what do you think of Masters of Defense?

MOD's are really quality folders. Their line seem to lean towards self defense rather than utility, but are great knives, none the less.
 
Snake Plissken said:
MOD's are really quality folders. Their line seem to lean towards self defense rather than utility, but are great knives, none the less.
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how would you compare to, say, Strider in terms of toughness and resistance to abuse? Or Extrema Ratio, say?
 
cognitivefun said:
how would you compare to, say, Strider in terms of toughness and resistance to abuse? Or Extrema Ratio, say?
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MOD is right on par with Microtech for the most part. I tend to like MOD designs better but they never really got the following like MT has.

They are not the sharpened folding crowbars that ER and Strider make (AR/GB) so it's not really a comparison, but the MOD's will out cut them for the most part because of the thinner blades and higher grinds. But that's like comparing apples to oranges.

Now if you're just looking for a big intimidating folder with a great lock check out the full size MOD CQD, it's huge.
 
The guy at my local Army Navy surplus store loves them. They use 154cm which holds an edge well and sharpens nicely. The particular one he has, has griptape, like the stuff on the top side of skateboards, embeded in the handle which is really grippy. Yeah, his was pretty nice, super solid, not sure about cutting ablility, although I see no reason why they wouldn't cut very good. I would have one, but I'm an S30V junkie.
 
MOD was purchased by Black Hawk early this year. The earlier MOD knives were of excellent quality. A few of the recent models are not up to the earlier standards. IMHO. If it is a newer model, I would want to handle it before buying.
 
Called MOD yesterday to get a new catalog. I was told that Michael Janich now runs MOD. Also, Jim Ray is still involved in the production process. Anyone else heard of this?
 
I like some of their designs very much. Too bad they didn't hear of S30V (or even VG-10) and G-10 yet :( 154CM and aluminium is no longer a winning combination :(
 
Good knives (at least the ones I've seen) but rather expensive for what you get, IMHO.

Not to mention, there is a certain "armchair-warrior-wannabe-a-Navy SEAL" aspect to them that I don't like very much.

Allen.
 
Just ordered a tempest from a store in Danbury Ct. 90 bucks and 10 bucks to pack and ship it. They are having a sale on them at 50% off. I don't know if it is just certain models or not. The fella I talked to at the store thinks they are very excellant knives so what the heck another Xmas present for me. keepem sharp
 
Can't complain- the knives are great! But their support is not what it use to be! I lost my cordura sheath for my CQD Mark I and never succeeded to buy a replacement from them. When they finally confirmed which part number I was looking for and I was ready to place an order directly with them- they told me to go to one of their distributors. Today- 6 months later- I still do not have my replacement sheath. :grumpy:

Jorgen
 
Quality is great save for one thing... the screw threads are too fine and one slightly excessive turn will strip either the screw or the screwhole and leave you with a severely phucked knife
 
To all:

Thanks for your comments, both positive and negative, on MOD and our products. With them in mind, I'd like to clear up a few things:

First of all, on 1 July 2004 I accepted a full-time position as Director of Product Development for MOD. Jim Ray, the founder of MOD, is MOD's Branch Manager under BlackHawk Products Group and is my senior. We work together extremely well and look forward to offering many more new, innovative, and tactically sound products in the near future.

The pricing of MOD knives is based on the cost of manufacturing. Since the vast majority of MOD knives are CNC milled from solid stock and include expensive extras like Body Cote's Diamond Black DLC coating, they can not be made cheaply. Also, all current MOD products are 100% made in the US using only US-made materials. I'm sure they'd be cheaper if produced in Taiwan, but they wouldn't be the same. The newer knives that look very different than the old product line were purposely designed to meet price points in the market and offer a more affordable alternative to our aluminum handled knives.

As for "hearing" of S30V and other blade steels, we've heard of them and are using them on our new 2005 products. We chose 154CM as an American-made steel back when everyone else was using ATS-34. 154CM is still a great steel and about one-third the price of S30V, so it not only works, but it helps keep the price of our current line more affordable.

With regard to the issue of replacement sheaths, I apologize for any inconvenience you might have experienced. Replacement belt pouches are available in the MOD system. In general, BPG tries to support its distributors and refers business to them. If they can't get the job done, we will do it directly. Please feel free to e-mail me directly if you need further assistance.

I hope this helps.

Happy Holidays,
 
michael janich has earned a reputation in the cutlery business for making something functional as well as pupose driven. with him teamed up with mod i expect great things from them in the following year :cool:
 
Just rec. my Tempest today. Have had it for about 4 hours now and have to say this is of the old school MOD knives. Has the rubber grip inlay in the handle.

First impression is that it comes in a very nice box. Loose the box and go with something smaller and you will save on packaging costs. The general over all impression of the knife is that it is much bigger than I remember. I bought one when the first came out and the liner lock failed so miserably on it I quickly returned it to the vendor. This knife on the other hand has no such problem at all. Locks dead solid perfect with 0 play in any direction. I can gorilla grip the knife and it won't move no matter what grip I seem to use. I have the pse edge which in truth I don't care for all that much but I wanted a Tempest and at this price point I ain't complainin. The overall quality of fit and finish is excellant. No gripes or complaints in this dept.

The blade was a little stiff to deploy but a drop of lt. wt. electric motor oil on either side of the pivot point has smoothed it out considerably. The blade grinds are perfect and the handle sections fit together with nary a gap to see. The handle feels nice and beefy in my hand. Much better feeling than my mini SOCOM elite I am getting on Xmas day. For being what I would consider a small knife or mid size maybe is a better description, it fills my hand wonderfully. I actually feel like I have a knife in my hand, which is just the feeling I want. Seems very controllable too. You know how the blade is oriented all the time. This is due I belive to the fact that the knife weighs something due to the T6 aluminum handle slabs.

The blade shape kind of reminds me of a SOG Tomcat and just as robust but with the advantage of a pocket clip and thumb stud opening capability. I like the rubber gripper inlay a bit more than the sand paper stuff on the mini SOCOM. The edge was working sharp when I rec. it and not hair popping sharp like on a couple of the other MOD's I have had over the years. So a couple of minutes on a small hand held hone and it now shaves hair and cuts and slices with ease. Good bite to the edge now too. :) Grind lines are excellant along with the flats and any radius's cut to the blade. Centers perfectly and as stated locks securely with nary a waggle.

Bottom line here is if you want an "old school" MOD for 90 bucks I don't think this knife deal can be beat. Typical MOD quality which is very high indeed. After all the years of fiddle farting around I think I may have just found the edc for me. Seems to be a perfect size, excellant workmanship, and great ergonomics to the handle of the knife. Won't make people crap themselves when they see it and it will instill pride of ownership knowing you have a precision made cutting tool that can be used for just about anything. Keepem sharp and Merry Xmas. :)
 
I had one and sold it because I could not tighten the pivot screw. There was a slight amount of blade wobble and the blade flipped out much too easily. When I tried to tighten the screw it just kept turning. The problem is the opposite side of the pivot was a smooth round screw acceptor(I don't know the technical term) and there was no way to break it from the screw's grip. Plus, I am not a big fan of the aluminum handle material. It peens too easily when dropped on a hard surfaces.

Jon
 
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