Secret of Alchemite MC Revealed

Danbo, I'm telling you, I could see it plain as day even in little bitty grainy black and white photos. And this was MARKETING material. I wouldn't order one. To me it was inexcusable. You could bring people in off the street and get them to grind better than that. I can't imagine what the problem was. Also, their finishing belt looked to be very coarse. But go to their web site now and look at several of the same blade and you can see the difference.
 
It is good to see that there has been a major change in QC. What would be really interested would be to see a Trailmaker compared to a similar small Golok from Valiant, as it has a very similar blade profile - it is also *much* cheaper.

-Cliff
 
Cliff, I think that would be a great comparison -- I would like to see that too. These knives are from different worlds, but very similar, as you point out. The Marbles costs more, but is a little more conventional for us westerners, and has a much more secure handle attachment, I think.

Maybe someone out there has a new Trailmaker who can do a little testing for us. You have already put the Valiant Golok through its paces.
 
I lost this the first time, so I have to retype it :mad:

While Marble's did have QC problems in the late 90's, I don't think it's as bad as this thread would lead one to believe. I have 24 of their knives from that era and only 2 have QC problems. While 1 in 12 is not good, in fact it's horrible, every knife they make doesn't have completely different grind lines than the last one. One of my bad knives has asymmetrical grinds, meaning it looks a little lopsided when viewed from the top. The other one looks ok by itself, but when put with my other 4 blades of the same type, it is definitely ground different. And it also has a loose pommel. But the remaining 22 are very nicely done and I feel were a steal for what I paid for them.

A lot of the quality improvements on the new ones come from being CNC ground rather than hand ground. This is obviously a step in the right direction for a production company wanting to establish a good reputation for quality. I have 2 of the new ones, and a 3rd that I sold. None had QC problems, though the blades finish is definitely not as nice as the old ones. The satin finish on all my older knives is very evenly and thoroughly applied. The new ones look like they were run through the finish machine a little too fast and the finish does not look as thorough as the old ones. It's not uneven or blotchy, it just doesn't look as "finished" as the old finish. Pictures don't properly show the finish on the old knives, you have to see one in person to appreciate it.
 
I really don't get it.

IMO O170-6 is a decent carbon steel, just what I would expect in a traditional fixed blade.
I'm at a loss as to why companies try to hide which steel they really use. As long as they don't tell me about their steel, I automatically assume it's 420J2 or a very cheap carbon steel.
 
If Marbles is made by Cammilus, then the bad grinds and QC problems are Camilus problems too. Is this another example of the overall problem with Camilus products...when they're good they're great, but when they're bad, they're horrid?
 
Brownshoe,
Marbles is an old and respected name in the cutlery world. They have gone through ALOT of changes in the last few years[since the re-introduced thier cutlery line], and I would say that some of what you are seeing is changes in the overall way that they make knives.

I don't want to get into what Camillus does and doesn't do for various companies, but let me say this, Camillus does not do any convex grinding for anyone. That is a hand operation that we do not specialize in.
 
Originally posted by Quiet Storm
I really don't get it.

IMO O170-6 is a decent carbon steel, just what I would expect in a traditional fixed blade.
I'm at a loss as to why companies try to hide which steel they really use. As long as they don't tell me about their steel, I automatically assume it's 420J2 or a very cheap carbon steel.
Click to expand...

I'm with you. I'm not going to buy any knife, beyond tableware, if I don't know what material they're using.

I don't think this is a valid marketing strategy -- conceal what steel you are using and people will assume it is very good and must be guarded as a trade secret. Quite the opposite.

It has worked out OK for INFI, but INFI appears to REALLY be a trade secret, not a commonly available material with different name.

Carbon V falls into this category. I think Cold Steel has gotten by this way mostly because the material has proven itself in use over time. Some have suggested that creating a name like Carbon V allows a manufacturer to make material changes without having to notify anyone.

I'm sure most buyers probably don't know one steel from the next. But those who do know, want to know what it is.
 
The most recent Marbles knives (from the last year or so) are very, very nice. The grinds are crisp, straight and the finish is uniform.

I have some older marbles knives that had some major problems. The newer ones do not exhibit any of the earlier QC issues. Nice stuff.
 
I don't recall hearing about any of the newer Marbles having bad grinds either. The bad grinds seemed to end when production moved out of Gladstone.
 
Originally posted by Buzzbait
I don't recall hearing about any of the newer Marbles having bad grinds either. The bad grinds seemed to end when production moved out of Gladstone.
Click to expand...

Buzzbait, I wasn't aware that the knife production moved along with some of these other changes. Do you have any details? Are the knives now being made in Kentucky? I believe they still maintain some type of operations in Gladstone. It would be a shame if the knife quality problems were actually tied to the facility. I'm sure the U.P. economy needed all of the help it could get, too.
 
I have seen recent models with bad grinds. In addition the handle size tends to vary, and the handles seem smaller than they used to. My hands have not grown.
0170-6 is a very good steel, nice grain structure and sharpens easily with proper heat treat.

I find that it rust much more easily than 52100, so I find it odd that Marble's claims it made the switch for more corrosion resistance.
 
Speculation is that Marbles basically recieves finished blades from an outside source now where in the past all the grinding was done in house. I don't think I've ever heard for sure though.
 
Cargun, Fennell's comment, in its lack of detail on who they subcontract to, but specific statement that they don't convex grind, dovetails nicely with your speculation.
 
I have examined MANY Marbles knives over the past several years.

I have not seen ONE Alchemite model with poor grinding.
If anyone has one, I would like to see some pictures.

The 52100 knives, although of good steel, were greatly overrated.
Many had loose handles, and poor spacer-handle fit. The sheaths were abysmal.

The new Marbles stuff has much better QC. They aren't making all of the 50 piece, mostly cobbled together runs like they did in the past, and the serious Marbles collectors aren't happy.
From what I understand, this was necessary for Marbles to keep the doors open.
 
I love the design of Marble's knives, but I want to know how Alchemite performs before I buy one. Does anyone own an Alchemite steel Marble knife? Does the blade hold a good edge? Is it easy to resharpen? Does it stain easily?

Thanks,
Kevin
 
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