My replacement MTECH Trail Master knock-off just arrived (now with pics)

[338375]

d. Accept it for what it is, a $20.00 knock-off of a $200.00 knife. Take the time and effort to fix it to make money to buy a real Trail Master

This really caught my attention. How would you put time and effort into a $20 knife, and make money on it ?

Why would anyone knowingly want to order a bucket full of cheap, Chinese junk knives unless it's to unload to the illegal alien flea market crowd where you could advertise a 'Buy one, steal one free' deal.

Why not ? You bought one piece of junk knife, for about what he paid for a jar full of them...

 

[spydercobenchmadekai]

This simply isnt true. It really depends on the steel. Many makers actually test the quality of their blades by bending them. I also disagree that most makers prefer blades to break instead of bend. A blade that breaks is simply dangerous.

How long have you been making knives and heat treating blades? I think you have a bit more to learn. Do you have any pictures of the knives you have "made" and heat treated? I find it rather unrealistic that you have been collecting since july and have been a member on this forum since this past september but you are now an expert in knife making and heat treating.

Have you ever even heat treated a knife? Watch the video below if you don't think that I'm for real. Beckers and ESEEs are some of the most undisputed hard use knives in the world. The blade will snap in half on a Becker before it bends as much as the knock-off Trailmaster. Just look up all of the pictures of broken 9s and 2s and ESEEs and etc.

[video=youtube;yH1zfckvbGk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH1zfckvbGk&feature=youtu.be[/video]

 

[jobasha11]

I knew everything about things I didn't know anything about when I was a kid too

 

[spydercobenchmadekai]

Did you watch the video or not? And have you heat treated a knife yourself? And there's really no need to be insulting.

 

[Codger_64]

I knew everything about things I didn't know anything about when I was a kid too

There are a lot of things I wish I didn't know now that I didn't know then.

 

[PURPLEDC]

Have you ever even heat treated a knife? Watch the video below if you don't think that I'm for real. Beckers and ESEEs are some of the most undisputed hard use knives in the world. The blade will snap in half on a Becker before it bends as much as the knock-off Trailmaster. Just look up all of the pictures of broken 9s and 2s and ESEEs and etc.

[video=youtube;yH1zfckvbGk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH1zfckvbGk&feature=youtu.be[/video]

The video is misleading. Right down to the temperatures as this depends on the steel. But to answer your question, no i havent heat treated a knife or tempered one. (Which you do know there is a thing called tempering right?) But I have been using, collecting, modifying/pimping knives for longer than you have been alive 2 times over. And even in those many years of all my research the most important thing I have learned is that I dont know everything. But one thing that I AM sure of is that you have very little knowledge of the topic at hand. Just because the beckers and esees wont bend doesnt mean others are not designed to do such. Pick up any blade magazine published in your short lifespan and you will see endless articles of makers bending their knives and to a much greater degree than the M-tech knockoff. Some of them are designed to return as close to their original straightness. Trust me young blood you dont want a 13" blade breaking off at the hilt and flying at your face when your hacking through a forest. Either way the focus here isnt me. Im not claiming to be making knives and heat treating blades you are. So I ask you to show your work. And wherever you are learning your craft its time to find a new teacher. Here is an example of what I do with existing knives. Let us see yours.

 

[jobasha11]

Did you watch the video or not? And have you heat treated a knife yourself? And there's really no need to be insulting.

Yes and yes. How does this prove knives don't bend? A tip: keep the blade swirling and moving in the oil constantly or it will create hot pockets in the oil.

 

[Blackie Scantling]

I've found this to be a sneaky way to introduce people to quality knives. Give them one of these guys for free, let them dull or break it, then offer up something like a Rat or Tenacious to replace it. With luck the ball will start to roll and they will become ambitious(no pun intended) for better offerings.

This happened to people on the AR15 General Discussion forums when some guy who supposedly was a trusted, well known member let all his fellow members in on a sweet deal on a $20.00diving watch. Everybody that didn't use PayPal had their CC #'s stolen
plus their watches didn't arrive. When people called the company they were told that watch was Sold Out but they could get a comparable watch for a mere $198.00.

 

[RemyKaze]

This happened to people on the AR15 General Discussion forums when some guy who supposedly was a trusted, well known member let all his fellow members in on a sweet deal on a $20.00diving watch. Everybody that didn't use PayPal had their CC #'s stolen
plus their watches didn't arrive. When people called the company they were told that watch was Sold Out but they could get a comparable watch for a mere $198.00.

No, you're talking about scamming people. I'm talking about making people into knife lovers at MY expense.

 

[PURPLEDC]

Yes and yes. How does this prove knives don't bend? A tip: keep the blade swirling and moving in the oil constantly or it will create hot pockets in the oil.

more importantly how does it prove ANYTHING. Lets see a video of the knife being tested. Lets see a video cutting solid brass tube and see the edge not chip or roll.

