Atomic Nerds

Sorry folks, but LabRat is off dealing with the latest round of flaming horseshit from our ongoing legal drama. There’s a slim chance this could be the last one, but that would hinge on the psycho pile of shit masquerading as a person we’re up against acting rationally, so nobody is holding their breath. Since she’s wrapped up in the nuts and bolts and going-elsewhere for that, and the rest of my day was filled with a boss who damn near had a panic attack when she saw debugging information after she told me to debug, there’s not much in the way of brain goo left to provide deep insights or noteworthy snark at the moment. Hopefully tomorrow will see something better (or at least enough time for the continuance of what follows), but since I’m still stuck without my normal filter between me and said boss, and LabRat doesn’t get back till may-as-well-be-Saturday o’clock, the outlook is currently hazy.

Rather than just throw up “sry, busy. Later, kthxbai,” I’ve got a nice mindless one I’ve had sitting around for a while. A few months ago, Breda and Caleb interviewed the president of Mantis Knives for their weekly radio show. I’m generally fond of nifty tools for stabbing and cutting and so forth, so like any good obsessive compulsive, I wound up snagging a pair.

The two I picked up were the Monacoe, ’cause I’m a sucker for higher-end steels like the BG-42 that the blade is made of, and a Slimline 3 because, what the hell. As a bonus, the company threw in a pair of Necessikeys too.Having had both for a month or three now, my overall reaction is that I’m whelmed. I’m not overwhelmed, but I’m not underwhelmed.

Both knives are decent for their price point. The Monacoe holds its edge well, and is reasonably easy to resharpen. One handed opening is possible and reasonably simple, though I wouldn’t count on being able to do it in an emergency. The balance is good, but it suffers a few drawbacks. Due to a minor hiccup in my order (the Slimline was accidentally omitted - and their customer service was great about fixing that, and with a good attitude to boot), I had an opportunity to speak with the company’s founder (see? How’s that for service!), who explained a bit about the design impetus for the Monacoe. Specifically, he said he was going for a higher end steel for the blade on a knife with a bit of a classic race car look to it, hence the “Monacoe” name. To that end, he succeeded. The bad news is also that he succeeded. When rigged with a pocket clip, the rear hole on the knife (or front wheel of the car, depending on how you’re looking at it) sticks out a pretty fair ways above the edge of a pocket:

That’s high enough up that it with the slightly-sharp edges on the frame, it wound up scratching up my inner forearm pretty good over the course of a couple days. Also, that hole there making the wheel is freakin’ huge.

Yeah, that’s a .45acp sitting comfortably with wiggle room to spare in there. Pretty big decoration for a pocketknife. That aside, the knife does look good. The race car lines are pretty clear, and it works, aesthetically. The blade is good and sturdy, and behaves as expected for BG-42 steel. It’s not so sturdy I’d want to use it for any sort of life-or-death load bearing gee-gaw, but it’s more than fine for the tasks a clip knife should be able to handle. The hinge is good, and the lockup is reasonably solid. It has a few flaws that more expensive knives correct for, but it is pretty cheap for a BG-42 blade. Like I said, the knife didn’t rock me to the back of the auditorium, but it didn’t disappoint either. If you’ve got the space in your pocket to lug it around without the clip o’ arm-scratchiness, I can’t think of much reason not to snag one if you’re in the market for a solid $50 knife.

And now because it has been a long day, I leave you with the dreaded “To Be Continued.” Tomorrow, the Slimline 3 and Necessikey.

Posted Arms races, bullshit, homestead |