Monarch

navajo · Dec 28, 2001

Knifemart site this morning is showing three new styles. Anyone have these yet?? Benchmade, are you paying attention????

tonyccw · Dec 28, 2001

Actually, yes. Got a sneak peak at them last week. Will be placing an order for double edge.

nybble · Dec 28, 2001

Interesting! Does this mean that they have worked out the kinks that the original monarchs were reputed to have? Are the handles the same on the original monarch and the double-edged monarch? I can't tell from the pictures, but they look different. I hope you get them soon so we can read your review.

Nice to see a bunch of ~3" bali's on the market, too. I wonder if you could get a clip on the small monarchs.

Agent-A1 · Dec 28, 2001

Still no kick on the blade.:barf:

nybble · Dec 28, 2001

I can't tell, but the new blade profiles all seem to be straight edged(?), so perhaps they can get away without the kick. Knifemart needs some better pictures!

tonyccw · Dec 28, 2001

A-1: nybble is spot on. If the belly of the blade doesn't break the plane of the flat of the tang, a dedicated kick is not necessary. Roton has implemented the re-profiling of the blade as a solution to the balde hitting the inside channel wall. This method does not require that a prominent kick to be part of the design.

nybble: I'm on the list of receipient to evaluate these last three models. I've already expressed my interest at the dagger, so hopefully Rich won't keep me waiting too long..

(Rich, are you listening?)

PeaceFrog · Dec 28, 2001

Those do look nice, and just as beefy as the original Monarch...I'm wondering along with nybble - I haven't heard much regarding fixing the problems people reported with those, did I just miss the thread?

Agent-A1 · Dec 28, 2001

Gotcha Tony. But according too that picture it doesn't look like they did that. New pics are definetly needed.

ExamonLyf · Dec 28, 2001

Goodie

more new Balisongs!

Tony..., did Rich give you any indication about a time frame to look at them? Looking at the pictures of the smaller ones closely, makes me a little nervous about that pesky latch problem revisted??

Anyway I'm glad Rich didn't get disappointed running headlong into "The Learning Curve".., and I'm hoping those pitures of the little guys are just roughed-out "Protos", cause the latches still look scary to me.

"Hunters seek what they [WANT].., Seekers hunt what they [NEED]"

tonyccw · Dec 28, 2001

Originally posted by ExamonLyf
Tony..., did Rich give you any indication about a time frame to look at them? Looking at the pictures of the smaller ones closely, makes me a little nervous about that pesky latch problem revisted??

Good catch Pete. Not to worry, per Rich, those are prototypes (proof of concept knives) and shared parts from the first batch, including the oversized latches. The production units will have proper size latches.

As for timeframe, they'll start hitting the streets AFTER he completes the original orders for the regular Monarch. Since the Double edged ones uses the same handles as the 4" Monarch, they will be next.

ExamonLyf · Dec 28, 2001

Thanks for the update Tony!!

Appreciated!!

"Hunters seek what they [WANT].., Seekers hunt what they [NEED]"

ixpfah · Dec 30, 2001

you know, one thing i like about the monarch, is that they have pins that looks like they are hidden (see the latch pin). if i were to get a custom bali, or maybe a rehandle from mer, i think i'd be asking for replacable hidden pins (i kinda like those the best).
btw, on the monarch, the pivot pins aren't replacable, are they?

tonyccw · Dec 30, 2001

Originally posted by ixpfah
btw, on the monarch, the pivot pins aren't replacable, are they?

No. And replacable hidden pins would be very hard to do. Because 1) Hidden pin finishes require that the excess pin material be ground and polished with the handle at the same time to make them "disappear". 2) You need to hide the access point (torx, hex, flat or phillips cutouts), while still allowing easy access to those points for disassembly. A cap insert may work, but if you make it so that it survives A) #1 above, and B) still has enough grip to stay on with all the anticipated flipping, I'm not sure how you could easily remove them to get to the access point. A very tough task for anyone to complete.