Mad Dog Knives?

oh i bet ya get a reply or 2 to this post lol...........

imho mad dogs stuff is really pretty good, i think in some cases they might be a little overpriced though, but most will agree they are good knives, good sheaths to IIRC.
 
I'd say the prices were more Busse than SwampRat. Personally I would take a SwampRat or Busse over a MadDog.
 
The prices are higher than Busse, but I think they are considered custom knives. . .

I have read reports of bad customer service, and brittle blades prone to chipping not covered against even accidental damage. Then you have Mad Dog who is quite the character of legend if you believe what he says about himself.
 
From the few reviews I've read, they don't compare favorably to a Scrapyard or Swamprat knife. There are reports of them snapping in half trying to do what a Rat can. The maker himself is also prone to name-calling and temper tantrums at the first sign of anyone questioning the durability of his knives. (or his "interesting" background). The warranty is also sketchy, as he tends to determine replacement based on whether he likes you or not.

If you're picking between Swamprat, Scrapyard, and Mad Dog. I would definately go with SR or SY (or Busse). I have Three Scrapyard knives and I don't think I could break 'em if I tried (Well, maybe :D ). Their warranty is unconditional for the life of the knife, not just the original buyer.
 
Mad Dog Uses a 01 Tool steel heat treated to hold an edge and Chromes it to protect it,. He is also credited as the first Maker to use G-10 (which needs no sales pitch from me) and is also credited as the man who brought kydex to the knife world. Xf-7 is also a MD creation.

Hype..... not really. Is he opinionated? Sure. Most men who believe in what they do are. No super stainless steels, just tried and true performance. As far as Polish tree danglers being covered by warranty. :rolleyes: Can you blame him?
 
Fan of Steel said:
Mad Dog Uses a 01 Tool steel heat treated to hold an edge and Chromes it to protect it,. He is also credited as the first Maker to use G-10 (which needs no sales pitch from me) and is also credited as the man who brought kydex to the knife world. Xf-7 is also a MD creation.

Hype..... not really. Is he opinionated? Sure. Most men who believe in what they do are. No super stainless steels, just tried and true performance. As far as Polish tree danglers being covered by warranty. :rolleyes: Can you blame him?
Click to expand...

Blame him for not covering their knives under warranty? No. He's the maker, he decides what the warranty is, he decides when it applies and when it doesn't. Can I blame him for the kind of derogatory, elitist, racist comments on his forum that he was not only doing nothing to stop, but actually participating in himself, in regards to the video post you are referring to? Absolutely. I remember that thread well, and what could have been a discussion about the relative performance strengths that come from different blade/edge geometries, heat treatments, materials, etc. was instead an insult-fest captained by a knifemaker that had, up until that point, been very interesting to me. Actually, it wasn't long after that thread that I sold my MDK TUSK--it was very well made and a great outdoor tool, but when I picked it up I just couldn't help but think of a punk kid who, if perhaps he'd been slapped a few more times, might have actually turned into an adult.
 
The prices are higher than I would pay for them, but I like quite a few of the Maddog designs. I don't care for the hard chrome plating they do to their blades. Their handles are extremely comfortable for my hand.
 
Well, I can only speak for the Pygmy ATAK, which has been my duty (military) EDC for the past 8 years, and has served me well and in several different countries and is currently with me here in Iraq.

The only issue I had was a cracked Kydex sheath from a jump when I was at Fort Bragg, and Kevin was a pleasure to talk to and hooked me up with a new sheath, quick turn around and even touched up the blade.

Sure, Kevin is opinionated, and if you've spent more than a day in the military, you'll find scores of Type-A personalities just like him; take them for what they're worth, but you make your own decisions at the end of the day.