 

[Blackie Scantling]

I've found this to be a sneaky way to introduce people to quality knives. Give them one of these guys for free, let them dull or break it, then offer up something like a Rat or Tenacious to replace it. With luck the ball will start to roll and they will become ambitious(no pun intended) for better offerings.

So you're saying replace a piece of junk with a Rat or Tenacious at the same price as the junk?

 

[SENGVIN]

I now think the online reviews are an edited, well orchestrated scam, snake oil BS advertising. There is even one where the buyer goes on about all the positives of his new knife and says it displayed none of the supposed negatives such as twisted, warped blades that some people received from a "bad batch." The knives have a 4.5 out of five star rating because the sheaths that come with it are flimsy. That was consistant. I think the same person may have written all of the glowing reviews. Fooled me.
It would have been nice to have had a $20.00 TM clone to leave in the truck w/out much worry, something not possible with a real one.

Yep they are writing the reviews themselves !!! How is this not deceiving scam ?

 

[jobasha11]

So you're saying replace a piece of junk with a Rat or Tenacious at the same price as the junk?

He gives them a bad knife. Then gives them a good knife afterwards. It makes them appreciate the quality of a good knife

 

[Blackie Scantling]

This really caught my attention. How would you put time and effort into a $20 knife, and make money on it ?



Why not ? You bought one piece of junk knife, for about what he paid for a jar full of them...

I guide part time on a ranch here in Texas and one of my favorite, toughest knives is a $17.95 Kershaw Tension. At 3.5 inches it backs down from no field dressing chore. It had good reviews and vids. and performs as well as a $300.00 folder. I've never spent $300.00 on a pocket knife but I can't imagine one could do more than what I ask from my Kershaw unless it guts and skins some stinky wild boar by itself. Nobody seems surprised at my claim either and saying it's a cheap piece of junk.

With that in mind, I bought what turned out to be a piece of 3rd world junk from MTech based on the same type of reviews. As I already stated, I have learned not to believe in online reviews or YouTube vids.

 

[moshow9]

What $300 folder have you personally compared it to?

 

[stevewest]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=FghaXY7N9f8 Cold Steel San Mai III Trailmaster fixed blade knive. Since this thread is about a trailmaster clone, thought it would be kind of interesting to look at a jen-u-ine Trailmaster getting put in a vice and bent past 45 degrees WITHOUT BREAKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Skip all the LT verbage to 2:26. And yes, I am old and ignorant on posting videos or I would have.

 

[Nixelplix]

If you think a properly heat treated knife should break when bent instead of flex and return to true, you're doing it wrong. You're making knives, not files.

 

[spydercobenchmadekai]

The video is misleading. Right down to the temperatures as this depends on the steel. But to answer your question, no i havent heat treated a knife or tempered one. (Which you do know there is a thing called tempering right?) But I have been using, collecting, modifying/pimping knives for longer than you have been alive 2 times over. And even in those many years of all my research the most important thing I have learned is that I dont know everything. But one thing that I AM sure of is that you have very little knowledge of the topic at hand. Just because the beckers and esees wont bend doesnt mean others are not designed to do such. Pick up any blade magazine published in your short lifespan and you will see endless articles of makers bending their knives and to a much greater degree than the M-tech knockoff. Some of them are designed to return as close to their original straightness. Trust me young blood you dont want a 13" blade breaking off at the hilt and flying at your face when your hacking through a forest. Either way the focus here isnt me. Im not claiming to be making knives and heat treating blades you are. So I ask you to show your work. And wherever you are learning your craft its time to find a new teacher. Here is an example of what I do with existing knives. Let us see yours.

The mere fact that I as a 13 year old can make you feel threatened about your work is down right funny. To answer your first question that I have in bold, watch the last part of the video where I put the blades in the oven. You kind of made it obvious that you didn't even watch it.

Question two in bold:

 

[spydercobenchmadekai]

more importantly how does it prove ANYTHING. Lets see a video of the knife being tested. Lets see a video cutting solid brass tube and see the edge not chip or roll.

My knives are thin (0.125 to 0.93) fairly high hardness (59 to 62 hrc) bushcraft/hunting/field and forest knives, not the kind of knife that you cut brass with. Please don't be crazy.

And there will be a video of the knife being used--including batoning and other hard use tests. The knife is not finished yet, so I can't make that video yet.

 

[Nixelplix]

The mere fact that I as a 13 year old can make you feel threatened about your work is down right funny. To answer your first question that I have in bold, watch the last part of the video where I put the blades in the oven.

Ah.

The reason that it will flex instead of breaking is that it is not hard. That picture just proved in my mind that it has no heat treat at all. This means that you won't be able to get it very sharp, it will dull easily, and it will flex.

But since it only cost $20, swallow your mistake and use it.

This is still wrong. Read more, post less.