr13MoV according to one seller.) I can't quite make sense of the features - the swedge is longer than sensible on a worker bowie but it has no guard, and I think a metal file might be needed to tweak contact points on the handle. But at only $50 for a 12 inch bowie that's presumably built to the same standard as the 151, it may prove very possible to live with this knife's faults - and terrifying for other makers of large bowies.
 
Also: doesn't that font look rather Battlestar Galactica? And wasn't there a spaceship in the show called a Raptor? Is someone at MTech a BSG fanboy, or do they just a compulsion to "homage" *someone* with every knife they release in some way?
 
I'm not really a fan, doesn't have a guard. A bowie that big is a fighter IMO, it just doesn't look quite right without one.

Something like this would have been nice:

uqlPmzZ.png


I'd love it if one of these Chinese companies produced something like that in 1095 or a similar carbon steel for the same low price... mmm.
 
Well, I'm confused.

Do you like this knife or not?

And what does the Cold Steel Natchez have to do with it?
 
marcinek said:
Well, I'm confused.

Do you like this knife or not?
Click to expand...

Like it? For what purpose? Plus at the moment I haven't held one, so I know nothing about weight, etc.

I *do* like the MT151 quite a lot as a 9" utility bowie - especially after fixing the problems it inherited from the Trailmaster.

And what does the Cold Steel Natchez have to do with it?
Click to expand...

That they are both bowies of the same size - with pronounced swedges for back cutting. Is there a mystery here?
 
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Goosey said:
I'm not really a fan, doesn't have a guard. A bowie that big is a fighter IMO, it just doesn't look quite right without one.
Click to expand...

For a $50 12" bowie of the same quality of the MT151, I'd accept having to add the guard myself - if I really needed on. I'm more disappointed with the long false edge. Otoh, I doubt I'll ever want to baton anything big enough to require hitting a 12" blade close to the tip, and the swedge probably does help keep weight down. I'd order out of curiousity, but I'm in the UK.
 
meanwhile said:
Like it? For what purpose? Plus at the moment I haven't held one, so I know nothing about weight, etc.

I *do* like the MT151 quite a lot as a 9" utility bowie - especially after fixing the problems it inherited from the Trailmaster.
Click to expand...

OK...I got the impression you were reviewing the knife. More of a preview, I guess. :confused: Is the MT151 similar to the Raptor and used for similar tasks? You keep comparing it to this Raptor.


meanwhile said:
That they are both bowies of the same size - with pronounced swedges for back cutting. Is there a mystery here?
Click to expand...

So's a Randall #12.
 
The knife looks cool, the price seems fair, and it'd probably be OK as a "fighter" (i.e, wall hanger or backpack weight,) but I don't see much in the way of usability. 8Cr and a deep hollow grind aren't the kind of things that most people look for in large choppers. I'd say it's a step in the right direction for Mtech, but they won't be a household name among knife nuts anytime soon.
Condor has similar looking, (but better deigned,) stuff for similar prices.
 
marcinek said:
If it's "of the same quality of the MT151?
Click to expand...

Well, on the plus side, it's pretty thick - 0.24in according to one vendor, 0.275 according to another. If they planned on making a crap knife I don't think they would use such thick stock. Could be worth a shot for $50.

I still think they could have done it better with a couple tweaks, for roughly the same price.
 
Dan57 said:
Condor has similar looking, (but better deigned,) stuff for similar prices.
Click to expand...

Agreed! :D

I do find it interesting that MTech is seemingly pushing towards improving itself though. I remember when the new Taylor-owned Schrade first pushing like that. We got some interesting pieces as a result, some of which have become underdog staples.
 
Hate to say it but my mTech 151 that looked and felt so sturdy out of the box broke in half after just a few minutes of carefully baton-ing some dry and well seasoned firewood. Snapped clean right in half just in front of the hilt on my second tap. I'm used to baton-ing and it was not newbie operator error. I'd bought it based on the great reviews but my experience was very disappointing. It split two small pieces of firewood then broke on the third. The exposed steel at the break has the grey sandpaper texture of broken 'pot metal'. Crap steel. Very disappointing.

No one was injured, but I can imagine that happening under other circumstances. I'm only out $15 but I can't describe the 151 as anything more than pure junk, however attractively presented.

Buyer beware.
 
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