3" balisong recommendation...

T

tique

Joined
Oct 28, 2000
Messages
970
I just put a BM 31 on order a couple days ago with my local dealer, and I know that I won't be disappointed with this one, but I have a few questions...

I recently had the 3" offering from the Monarch (or Roton, not really sure which is right) pointed out to me by my father. This looks like a much more solid piece than the BM, but that was the first time I had seen it offered. Now, granted, this could be my fault for not stopping in here to see y'all in a good long while, I still was a little surprised about how nice this one sounds on paper.

I guess what I'm asking is how well the two perform side by side, and if there are any other 3" offerings out there that I have overlooked in the past few months?
 
Do the monarchs have adjustable pins? If not, I don't think it will be solid forever.
 
I've never seen a production Monarch that didn't have serious problems. To the best of my knowledge, the 3" Monarch isn't shipping yet.

Right now, I'm still waiting and waiting for Richard to get his act together on the basic 4" before I'll even start to think about all of the other stuff he's showing. To tell you the truth, it annoys me that he's showing all that other stuff before he's even got the basic 4" ironed out.
 
I have no problems with my Monarch, it was one of the first "Re-done" Monarchs which had the problems of the blade hitting the latch and the inside channel fixed. It also doesn't have any LOUD writing on the blade, just a nice mirror polished blade with some simple inking of Monarch and Roton USA.

What problems do you have with your Monarchs Chuck?
 
tique,I know Alabama still has gun shows. Attend a few. Every now and then at gun shows you will find some BM three inch balis. Most vendors will not let you flip them but you can examine them. Take a look. Who knows? You might get lucky.:)
 
What problems do you have with your Monarchs Chuck?
Click to expand...

Mine two had all of the problems that have been illustrated. Tony has pictures up of the problems he found. I've returned them months and months ago and haven't received anything back.
 
Chuck: Just so it's out in the open, Rich has commited to you and I as being one of the first theat will receive the replacement Monarch's. Which should happen by the end of the month. As Cameron said, the fixes have been implemented and the bali's are in working condition. Rich has been very straight forward with me about the progress of the Monarch this past 3 months. I too am waiting on a replacement as well.

BTW, Rich had those 3" proto's as part of the whole Monarch production thing. And that's all they are, proto's. I can't blame Rich to want to generate additional business, and given that he ate a huge chunk of money on the first batch, if the business generates enough demand to help offset the loss, all the more power to Capitalism.

They will not be produced until the production issues are ironed out.
tique: The timeline on the 3 inches are that they won't be in production for at least a few month. If you have any questions, call Rich, he's very open about his knives.
 
I have to agree with Chuck (not that I am disagreeing with anyone else). It seems bad business to introduce new products, or the possibility of new products, while you still have customer service issues to work out on the 1st product you've launched.

I hope they get it worked out.
 
Originally posted by ghen
I hope they get it worked out.
Click to expand...
I agree. Rich has learned his lesson, and no Monarch will leave the shop until it's a working design. They are slowly making it out the door, and while bali's are still sent back to the shop for fine tuning, the overall quality of the process is way beyond what it was three months ago. Chuck and I will receive replacement blades by end of month, so it's no longer an open ended issue.

As for the intro, it's the same as Darrell releasing the Venturi's. Yes he has working proto's, and I have no doubt they will leave the factory in perfect working order. But it is common practice to release new models a couple of months ahead of release date to gauge market response. To limit Monarch to only one bali and not giving them the credit to be able to work out the production issues is very short sited thinking. And if you take the time out to discuss the issue with Rich, you will walk away with the sense of commitment he has made to the bali market, and to correct the initial mistakes. He, of all people, is the one that's most upset at the production issues of the Monarch's. Not because he put out a bad knife, but because he let down his customers. 3 months isn't that long in turning around a production issue.
 
Thanks for the info, just what I was looking for. I think I'll take my 31 when it arrives and be happy until Bladeshow, then I'll hunt down the guys with the Monarchs and see how their 3"ers are coming along.

On the gun shows thing... haven't been to one in a while, but balisongs are pretty rare at the one's I've attended in the past. Maybe with the new location I can find a show or two with a few laying around...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top