Got one of the manual socom elites. Overall i'm very impressed with it. Lockup is perfect as well as fit and finish. lots of good improvements from the old ones:
1) the thumb stud, excellent, the extra big stud isn't pointy like the old ones, much more comfortable!
2) rubber on both sides, executed very well, the rubber on the clip side doesn't go under the clip, so you don't have it grabbing at your pants like on the LUDT (i like the feel of the rubber inserts
)
3) the new pocket clip, this is one of the best new features, looks great and rides nice and low!
4) the microbar lock, wow, this thing is cool. For one, it has never failed the spine whack test. Second, the grooves on it run lengthwise, as opposed to widthwise like on a lot of folders. very comfortable! (I always wondered why factories/makers did that, if you are pushing on the liner/bar to close it, you want the grooves to run perpindicular to your thumb motion, not parallel in order to get a good grip). Third, it makes a great sound when it locks
5) the indentation on the tang. Ever notice how on liner locks it takes a bit of extra force to get the blade up over the ball detent? (especially SOCOMS because of the larger than usual ball detent) this is because the tang, being 90 degrees to the ball has a hard time "rolling" over it. But look closely at the SOCOM Elite and you will see a tiny 45 degree cut at the base of the tang in order to greatly reduce that resistance! very very clever! Actually i only noticed it when I took the knife apart hehe.
6) the thumb groove, it works and looks decent, goes well with the new larger thumb stud.
7) the new vents, very smart, much better than the 6 small vents in the old SOCOM which were only good at collecting pocket lint. Except I don't like the third vent on the butt of the handle, takes away from the nice feel and look of the traction grooves that are supposed to be there
critiques:
1) the blade, MT made the new Elite with a thicker blade, why? In my opinion the old SOCOM's thickness was just right. Because of this, the handle is also a bit thicker, slightly too thick, I find the handle on the old SOCOM much better.
2) the new blade grind, first of all, I don't find the new grind as cosmetically appealing as the old one. Second, the main bevel only goes about 1/2 way up the blade, along with the thicker blade stock, this results in a steeper cutting angle and probably a small loss in performance
3) the slanted division between the rubber inserts: purely a cosmetic thing, but I don't like it. Personally I much prefer the way the knife looks from the clip side where the insert isn't slanted, and along with that cool clip, it looks much nicer!
all in all, it's a good knife, the microbar lock along with the new pocket clip more than make up for the above dislikes!
wish they kept the old blade grind and the line between the inserts straight...
1) the thumb stud, excellent, the extra big stud isn't pointy like the old ones, much more comfortable!
2) rubber on both sides, executed very well, the rubber on the clip side doesn't go under the clip, so you don't have it grabbing at your pants like on the LUDT (i like the feel of the rubber inserts
3) the new pocket clip, this is one of the best new features, looks great and rides nice and low!
4) the microbar lock, wow, this thing is cool. For one, it has never failed the spine whack test. Second, the grooves on it run lengthwise, as opposed to widthwise like on a lot of folders. very comfortable! (I always wondered why factories/makers did that, if you are pushing on the liner/bar to close it, you want the grooves to run perpindicular to your thumb motion, not parallel in order to get a good grip). Third, it makes a great sound when it locks
5) the indentation on the tang. Ever notice how on liner locks it takes a bit of extra force to get the blade up over the ball detent? (especially SOCOMS because of the larger than usual ball detent) this is because the tang, being 90 degrees to the ball has a hard time "rolling" over it. But look closely at the SOCOM Elite and you will see a tiny 45 degree cut at the base of the tang in order to greatly reduce that resistance! very very clever! Actually i only noticed it when I took the knife apart hehe.
6) the thumb groove, it works and looks decent, goes well with the new larger thumb stud.
7) the new vents, very smart, much better than the 6 small vents in the old SOCOM which were only good at collecting pocket lint. Except I don't like the third vent on the butt of the handle, takes away from the nice feel and look of the traction grooves that are supposed to be there
critiques:
1) the blade, MT made the new Elite with a thicker blade, why? In my opinion the old SOCOM's thickness was just right. Because of this, the handle is also a bit thicker, slightly too thick, I find the handle on the old SOCOM much better.
2) the new blade grind, first of all, I don't find the new grind as cosmetically appealing as the old one. Second, the main bevel only goes about 1/2 way up the blade, along with the thicker blade stock, this results in a steeper cutting angle and probably a small loss in performance
3) the slanted division between the rubber inserts: purely a cosmetic thing, but I don't like it. Personally I much prefer the way the knife looks from the clip side where the insert isn't slanted, and along with that cool clip, it looks much nicer!
all in all, it's a good knife, the microbar lock along with the new pocket clip more than make up for the above dislikes!
wish they kept the old blade grind and the line between the inserts straight...
