T-Mag

I got one today as well had some pretty serious blade play I tightened the pivot down about a quarter turn and its rock solid now
 
Blade play should not worry you. It is easily fixed by some loktite or similar product and tightening. In my experience, it is not uncommon for some manufacturers. In the box insert for my 3yo CRKT, it tells you to tighten up all the screws in your knife every so often as part of routine maintenance. For my T-mag, a little extra tightening actually made it better for me. The blade doesn't open as readily with a flik, making it more legal in my area, plus it is harder to close, thus less likely to bite me :)
 
Besides the magnet not being strong I'd like to add that otherwise the knife is great. Mine came perfectly centered and no play, if you tighten it the blade is not as smooth to open but will stay tighter to the magnet. I am keeping this in my office anyway as a conversation piece and to use for general cutting. I would put it away but its just a great size and good materials.

Sal I know this probably wont happen, but could you sell a liner lock kit for this? Or something like it? I figure it probably wouldnt happen as the scales dont have cutouts but this in a backlock or strong linerlock would be fantastic.
 
I just got mine, and I'll give a quick run over:

The Good:
Love the CF handles. Makes it a knife that I could easily carry in a suit, without looking like a creep.
Blade shape is nice. I love the hump for the Spyder hole, and the jimping on the top, and on the finger choil is excellent as always.
Pillar construction. First non-locking knife I've seen with this. Makes it easy to remove dust and dirt, along with (imo) making it look a bit more attractive.

The Bad:
The CF is slippery. I can understand how you wouldn't want it to tear up your pocket, but it is smooth. I personally don't have a problem with it, but hard cuts are obviously not intended.
Wire clip seems a little on the small side, and I wish it had a bit more spring to it.
I know lots of people have mentioned the magnet strength, and I would like to point out that it's a little low. Could be stronger.

The Ugly:
I had some blade play on mine, side to side a mm or two. I tightened the pivot screws and it remedied most of the problem.

Overall, I love the knife. Definitely going to carry this one for a while.
Thanks Sal & Co. ! :)
 
I got mine. Like everyone has said, the magnet is weak compared to other devices for keeping a blade open.
I had the thought that if the blade were of thinner stock and fully flat ground, it would be lighter and the magnet would have an easier time pulling it in.
Not crazy about this particular carbon fiber. I like the carbon fiber on the Stretch and Superhawk much better.
 
AF said:
I got mine. Like everyone has said, the magnet is weak compared to other devices for keeping a blade open.
I had the thought that if the blade were of thinner stock and fully flat ground, it would be lighter and the magnet would have an easier time pulling it in.
Not crazy about this particular carbon fiber. I like the carbon fiber on the Stretch and Superhawk much better.
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Those have the CF finished like the Millies? (Very grippy, but not tear the skin off your palm rough.)

I personally love how smooth it is going in and out of my pocket.

Ti liners?!?!?! I had noooo idea. :D They must've really taken a hit selling these for under $50. Beautiful.
 
Just got my 2 today and I'm really liking them :) Has anyone with these REALLY noticed any problems having them near, say, cell phones, pda's, ipods, anything electrical, etc? Just wondering since they come with a little card/warning about that... I may forget n set it close to my cell phone or ipod.. :o
 
kshaw07 said:
Just got my 2 today and I'm really liking them :) Has anyone with these REALLY noticed any problems having them near, say, cell phones, pda's, ipods, anything electrical, etc? Just wondering since they come with a little card/warning about that... I may forget n set it close to my cell phone or ipod.. :o
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LOL, I just read your post and moved mine away from the computer!:eek: I read the card, but am just not used to worrying about whether or not my knives are too close to the computer.

Anyway, my two arrived today, and overall I'm very pleased. Very sharp, as usual from Spyderco. I like the scales, and since this won't be a hard use knife I'm not too worried about how smooth they are. I also agree with many that the magnet is just not as strong as I had hoped. I'll probably tighten the pivot a bit like some have suggested.

Bottom line is that it is a great conversation piece, is made from top notch materials, has excellent fit and finish, is definitely a working, useable knife, and I got TWO of 'em for less than $100 shipped:thumbup:k

No real complaints here.
 
I just received mine today from SFO. I'll echo some of the comments: great looking knife, poor lock.

FWIW there is zero bladeplay on the tmag I received.

Andy
 
Make sure you don't degauss your credit cards or hotel keys ;)
 
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One nice side effect of using a magnet is that it transforms the knife into a neck knife. Just stick the split ring of a lanyard next to the magnet and it hangs quite comfortably there. Walked around the house all day like this.
 
