Metal Injection Molded Knife Blades

How have these blades held up to EDC chores? Anybody here use these blades pretty hard? The reason I ask is because in the handgun world (specifically 1911's) most manufacturers advertise proudly that there is no MIM parts in their guns. Why is MIM parts bad for guns and good for knife blades?

I'm not asking this in a bad way. It just always seemed to me gun manufacturers made it seem like the stuff was a step down from pot metal. Is this marketing hype from high end 1911 makers? I look forward to anybody who has put their MIM blades to work filling me in, or if somebody from Kershaw (Thomas) can shed some light here. I can't be the only person wondering about this.
 
Do the gun manufacturers qualify that at all.... explain the statement?
gmarthur said:
How have these blades held up to EDC chores? Anybody here use these blades pretty hard? The reason I ask is because in the handgun world (specifically 1911's) most manufacturers advertise proudly that there is no MIM parts in their guns. Why is MIM parts bad for guns and good for knife blades?

I'm not asking this in a bad way. It just always seemed to me gun manufacturers made it seem like the stuff was a step down from pot metal. Is this marketing hype from high end 1911 makers? I look forward to anybody who has put their MIM blades to work filling me in, or if somebody from Kershaw (Thomas) can shed some light here. I can't be the only person wondering about this.
Click to expand...
 
I did some reading and there IS quite a lot of negatives out there from gun people. The main contention is that MIM parts in a gun are more likely to fail than tooled parts (due to a higher risk of faulty pockets in the steel). While denser than cast parts, MIM parts are said to be less dense than tooled. Another contention is that the MIM is a cheaper process, a compromise to the all tooled "$1000 1911". Lots of very strong debate, and I'm not sure if the above has been answered or adressed here, or in like forums.
 
I've read quite a bit of mixed reviews on MIM parts in guns.
Some say the will work a million times then all of a sudden without warning they break.
I don't see how this is any different from any other material.

Here is a manf explaining MIM

http://www.flomet.com/mim.asp

mike
 
2brothers said:
I've read quite a bit of mixed reviews on MIM parts in guns.
Some say the will work a million times then all of a sudden without warning they break.
I don't see how this is any different from any other material.


mike
Click to expand...

Same here. Sounds just like anything else. I think too many people see a cast or molded item and think back to that POS die cast cap pistol they had as a kid. Casting and molding can produce great quality products, especially with today's technology. I wonder how many of the MIM bashers in the 1911 world are the same guys who are trying to sell milled slides (or other parts) that cost twice as much? Of course they'll tell you MIM sucks... :D Screw it. I'm gonna get myself an Offset and test it out up close and personal, then I'll decide for myslef whether or not I like the MIM process. :thumbup:
 
OregonEdge said:
I did some reading and there IS quite a lot of negatives out there from gun people. The main contention is that MIM parts in a gun are more likely to fail than tooled parts (due to a higher risk of faulty pockets in the steel). While denser than cast parts, MIM parts are said to be less dense than tooled. Another contention is that the MIM is a cheaper process, a compromise to the all tooled "$1000 1911". Lots of very strong debate, and I'm not sure if the above has been answered or adressed here, or in like forums.
Click to expand...

should prolly also consider that a gun uses ALOT of force to opperate. a knife doesnt, even in a high stress situation. if you use a knife properly then it wont break or something like that (it can, the chance of it is really low though). a gun can break far easier than a knife.

people in the gun world dont like MIM cause, well, lets just say you hold a .50 cal pistol the wrong way, your wrist is broken (at least). to much energy being displaced in a gun for them to like MIM. knives, i think it works well in.
 
I wasn't trying to derail this thread into a MIM 1911 debate. It seems that just reading through Handgunner magazine that most top end guns advertise no MIM parts. Here Kershaw is selling a knife whose main feature is a MIM part. I was hoping to get some opinions by some who put their MIM blades to use as to whether there was any negatives or positives to the blades.

Whether or not MIM parts are good in guns is not really relative to the thread. I was just giving some background as to why I had questions about the Offset's blade.
 
From a metallurgy standpoint, does MIMed steel exhibit any anisotropic properties? The steel does not experience any hot/cold rolling, so are the blades uniformly tough in every direction?
 
Allex said:
The blades for ZT0300 series are made in this mod ( MIM ) ?
Click to expand...

0100 - CPM3V tool-steel
0200,0200ST - 154CM stainless-steel
0121,0301,0302,0400,0400ST - S30V stainless-steel

All have Tungsten DLC Coating

mike
 
yes,thank you. this is the type of steel. but how are the blades made? stock removal?
 
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