Although not a limited or special edition/issue - the Mcusta 183D "Ieyasu" is still a fairly rare find.
The 183D is in the Mcusta "Sengoku Busho Series" - laser engraved on the handle "Bushido- Tokugawa" -
Ieyasu (家康
Tokugawa (徳川 (1543-1616) was the founder and first Shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600.There are listings by vendors misspelled as "Leyasu" (I assume because they can't believe the spelling is "Iey..." )
The handle is brown/black "Staminawood" (a variant of Pakkawood - ie: epoxy laminated hardwoods - it ought to be as practical and resilient as Micarta - but with the looks of wood)
The handle is designed after Samurai "Yoroi" armor
The 183D is a larger Mcusta -
it has the same 3 3/4" blade as their Tactility series
which is larger than the MC1- & 2- basic series (3 1/4" blades)
Top to bottom: 74D "Take" (2 3/4" blade, cocobolo); 16D Basic (quince-wood); 124D "Tactility" (quince-wood); 183D "Ieyasu"
Size compared to a standard SAK (Swiss Army Knife) -
Closed -
Blade details -
The suffix "D" means this is a "Damascus" blade - it is not "true" Damascus -
but vg10 core with patterned layered nickel/steel cladding.
Microscope pics (~110X) -
Damascus pattern -
Edge -
Mechanically this sample is a bit stiffer, even though I have adjusted the pivot tension - the action is still very smooth - but there seems to be a bit of inertia to overcome.
The liner lock-up is good -
although again the liner seems to bite a bit, so sometimes it's harder to unlock - when I first got it the liner-lock wore a groove in my thumbnail.
Everything is nicely lined up -
Unlike the smaller Mcustas - this (and the Tactility series) use a conventional stop pin in the handle - as opposed to using the thumb-studs against the handle end to stop the blade.
not quite perfect - but blade still pretty nicely centered in the handle.
Attention to detail -
pouch is nylon with leather -
leather is more than just decorative trimming -
but extends to the back of the pouch to form the belt loop -
The closure is by a pretty heavy duty snap fastener.
I was initially concerned that the back of the snap would eventually mark the handle as it needs a firm press to snap close -
but closer examination shows that there is a soft plastic guard on the back of the snap -
.... nevertheless I think I would still have preferred Velcro closure, to avoid any issues with pressure against the handle.
--
Vincent
http://picasaweb.com/UnknownVincent?showall=true
http://UnknownVincent.Shutterfly.com
http://UnknownVT.Shutterfly.com
Last edited: