Magpul Knife

[doc holiday13]

Pretty awesome what they're doing. Pushing limits and changing manufacturing processes

 

[intunegp]

It's different, but way too early to say whether it's better/worse/the same. Kershaw did a MIM blade on the 1597 Offset in like 2007, it was 440C and there isn't a ton of info on them as far as reviews from actual users and how the blade performed. I don't think they ever molded any other blades for any other knife after that, so take from that what you will.

Nobody in the knife world is begging for MIM blades, and I think Magpul will have to prove that they can make a knife either better or cheaper if this technology is going to become more common for knives, and they definitely didn't hit the mark on the latter with this one.

Whether or not it is a piece of crap or the next big thing, it's cool to see the innovation from a company like Magpul that has the time and money to invest.

 

[doc holiday13]

It's different, but way too early to say whether it's better/worse/the same. Kershaw did a MIM blade on the 1597 Offset in like 2007, it was 440C and there isn't a ton of info on them as far as reviews from actual users and how the blade performed. I don't think they ever molded any other blades for any other knife after that, so take from that what you will.

Nobody in the knife world is begging for MIM blades, and I think Magpul will have to prove that they can make a knife either better or cheaper if this technology is going to become more common for knives, and ....

440 is crap. Plain and simple. Injection molding of any kind has improved significantly since then too

While the industry isn't begging for mim, it's a genius way to cut production cost, increase production speed, and produce way less material waste. there is actually little to no need for a consumer to have MIM as requirement for their knife blade construction

 

[intunegp]

440 is crap. Plain and simple. Injection molding of any kind has improved significantly since then too

While the industry isn't begging for mim, it's a genius way to cut production cost, increase production speed, and produce way less material waste. there is actually little to no need for a consumer to have MIM as requirement for their knife blade construction

That's a great sales pitch for the meeting at Magpul, but all the cost cutting and production efficiency still resulted in a knife that costs more than the average person is willing to spend on a knife while not being proven to offer any advantages to the end user.

It is exciting to think what it could mean for the future of knives, but someone is going to have to show why it benefits the consumer to choose a MIM knife for it to really take off. Whether it's because they're cheaper for the same quality, or better quality for the same money, there's going to have to be an objective advantage to break through to the MIM=bad crowd which has a huge overlap with the people in Magpul's target market.

 

[xaceofspades999x]

I wonder if this will be just like their previous release of limited knives?

Super high pricing, no real world reviews, but expecting the high dollar because they are going off of their name.

For me personally, I would need to see it reviewed by many to ensure it is worth it depending on the price since why not go with an established brand especially when things something the consumers have not really asked for.

 

[sndmn11]

I don't understand the hook of this? When I read an article about this knife and got to the "pass on the cost savings" part I was expecting to see $30. Not 6X that.

American made is common with knives.
S35vn is common
I'd question support from a non-knife company, just like I'd question myself buying a Spyderco rifle mag.

If I'm buying a new pocket knife today, it's a Kershaw BelAir, and it might be cheaper.

 

[intunegp]

I don't understand the hook of this? When I read an article about this knife and got to the "pass on the cost savings" part I was expecting to see $30. Not 6X that.

American made is common with knives.
S35vn is common
I'd question support from a non-knife company, just like I'd question myself buying a Spyderco rifle mag.

If I'm buying a new pocket knife today, it's a Kershaw BelAir, and it might be cheaper.

It has been pretty contentious so far and I personally haven't seen any reviewers with one in hand yet. The marketing did make it sound like it would be a budget friendly USA made knife with super steel and then pre-orders show up for $200. They're trying to play in the same ballpark as Spyderco and Benchmade but they haven't established yet that they deserve to be there. It's all "innovation" at this point and TBD whether they've created a solid product or not.

 

[doc holiday13]

I don't think the purpose of a MIM blade would be to bring cost waaaay down.. Its more to make a higher quality blade.

CPM and MIM are not much different if I understand them properly. MIM just takes CPM a step further and creates a near finished product in one swoop. From the implecations that the magpul guys said, its sounds like they're getting better performance out of what is s35vn using this method which sounds like the same thing that happened when magnacut was created.

 

[intunegp]

I don't think the purpose of a MIM blade would be to bring cost waaaay down.. Its more to make a higher quality blade.

CPM and MIM are not much different if I understand them properly. MIM just takes CPM a step further and creates a near finished product in one swoop. From the implecations that the magpul guys said, its sounds like they're getting better performance out of what is s35vn using this method which sounds like the same thing that happened when magnacut was created.

I wasn't expecting a $30 knife, but they advertised that MIM was cost-efficient and they would pass the savings on to the consumer, then came out with a $200 knife. That's more than many people would ever consider spending on a knife when they can get a Dewalt folding box cutter for $15.

Regarding the rest...

CPM (Crucible Particle Metallurgy) is a division of Crucible Industries, a single company, that specializes in particle metallurgy (and is also currently facing bankruptcy). Particle metallurgy is a manufacturing method for steel that creates a higher quality and more consistent end-product than traditional "melt and pour" ingots. Particle metallurgy is a method for manufacturing raw steel, not finished products like a knife blade.

MIM is a manufacturing method for finished metallic parts. There are tons of proven recipes but you can most certainly create unique alloys when setting out to make parts this way. You can't just take an ingot of CPM S35VN, turn it into powder and shoot it into a mold, so it sounds like Magpul set out to come up with a MIM-compatible formula of S35VN, and they feel they were successful in doing so. They claim it performed better than traditional S35VN in some categories, but I'd want to see some further testing before taking that to the bank.

The way particle metallurgy steels are formed into ingots and MIM parts are taken from "green/fresh out of the mold" to finished is through hot isostatic pressing. That's another whole conversation but it is a big contributor to the desirable properties of particle metallurgy steels, so it's reasonable to think that MIM parts COULD take on those same properties through this process. If Magpul is really on to something with this method/recipe, it does open the door for future super steel development via MIM-ready alloy mixes.

Magnacut was created by Dr. Larrin Thomas who is the world's leading metallurgist as it relates specifically to knife steels. He used his expertise and experience to purposefully come up with a formula/composition for what he felt would be the best all-around knife steel and convinced Crucible/CPM to make it.