I was one of the people who joined the rush to obtain one of Newt's Ti Tigers a few weeks back. Actually, I ordered two, one w/ serrations, the other plain, and threw in an NRG to boot. I received my order yesterday and couldn't be more pleased to say that I received exactly what I expected and more. Ifyou visit here often, you'll recall my fellow forumite Chiro75's review of this interesting little poker. Well, here's my take on it.
The Ti Tiger (Newt calls it the TT), is made of very thin Titanium stock, I'd say 1/16" and like someone said, the thing flexes, but not too much. Newt's known for his purpose built knives, and this model is no exception. It is a low profile, easily concealable, magnetically undetectable (I understand that there's a slight controversy about Ti's detectability) stabber. As the stock is so thin, stabbing into anything soft or moderately hard (hey, he didn't make this thing to stab 2x4's so I didn't test it out like that) yields no resistance. Add a modified tanto tip similar to Elishewitz' Stryker, and you can easily bury the whole two inches of blade into some jerk. Which brings me to my next point: B/c it is so easy to stab, and b/c it's so light, if the TT hits a bone early into the stab, or something else of similar resistance (the other guy's neck knife sheath, maybe?), there is a great possibility of the knife jarring from your hand and sliding forward onto the blade itself. There is a finger notch-looking cutout on the blade, but after some observation, that is a function that serves to retain the knife in its sheath, it is NOT an index notch.
So what did I do? Took the Dremel to it, of course. Now both Ti Tigers have index notches right before the paracord. This serves a few purposes, actually: It prevents slippage; it makes it quicker to index on the draw; and it eliminates the "hot spot" of the originally straight portion of the handle. Now I know that if you stab someone w/ this, you'll probably run away after doing so. Sorry, this isn't a sterile version, it's got Newt's name stamped directly on it. What does that mean? Is some guys and his buddies try to mug me and my girlfriend, and I stab the jerk w/ it and run away, those guys might take that knife to the police. When the cops get ahold of it, they'll track Newt down, and seeing as how there were something like 30 of the marked TT's left, they'll narrow down the odds and eventually it'll bite me back in the ass--just so I could save it in the first place. Now that may seem paranoid, but hey, better safe than sorry. But that's why the knife's so thin, I think--so you can poke a few times and then w/draw and get the hell out.
After cutting the notches into the handles, I proceeded to sand out the discolord finish w/ a Scotch Brite pad. Smooth and w/ a dull shine to them, I inspected the cord wrap. Nicely done! I remember someone saying how the wrap they got was sloppy looking, and I remember when I got my G-45, I was also disappointed, but on these TT's and especially the NRG, everything was tight. The wrap is also quite comfortable, and the rounded handle butt sits in the palm nicely as well. W/ the finger notch, the knife naturally indexes into a stabbing grip.
Now, the sheath. As this is supposed to be a non-magnetic knife, the sheath has no reivets, it's just folded Kydex. A note on the the little flier that came w/ the knives said that neck knives are meant to come out of the side of the sheath, and that's why, I guess, the TT's sheat was open on the side. Well, I fixed that, since I the prospect of cutting my own shirt in the process of drawing fails to appeal to me. I sealed it w/ a lighter and sanded and smoothed it out. After that, I rounded off the top (spine) portion of the sheath where the knife enters. I did this b/c if I decide to carry the thing in my pocket or somewhere else that a quick draw might be dangerous, I want to be able to use the rounded portion as a stud to push off of w/ my thumb, thereby unsheathing the knife inconspicuously and safely.
Finally, I ran the straight edge over my DMT medium file. I did this w/ the unserrate portion of the other one, and both cut just almost as well as 440-A or AUS-6. It'll slice paper, but where it really shines is slashing. I took it to some cardboard and it made its mark, especially the serrated version, which is why I got that done, anyway. Overall, I wouldn't, of course, consider these things prime candidates for utility, but you and I both know that's not what they're made for. Of course, the straight edge opens letters nicely.
All in all, I like these knives, they're everything that everyone says Newt's knives are. Shipping was no problem, he answered all my questions, and best of all, didn't charge an arm and a leg. However, while many people, myself included, agree that his knives are purpose-built, I'm going to put myself out on a limb and say that, in my experience, that design philosophy hasn't included handling comfort. No, wait, let me finish. This is one of the primary reasons why I like his stuff. Newt's knives (at least his neck knives) are like cars you can supe up. They come in a "stock" shape and finish, and once you get them, you can modify them to personally fit your needs. It's kinda like a kit you finish yourself. They're cheap (not in the bad way), and so you don't feel bad about regrinding the blade, cutting in a notch here, modifying the sheath there, etc. And yet, underlying all those mods, you still have an extremely functional knife for its intended purpose. B/c of this appeal and functionality, I am very eager to do business w/ him again. I'm considering an SOP and a Woo, what do you guys think?
