I just got the new Masters of Defense Scorpion designed by Jim Ray. I don't know any extensive tests (please feel free to ask)so here's a superficial short review for this little marvel
When I first opened the box, I was suprised on how thin it was, but I wacked the handle against the table a few times and realized it's a real sturdy blade. After wearing it around my neck, I was quite impressed. It has virtually no imprint. I wore it under a tucked in t-shirt and I couldn't tell it was there. I even stretched a bit, and it still didn't pop out. It's a great concealment knife, after a little bit, I even forgot that I had it on.
The handle looks a little odd at first. It's skeletonized, and waved to lock onto your fingers both front and back. Holding it in a saber and hammer grips, I felt it was a little small for my hands. but holding it on it's side with the thumb facing up and on the side of the handle, it felt perfect. The curves on the back of the back of the blade fit perfectly to the inside of the bottom most joints of my fingers. I immediately saw that this was a foemidable defense weapon.
The grooves on the front, back, top and bottom of the blade, are very well placed for a secure grip. Up the back of the blade before the serations, the grooves continue past the thumb ramp, allowing you to choke up on the blade for good fine work. In the reverse grip, the back grooves fit right at the end of the palm (not knowing if this is intentional), when the thumb is supporting the end of the handle.
Now For the blade:
The blade made of 154-CM, and is coated with Black TiCN. It's blade is about 2.5 inches and overall about 6 inches. It's shaped like a claw with a plain edge blade on one side, and serrations about one and a half inches up the back of the blade. Out of the Box the small blade shaved arm hair, and easily glided through paper. The blade has good belly for skinning small game and the such. The point penetrated a cardboard box without much effort but didn't penetrate as well as most of my other knifes. This is primarily a slasher, but can pierce if needed. I cut paracord repeatedly with ease, using the plain edge portion which was expertly ground. HOWEVER, The serrations in the back let me down. While they worked against the paracord, and I'm sure would if slashing some flesh, it took a few swipes to fully cut the paracord using moderate pressure. The aggressive serations are ground too steep and should be longer for more functionality but if needed they'll come through if you're trying to save your plain edge. The plain edge works better for the 550 paracord.
THe sheath. The sheath is an extremely well made Kydex neck sheath. As mentioned before, it just disappears under a shirt and is hardly noticable. It is well finished, sturdy but still quite thin. To make this deal even sweeter, they throw in the very versatile Blade-Tech Blade-Loc belt clip which allows the knife to be used on the belt. I don't think this knife is meant as a belt knife, but hey the option's there if desired. (personally I like the SOB carry). Kind of wished that there was an ITWB carry option.
Overall. THis is a great knife. Masters of Defense, truly makes a no nonesense knife, and just got another fan. I was never a real fan of neck knives until I got this one. I'll be carrying this one practically everyday. It's short blade is great for most jurisdictions, and is balanced out by it's great ergonomics. It's not only an awesome self-defense knife, but it's also great as a back-up survival blade. Good for you outdoorsman, hunters and fishermen.
The only thing I would change would be a slightly larger handle, sacrificing some of it's concealability (but trust me not much). and a larger lanyard hole for more versatility.
Well that's just some of my first impressions.
When I first opened the box, I was suprised on how thin it was, but I wacked the handle against the table a few times and realized it's a real sturdy blade. After wearing it around my neck, I was quite impressed. It has virtually no imprint. I wore it under a tucked in t-shirt and I couldn't tell it was there. I even stretched a bit, and it still didn't pop out. It's a great concealment knife, after a little bit, I even forgot that I had it on.
The handle looks a little odd at first. It's skeletonized, and waved to lock onto your fingers both front and back. Holding it in a saber and hammer grips, I felt it was a little small for my hands. but holding it on it's side with the thumb facing up and on the side of the handle, it felt perfect. The curves on the back of the back of the blade fit perfectly to the inside of the bottom most joints of my fingers. I immediately saw that this was a foemidable defense weapon.
The grooves on the front, back, top and bottom of the blade, are very well placed for a secure grip. Up the back of the blade before the serations, the grooves continue past the thumb ramp, allowing you to choke up on the blade for good fine work. In the reverse grip, the back grooves fit right at the end of the palm (not knowing if this is intentional), when the thumb is supporting the end of the handle.
Now For the blade:
The blade made of 154-CM, and is coated with Black TiCN. It's blade is about 2.5 inches and overall about 6 inches. It's shaped like a claw with a plain edge blade on one side, and serrations about one and a half inches up the back of the blade. Out of the Box the small blade shaved arm hair, and easily glided through paper. The blade has good belly for skinning small game and the such. The point penetrated a cardboard box without much effort but didn't penetrate as well as most of my other knifes. This is primarily a slasher, but can pierce if needed. I cut paracord repeatedly with ease, using the plain edge portion which was expertly ground. HOWEVER, The serrations in the back let me down. While they worked against the paracord, and I'm sure would if slashing some flesh, it took a few swipes to fully cut the paracord using moderate pressure. The aggressive serations are ground too steep and should be longer for more functionality but if needed they'll come through if you're trying to save your plain edge. The plain edge works better for the 550 paracord.
THe sheath. The sheath is an extremely well made Kydex neck sheath. As mentioned before, it just disappears under a shirt and is hardly noticable. It is well finished, sturdy but still quite thin. To make this deal even sweeter, they throw in the very versatile Blade-Tech Blade-Loc belt clip which allows the knife to be used on the belt. I don't think this knife is meant as a belt knife, but hey the option's there if desired. (personally I like the SOB carry). Kind of wished that there was an ITWB carry option.
Overall. THis is a great knife. Masters of Defense, truly makes a no nonesense knife, and just got another fan. I was never a real fan of neck knives until I got this one. I'll be carrying this one practically everyday. It's short blade is great for most jurisdictions, and is balanced out by it's great ergonomics. It's not only an awesome self-defense knife, but it's also great as a back-up survival blade. Good for you outdoorsman, hunters and fishermen.
The only thing I would change would be a slightly larger handle, sacrificing some of it's concealability (but trust me not much). and a larger lanyard hole for more versatility.
Well that's just some of my first impressions.