Performance has been exceptional for me, period. I can say that as I have several to compare to in that size range:

Strider Mk 1 MOD 10 and the EBT
Randall #15
Fehrman Last Chance
Mission MPK-10 (A2 version)
Busse NOe (excellent, exept it's just a little too big for EDC on the belt)
Livesay Air Assault
TOPS Pasayten (great camp-knife)
Trident Oberland 02
Blackjack Model #5 and Grunt (the Grunt is a great knife for the $$)
Ontario TAK

For large blades, I do have Swamp Rat, Ranger knives, Chris Reeves, Bark River, Bill Seigle, etc...I can't speak for MD's bigger blades (and the price goes up for the big ones), but it's difficult to compare knives with a $200-300 price difference on anything other than performance...if that's all you're looking for, Ranger Knives are hard to beat, so again, it's a decision about features, personality, etc.

I like the PATAK design, it fits my requirements and I love the ergonomics; I've had no real corrosion/rust issues, even when I was in Ecuador/Peru and Georgia. Handles are a little on the small side, but that actually aids in such comfortable carrying. I work around a lot of communications equipment, powered devices and wiring, having a non-conductive handle is just a good plus for me.

I haven't done any heavy prying with it, but it's survived plenty of chopping, cutting wire, punched a few holes in the base of a 55 gallon burn barrel, even used the handle as a hammer (it was all I had at the time), of course all the typical cutting chores on boxes, sandbags/burlap, plastic tarps, 550 cord, tape, etc.; this isn't a camp knife (although the profile with a thinner blade would be great), for me it's a duty knife.

The price is what it is. Only you as the consumer can determine if it's worth it to you. Will the Ontario TAK or Blackjack Grunt suffice for the same tasks? I'm quite sure they will at about a 1/4 of the price...but it's not always about cutting things, it has a lot to do with ergonomics, knife features, personal likes/dislikes, etc. I won't tell you the knife is worth it, only you can decide that. I'm happy with it and it has served me well over the past 8 years in several different countries, missions and deployments. If I was to lose it somehow, I would be ordering a replacement.

ROCK6
 
Actually purchased a couple and they are quite good. Some of the best, and Ive had a few.
 
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They seem like pretty decent knives and have comfortable handles. I just wouldn't pay that much for one. I could get a custom made knife in O-1 for much less.
 
He has been around a while and he can sell his knives for the prices he charges. Nothing new about that. There are few makers that if they know they could fill the same orders at double the price would not do so tomorrow.

-Cliff
 
There was a test between MD ATAK and a Mission knife somewhere. It was an interesting read and had some typical MD surprises.
 
ROCK6 said:
Well, I can only speak for the Pygmy ATAK, which has been my duty (military) EDC for the past 8 years, and has served me well and in several different countries and is currently with me here in Iraq.

The only issue I had was a cracked Kydex sheath from a jump when I was at Fort Bragg, and Kevin was a pleasure to talk to and hooked me up with a new sheath, quick turn around and even touched up the blade.

Sure, Kevin is opinionated, and if you've spent more than a day in the military, you'll find scores of Type-A personalities just like him; take them for what they're worth, but you make your own decisions at the end of the day.

Performance has been exceptional for me, period. I can say that as I have several to compare to in that size range:

Strider Mk 1 MOD 10 and the EBT
Randall #15
Fehrman Last Chance
Mission MPK-10 (A2 version)
Busse NOe (excellent, exept it's just a little too big for EDC on the belt)
Livesay Air Assault
TOPS Pasayten (great camp-knife)
Trident Oberland 02
Blackjack Model #5 and Grunt (the Grunt is a great knife for the $$)
Ontario TAK

For large blades, I do have Swamp Rat, Ranger knives, Chris Reeves, Bark River, Bill Seigle, etc...I can't speak for MD's bigger blades (and the price goes up for the big ones), but it's difficult to compare knives with a $200-300 price difference on anything other than performance...if that's all you're looking for, Ranger Knives are hard to beat, so again, it's a decision about features, personality, etc.

I like the PATAK design, it fits my requirements and I love the ergonomics; I've had no real corrosion/rust issues, even when I was in Ecuador/Peru and Georgia. Handles are a little on the small side, but that actually aids in such comfortable carrying. I work around a lot of communications equipment, powered devices and wiring, having a non-conductive handle is just a good plus for me.

