Thoughts?

Don_Logan

Don_Logan

Platinum Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2023
Messages
459
Looking to add something a bit different to the collection and came across these. I am intrigued by the design, however at this price want to do some homework first. This would be mostly a show piece - maybe HD to some degree...? But nothing serious. That said, I want to know if the price asked is somewhat justified given what's going on here.

NTL responds quick and I could not find anything about the makers based on what they had on their site and this was their response. Thank you for all input.

Item: Mike Taylor X Chris Green Full Titanium Custom Short Sword w/ Blue Ti Handle/Semi Polished Blade and Carbonized Steel Edge​


"""These swords were made in a small batch through a collaborative effort between Mike Taylor of Keybar and Chris Green of GreenForceTactical. Mike did the design work and Chris did the fitting, carbonizing, and sharpening. I was told by Chris when I bought all 8 that they had, that he did not plan on making more anytime soon. With that being said, I think I could probably convince him to do some more but that might be some time in the future. So these are the last of them out there. The whole sword (blade, handle, guard) is all 6-AL4V titanium and the blade is carbonized with a tungsten carbide. They are 13 inches of cutting edge and about 18.5 overall""""""


*(did not link as I don't think that is allowed? But copy and paste the item above and it will pop up)*


Thank you!
 
Let's try this in the sword forum.
 
Not sure how get one in here. If you copy and paste the item into a Google search it will pop right up at the only website that carries them.

Thank you
 
For what that one costs, you could have Mecha build you something in Titanium that meets your specifications. If it's an investment, get the pretty one. If you want something you can take off the wall and use, go with Mecha--though his stuff has been getting prettier over the years too.
 
Thank you for the reply. I dig the look. I guess my question circles around cost to mfg. These guys above came together to make this according to NTL (no reason not to believe them). Based on materials used and the "one off" nature of these is $1kish in the realm of possibilities or is this a rip and could someone both offer and make this at a retail front for far less...?( In theory I want both to be taken care of fairly in regards to maker and retailer - just not sure where a build like this fits in to the rest of the industry).

Thank you
 
Don_Logan said:
Thank you for the reply. I dig the look. I guess my question circles around cost to mfg. These guys above came together to make this according to NTL (no reason not to believe them). Based on materials used and the "one off" nature of these is $1kish in the realm of possibilities or is this a rip and could someone both offer and make this at a retail front for far less...?( In theory I want both to be taken care of fairly in regards to maker and retailer - just not sure where a build like this fits in to the rest of the industry).

Thank you
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Titanium kit is a niche market, it's hard to put a value on things that are not often made. 1K for a quality sword isn't a stretch, look at the prices Albion commands for their products. I would research the makers a bit first, see if they had any other pieces up for sale on the secondary market, and run them through a search engine too to check if their business is sketchy.

There are a couple of things that make this look a bit off to me. "Tactical" is a red flag for swords, it's a purely marketing term since swords haven't been standard battlefield gear for a long time. The sheath is rather basic despite the large number of rivets, it's a simple kydex taco with a thumb rest to help draw the blade. The slab hilt construction with Torx heads is also something I would expect on a cheaper knife, though that's more a prejudice on my part. The aggressive cutouts on the blade make me think that it was made on a CNC machine from a blank and not forged. Grinding those in and getting nice, crisp lines would be a difficult process. If they do a good heat treat and carbonization, it wouldn't matter I suppose. What strikes me is that in going for a modern techno aesthetic, the only way they have set themselves apart from an MTech blade is by using premium materials.

Bear in mind that I'm one guy on the internet, but I think that 1k for the short sword above is a heavy ask. But I also think RichMade blade folders look like chunky crap that were ground by a drunken blind man and they go for hundreds of dollars. If an internet search doesn't show the makers as F rated by the BBB, there is a secondary market for the brand, and you personally enjoy the aesthetics, it's not an unreasonable price.
 
Don_Logan said:
Thank you for the reply. I dig the look. I guess my question circles around cost to mfg. These guys above came together to make this according to NTL (no reason not to believe them). Based on materials used and the "one off" nature of these is $1kish in the realm of possibilities or is this a rip and could someone both offer and make this at a retail front for far less...?( In theory I want both to be taken care of fairly in regards to maker and retailer - just not sure where a build like this fits in to the rest of the industry).

Thank you
Click to expand...

It's basically a novelty. It appears to simply be a large chisel-ground knife in standard 6al4v titanium alloy, with a carbidized (not carbonized) edge - a thin layer of very hard tungsten carbide applied to one surface. Chisel grind with carbidized edge is the closest thing to an "industry standard" for a general use ti alloy knife. I like them, personally. The idea is that the softer ti side wears away or is sharpened, exposing the thin, hard, raggedly-sharp carbide edge.

Carbidized 6al4v knives can cut like crazy on fibrous materials, meat, that sort of thing. It would really not be fun to get cut with that.

The design is to look futuristic and cool, not for enhanced function of a ti blade. It's likely to be pretty tough despite the large decorative voids in the blade just due to the characteristics of ti alloys. The edge will probably not be able to handle hard chopping or impact without minor deformation to the apex, but would work-harden and quickly improve with chopping use and a sharpening or two.

The price is surprisingly low imo considering the snowballing pains in the ass of working with ti alloys, and I suspect there's unsaid reasons for why they don't plan on making more of them. 🤣

I wouldn't classify it as a sword, but at 13" of edge it's a lot of blade real estate for something that's probably lighter in weight than you'd think. As a backpacker type item it should definitely be able to get knife work done.

