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Microtech Strange problem with my Socom Elite

Torquem

Torquem

Joined
Jan 29, 2016
Messages
187
I picked this up new from PVK.Vegas about two months ago. It has ridden in my pocket for edc ever since. Has never seen hard use. Noticed today that there are cracks in the aluminum handle at the lock bar locations. I have never seen anything like this. I'll send it in to Microtech for warranty, but bummed I will be without it for a while. Anyone else ever see anything like this?
 

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That’s very strange especially for a Microtech. Apparently the handle isn’t made from one piece of aluminum and the seams are breaking apart.
 
These are an artifact of the anodization process Microtech uses. There are a couple threads floating around on the topic.

I bought my 2018 Socom Elite new and it has the same marks in the same places. I've seen others where they're a little smaller or larger, but basically the same.

I've used and carried mine for a year and they've never had any impact on the knife's utility or performance whatsoever. :thumbsup: Whether they bother you from an aesthetic standpoint is a personal thing, of course. :)
 
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Thanks for the reply. I wonder if this is something that Microtech warranties?
 
I've seen anodizing get wonky at sharp corners, but never anything like that in a smooth radius:eek:
 
Torquem said:
Thanks for the reply. I wonder if this is something that Microtech warranties?
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I knew someone had asked MT in a previous thread -- here you go. :)

Stang Bladeworks said:
So microtech got back to me today. This was their reply:
Thank you for reaching out to us. I would be happy to address your concern. If you are referring to what appears to be a crack on the back side of the knife close to the thumb stud on the handle or down towards the lanyard hole on the back side near the handle screws, these are tool markings that are made during the machining process. Unfortunately this is a feature that cannot be avoided when we machine the chassis. I am told that path the tool travels does not allow for this to be corrected with the current design. This mark does not compromise the functional integrity of the knife in any way. All of the Socom Elite manuals contain these marks.

I sent in some pics just to sure and they verified its from the machining. I must have not noticed them before. Glad to hear its not an issue.
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Weird, the terrible official explanation (that damage is normal, it's how we make them) doesn't jibe with the pictured damage to me. Those look like cracks, not CNC path issues.

Either way, though, I'm not very picky but I don't think I'd be happy with a knife that looked cracked like that.
 
I had 2 Socom Elite Signature Editions and one of them had these marks. They were indeed tooling marks, not cracks. The other one I have is perfect and doesn’t have this.

The original one I had (now stolen) was a lower serial number than the one I have now.
 
I have 4 of the 2018/2019 run and they all have tooling marks.

I would post some photos but I am currently on the road.
 
That would bug me, maybe even to the point of not using it. Looks like it's going to come apart eventually, sucks they're ok with it.
 
Interesting. Doesn't seem like all of them have this issue. To me, that doesn't speak well to build quality. It's like saying "we can't control this obvious cosmetic flaw in our production process". Too expensive of a knife for that to be the case. Just very odd.
 
craytab said:
Interesting. Doesn't seem like all of them have this issue. To me, that doesn't speak well to build quality. It's like saying "we can't control this obvious cosmetic flaw in our production process". Too expensive of a knife for that to be the case. Just very odd.
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I don’t want to cast dispersions but I feel like they should be selling these as factory seconds. I don’t think that is something MT does though.

If it really doesn’t affect the integrity of the knife then whatever but I do feel like in this price range people expect more.

It seems to only show up on the ones with the lockbar attached through the outside of the scale.
 
Lapedog said:
It seems to only show up on the ones with the lockbar attached through the outside of the scale.
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Are there other types I’m not aware of? Because I’m pretty sure every Socom Elite has its lockbar attached that way.

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Personally, I just put the knife right to work and ignored the machining marks. I didn’t buy it to admire and post filtered Instagram pics. However, I can see how this would be an issue for some.
 
Blues Bender said:
Are there other types I’m not aware of? Because I’m pretty sure every Socom Elite has its lockbar attached that way.
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I can never remember if offsite non-dealer links are OK, but Google "older socom elite" and you'll find a neat Imgur thread comparing a 2006 to a 2018 model. I think there have been other changes over the years as well, but just looking at those two years the flawed areas don't exist in the 2006 design.

Not as in "it was made without those flaws," but as in the clip side is designed in a totally different way that doesn't have the two humps on it at all.
 
Blues Bender said:
Are there other types I’m not aware of? Because I’m pretty sure every Socom Elite has its lockbar attached that way.

______________

Personally, I just put the knife right to work and ignored the machining marks. I didn’t buy it to admire and post filtered Instagram pics. However, I can see how this would be an issue for some.
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Are the old ones not connected in a different way? I thought that was the whole reason the newer ones had that lump on the clip side. I’ve only had two of these and they were the older style like this.

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It all depends on what a person wants out of the knife. From what I see the MT hate gets blown way out of proportion but at the same time I would be upset if my Sebenza came with what appeared to be a huge gash on the scale.
 
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