I haven't done any heavy prying with it, but it's survived plenty of chopping, cutting wire, punched a few holes in the base of a 55 gallon burn barrel, even used the handle as a hammer (it was all I had at the time), of course all the typical cutting chores on boxes, sandbags/burlap, plastic tarps, 550 cord, tape, etc.; this isn't a camp knife (although the profile with a thinner blade would be great), for me it's a duty knife.

The price is what it is. Only you as the consumer can determine if it's worth it to you. Will the Ontario TAK or Blackjack Grunt suffice for the same tasks? I'm quite sure they will at about a 1/4 of the price...but it's not always about cutting things, it has a lot to do with ergonomics, knife features, personal likes/dislikes, etc. I won't tell you the knife is worth it, only you can decide that. I'm happy with it and it has served me well over the past 8 years in several different countries, missions and deployments. If I was to lose it somehow, I would be ordering a replacement.

ROCK6
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Not trying to highjack the thread but you seem to share the same fondness for the Blackjack Grunt that I do and wondered if you could shed any light as to why they are not more popular.
People can't say enough about Fallknivens and their convex grinds but I would still choose my Grunt based on blade shape and handle ergonomics even though it is of a slightly lesser steel !!!
 
Hahahaha kevin mclung.....

Dont waste your money on this guys knives. hes a racist jerk-off who tries to put other knife makers down.

His knives are brittle, and sometimes have serious flaws.

If you want a hard-core semi custom knife then get a busse or a strider.

Rock6 you atttched to the 82nd??? im currently with TOG and trying to get over to bragg (or any other line unit for that matter)
 
Cliff Stamp said:
He has been around a while and he can sell his knives for the prices he charges. Nothing new about that. There are few makers that if they know they could fill the same orders at double the price would not do so tomorrow.

-Cliff
Click to expand...

Actually I can name 10 right now, without even thinking from actual experience who could right now and do not and 10 is more than a few.
Kit Carson
Tony Bose,
Reese Bose,
Joel Chamblin,
Richard Rogers,
Scott Cook,
Tim Hancock,
Vince Evans,
Walter Brend,
Ray Kirk.
 
Mad dog knives have been around a long time. His designs are proven and copied. Complaints about performance, given the number of knives he's made, are insignificant. Many people swear by his knives and the many resale knives that show hard use but still have tips, edges, handles etc intact are proof of their quality. His knives command a good resale price even in hard use condition.

He's in a different league than Busse and the 'dog knives. He doesn't market to the masses, he still has individual control over all his knives. To some that hand-made individual care is worth the money for a knife that is meant for military or survial purposes.
 
pitdog said:
Not trying to highjack the thread but you seem to share the same fondness for the Blackjack Grunt that I do and wondered if you could shed any light as to why they are not more popular.
People can't say enough about Fallknivens and their convex grinds but I would still choose my Grunt based on blade shape and handle ergonomics even though it is of a slightly lesser steel !!!
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's a little odd...the Blackjack Grunt is a real steal for what you get. Sure, AUS8 may not be a top stainless steel, but the design is very sound, and the convex (although not as pretty as Bark Rivers) edge is surprisingly sharp and easy to maintain (I'm just using a loaded leather belt/strop here in Iraq). Not sure why it is so low on the forum meter:D Regardless, the Grunt is a great blade for the money.


razorsdescent said:
Rock6 you atttched to the 82nd??? im currently with TOG and trying to get over to bragg (or any other line unit for that matter)
Click to expand...

My Bragg time was many moons ago. I'm pretty much a FOBbit right now in my current job. The only door kicking I'm doing is the porto-john:D Being TOG should land you a spot in Divison...those I remember from years ago were able to pick their next assignment???? The 82nd is all "chopped up" right now, so you should have some luck landing in a returning or deploying BCT. Good luck,

ROCK6
 
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