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Direct from Mike:
I got into knifemaking about a year ago. I became fascinated with "carbidized" edge technology where a layer of very hard tungsten carbide is micro-welded on one side of the edge. The softer substrate (e.g. steel or titanium) wears away more quickly, constantly revealing a fresh carbide edge. The result is a knife that is largely self-sharpening when used on some materials (e.g. cardboard), and has superior edge retention on just about everything else. It's modeled after a beaver tooth, where the enamel on the front of the tooth is harder than the rest of the tooth. Carbidized blades have kind of a toothy edge that excels in slicing, but is only mediocre for push cuts. But slicing is precisely the action you want in hunting, fishing, and river knives. It doesn’t work well for whittling, batoning, bushcraft, etc., especially with a soft Ti blade. And, the toothy edge texture means that it will never get razor sharp. I've carbidized a bunch of knives with various edge geometries, but the self-sharpening effect is optimized with a "chisel" edge, hence the right and left handedness of the knife. To make these, I designed and built my own electro-spark deposition carbidizer to micro-weld TC onto steel and Ti blades, tuning the voltage, current, pulse width, and pulse energy to get just the right deposition properties. I use 6Al4V titanium for my knives as that alloy generally has the best properties for a knife. Titanium usually makes a poor knife blade material because it is much softer than steel and is subject to edge deformation. But, by carbidizing a Ti blade, you can overcome this limitation, provided you limit the knife to slicing. If you try to chop wood with these knives, you'll damage the edge.
So there's the essence:
- titanium blade for ultralightness;
- carbidized edge for slicing trout, birds, and food prep;
- self-sharpening;
- made in a garage with an "electro-spark deposition carbidizer" which is just way, way beyond cool, even just to speak the words;
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- The Technology
- The Application
- My Experience
- RJ: Was the main reason for doing this project the edge technology? Or something else?
- RJ: What were you trying to accomplish with building the "trout" knife? Design goals? Anything quantitative?
- RJ: Are you going to continue this project? If so, what's next in the evolution of the "Martin Knife?"
- In Action?
# WORDS: 1280
# PHOTOS: 1
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Discussion
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Companion forum thread to:
Martin Titanium Knife
"You pay for this site, yeah? So just stop paying if you're not happy."
You got that right! And I will add for clarification, that it is I that won't be signing up for a renewal to this site. Constantly disappoints.
Chaff is for arguing and talking about off topic items Adam. That is what we do there. Cute that you apparently went through my entire posting history to find a complaint in the MLIFE forum thread about ads…when we were discussing ads. Obsess much?
If you want to personally attack me, send me a PM. Else shove off.
RJ deserves criticism. He hasn't lived up to his end of the deal. And when he trots out half an article like this, I feel anybody that doesn't like it should speak up. He has done half articles before that he never came back to and updated.
This article could have been improved by simply waiting until after his trip to put it out. Maybe throw in a few commercially available alternatives and compare them to his custom knife. Simple solution…
Nice knife, Michael. I can really appreciate the research, testing and effort it took to make something like that. Have to get a knife like that sometime.
P.S. – Its very obvious what's going on with the articles the last while, especially in regards to gear. The best thing about BPL now days is the forums. With that said, most likely my last year of membership, forums included.
Ryan
That's too bad Ryan as I enjoy and appreciate your perspective and contributions here in the forums.
I think if BPL were to take a more active/less passive approach to soliciting contributors, that would help improve content and take some of the burden off of Ryan's shoulders. There's certainly not a shortage of trip reports that can be published as an article instead of in Post Trip Reports.
A few ideas:
More recipes and articles about nutrition. I really enjoyed the Fry Baking article.
More articles on first aid, hygiene, and staying healthy.
More flexibility from the membership when articles are presented that are not strictly UL backpacking but have a nexus to it (eg Tenkara, Packrafting, Bird Watching, etc)
I'd still like to see a follow up article to hear about how this knife worked out on his trip and to answer some of the questions raised here. As mentioned above, compare this knife to other UL options, etc.
Because I prefer custom knives, I purchased one of the following:
http://www.fairlyknives.com/product/titanium-backpacker-heat-colored-finish
"Cute that you apparently went through my entire posting history to find a complaint in the MLIFE forum thread about ads…when we were discussing ads. Obsess much?"
No, just normally I like to check out the forum profiles of people I am in conversations with online so I know a little bit about who I'm expecting to get jumped on by after I post a comment. I wouldn't call it obsessive, its about paying attention to details. But sure, let's call it obsessive.