I would replace the kydex sheath with a leather one immediately.

An early sword I made was a forged ti zweihander with a carbidized double-edge, for about 9 feet of tungsten carbide. That was not a fun task. All of these blades combined is probably about that much carbide.
 
BitingSarcasm said:
Titanium kit is a niche market, it's hard to put a value on things that are not often made. 1K for a quality sword isn't a stretch, look at the prices Albion commands for their products. I would research the makers a bit first, see if they had any other pieces up for sale on the secondary market, and run them through a search engine too to check if their business is sketchy.

There are a couple of things that make this look a bit off to me. "Tactical" is a red flag for swords, it's a purely marketing term since swords haven't been standard battlefield gear for a long time. The sheath is rather basic despite the large number of rivets, it's a simple kydex taco with a thumb rest to help draw the blade. The slab hilt construction with Torx heads is also something I would expect on a cheaper knife, though that's more a prejudice on my part. The aggressive cutouts on the blade make me think that it was made on a CNC machine from a blank and not forged. Grinding those in and getting nice, crisp lines would be a difficult process. If they do a good heat treat and carbonization, it wouldn't matter I suppose. What strikes me is that in going for a modern techno aesthetic, the only way they have set themselves apart from an MTech blade is by using premium materials.

Bear in mind that I'm one guy on the internet, but I think that 1k for the short sword above is a heavy ask. But I also think RichMade blade folders look like chunky crap that were ground by a drunken blind man and they go for hundreds of dollars. If an internet search doesn't show the makers as F rated by the BBB, there is a secondary market for the brand, and you personally enjoy the aesthetics, it's not an unreasonable price.
Click to expand...

It's tacticool. Essentially a laser-cut or CNC-cut piece of ti flat bar stock with a chisel grind, not heat-treated but carbidized. Still, not something you see very often. The cut-outs in the blade are an unfortunate addition imo as far as overall strength is concerned, but I'm sure others would think they look cool.
 
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Don_Logan said:
mostly a show piece
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In that case , really all that matters is how much you like it !

IMO , it looks like a non-functional fantasy / cosplay type short sword or a kids toy .

The cutouts (speed holes ?) are the final nail in the coffin for a serious weapon , for my tastes anyway .

I believe Mecha could do a whole lot better , both for looks and function .
 
Thank you for the replies!

I actually have an Albion Caithness. I also have a Zombie Tool (forget which one)

I understand the "Tacticool" POV you guys are coming from. I just think it has a unique look and is cool in that it is made of Ti. From what it sounds like Mecha is saying it appears to be a fairly good item - for what it is. And the general consensus is there probably is not too many things like it due to it being difficult to make as its Ti.

It appears this was just a Blade Show 2023 collaboration between Mike Taylor of Keybar and Chris Green of GreenForceTactical. Not sure what inspired the collaboration as both of their company's are not in this realm. Calvin from NTL bought them all at their booth. He is the son of the owner. They carry really nice stuff at their store, so I suspect they have a good eye for quality when holding something (?)

I ended up emailing the owner and I got it for a decent discount as I used Zelle.

Again thank you for the replies and Mecha, if I end up wanting another Ti Sword I will be sure to contact you. I am in your State.
 
Don_Logan said:
Thank you for the replies!

I actually have an Albion Caithness. I also have a Zombie Tool (forget which one)

I understand the "Tacticool" POV you guys are coming from. I just think it has a unique look and is cool in that it is made of Ti. From what it sounds like Mecha is saying it appears to be a fairly good item - for what it is. And the general consensus is there probably is not too many things like it due to it being difficult to make as its Ti.

It appears this was just a Blade Show 2023 collaboration between Mike Taylor of Keybar and Chris Green of GreenForceTactical. Not sure what inspired the collaboration as both of their company's are not in this realm. Calvin from NTL bought them all at their booth. He is the son of the owner. They carry really nice stuff at their store, so I suspect they have a good eye for quality when holding something (?)

I ended up emailing the owner and I got it for a decent discount as I used Zelle.

Again thank you for the replies and Mecha, if I end up wanting another Ti Sword I will be sure to contact you. I am in your State.
Click to expand...

Ya it's a bigass carbidized ti blade, for sure, biggest one I've heard of. The ti handle scales are also unique.

The thing about working with big ti is that at first it doesn't seem so bad and then it gets worse and worse as as you go, and each step in the process proves more costly and time-consuming than expected, and then you begin to see the wear and tear on your tools and especially consumables like abrasives and bits. Then you keep burning your hands and clothes and it starts to wear on your body, and then your hair catches on fire. Then chips start burning, and then your dust collection system explodes. Then you start wondering if you even want to make another one after all.

Then you start to run into limitations on what can even be done with the stuff. Most blades (and other things) made from it tend to be pretty simple in design for good reasons.
 
Ya, when you mentioned you thought it was a fair price more or less had me assuming it was fair deal given the amount of work and B.S. they likely went through to make it. It is a piece unique and will be something fun to show people if nothing else.
 
Don_Logan said:
Ya, when you mentioned you thought it was a fair price more or less had me assuming it was fair deal given the amount of work and B.S. they likely went through to make it. It is a piece unique and will be something fun to show people if nothing else.
Click to expand...

Oh and I'm sure it will do its job if need be. 😁
 
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