Mordax, Tolk, Or Torrent...

mycough

mycough

Joined
May 20, 2007
Messages
3,368
After agonizing for a week, I am down to these three knives...
The southard Tolk
The ferrum forge mordax
The reate Torrent
Two are true mid techs, the reate I consider production.
By steel the m390 is my favorite, then the cts xhp, and last n690.
Anyone that has handled two or more of these, please share your thoughts with me.
I may end up throwing a dart, I hope it doesn't come to that.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts. Russ
One last thing to add, the Tolk and the mordax are roughly the same price, the torrent is 100$ less.
 
That $100 saved goes out the door if anything goes wrong or you want a tune up. Eliot & Brad are in the US and stand by their work.
 
Can't say I'm really sure why the Reate would even be in the running if the Southard or Ferrum Forge were under consideration.
 
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If you actually want to carry and use a knife, I haven't seen many better than the Tolk. It carries small for its size, and it feels great.

I was sort of meh on it, style-wise at first, but it's rapidly become one of my favorite knives.
 
The mordax is a very handsome knife.

I agree with quiet, if the Ferrum Forge is in the running, I can't even see why the Reate is included. Plus, warranty work would need to be shipped out of country as well as your money.

Ask yourself which blade shape you prefer for your intended uses. The Mordax blade shape looks much more useful to me for just standard cutting.
The Tolk has thumb studs, so decide whether you want those or not.

I think the lock side on the tolk is much more refined to include the clip, and even the screws I like better. I also do not subscribe to the need for the steel lock bar inserts. I think that in the cases I have seen they are unnecessary.

Honestly though, all of those are mostly minor things. I think you should chose between the Mordax and the Tolk based on blade shape and handle shape preferences and cutting needs.

Best of luck, let us know what you get!
 
Those you talking out the Reate have never handled one. My torrent is better made than the Mordax.
 
mycough said:
Or perhaps your reate...
Russ
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I don't own one, I've handled several however. I've also handled a Mordax and it was a fantastic knife, better than the Reates I handled at the same knife show. But hey man, get what you want. Personally, I'd purchase the Southard if I had to have one of the three.
 
Tolk with skeletonized titanium is the lightest and has the most useful blade shape. No lock stickiness even without a steel lock bar insert. Good XHP steel. It has a thin, slim and narrow profile like a Shirogorv F95. It's the lightest of the three even though it has the longest blade. Mine is a Monkey Edge Frag Pattern edition but the regular Tolk is priced fair.

I don't have a Mordax or Ferrum Forge. Mordax has the smallest blade and an okay steel in N690.

I don't have a Torrent but do have Reate Horizon-TI. Build quality is very high and you get the best steel in M390 for the Torrent. Todd Begg trusts Reate to build his Steelcraft Kwaiken. Torrent is the heaviest of the three but $110 less than the other two.
 
i have a Tolk and the Torrent. the reate is right there in terms of fit and finish and arguably beyond in terms of materials. i also find it more comfortable in the pocket. i like the Tolk but it has some milling at the end that is very sharp and the clip is tight making it tougher to get into the pocket. i like that i can open the Tolk by flipper or by the studs, not so the torrent. the torrent is also a pretty stiff flipper but its breaking in now. the anodize on the tolk is amazing. if i had to keep only one... the torrent. its heavier but i like that and the clip is much better for ease of carry and looks pretty classy too.
 
ginaz said:
i have a Tolk and the Torrent. the reate is right there in terms of fit and finish and arguably beyond in terms of materials. i also find it more comfortable in the pocket. i like the Tolk but it has some milling at the end that is very sharp and the clip is tight making it tougher to get into the pocket. i like that i can open the Tolk by flipper or by the studs, not so the torrent. the torrent is also a pretty stiff flipper but its breaking in now. the anodize on the tolk is amazing. if i had to keep only one... the torrent. its heavier but i like that and the clip is much better for ease of carry and looks pretty classy too.
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Any chance of a comparison photo? Russ
 
Morax... steel lock insert, replaceable HRD. Those two things will make the knife last a long, long time!! And the rest of the knife is solidly built.

Get what you feel you would like best. Some people really care about knife appearance.
 
Quiet said:
Please show us pics of your Mordax. :)
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I own a torrent, and my friend owns a Mordax and Ferrox. They are both great knives but we both say the Reate has a better fit and finish. More intricate machining and the such, only my Chris reeve umnumzaan seems to rival it. Perfect grind, everything symmetrical, no bit of error at all. Being that FF is an American maker there will of course be more emotional bias from the members on here, especially if they're an older generation. I buy what I think is the best value and leave emotions out of the knife.
 
Seilu said:
I own a torrent, and my friend owns a Mordax and Ferrox. They are both great knives but we both say the Reate has a better fit and finish. More intricate machining and the such, only my Chris reeve umnumzaan seems to rival it. Perfect grind, everything symmetrical, no bit of error at all. Being that FF is an American maker there will of course be more emotional bias from the members on here, especially if they're an older generation. I buy what I think is the best value and leave emotions out of the knife.
Click to expand...

I see that you have a Torrent for sale, you mean. That explains why you're talking it up over the other knives. LOL
 
Seilu said:
I own a torrent... Being that FF is an American maker there will of course be more emotional bias from the members on here, especially if they're an older generation. I buy what I think is the best value and leave emotions out of the knife.
Click to expand...

By this statement I'm going to assume that you are of the younger generation and do not yet grasp some of the older fella's reasoning for wanting to circulate their cash to other Americans.
 
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Wow. The Reate actually seems better in terms of the blade grind. Looks very thin and even, and clean at the choil as well.
Very nice.


Miso
 
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