What exactly does mid-tech mean??

it's essentially a custom knife where the making of some (this could mean most) of the parts is outsourced. in the case of the XM-18, only the grinding of the blades is done by someone other than Rick Hinderer. I think the mid-tech Lahar is actually ground by Tim Galyean himself, so i'm not even sure if anything is outsourced on that knife. Ken Onion came up with the term so people didn't think that all of his knives were outsourced.
 
I don't think there really is an exact definition, it will vary from person to person. Just think of it as something that is between a production knife and a custom knife. It may have been hand ground and have a rand rubbed finish (indicative of a custom knife) but the blade itself may have been laser cut in a factory somewhere (normal for production knives). It's not quite a custom but better than a production knife.
 
I think also the knife being heavily CNC made rather than hand constructed or fabricated has something to do with it. The only work required to CNC is to push some buttons and the program/machinery do the rest.
 
"Mid tech" refers to knives that fall in the gap between "quasi tech" and "sorta tech."

Sorry. I promise not to do that again.
 
A lot of "handmade" knives are constructed almost entirely of CNC'd parts.

if you want a completely hand-made knife, check out yuna knives. he makes every knife with a hacksaw and a grinder that he built himself (with the hacksaw, presumably)
 
Last edited:
I think also the knife being heavily CNC made rather than hand constructed or fabricated has something to do with it. The only work required to CNC is to push some buttons and the program/machinery do the rest.

Please come visit my shop and I will educate you, I will even buy you lunch and a beer! :eek::D
 
I think also the knife being heavily CNC made rather than hand constructed or fabricated has something to do with it. The only work required to CNC is to push some buttons and the program/machinery do the rest.

Please come visit my shop and I will educate you, I will even buy you lunch and a beer! :eek::D

Doesn't get any better than this. Free food and beer! ;)



Plus an invite for a shop visit with a great young knifemaker. :thumbup:
 
I assure you, the "mid-tech" Pro Series Galyean JYD and Lahar that I have in my collection were most certainly NOT made by a machine and then assembled by a person. A lot of sweat, effort, and talent went into these pieces:thumbup:
 
I assure you, the "mid-tech" Pro Series Galyean JYD and Lahar that I have in my collection were most certainly NOT made by a machine and then assembled by a person. A lot of sweat, effort, and talent went into these pieces:thumbup:

I think someone else is trying to get a free beer and lunch ;)
 
Back
Top