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Did they use Ti for the screws as well? As far as I know, the MPF Ti folders are completely Ti.
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Mission Knife owner... a question
- Thread starter Charlie Mike
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Here's mine:
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I got mine for $315, same as the original owner.
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They have changed some since mine was made I think. Note the screw diff. As for the pocket clip and inlay plate, well, thats all me there. This is pics of three of my most frequently used knives and a fourth soon to join them in the way of the XM-18 3" non flipper that just arrived today. I like folders with choils or even cheat choils of a sort. That fixed is a Mineral Mountain Hatchet Works Skull Crusher which he no longer makes the same way. The only way to get that now would be the Persian model he makes but the handle is different. This old one is fresh back from the spa where Ted refinished it and made me a new Kydex sheath for it.
The little Mission seen here is a tough knife now. Had vertical play real bad when I first saw it. Fixed that. Hate the pocket clip set up for this model. Pretty cheesy at least on mine. That had to go and needed to be flipped. Fixed that. Put a lock stop on the old mount position, sharpened the blade and began using it. I love the fact that you can do just about anything with it and it asks for more. Seems to keep an edge better than the Talonite blades I've used to me. Not sure everyone would agree but personally this blade impresses me more than any Talonite I've made, had made or used. Seems pretty close to AUS6-12C27 performance to me perhaps just under for edge keeping but far tougher.
STR
The little Mission seen here is a tough knife now. Had vertical play real bad when I first saw it. Fixed that. Hate the pocket clip set up for this model. Pretty cheesy at least on mine. That had to go and needed to be flipped. Fixed that. Put a lock stop on the old mount position, sharpened the blade and began using it. I love the fact that you can do just about anything with it and it asks for more. Seems to keep an edge better than the Talonite blades I've used to me. Not sure everyone would agree but personally this blade impresses me more than any Talonite I've made, had made or used. Seems pretty close to AUS6-12C27 performance to me perhaps just under for edge keeping but far tougher.
STR
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I bought mine direct from Mission sometime back in the nineties.
I used to have a credit card then, and gave it a royal thrashing.
The credit card that is.
The knife is cool, and takes a good edge.
But it does not last. Dulls quicker than you can blink.
So I just keep it in a display case to look at.
I suppose if I had a mine to dis-arm, it might come in handy.
But I live in Oklahoma, and there aint no mines here.
I used to have a credit card then, and gave it a royal thrashing.
The credit card that is.
The knife is cool, and takes a good edge.
But it does not last. Dulls quicker than you can blink.
So I just keep it in a display case to look at.
I suppose if I had a mine to dis-arm, it might come in handy.
But I live in Oklahoma, and there aint no mines here.
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Sounds about like I said. AUS6 type edge.
Still I like the knife and it seems to have some areas of appeal even if we don't need it for deactivating mines. I have been out fishing in 100 plus degree heat here and just jumped in the water with it on me not worrying about it which is nice. To think you could even do that in salt water makes it even more so. I usually carry it when I'm working cutting grass or cutting firewood when I am a sweaty mess. Just curious but are your guys knives built the same as this one? Here are some more shots. Whats funny is how kind my camera was to this thing in the first shot considering how it actually looks to the naked eye. It has had the living crap beat out of it and the blade is even bent! On mine the thumb stud doesn't sit level with the blade either but is set in it at an angle sitting up higher on the lefty side or lock side than it does on the right hand side.
STR
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When I lived in California, and was heading to a beach for the weekend, this was definitely the knife I took with me, and the reason I bought it in the first place. Clipped it inside my waistband, felony style, before hitting the water.
My blade is straight in the handle when closed, and does not appear offset when opened. But the thumbpin is not completely straight, and the hole on one side of the pin appears a bit "hogged out". I kind of attribute this to the difficulty machining titanium especially in the time period of the mid 90s when I bought mine. Otherwise mine is in good condition, having never really been abused. When it lost its cutting edge cutting up one cardboard box, I pretty much consigned it to the display case, especially after moving to Oklahoma in 2002. No salt water here.
Having worked on the B2 Stealth Bomber for eleven years, which is a flying hunk of graphite and titanium, it aint the easiest stuff to work with. But with the right tools it can be done.
Maybe Mission could not afford the right tools, which is unbelieveable considering what they get for these knives.
My blade is straight in the handle when closed, and does not appear offset when opened. But the thumbpin is not completely straight, and the hole on one side of the pin appears a bit "hogged out". I kind of attribute this to the difficulty machining titanium especially in the time period of the mid 90s when I bought mine. Otherwise mine is in good condition, having never really been abused. When it lost its cutting edge cutting up one cardboard box, I pretty much consigned it to the display case, especially after moving to Oklahoma in 2002. No salt water here.
Having worked on the B2 Stealth Bomber for eleven years, which is a flying hunk of graphite and titanium, it aint the easiest stuff to work with. But with the right tools it can be done.
Maybe Mission could not afford the right tools, which is unbelieveable considering what they get for these knives.
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Hmmm. Mine certainly holds an edge longer than one carboard box. I cut down old used carpet into smaller remnants pulling up old carpet off the floors from 10:00 am till noon with it when redoing our neighbors carpet in her bedroom and it kept cutting albeit more difficult to do as time went on. Seems to me it takes an initial edge thats sharper but then it dulls down rather quickly to a 'crappy but usable edge' that it keeps for a good while after it reaches that stage. Not hair popping by any stretch of the imagination but enough to allow you to work with it.