"RJ deserves criticism. He hasn't lived up to his end of the deal. And when he trots out half an article like this, I feel anybody that doesn't like it should speak up. He has done half articles before that he never came back to and updated. "
Even if he does deserve criticism, which is fair, there's criticism and then there's being a dick and the detriment of the rest of the community. You are not taking the stance of a critic.
Additionally, what deal did you sign with him? I didn't see any deal that I was getting or signing when I applied. Hmmmmm….. forgive me if I didn't realize you're "special."
Furthermore, I will not PM you for a personal attack. I'm not here to get personal, and if I get personal, it would be in public for all to see. This is a community and your participation in it reflects not only on you but affects the rest of us.
Why don't you and the other anti – RJ types start another website? Its ok, I know you won't because you have nothing to add, not enough time to do it in, and you'd rather be a backseat websiter than provide your own content. It takes work, time and money to make a website like this and keep it going. You are acting like an entitled little baby and a leach – someone who takes but does not give back. Your paltry $150 payment to this website wouldn't even cover the cost of one cuben fiber tarp, and in no way BUYS you the right to make this website a negative experience. Nothing is perfect, no person is perfect, and you don't get to decide how things work here.
Again, I challenge you. Offer your skills, your time, your editing and write a damn article for us to read and shut up. Maybe you will feel equally stupid as you treat and regard RJ and the Author when some jerk like you shits on your article or uses it as a base for building negativity. I'm not going to waste any more of my time on this but at least I feel good that someone is willing to tell you to keep it to yourself. Email your criticism directly or PM them like you said I should do for you… or are you too good to take your own advice?
See this guy has his criticism's in order. Ideas, suggestions and helpful critique, not a troll/jerk response. I particularly like where he says:
"More flexibility from the membership when articles are presented that are not strictly UL backpacking but have a nexus to it (eg Tenkara, Packrafting, Bird Watching, etc)"
I bet people like Michael L were the first to say "this doesn't belong." LOL.
Adam,
If you have a problem, there is PM or Chaff as I have already suggested. Quit littering up the board with your personal attacks. You have already had your post edited once in this thread.
You might not realize the promises that were made by RJ back when some of us signed up seeing as you showed up a couple of years ago. Do your research before opening your mouth and proving you know nothing.
Edit: Let it go guys. Let's move on.
Dude, Ian… Shhhh!
This is The Best one in a while! Let em go at it.
Mike, don't pus out ! Call him a mofo or something! KILL KILL!
Sorry to bring this back on target, but…
The fact that this knife does not work on wood without damage makes it a no-go for me for hiking/backpacking. I mean, even a Vic Classic can handle both sticks and trout, and has a nifty pair of scissors besides.
For me, this qualifies as a cute toy, but not a useful tool.
YMMV.
LOL at Jeffs Elevens "mofo" comment. Classic stuff.
Ryan
I guess the real question becomes: is this the right knife to bring to a forum fight?
It's self-sharpening – unlike much of the arguing within the forum, which gets duller with each post, so that's a plus.
It's ultralight – so it's up to the quick parry and thrust of lively (or boorish) forum banter, so that's a plus
It's made in a garage – where you would also generally find some of the language used on some posts, so that's a plus.
Overall, I'd say it's quite suitable!
Idester, you've outdone yourself on that reply! I can't decide between nodding approval or snorting laughter! But then I also don't have an emoticon for either of those:-)
Apparently it isn't good for cutting much, but good for cutting flesh…
I'm still looking and waiting on a good fixed blade. They are all either too expensive or not quite what I'm looking for. Like, this knife would pretty much do my requirements, but then, not being able to cut wood and the like when I really want to, and a blade that stays sharp by falling apart (and that isn't like on a $5 knife) kinda freaks me out.
Oh well.
to get you to follow the trip blog on ryanjordan.com Hmm, why not post that stuff here?
Difficult for Ryan to generate content for this subscription based business when he's busy creating it for somewhere else.
Just because you're paranoid Ken, doesn't mean we're not out to get you.
Duh.
just received my Kestrel Minimalist in the mail, very nicely finished knife I added 6′ of small cord to wrap the handle and it’s still under a 1/2 ounce (12 grams)- I got it w/ the kydex sheath, but am emailing Nate about his Velcro sheath as the kydex sheath weighs double what the knife does
sharpening titanium/carbide- not sure about other offerings, but this knife right out of the box is hair popping sharp
it’s going to make a wonderful bird/trout knife (as well as a nice knife for hiking)
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