Techno and Mouse: side-by-side

Not sure what it is but i just can't find any excitement for this knife. I usually gravitate to the thick bladed knives.
 
yablanowitz said:
They repel me. No interest, excitement or love here for the Techno.
Click to expand...

I have to agree. I took a look at a Techno in a local knife shop recently, and I just don't understand them. I'm having a hard time seeing how the stubby, thick blade has any practical use or utility, and, even though I only have medium-sized hands, I found the Techno to be too small for a comfortable grip. I also don't think I'd be comfortable doing any kind of "hard use" chopping or cutting with the knife, as the lack of grip combined with the really shallow guard part of the handle does not feel very safe to me.

At the same time, it seems like this style of knife has been increasing in popularity recently; am I missing something?
 
Nafunu said:
I have to agree. I took a look at a Techno in a local knife shop recently, and I just don't understand them. I'm having a hard time seeing how the stubby, thick blade has any practical use or utility, and, even though I only have medium-sized hands, I found the Techno to be too small for a comfortable grip. I also don't think I'd be comfortable doing any kind of "hard use" chopping or cutting with the knife, as the lack of grip combined with the really shallow guard part of the handle does not feel very safe to me.

At the same time, it seems like this style of knife has been increasing in popularity recently; am I missing something?
Click to expand...

Right there with you, a guy bought one at a store, and I handled it before he bought it, I just did not get the point of the design. Completely not practical in my opinion.
 
Nafunu said:
I have to agree. I took a look at a Techno in a local knife shop recently, and I just don't understand them. I'm having a hard time seeing how the stubby, thick blade has any practical use or utility, and, even though I only have medium-sized hands, I found the Techno to be too small for a comfortable grip. I also don't think I'd be comfortable doing any kind of "hard use" chopping or cutting with the knife, as the lack of grip combined with the really shallow guard part of the handle does not feel very safe to me.

At the same time, it seems like this style of knife has been increasing in popularity recently; am I missing something?
Click to expand...

I don't think that every folder made has hard use and chopping as part of its design purpose. Not really sure why folks get that impression with every knife they see to begin with. It's a small knife, and it's easier to carry and less offensive in many areas than a large knife would be.
 
RevDevil said:
I don't think that every folder made has hard use and chopping as part of its design purpose. Not really sure why folks get that impression with every knife they see to begin with. It's a small knife, and it's easier to carry and less offensive in many areas than a large knife would be.
Click to expand...

Then why such thick blade stock? I don't mind smaller knives, but the small knife should be combined with a thinner blade. Spyderco is the king of making small knives usable, but the Techno did not feel very ergonomic and useful to me, it felt awkward. People are all over this one because it is "built like a tank" but is totally not necessary, and its cutting performance is surely compromised. If I were Spyderco, I would make it too, they sell.
 
I like the Techno a lot. I carry and use it daily - I haven't had any problems with its looks, size, blade thickness, edge geometry, ergonomics, etc. It is definitely not a knife for everyone, that's for sure. But it's a knife for me.
 
nccole said:
Then why such thick blade stock? I don't mind smaller knives, but the small knife should be combined with a thinner blade. Spyderco is the king of making small knives usable, but the Techno did not feel very ergonomic and useful to me, it felt awkward. People are all over this one because it is "built like a tank" but is totally not necessary, and its cutting performance is surely compromised. If I were Spyderco, I would make it too, they sell.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing because that is the way the original Techno was designed by Marcin Slysz wanted it? The knife has a a pretty good hollow/flat grind, which means it is thin behind the edge. Aside from that Europe has some pretty interesting knife laws, and another reason for its size. It's definitely a love-hate thing, as was with the Leafstorm and countless other knives. There are a lot of folks that equate hard use folders with Ti frame locks. Why? Who knows? It's a trend that has been ongoing for a few years and people are buying them.
 
Last edited:
yablanowitz said:
They repel me. No interest, excitement or love here for the Techno.
Click to expand...

I agree with you Yab and I always thought of the MOUSE as being a novelty type knife as well. Personally I don't have any use for those type of blades either. However the one small bladed knife that Spyderco has that I do find to be an excellent and efficient tool is the Dodo.
 
I went through a "minimalist" phase, which happened to include knives. I'd heard that Tim Wegner had made what he believed was the absolute minimalist outdoor survival/wilderness knife -- the Mouse. As a test, Wegner even field-dressed a deer with it.

Well -- of course, I had to get one! :)

I love small knives, but I have to say that in its size range, I prefer the Lava (got two of them) and the Meerkat. Still, the Mouse is a cool bit of history -- and it's so tiny, it can easily be thrown into the pocket as a back-up or even third-option knife.


.
 
The knife looks amazing. Very pleasing, aesthetically.

That said, I'm with the other critics. What's the point of the design? It makes no sense.
 
Here's a shot of the Mouse next to the Lava, and next to that, the Meerkat...

shortknives_800x600.jpg


.
 
RevDevil said:
I don't think that every folder made has hard use and chopping as part of its design purpose. Not really sure why folks get that impression with every knife they see to begin with.
Click to expand...

That's exactly the point I was trying to make though; as I said first "I'm having a hard time seeing how the stubby, thick blade has any practical use or utility". That might be exaggerating a bit, but in my experience, even with a full-flat grind like the Techno has, I've found that thick, wide blades do not work well for EDC type applications. At the same time, the blade dimensions, construction, and materials imply that the knife is intended to take some abuse. In fact, this is kind of how Spyderco describes the knife in their catalog:

The Techno falls into Spyderco’s “Little Big Knives” category; meaning it has a smaller blade and handle, paired with a hard-duty locking mechanism, exotic blade steel and vault-like construction found primarily on hard-use, larger knives.
Click to expand...

However, as I said, the ergonomics are, to me, not great for "hard use"... which I put in quotes because I kind of laugh at the idea of using any folder for any kind of "hard use" :)


RevDevil said:
It's a small knife, and it's easier to carry and less offensive in many areas than a large knife would be.
Click to expand...

When I was handling the Techno and comparing it to what I had on me, it didn't seem to actually that small. In terms of pocket space and weight, it has a slightly shorter blade than my Delica, yet it's nearly twice the weight and considerably larger in all dimensions except length. In addition, speaking as a Canadian with fairly restrictive knife laws, I think most people here would find this knife more aggressive or threatening looking than, for example, a Delica or even a larger Sage.


Anyway, to each his own :)
 
I don't think anyone actually looked at the link I posted. The Slysz Mouse is the custom knife the Techno is based on. This is not the same knife as the Spyderco Mouse. The pics in the link above show a side-by-side of the Slysz Mouse with the Techno, and you can see differences between the custom model and the production version.

As for the way this thread turned out, I'm not surprised in the least that it turned into a Techno bashfest. It is a very polarizing knife, most people will either love it or hate it and it looks like it is both selling well and getting a lot of flack. That is definitely a sign of an innovative design.

Now when are we going to get some cool aftermarket backspacers for this thing? The orange one on that Mouse is off the chain!
 
I wanted a Mouse from the first time I saw one. I had to settle for a Techno instead. I love the darn thing. It is different for sure, but I like that about it. It's such a unique knife and definitely has a place in my collection and EDC rotation.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top