It's official, the demise of the factory 52100 blade!

B

blademan 13

Joined
Jan 25, 2000
Messages
4,492
Well, it's official. The Marble's website has recently been updated to inform the world that they will be replacing their stellar 52100 steel with, get this, STAINLESS! :eek: :eek: :eek: Some generic steel they are calling Alchemite MC. They are not even smart enough to provide any indication of what the hell this stuff is. To bad that somebody didn't clue them in to the fact that it is not the casual user who buys their knives, but rather people who generally know knives and know what works. I am afraid that this is very bad news for any collectors and users of fine, carbon steel production blades. I seriously doubt that I will be buying any of these new knives. Their previous offerings, were IMO, classics. Team this with the fact that many of their handle options have been dropped and I believe that this will be the downfall of Marble's knives. I, for one, am really depressed about this :(
 
This is a totally bogus development! :(

I'm glad I have a couple in the 52100 already.
 
At least we still have the new Blackjacks to pick from. I have one of their new Trail Guides with the sharpened top edge and have been happy with it's performance although it does not have the inherent cutting ability of the Marbles thiner profiled blades.
 
They just lost my business. I'll try to buy up some of the old production stuff, but I have no interest in stainless steel Marbles. This is a sad day for me.
 
Originally posted by Bastid
At least we still have the new Blackjacks to pick from. I have one of their new Trail Guides with the sharpened top edge and have been happy with it's performance although it does not have the inherent cutting ability of the Marbles thiner profiled blades.
Click to expand...

I was under the impression that the Blackjacks were made in the Marble's factory. If this is indeed the case, they may not be very far behind Marble's. I just can't see Marble's continuing to make BJ's blades from 52100 and their own from a lesser steel. i hope that I am totally off base of this theory as it would be nice to see BJ continue to offer this steel. Time will tell I guess.
 
You guys should all send them e-mails. Remember the New Coke....
 
Farewell to a classic line; that's what distinguished Marbles. I'm glad I have a Fieldcraft and two Campcrafts in 52100. I'll be looking for discontinued 52100 blades by Marbles in future, but not their new stuff in stainless mystery steel.
 
I was trying to decide whether to get a Fallkniven F1, a Carbon V Cold Steel Master Hunter or the Marbles Sport 99 with the Micarta handle. I'll get the Marbles now. I should be able to pick up the F1 or Master Hunter any time.

The Sport 99 has a slightly thicker blade based on an RW Loveless design. The newer sports are thinner, have a different design, and will soon be stainless :(

I wish I could afford the 9" drop-point Trailmaker with the green micarta handle...
 
Alchemite MC huh? What the heck is that? This is really to darn bad.

From what I understand Blakjack do not have their blades made by Marble's. Hopefully what I read was correct and we will at least be able to keep getting their knives in 52100.
 
If you guy's want any of the 52100 Marble's I'd start buying them now. I got the feeling the old one's are going to skyrocket in value just like the old Blackjack's did, once word gets around. I'm probably going to lay my hands on a few Woodcraft's while their still around.

I wish I would have bought mine a while back like the little voice in my head told me to:(:). Oh, well that's the way it always happens(anyone remember the Benchmade series 40 balisongs?):).

Sad day for a grand old line.
 
Just in case anyone is interested, below is an email that I received today from Marble's. It doesn't say a whole lot, but does mention that Alchemite is not a stainless.

Mr. Montgomery,

The new steel has a higher content of carbon than the previous 52-100.
It
also contains properties that make the blade stain and rust resistant.
It
is not a stainless blade. We are confident that it will be an
excellent
blade for field use. We continue to hand apply the convex edge to make
our
knives just as sharp as they have ever been.

As for handles; we will continue to offer 2 natural handle materials in
the
standard catalog line; leather and bone. In addition we will be
producing
special factory orders for both our customers and as a factory program
on a
limited basis in quantities of 300 or more. Many of these special
programs
will; I am sure be in a natural handle material.
 
Thanks for the info, Keith.

It is still a little confusing to me. They deny it being a stainless. They say that it is a carbon steel that has properties which make it stain and rust resistant? DUH! What the hell do they think stainless is? If they don't get this simple concept we are definitely in trouble. Just because it has a higher carbon content than 52100 doesn't mean squat. In all fairness, I guess that they could be talking about D2 (which would be OK) or some other high alloy steel that approaches a true stainless, but I rather doubt it. Something is telling me that it is more along the lines of 440C. If it was anything really decent they would have advertised it by it's trade name and not bothered covering up this new mystery steel with a crappy name made up to impress the uninformed. For a company looking to turn a greater profit, you can bet your butt that they haven't spent the money developing any type of new "super" steel. The only real thing that seems to be developing is smoke :rolleyes:
 
Which models were made in 52100? Anyone want to clue me in? I can't seem to find out elsewhere. The photo of my Marbles is just for the heck of it. It seems to have a compass in the butt end. Imagine that.
Thanks
Greg

Found the info on the 52100.
Greg
 
Anyone who is interested in getting Blackjacks in 52100 had better do it as soon as possible. I sent an email to Blackjack Knives inquiring about the discussion concerning Marbles and 52100 being used by Blackjack. Ken Warner answered my email and stated that Marbles will not be making Blackjack Knives. He stated that he will probably be unable to continue to use 52100 because a person must purchase 80,000 lbs. to get competitive prices. He said he would be using a very high carbon steel, cryo tempered, but didn't say which one. I will inquire and see if he will state which one. He also said that the blade geometry will be maintained. For now, Trailguides and Smalls are 52100.
 
is getting out of hand.

pretty soon there will be more names than actual types.

gets really confusing.

my money always goes to the old carbon types I know of. don't trust fancy new names appearing every month.

52100 is a very good steel. deffinitely one of the best.
 
Well Walt, that really is bad newa. I had hoped that what I had heard about Marble's not making Blackjack's blades was true. There is a good chance that if Marble's was making the blades that they will continue to do so. Supposedly Alchemite MC is a very high carbon none stainless steel.
 
I inquired at Blackjack to see if they would name the steel and they answered my email today but did not say which steel they would probably be switching to.
 
I just ordered a Plainsman in 52100 to go with my Bison. I'll probably order another one in 52100 next paycheck just to be on the safe side. So far the prices don't seem to be going up.
 
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