-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
MKM Multi-tool, M390 steel and Micarta scales
- Thread starter dogstar
- Start date
ontheriver
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2021
- Messages
- 362
I like the function but don't care for the price. I don't need M390 steel, maybe 14C28N? I would like the possibility of disassembling easily and customizing the tool set. I almost bought a Malga 6 because I always seem to need a fork.
100% agree. There's no way I would pay 135-175 bucks for that! That's crazy for a SAK clone! It looks cheap too.
I dunno, for "premium" steel and micarta, it doesn't sound so bad.
Me, I'm good with cellidor, alox, and rostfrei
At the price they're asking, they need to at least figure out how to make it look "premium". It looks like made in china junk to me. When you have an established brand like victorinox to be compared with, then you'd better not be slacking. Vics are well trusted, well loved, and a lot less expensive. If your angle is to be the premium option then you should make your product look like it.
It's made in Italy
Fine, but it still looks way too much like the cheap chinese made SAK clones that you see everywhere. I have one that looks very similar to it.
I've got no skin in the game, but it doesn't look cheap to me. Here is a larger image from KC. Not trying to be argumentative.
No worries, it's not personal.
Yup, still looks like a cheap clone to me. I didn't catch the serrations though. That's interesting at least.
ferider
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2018
- Messages
- 13,699
LOL, I was thinking the first thing I'd do is turn that into a plain edge
With that fancy steel it'd probably take a while.
Also fairly heavy from what I've seen/heard. But the quality is supposedly decent. Incidentally, I think there's at least some of them being made in china if I'm remembering correctly. Or was that only the Ruike LD series?
ferider
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2018
- Messages
- 13,699
Yes, like most Boker Plus, contracted in China out of Germany. The Tech Tool City 7 (comparable to the OP) is 4.83 oz. in G10. I've used SAKs for most of my life. Switched to these because they hold up better. And I'm born in Switzerland ....
StuntDouble
Gold Member
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2004
- Messages
- 2,442
I don't think the price is all that bad for what you get. I'm just not too fond of the toolset. I'd rather have an awl in place of that small blade, and I could do without the saw completely.
When I read things like this it makes me shake my head in total disbelief. Honestly, I don't get it. To each their own, I guess.
Check out the Ruike LD31 and L31 (non-locking version). The scales are g10 and it has nearly that exact tool set.
Inline awl, scissors, knife, bottle opener w/flat driver, corkscrew, rope/strap cutter w/2d phillips on the end. You also get a glass breaker and tweezers. There's no can opener though, and the phillips is a bit awkward to use because the rope cutter sits at an odd angle (the angle is to make cutting rope easier).
StuntDouble
Gold Member
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2004
- Messages
- 2,442
What don't you get about the price? It's a premium blade steel, which can't be punched out of a sheet of metal like Victorinox's can. So, it's going to take more work to produce a finished blade. They're using Micarta scales, which costs more to manufacture than cellidor handles. It's produced in Italy, not China, which means higher labor costs. It's a retailer exclusive, which means they're going to have a much lower production volume than pretty much any Victorinox model out there. It's expensive, yes, but like I said, not as much as I would have expected.
I'm willing to bet that if Victorinox ever used a different blade steel and used Micarta handles it would cost just as much if not more.
In my experience, the Chinese made stuff always looks great at first, but just never seems to hold up as well, even when it's supposed to be made of higher end materials.
I don't see the value in using expensive blade steel in a multitool. It makes zero sense to me. And I don't see how anyone else could see value in that either. It's a multitool, not a dedicated folder or a fixed blade. It's totally absurd to me. On top of that, the thing looks like a cheap piece of junk. It's like they put zero thought towards distinguishing it from any cheaply made garbage clone aside from slapping micarta scales on it. I can't respect that at all, especially when you look at the ridiculously high price tag on it. My immediate reaction is to say "
off". I can probably go buy 4-5 genuine Victorinox knives right now for that price easily, plus accessories, and I'll get more use out of them. And do you know what, they'll even look better too.When Victorinox pulls stupid crap like that I'm always right there pointing it out too, and I will often have people dumping on me for it. What you're talking about would be a niche product with very limited sales. It would not appeal to 95% of Victorinox's typical consumer base, and they already know that very well, which is probably the biggest reason why they don't do it.
That's often true (though sometimes it already starts out looking bad) and I am definitely not a fan of companies moving their manufacturing to a country such as china. We can at least agree on that. I have so much to say about that subject and it is really hard to hold my tongue so that I am not breaking any rules.
I will never drive a luxury car, with leather heated seats, wood accent panels, and machined aluminum wheels. But some people will pay for that stuff, even demand it. Horses for courses.
I am really glad that you made this point, because it underscores the need to make your product look like it is actually worth its price tag. When people buy expensive luxury cars, you can visually see the difference. It's usually very obvious. This is in fact one of the main reasons why a lot of people do it. It's a status symbol. They are flaunting their wealth. It's as if to say "Look at me. I'm important. I can afford to spend this kind of money on a car." Another thing you get for that premium price tag is all kinds of extra features. I'm not seeing that here. I'm just seeing another bog standard slipjoint swiss army knife clone with leaf spring scissors. The tools look identical to all the other clones out there.
What do I see that's actually different? Micarta scales. Okay that's nice. It's still not worth 100+ dollars over the usual asking price of some of the thicker SAK models. What else do I see? A small serrated blade. Interesting, but not a luxury type thing and not at all costly to do. Lastly, we get screw pivots. That's nice. Being able to take your SAK apart is a big plus, assuming you are even going to be able to put it back together again. Most people would struggle with that. So it's cool that it has that, but in reality most people are never going to bother making use of it, and those who do will likely end up having bitten off more than they could chew. But do you know what else has screws like that? Cheap chinese clones. There's a really popular one on amazon right now that sells for under 13 dollars. Looks cool. Gets 4 and 5 star reviews all day, and it's total junk. It's been a really popular item for years, and it's total garbage. I should know, because I have one.
Look at Swizza. Now there's something different, at least. They're not a super high end brand, but at least they have style. At least they tried to give you something distinctly different and visually unique. Swizza stands out. It's like the hipster version of a SAK. The quality isn't really all there, but at least you can tell that they tried.