*Need opinions on Microtech Medallion Neck Knife

I'd say it's worth a look if you have the spare change. It seems a little high for that style but I don't think I could whittle one out for that cheap. And 154CM is supposed to be a fantastic steel if heat treated right. Go for it if you want my opinion. Hell, if you like it after trying it I may have to try one!
 
i got a medallion the other day from mike payne at www.bladeking.com (he is my local dealer)...the one i got is the stone washed plain edged version....i have only had it for four days so here are my initial impresssions....first it is a small knife as you can see from the stats microtech has published....it will only allow a three finger grip without the lanyard and the lanyard supplied is too short to make a crk style fob so i took an extra piece of crk fob/lanyard material mike gave me and made a crk style fob/lanyard and with this in place i have a good purchase with all four fingers....the way the knife is designed i constantly want to grip the knife forward of the bottom integral guard which would put my forefinger on the blade (not good practice)...i have played with the knife enough to now have some muscle memory for a safe grip forward and reverse....reverse grip is nothing but excellent with the fob in place....the knife fits ok in the sheath and mine is a bit looser than i prefer but its not the end of the world and is held securely in place and wont come out...the knife jiggles/wiggles in the sheath

to remove the knife from the sheath one must read the instructions from microtech which are well written and illustrated....there is a knack to it but it is easily learned and once done a dozen or so times its actually quite easy

the sheath comes with either neck carry via a supplied bead chain or can be carried on the belt via a non adjustable tech lok which does not work well at all with 1.5 inch wide belt but works just fine with belts less then 1.5 inches in width...this is fine for me as i got the piece as a small second fixed blade for under my white coat and once on the belt you never know its there

i had the opportunity to use it some when the carpet guys were ripping some carpet out of my new abode and it cut through the carpet nicely as the blade comes hair poppping razor sharp...i didnt do an excessive amount of cutting but did slice through about 54 liner feet of carpet without a hitch and the blade was still razor sharp....i did get the impression it would do the job....blade shape is not ideal for my use as a utility blade but works quite well in the arena of self defense for my purposes....others may like it as a utility blade but its like the busse assault shaker in that i think it will excell in the defense arena

overall fit/finish was ok but not outstanding as i have come to expect with microtech products....there were some rough areas in the cut outs in the handle that could have used some more polishing and had some "flash" present which was easliy removed with an emery board....the stone wash finish is excellent and flawless...the knife has jimping on four areas of the handle and these were well done and had a nice friction bite to them creating a better grip but they were not rough on the hand nor were they poorly designed....the jimping is well thought out

i plan to dip my handle in plastidip for an even better grip and then resecure a crk style fob to it

overall i think its an expensive piece for what it is if one has to pay full retail.....if you can find one discounted (as we all can) then its not a bad deal


hope this helps.....feverdoc
 
Originally posted by feverdoc
i plan to dip my handle in plastidip for an even better grip and then resecure a crk style fob to it

overall i think its an expensive piece for what it is if one has to pay full retail..... discounted, then its not a bad deal...feverdoc
Click to expand...

Plastidip. Interesting idea, especially if it sticks to the handle fairly well. It sure is easy to recoat when it rubs off.

Best idea for a handle I've heard since the "use tennis racquet grip tape for a Reeve one-piece".

Thanks for the review, Feverdoc.

(Every time I see "Pus has been berry berry good" I of course think of Garret Morris phrasing those words in a white lab coat.)
 
thanks rdangerer....plastidip makes a GREAT grip/handle enhancer.....i did a crkt neck peck for funsies and then did a second coat and it turned out AWESOME....i showed it to mike payne of knives&things and bladeking fame and he had me help him do about a dozen or so crkt stiff kisses...he put them on his table at the very next gun show and they literally were grabbed up off the table in about an hour...even by people who already had stiff kisses....the plastidip costs about 6 to 7 bucks per can and can be found at home depot as well as most hardware stores...it comes in black, blue, red, green, and yellow....i find that dipping the handle is the best method and use the product as is from the can...let the coat dry for 24 hours then do a second dip making sure you hang the knife from a string attached to the blade via tape for each drying period....one tip is to use a very slow insertion and withdraw from the plastidip going no faster than about an inch per 15 seconds....i have used this stuff for years on all sorts of knife handles and when you get down to it you can do about 15 to 18 knives for 6 or 7 dollars....the stuff is tough as hell and wears like iron....the grip it provides is beyond excellent....if you do a dip or two and find you have placed the plastidip too close towards the blade so that the knife wont fit into the sheath properly it will easily trim with a razor blade and the fresh edge adheres like it was glued to the handle...have fun with it!.....feverdoc
 
one other thought on the plastidip.....make sure it is well stirred/mixed before you use it and dont freak out if the coats look thick as they will shrink as they dry and conform perfectly to the handle and cut outs and the finished product is too cool
 
What sort of stores carry the Plasti-Dip? Regular hardware stores? Some sort of specialty store?

