Cliff,
I understand your concern, and it is a valid one. The bottom line is this: if you are *using* your knife in a manner that a knife is intended to be used (e.g. not trying to jack your car up with it, cut an engine block in half, etc.,) then it is covered under the warranty.
Our abusive tests were to see how much abuse the blade will take before breaking, and our intention WAS TO BREAK THE BLADE. So far, short of placing it in a vise and hitting it with a sledge hammer, we have not been able to significantly damage the current Mirage X blades. Intentionally breaking a blade is not covered under warranty.
Keep in mind that the Mirage X ceramic has about 38% the tensile strength of Mad Dog's 01 steel knives (in similar configuration) so there are limitations to the Mirage X series knives. However, for specialized purposes, the Mirage X line has features that steel or titanium knives could only dream of achieving. As Derek Russell stated, the Mirage X is not intended to be a replacement for steel, otherwise Kevin would simply discontinue his steel line and only make Mirages.
Tim
Street Smart Professional Equipment
http://www.streetpro.com
949-888-1131
[This message has been edited by Arnistador (edited 03 December 1998).]