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has anyone disassembled the t-mag yet? how hard might it be remove the magnet and replace it with a stronger one? how is the magnet held in place? thanks- CB
 
cool_hand_luke said:
I just received mine today from SFO. I'll echo some of the comments: great looking knife, poor lock.
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I doesn't actually have a lock, so you could argue that it can't have a "poor" lock. :rolleyes:

chuck buck said:
has anyone disassembled the t-mag yet? how hard might it be remove the magnet and replace it with a stronger one? how is the magnet held in place? thanks- CB
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Since it has full Ti liners, it's probably not held in place by it's own magnetism. I'm guessing it's glued in. Rare earth magnets are hard to deal with. Drilling them is a total PITA. Most companies (well, all do) coat their rare earth magnets in Nickle to protect the magnet from chips and cracks.
 
I just received mine as well; absolutely no blade play, the blade was a bit off center but with a little time and patience that was easily remedied. Very sharp, very nice, detailed review to follow. Thanks, Mr. Glesser. :)
 
Received mine today. My thoughts:

Fit and finish on mine was prety good. I have some, for lack of a better word, "scarring" on the back on one of the liners. It's all roughed up. I'm going to try to sand it down.

I didn't have any blade play.

The blade was razor sharp. The sharpest I've seen from a production knife company.

I agree I wish the magnent was stronger. It's not even close to as strong as the backspring on a slipjoint. A shake of the wrist and that blade is swinging around towards my fingers. The choil does a decent job of getting your finger in the way of the blade closing to help hold it open, but still, this is essentially a loose bladed knife. For gentleman folder type stuff like slicing open envelops, I'm sure it will be fine.

I dig the smoother CF handles. It's nice a nd light weight. I like the slimline clip.

Over all, it's a nice $50 knife. I would never have paid much more than that for it though. It won't challenge for the spot of EDC, but it's a fun knife to have.
 
If you tighten the pivot screw a bit (1/4 - 1/2 turn) it make the knife a bit tighter, and you can't "flip" it as well. Preference is yours. I tightened a bit due to blade play (minor) and found that it seemed to slow the open/close action a little, which I prefer. Before it almost seemed like it would open up in my pocket.
 
Josh K said:
If you tighten the pivot screw a bit (1/4 - 1/2 turn) it make the knife a bit tighter, and you can't "flip" it as well. Preference is yours. I tightened a bit due to blade play (minor) and found that it seemed to slow the open/close action a little, which I prefer. Before it almost seemed like it would open up in my pocket.
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I came to this thread to post the exact same thing. Took me a few days to get the right Torx driver (t's a T9), and now that I've turned the screw down a bit, blade play is gone, blade is centered, and the loosenes that enabled the knife to flip open (and easily close) is gone which I like as well.

There is no longer a "snap" to the opening, more like a muted snickt. It still snaps closed.

I really like this knife.. and am awaiting the low-profile wire clips that I have ordered, to put the final touch on this.

I won't be trying to modify this into a locking knife. That's why I have the Spyderco offers the Sage and the Caly III in CF.
 
Carried the knife outside for a while today on a short hike through the woods looking for signs of deer (I'm scouting for gun season here in Ohio). Whittled on a few small branches. The edge has excellent geometry and I'm impressed with the comfort of the handles. I do wish the knife had a solid lock, but the magnet is an innovative, cool idea even if there's no real place or purpose in the market it for it. A well spend $50 in my opinion, and an excellent gentleman's knife for light chores and a great talking point with the buddies over a campfire.
 
I will put in my two cents as well. A few have posted som comments that I agree with, but I will restate as needed:

First, I will say that the knife is generally a beautifully made knife and a VERY "nicely made" knife for $50.00 with fine attentions to "quality" details.
One exception (IMO): I purchased two and both have fairly roughly finished liners. I would prefer smoother finished sides of the liners.... But, for $50.00..... I can't complain about the finish on the sides of the liners.

If this knife had a simple liner lock, I would value it at well above $50.00. The build quality and material quality by themselves should put this knife at well over $50.00, but for me, certain functional details bring down the otherwise much higher value.

I (personally) have "some" issues with some of the design features. But, quality is top shelf and for someone who wants a fun to play with knife, with exceptional materials and build quality, this knife is hard to beat for $50.00.

Details:

Materials: I love the CF scales. The look and feel are both awesome in my book. I like them better for folders than G10 or micarta and easily nicer than any type of plastic or rubber variations. I haven't owned CF scales prior to this knife and have owned hundreds of folders. The CF scales may have just become my favorite (for certain folders). I think they are the best looking folder scales I have seen and the feel is just right IMO. Just smooth enough for a pocket knife and just enough grip for what I want and expect for a pocket knife.
But, I don't think I would want CF for (most) fixed bladed knives.

S30V is a great knife steel in my book. I don't feel I should have to go much into that. Most people here know enough about S30V.

Quality: Generally "TOP SHELF". The knife is VERY nice looking, Very well made and with best materials. I am VERY impressed all around..... except for as mentioned above: the sides of the liners are rough and I would prefer they be smooth and flush with the scales.