Thanks,
 
I read in a previous post that a titanium version might come out. Is this true? Does anyone know about this?

Please post pics of the medallion with the Plastidip. Home Depot carries this product.
 
at present i have no way to make pics and will try to get a friend to help me...once i get some pics i will post them....plastidip is available at home depot as well as ace hardware and most other home improvement sotes such as lowes as well as many hardware stores....feverdoc
 
I just got mine today. Unlike feverdoc, mine already has the fob tied to it, just the way i like it, nice and tight.

Beautiful finish and razor sharp as always for MT. Haven't used it much though except for my routine :) stabbing and cutting cardboard boxes. The grip is fine considering that size is kept to a minimum, but it has to be small to be a neck knife any larger would defeat its purpose.
 
I've had my Medallion for about a week now. Thought I'd add my comments to feverdoc's since we've had slightly different experiences. Mine is the same model, the stonewashed version.

I also get a three-finger grip without the "tail". After experimenting a bit I removed the tail and haven't missed it. The bottom of the grip tucks firmly into the curve of my palm and the jimping keeps my fingers in place. I've experimented with slashing and thrusting at various targets and have not had any slippage.

I have not experienced the problem feverdoc mentioned of trying to grip forward onto the blade. It is probably a matter of hand size and shape.

Mine also rattles slightly in its sheath, which is unfortunate. My other kydex sheathes fit more precisely. Why couldn't Microtech do that?

I wish the thumb ledge on the sheath was thinner. It doesn't seem necessary and it is the thickest part of the sheath. I'll probably grind mine down. Size and weight are very important to me in a neck knife. The Medallion is otherwise an almost perfect "fit" for me.

I agree that mini-TekLoks are a tight fit on 1-1/2" belts, but I have gotten used to prying them on and off of mine. :)

I was disappointed that my Medallion came without a decent edge. It would scratch the edge of a sheet of paper intead of cutting in. Terrible! On the other hand, the rest of the finish on mine was perfect. There were no rough areas and no leftover flashing. Apparently Microtech works on either the blade or the grip, but not both. :rolleyes:

I love the shape of the blade. I've found this general configuration very flexible for utility and I definitely like a drop-point recurve for defense.

The price is high, but I don't think it's unreasonable. You get an excellent design in high-end steel and a flexible, if not great, kydex sheath.

For anyone who wants to see a picture I have one of mine at http://www.october.com/knives/. Now that I have the page put together I need to learn how to take decent pictures of my toys. :D

--Bob Q
 
Any one have the black boron coated version? Does the black coating come off when it is repeatedly pulled out of the sheath?
 
Hey Guys...

I thought I'd make a quick comment on the sheath rattle..

Now please keep in mind that I have never handled one of these blades and I speak strictly from an experience standpoint....

The fact that the MT has no scales to speak of is Entirely the reason why the knife rattles within the sheath...

A skeletonized knife,,Any skeletonized knife ,especially one so thin is Extremely hard to get a real decent fit on.

With this type of knife you have three choices to make.

1- The knife rattles in the sheath but no scratching
2- You make the knife not rattle, but in the process you get scratching
3 -You extend the mouth of the sheath to grasp more of the handle, making the sheath larger.

This knife would be very difficault to get an exacting fit. It can be done,, but is problematic. Multiply this by the fact that it is a factory made sheath, were the operator doesn't have all day to play with one sheath. This type of fit is fairly common and not without reason...

I have customers ask me all the time that they want a sheath without rattles,, but want Absolutely no scratching on the blade... Sometimes an impossible thing to achieve...

So guys,, as long as you are happy with the retention of the blade,and it's not making a bunch of noise,,it may be something you will have to live with.

Just my 0.02 cents

ttyle

Eric...
 
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