The Ti Tiger (Newt calls it the TT), is made of very thin Titanium stock, I'd say 1/16" and like someone said, the thing flexes, but not too much. Newt's known for his purpose built knives, and this model is no exception. It is a low profile, easily concealable, magnetically undetectable (I understand that there's a slight controversy about Ti's detectability) stabber. As the stock is so thin, stabbing into anything soft or moderately hard (hey, he didn't make this thing to stab 2x4's so I didn't test it out like that) yields no resistance. Add a modified tanto tip similar to Elishewitz' Stryker, and you can easily bury the whole two inches of blade into some jerk. Which brings me to my next point: B/c it is so easy to stab, and b/c it's so light, if the TT hits a bone early into the stab, or something else of similar resistance (the other guy's neck knife sheath, maybe?), there is a great possibility of the knife jarring from your hand and sliding forward onto the blade itself. There is a finger notch-looking cutout on the blade, but after some observation, that is a function that serves to retain the knife in its sheath, it is NOT an index notch.
So what did I do? Took the Dremel to it, of course. Now both Ti Tigers have index notches right before the paracord. This serves a few purposes, actually: It prevents slippage; it makes it quicker to index on the draw; and it eliminates the "hot spot" of the originally straight portion of the handle. Now I know that if you stab someone w/ this, you'll probably run away after doing so. Sorry, this isn't a sterile version, it's got Newt's name stamped directly on it. What does that mean? Is some guys and his buddies try to mug me and my girlfriend, and I stab the jerk w/ it and run away, those guys might take that knife to the police. When the cops get ahold of it, they'll track Newt down, and seeing as how there were something like 30 of the marked TT's left, they'll narrow down the odds and eventually it'll bite me back in the ass--just so I could save it in the first place. Now that may seem paranoid, but hey, better safe than sorry. But that's why the knife's so thin, I think--so you can poke a few times and then w/draw and get the hell out.
After cutting the notches into the handles, I proceeded to sand out the discolord finish w/ a Scotch Brite pad. Smooth and w/ a dull shine to them, I inspected the cord wrap. Nicely done! I remember someone saying how the wrap they got was sloppy looking, and I remember when I got my G-45, I was also disappointed, but on these TT's and especially the NRG, everything was tight. The wrap is also quite comfortable, and the rounded handle butt sits in the palm nicely as well. W/ the finger notch, the knife naturally indexes into a stabbing grip.
Now, the sheath. As this is supposed to be a non-magnetic knife, the sheath has no reivets, it's just folded Kydex. A note on the the little flier that came w/ the knives said that neck knives are meant to come out of the side of the sheath, and that's why, I guess, the TT's sheat was open on the side. Well, I fixed that, since I the prospect of cutting my own shirt in the process of drawing fails to appeal to me. I sealed it w/ a lighter and sanded and smoothed it out. After that, I rounded off the top (spine) portion of the sheath where the knife enters. I did this b/c if I decide to carry the thing in my pocket or somewhere else that a quick draw might be dangerous, I want to be able to use the rounded portion as a stud to push off of w/ my thumb, thereby unsheathing the knife inconspicuously and safely.
Finally, I ran the straight edge over my DMT medium file. I did this w/ the unserrate portion of the other one, and both cut just almost as well as 440-A or AUS-6. It'll slice paper, but where it really shines is slashing. I took it to some cardboard and it made its mark, especially the serrated version, which is why I got that done, anyway. Overall, I wouldn't, of course, consider these things prime candidates for utility, but you and I both know that's not what they're made for. Of course, the straight edge opens letters nicely.
All in all, I like these knives, they're everything that everyone says Newt's knives are. Shipping was no problem, he answered all my questions, and best of all, didn't charge an arm and a leg. However, while many people, myself included, agree that his knives are purpose-built, I'm going to put myself out on a limb and say that, in my experience, that design philosophy hasn't included handling comfort. No, wait, let me finish. This is one of the primary reasons why I like his stuff. Newt's knives (at least his neck knives) are like cars you can supe up. They come in a "stock" shape and finish, and once you get them, you can modify them to personally fit your needs. It's kinda like a kit you finish yourself. They're cheap (not in the bad way), and so you don't feel bad about regrinding the blade, cutting in a notch here, modifying the sheath there, etc. And yet, underlying all those mods, you still have an extremely functional knife for its intended purpose. B/c of this appeal and functionality, I am very eager to do business w/ him again. I'm considering an SOP and a Woo, what do you guys think?
