This is the first of a series of reviews that I intend to post of the knives I've acquired in 2011. Still to come are the Fantoni Hide, Rockstead TEI (not TEI-S), Boker Optima Stag, and Lionsteel SR1. I only review knives after considerable real life use, so it will take a little while.
I've ogled the Mcusta line for a while and had my eyes on the Take, but at the last moment I went for the Katana purely for its larger size.
It comes in a sturdy textured cardboard box with an instructions/warranty pamphlet from Mcusta USA.
The knife comes in 3 color options: Blue/Orange, Blue/Violet, and Black/Blue. I got the Blue/Orange.
The knife is tip down carrying and the clip can't be moved to the other end or the other side. The clip is nicely finished and the knife rides low in the pocket, but the clip is an integrated design and in order to remove it the knife has to be fully disassembled.
Why would you want to remove the clip? Well, because if you are left handed opening the knife would be very unpleasant due to the clip's position.
The blade is RC60 clad VG-10 San Mai. That is a blade with a hard VG10 core, sandwiched by two layers of softer steel for toughness.
You can see where the two steels meet. Looks nice, and to me even nicer than damascus pattern which I personally dislike.
The sharpness of the blade is something that you need to see for yourself to believe. I gave the edge a very light touch with absolutely no pressure, just to find that it cut me without even feeling it.
You can cut "S" patterns in light paper easily all day long. The sharpness is scary stuff, and I would say that it keeps that scary edge for considerably longer than other premium stainless steels such as V30S. It's easier to sharpen too.
The knife has a single liner made of steel on the left side, which has the liner-lock. On the right side there is no liner and the blade pivots directly into the aluminum scale.
The liner lock is solid and allows a good room for wear.
The blade has no play whatsoever, and it opens smoothly due to the Teflon washers on both sides of the pivot.
I've already mentioned the problematic opening for left handed users because of the integrated clip, and that isn't the only problem with the knife. The blade does not have an internal stop and it's stopped in the opened position by the thumb stud pressing against the knife's scales :thumbdn:
The problem with that is that with use the finish on the scales where the stud rests will show damage, and because there is a steel liner on one side and not the other, the stud will dig deeper into the softer side (the one without the liner) with use and eventually there would be a slight tilting in the blade.
You can see the finish damage in the above photo, and it's as bad on the left side too but the flash reflects blue and obscures it.
There is a gap between the liner and the scale.
A piece of paper in the gap to demonstrate.
That gap isn't such a major issue, but something that I noted and thought to mention.
Finally, brand new the blade had two dents on its back.
Another angle to show the dents.
I talked to the seller about it and I was offered a refund or credit, but I chose credit because I wanted to keep the knife and the dents have no effect on the function.
The knife stands out in Mcusta's line because of its larger size. It's 4.25" (108 mm) folded, 7.6" (193 mm) overall, and the blade is 3.27" (83 mm) and 3 mm thick. It feels good in the hand and pretty light in the pocket. I love the blade's shape, smoothness of opening, and the unbelievable sharpness, but I don't like the lack of an internal blade stop and the quality of craftsmanship and assembly is just not the standard I'd expect from the Japanese. Hence I'd give this knife a 6.5/10 mark overall.
Thanks for reading.
I've ogled the Mcusta line for a while and had my eyes on the Take, but at the last moment I went for the Katana purely for its larger size.
It comes in a sturdy textured cardboard box with an instructions/warranty pamphlet from Mcusta USA.
The knife comes in 3 color options: Blue/Orange, Blue/Violet, and Black/Blue. I got the Blue/Orange.
The knife is tip down carrying and the clip can't be moved to the other end or the other side. The clip is nicely finished and the knife rides low in the pocket, but the clip is an integrated design and in order to remove it the knife has to be fully disassembled.
Why would you want to remove the clip? Well, because if you are left handed opening the knife would be very unpleasant due to the clip's position.
The blade is RC60 clad VG-10 San Mai. That is a blade with a hard VG10 core, sandwiched by two layers of softer steel for toughness.
You can see where the two steels meet. Looks nice, and to me even nicer than damascus pattern which I personally dislike.
The sharpness of the blade is something that you need to see for yourself to believe. I gave the edge a very light touch with absolutely no pressure, just to find that it cut me without even feeling it.
You can cut "S" patterns in light paper easily all day long. The sharpness is scary stuff, and I would say that it keeps that scary edge for considerably longer than other premium stainless steels such as V30S. It's easier to sharpen too.
The knife has a single liner made of steel on the left side, which has the liner-lock. On the right side there is no liner and the blade pivots directly into the aluminum scale.
The liner lock is solid and allows a good room for wear.
The blade has no play whatsoever, and it opens smoothly due to the Teflon washers on both sides of the pivot.
I've already mentioned the problematic opening for left handed users because of the integrated clip, and that isn't the only problem with the knife. The blade does not have an internal stop and it's stopped in the opened position by the thumb stud pressing against the knife's scales :thumbdn:
The problem with that is that with use the finish on the scales where the stud rests will show damage, and because there is a steel liner on one side and not the other, the stud will dig deeper into the softer side (the one without the liner) with use and eventually there would be a slight tilting in the blade.
You can see the finish damage in the above photo, and it's as bad on the left side too but the flash reflects blue and obscures it.
There is a gap between the liner and the scale.
A piece of paper in the gap to demonstrate.
That gap isn't such a major issue, but something that I noted and thought to mention.
Finally, brand new the blade had two dents on its back.
Another angle to show the dents.
I talked to the seller about it and I was offered a refund or credit, but I chose credit because I wanted to keep the knife and the dents have no effect on the function.
The knife stands out in Mcusta's line because of its larger size. It's 4.25" (108 mm) folded, 7.6" (193 mm) overall, and the blade is 3.27" (83 mm) and 3 mm thick. It feels good in the hand and pretty light in the pocket. I love the blade's shape, smoothness of opening, and the unbelievable sharpness, but I don't like the lack of an internal blade stop and the quality of craftsmanship and assembly is just not the standard I'd expect from the Japanese. Hence I'd give this knife a 6.5/10 mark overall.
Thanks for reading.
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