Pros: Weight, Blade Material, Blade Sharpness
Cons: Weight, Handle Feel, Pocket Clip
Interesting Design, Execution could've been better
I purchased this blade for 2 reasons: #1, to find out what was up with Mantis Knives, and #2 Its got a great look to it. -The blade is not stamped with the steel type, which may lead people to believe some of the negative talk on the forums. Jared West assured me that this was indeed CPM 440v. It also has no "made in" stamp, leaving one to wonder its country of origin. -The blade is extremely thick and flat ground. I feel that for a blade of this size and thickness, a hollow grind would've been more conducive to a good cutter. It is very sharp out of the box, but it may only live through a few sharpenings before the shoulders become too steep. -The handle is 3/4" thick, and actually 1" at the pocket clip. This is very uncomfortable to grip tightly due to the thickness. I suggest removing the pocket clip if at all possible. -The fit and finish is not great (especially when compared to a kershaw or crkt at lower price points), having thumb serrations that don't line up between liner and scales, small tool marks on the blade, and uneven finish on the liners. -The Liner Lock engages solidly, and after 10 spine whacks on the hard-top desk at work it showed no signs of wobble. It is definitely rock solid. Time will tell though. -The Handle shape, is fairly comfortable in a standard grip as long as you remove the pocket clip. Its not so much the shape that causes discomfort, but rather the thickness. The liners being 3/32" thick and the scales being 1/8" coupled with the 1/4" blade opening make this thing beefy. Nesting the liners and thinning the blade would help this out. -The thing is heavy for its size. It clocks in at just over 5oz. This could either be a pro or a con depending on which camp you sit in. -The "Mantis Triax Spanner" is not available yet ( I think protos are going to the 2013 SHOT show) and thus the pivot pin requires one to make their own spanner ( Mantis suggests a screwdriver or dime filed to fit ) in order to tune the pivot tension. The pivot pins are not Lock Tite'd so, beware of this when you start playing with this one. Mine loosened up after a few openings. -Overall a decent knife. Its got a great look to it, and the Wharncliffe ( I feel it's more of a Wharncliffe than a Sheepsfoot ) blade is definitely sweet, although a tad thick. This would be a great knife for hard use that may damage a prettier knife, when precision cutting might not be necessary (such as opening boxes), or as a back-up to a better, more expensive folder. Its lock-up is dependable, and It cuts well, although I hesitate to try it on my tomatoes. -I use this knife in a back-up utility capacity for my work. It rides in my Blackhawk! briefcase until I need to do things like cut salt bags open for the water softeners, or dice up some cardboard. It works well in either capacity.
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