Liong Mah Designs - Warrior One : Built by Reate Knives *Updated with Video

Rival1314

Rival1314

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Aug 17, 2012
Messages
1,424
Hey all, havent seen anyone post about this one yet, and I wanted to get the discussion started on the new offering by Liong Mah/Reate knives. I find this to be an interesting project that really blurs the line between production and mid tech knives. I received mine yesterday, from the first shipment direct from Liong, and I have to say....I'm very impressed. I have handled Reate knives before, and while I like the quality and materials they never really blew me away. Liong's design seems to really help take their production skills and show off something really special. Since this is a limited run knife being sold by Liong it could be called a mid-tech offering....

[video=youtube;qJrJqs_hT2M]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJrJqs_hT2M[/video]

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Regarding the knife & design. You are looking at 3.5in blade, s35vn steel, full ti frame lock flipper, standoff construction, running on bearings. One thing that really impresses me is how much blade is packed into that handle. Its 4.25in handle, 7.75in overall....that is a tight package:-) I'll take some comparison pics and do a video review to show off more details soon, but the fit and finish are quite nice. I like the kwaiken like profile of the blade, and the lines of the beveling really flow in the overall design. It features hidden blade stops instead of an internal stop pin, which is a unique setup that seems to work quite well. The ergos are really great and fills my hand perfectly (I'm a size M glove). The clip is milled and tip up only (perfect for me), and it rides great in the pocket. It ships with an embroidered zipper pouch, decal, and Liong's card. So far, after just 24hrs with this knife I'm very pleased. Reate did a great job in executing this design. It flips strong and hard with a light switch motion....this is not a push button design.

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I'll update this original post with the video review when its ready....in the meantime I'd love to see your pics and hear your experiences so far...
 
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Thank you for the write up and info.
A gorgeous elegant and simple knife!
I have to say, a bit over priced though? Is it not. They offer more machining and same materials in the other knives they offer for much less money.
 
BellaBlades said:
Thank you for the write up and info.
A gorgeous elegant and simple knife!
I have to say, a bit over priced though? Is it not. They offer more machining and same materials in the other knives they offer for much less money.
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I do agree that the price is a bit high...this can be said of all reate knives. Though this is not standard production, if Im not mistaken I believe Liong commissioned the build similar to how other makers outsource a design, therefore i look at it more as a mid-tech offering. From that perspective the price is lower than others. Small batch orders of knives will always be priced higher than a production model....I will however admit that I got in on the pre-order offering direct through Liong, and there was a bit of a discount which made the purchase easier to swallow. If this were a full production knife being mass produced I would expect it to be about $100 less.
 
There is one on the exchange for sale. The LMD Warrior With the 4" blade is gorgeous.
 
I saw the Liong Mah Design Warrior One Production Titanium Flipper manufactured by Reate on the GPK website a few days ago. It looks like a nice offering and I like Reate's quality.

The blade length listed is 3.37" (0.15" thick). I thought the price of $350 was too high from GPK. Did you pay less direct from Liong Mah?
 
RamZar said:
I thought the price of $350 was too high from GPK. Did you pay less direct from Liong Mah?
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yes, he offered some preorder slots on instagram about 4-5 weeks sgo. It was $50 less with free shipping. Still a bit steep, but I've always liked Liongs designs and was eager to get in on this run. If it helps fund future builds for him, all the better:-)

Also...there is no Reate branding on the knife at all...just Liong Mah Designs
 
Rival1314 said:
yes, he offered some preorder slots on instagram about 4-5 weeks sgo. It was $50 less with free shipping. Still a bit steep, but I've always liked Liongs designs and was eager to get in on this run. If it helps fund future builds for him, all the better:-)
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Thanks. I look at the Reate Hills which is a bigger flipper with the same materials and quality for $200 so I think this Liong design should be in the $250 range.

Rival1314 said:
Also...there is no Reate branding on the knife at all...just Liong Mah Designs
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Designed by Liong and manufactured by Reate. I bet the quality and smooth bearings flipper action is reminiscent of most Reate flippers.

I have 5 Reate flippers.
 
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RamZar said:
Thanks. I look at the Reate Hills which is a bigger flipper with the same materials and quality for $200 so I think this Liong design should be in the $250 range.
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I would agree with you for the most part....except the Reate Hills is one but ugly knife in my opinion....I'm willing to pay a little more for a quality design;-) I would much prefer this to be a ZT offering and price!
 
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Rival1314 said:
I would agree with you for the most part....except the Reate Hills is one but ugly knife in my opinion....I'm willing to pay a little more for a quality design;-) I would much prefer this to be a ZT offering and price!
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Yes. It's that stupid blade shape of Hills! You take a much better blade shape of say Horizon-C for the Hills and it's a vast improvement in aesthetics.

Of course, there should always be a designer profit but I still think the Liong is overpriced.
 
RamZar said:
Of course, there should always be a designer profit but I still think the Liong is overpriced.
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I agree it's defiantly overpriced...but I would venture to guess a lot of us knife nuts have overpaid for one or more knives in their collection;-)
 
asdf12345 said:
$350 is quite steep for that knife, no matter how you cut it.
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For once I totally agree. And I think its also a stretch to call a complete production knife "midtech" just because the designer is selling it exclusively. That would mean midtech has even less meaning that it did which honestly I wasnt aware was possible. I have seen people attribute it to the quality, the price and the production method and now who is selling it. Either way it seems pretty clear that Reate Prices keep going up as the designs get less involved. I simply dont feel the company has earned its stripes to do so. Especially with 0 support here in the states. Im gonna pass. Congrats on the new knife though.
 
I guess I'm in the minority, I think this is a pretty exciting knife. Reate is partnering with a well known designer, and even foregoing their own branding on the knife. I didn't know this one was limited production, I hope I can scrape the cash together in time :o
 
I think in a world where the Zero Tolerance 0392BWBRZ is selling for over $500 on the secondary market, this knife isn't particularly over priced.
 
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