Design: The handle shape is very good. I don't know that I can say it is my favorite handle, but it does fit my hand very well and quite comfortable. I like the choke up on the blade..... turns out to be VERY neccessary for this knife.

Sorry for committing any blasphemy here, but..... I am not the biggest fan of Spydie holes. I prefer thumb-studs. I generally prefer opening folders with a thumb-stud, but my biggest issue is the incredibly large hump on this knife. I am O.K. with some types of thumb ramps or humps, but the Spydie hole and hump on the T-Mag are HUGE and do not feel good or right in my hand for "Use" for me at all. And with the very weak magnet, this blade and knife and especially with the very large "Hump" that is fairly hard to avoid putting thumb pressure on - bring new meaning to the term "PRE-BROKEN" knife.

Maybe I have long thumbs (????). The jimping is on the back side of the hump implying that you would have your thumb on the back side. This is a little cramped for me. My thumb naturally falls at the top of the jimping to the top of the hump. I guess I prefer no ramp or hump to offer more thumb versatility.

But, no matter where I put my thumb, for me, I can't "TOUCH" the thumb ramp on the T-Mag "anywhere" without the blade partially closing/breaking in use. The index finger notch does a sufficient job at keeping the blade from closing on my finger (luckily). But, the blade moves up and down way too easily for most of my preferred uses even for a "Slippy" knife. I happen to like to have my thumb on the blade for many types of cutting chores. But, I find I have to keep my thumb completely off the blade to avoid my blade partially breaking and moving up and down 5-15 degrees all over the place.
I have owned many non-locking folding knives over the years and NONE even come close to the blade movement of this T-Mag. (**** And I am not talking about blade "Play". My two T-Mag's both have dead-centered blades with very little blade play. - EXCELLENT on mine.) I am talking about the blade partially closing/breaking about 5-15 degrees with use when my thumb "touches" the blade. I find this much blade movement annoying - even if my index finger prevents the blade from closing.

If the large hump didn't exist, there would likely be less pressure on the blade which would likely help prevent the blade from always moving when touched by my thumb (?????).

In the end, I think the T-Mag would be a MUCH improved user knife if it had even a very light tensioned liner lock.


Clip: I love the simple, attractive and discreet clip. I actually think it is one of the nicest looking clips of any folder I have seen. I like the round edges vs. many clips have square edges with sharp or rough corners. But, the clip is WAY too strong. I will "Quickly" tear up my pockets and about give myself a big wedgie trying to remove the knife from my pockets. I would prefer (REQUIRE) less tension for easier, smoother pocket attachment and deployment. Little details are important. I am actually pretty picky about most G10 folders on the market with rough G10 texture under the clip as the rough texture creates too much friction under the clip. In the T-Mag's case, I think the CF is sufficiently smooth, but the tension on the clip is MEGA powerful and is so strong that it creates way more friction with reasonably smooth CF scales than most reasonably tight clips on high friction G10 scales.

Also, for folders, I prefer less belly. I tend to use my folders for task chores and prefer a shallower belly. But, I consider that just my opinion. I really like the blade "edges" of the Mule, Caly3, Military & Para-Military and similar.


Factory Edge/sharpness: BEST ever! I have received a few VERY sharp Spydercos and some other notable sharp knives. I am pretty confident these two T-Mags have set the new standard for out of the box sharpness. I thought I was getting pretty darn good edges on some of my knives. I often improve most factory edges. But, I don't think I can improve these edges.

One other issue: the discription on the site for the T-Mag specifically states:

"The flat-ground blade is laser cut CPMS30V....."

Mine is clearly "Hollow Ground". I thought I understood the difference between flat grind and hollow grind. :confused: Am I missing something??? :confused:

I always prefer flat grind on my folders. (*Although, I wouldn't mind some convex folders....)

For fixed blades, I generally prefer convex grind, but I am very often fine with flat grind. I don't really like hollow grind on fixed blades with the exception of a few daggers and dagger type fighting knives that I collect for aesthetics and not use. :o


As much as I find LOTS of great things about the T-Mag, I can't honestly say the T-Mag would rank well as a knife I want to "Use" and carry to "Use".

But, I am still very impressed with looks and quality.


One "FUN" side note: The T-Mag is the most "FUN" toy knife to play with. The magnet is not good IMO for holding the knife open for "USE". But, it has a GREAT "Feel" for opening release and closing for fun. I play with this knife a lot. I put one in my car and one by my desk and now constantly toy with it opening and closing it for fun. I habitually do this with certain good folders (I particularly like Ken Onion assisted blades and Axis locks for toying.... :o )... But, the T-Mag has become my favorite "Toy" knife..... very addictive to me... :o

.
 
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