STR
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The difference in edge holding comes from at least one batch of mpf that got out without proper heat treat. Mission had to eat a lot of those knives as people sent them back, however some are still out there. Not saying yours is from that batch but possible. The mpf 3 STR has was originally mine and he can attest to it showed up to him for repair and modifications having seen some serious use for three years. The mpf 3 was purchased in January of 2006 and was sold to STR this past summer.
I've owned numerous other Missions and all held an edge better than what you describe, I've heard of that problem before only with mpf's and John M. the former owner/operator of Mission knives told me about the batch or two that got out without the proper heat treat.
The knives despite their design flaws specifically with the pivot pin and pocket clip that STR eluded to earlier are still the toughest thing I've ever owned and used, hands down. There damn near indestructible and for all intensive purposes as low maintenance as a knife can be.
STR, glad to see your enjoying it, knew you would. How did you bend the blade or was it bent when I sold to you?
I've owned numerous other Missions and all held an edge better than what you describe, I've heard of that problem before only with mpf's and John M. the former owner/operator of Mission knives told me about the batch or two that got out without the proper heat treat.
The knives despite their design flaws specifically with the pivot pin and pocket clip that STR eluded to earlier are still the toughest thing I've ever owned and used, hands down. There damn near indestructible and for all intensive purposes as low maintenance as a knife can be.
STR, glad to see your enjoying it, knew you would. How did you bend the blade or was it bent when I sold to you?
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I think you did it Mike. Not sure how it got that slight tweak on it. I had it for quite a while sitting in the box in the safe before I finally pulled it out one day. It was really hot and I had planned to cut the field (a lot of grass cutting!) and knew I'd sweat up a storm so I picked that one knowing the sweat all over it would not bother it in the least. Since then I've used the tar out of it and have found I rather like it.
Speaking of the edge keeping of this folder more. I'll be perfectly honest with you the most frequently carried folding knife I've ever owned was one model I carried all through the 70s, from when I bought it right after that model first came out through the 80s and midway through the 90s when I mostly all the time had a Buck 501 Esquire on me. That knife went through active duty with me, all the way from basic training (tucked away until graduating of course) to my permanent duty station in Illinois until I lost it rock climbing in Carbondale one week end while slicing an apple from way up high. I never found it but bought another promptly which followed me to five states until settling here 20 years ago. I owned it until losing that one too in Arkansas never knowing what exactly became of it. Anyway, to get to the point this Mission knife is less edge maintenance than either one of those Buck folders ever was so from my point of view its holding its own with the most frequently carried knife of my life.
Looking at it from that perspective its certainly nothing to shout about but it works you know and can sure please the majority of people using something similar to the same steels Buck used in that Buck and still uses. Back then in the early model I had a 440C blade. The second was, best guess, 425M (crap) but my point is the Mission holds up better to me so I think its a good one for sure. I've made blades from 6Al-4V titanium and I could tell you blind folded this one sure ain't that type of titanium. It just performs too well to be that level of alloy. There is something different about it and I place it slightly above those knives I mentioned above and even better liked and a better performer than the talonite blades I've made for myself.
STR
Speaking of the edge keeping of this folder more. I'll be perfectly honest with you the most frequently carried folding knife I've ever owned was one model I carried all through the 70s, from when I bought it right after that model first came out through the 80s and midway through the 90s when I mostly all the time had a Buck 501 Esquire on me. That knife went through active duty with me, all the way from basic training (tucked away until graduating of course) to my permanent duty station in Illinois until I lost it rock climbing in Carbondale one week end while slicing an apple from way up high. I never found it but bought another promptly which followed me to five states until settling here 20 years ago. I owned it until losing that one too in Arkansas never knowing what exactly became of it. Anyway, to get to the point this Mission knife is less edge maintenance than either one of those Buck folders ever was so from my point of view its holding its own with the most frequently carried knife of my life.
Looking at it from that perspective its certainly nothing to shout about but it works you know and can sure please the majority of people using something similar to the same steels Buck used in that Buck and still uses. Back then in the early model I had a 440C blade. The second was, best guess, 425M (crap) but my point is the Mission holds up better to me so I think its a good one for sure. I've made blades from 6Al-4V titanium and I could tell you blind folded this one sure ain't that type of titanium. It just performs too well to be that level of alloy. There is something different about it and I place it slightly above those knives I mentioned above and even better liked and a better performer than the talonite blades I've made for myself.
STR
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That blade is not 6Al4v which is an alpha titanium and is what Mission uses for all the parts other than the blade, pivot, pins, screws, handles, etc are all 6Al4V. The blade is beta c which if memory serves is an alpha/beta alloy and the actual number is something strange and not even remotely close to 6Al4V but much different. Titanium comes in alpha, beta and alpha beta versions.
I forget the breakdown of the different variants and what the classifications stand for and I don't feel like pulling out my files and sorting through them. Its 5
o on Monday and I haven't gotten a lick of work done all day even though I've been working all day, know what I mean.
Steve, couldn't be happier that you like it as much as you do that speaks volumes about that knife especially I used hard for three (3) years and now your using it hard and the thing keeps going. Kinda like a Timex it takes a licking and keeps on ticking. Sorry for the cheesy analogy I just could help myself.
I forget the breakdown of the different variants and what the classifications stand for and I don't feel like pulling out my files and sorting through them. Its 5
o on Monday and I haven't gotten a lick of work done all day even though I've been working all day, know what I mean. Steve, couldn't be happier that you like it as much as you do that speaks volumes about that knife especially I used hard for three (3) years and now your using it hard and the thing keeps going. Kinda like a Timex it takes a licking and keeps on ticking. Sorry for the cheesy analogy I just could help myself.