Mike Irie model 11 folder

C

cutter17

Joined
May 16, 2006
Messages
6,873
I had been eyeing this knife for over a month, hoping someone would put me out of misery and buy the dang thing!, but ended up ordering it myself. It will be here tomorrow.

There were several things about this model that kept drawing me to it. First and foremost, it is a large folder, and from the weight (7.8 ounces) a beefy one at that. Now I love beefy and this knife just caught my attention and would not let go. I googled, I searched the forums, even looked through my back issues of Blade, Knife Illustrated, and Tactical Knives to find some info on Mr. Irie. Everything I was able to find, and it wasn't a lot, indicated that he is a very good knifemaker. From the pics I have seen of this knife and others, I would agree.

I came upon more fancy, artistic knives than what I would call plain janes. But the Model 11 I was buying, along with a few other Model 11's I found pics of, were not fancy nor artistic, they were plain jane's, but very nicely done pj's from what the pics showed.

There is really nothing else to call this knife than a tactical folder, but that is the type of knife I have the hots for and has been for the past 20 years! I have looked at many of this style of knife and from the top names in the business, but I never came across Mike Irie's name as a tactical knife builder. I would like to get some info/views from people who have owned Mike Irie knives as to your thoughts of his work. Anyone who owns the Model 11 series, they are built in tanto and spearpoint blades(I purchased a spearpoint), and I think the model 11 is also called the Crush. I guess I'm just curious as to how well Mr. Irie builds this genre of folder. Thanks for any info you might share.:)

I am going to try and post some pics, not my pics, showing the knife in question. Once I figure out how.;):)


IrieSpear11-1.jpg


IrieSpear11-2.jpg


IrieSpear11-3.jpg
 
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This knife arrived earlier today. I gotta say that it is everything I was hoping it would be!:thumbup: The fit/finish is spot on, lockup is solid, blade action is smooth, and the feel in hand is excellent. I was concerned that the two carbon fiber panels that are on top of the G-10 might look and feel ungainly, but once you hold it, you know that it is as it should be. With the G-10, and carbon fiber rounded on the edges, the knife feels as comfortable as it possibly could. It is built as a heavy duty knife, but finished as a gentlemans knife. The liners are right at .078" thick, the blade measures .157" thick, with both the stop pin and pivot being .187" thick. As far as the gentlemanly part of it; the liners are anodized in a light-medium blue, with an orange peel finish, very nice. The full titanium back spacer is anodized a gold/bronze color and finished with the same orange peel as the liners. Again, very nice. The pivot screw is hidden under the G-10 panel and gives the knife a very clean look.

All in all this is a very well done knife. I'm also surprised at the price on this piece. I've noticed several of the $400 to $500 knives from a couple years ago are now $500 to $700 knives now, and well deserved I'm sure. I'm just really surprised to see this knife, finished and built as it is, sell for $425. This is the standard price for the model 11 as I've checked other sites that had one for sale and it was this price. I'm not knocking it though!!:)

Anyway, I took some crappy Blackberry pics and am waiting for them to upload to my photobucket account and then I'll post them. I also changed the clip to a foldover, deep-carry one that completely puts the entire knife inside my pocket with only the outside of the clip showing.

Hopefully I'll be back in a few to post the pictures.:D
 
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For some reason I cannot get the pics on my Blackberry to download into my Photobucket account. But will continue to work on it!


I've carried this knife all day today and and it carries with the upmost ease. Part of the reason it carries so well in the pocket is because of the foldover clip I made to fit it (when I get the pics to cooperate I'll post a pic of the clip). On this knife, and it is only set for tip down carry, the holes are not even across the handle, with one being higher than the other. You can see this from the pics I posted in the initial post. This made my clip screw down at about a 45* angle across the handle. With the total length of clip being only 1 1/8" this kept it from sticking over the handle. It actually looks very good, at least to me, and an added benefit is that when you hold it, the clip is not in the way of your fingers because my forefinger lies right in the "valley" of the clip.

I know it has only been a day having this and the new has not yet worn off, but I feel that I can say that this knife is one of the best I've had and is definately a keeper!:thumbup::D
 
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