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Blade reviews, impressions, and feedback

So...this is something that I have been meaning to write for awhile. An honest assessment of the titanium kiridashi I received from Mecha.

I've spent some time trying to think of a funny way to start this. But for some reason I just can't get the line right. So I'm going to throw it out the window and get down to brass tacks. I purchased a titanium kiridashi, I have used it for a variety of tasks, and I love it.

It's a small blade roughly 5.5 inches long, .082 thick with a 1.3 cutting edge. So I haven't used it to take down a tree or split kindling for fire wood. But I have used it for a variety of task suited for it's size and it has exceeded my expectations. I've used it to trim bushes, trim plants in the garden, detaching fruits and vegetables from their stems, opening mail, opening packages, breaking down a couple boxes, cutting a silicone mold, cutting a sandwich, and marking a 2 x 4 when I lost my pencil. I also might have used it to cut a knot or two out of my beard. So now you know a little about the blade and how I use it.

It is a joy to use; push cuts are easy, slicing is easy, and the fine point makes detailed marking simple. It makes clean cuts with little effort, the shape is exceedingly intuitive. It's like an extension of my finger, basically wherever I can fit my hand I van make an easy controlled cut. It has done everything I've asked it to and it has not let me down once. Even my fiancee loves using it. It has almost completely replaced her garden shears. Instead of going off to find wherever she last left them, she holds out her hand and says knife. I know that doesn't sound like much, but trust me, it's a fairly big deal. She isn't a big fan of knives and this is the first on of my collection that she actually wants to use on a regular basis.

Through all of this use, by two people, the edge has stayed fairly sharp as well.1 It hasn't chipped or rolled either. I know that it hasn't seen hard use or shock, I know I've read online (and you might have too) that titanium is too soft to use for cutting implement because it'll easily deform and it can't hold an edge. I will simply state that is not the case here. What Mecha does with titanium (which is basically wizardry.) solves these issues. If you want to know more about it read some of his posts here, or even ask him directly. I'm positive you'll learn something. I know I always do. Seriously, he's super knowledgeable and he's super cool about answering questions. In all honesty, I'd say take advantage of the access now, because...man if the world ever catches on to what he's doing...it'll be harder and harder to get pieces of his work and time to talk to him. It doesn't even have to be the whole world, just the ultralight hiking portion of it. What he makes...is everything their looking for. Lightweight, functional, durable, low maintenance, lightweight. I could see there being a massive rush.

I've covered information about the knife, I've covered how I use it, and I've talked about how it performs. I think that's everything...

Ok, I lied. I know it's not everything. I have saved a few important things for the end. One, seriously, never having to worry about rust is amazing. 2) It's incredibly lightweight. When I say incredibly, I mean I literally forget it's in my pocket sometimes. I'll go out to the garden to grab some tomatoes or something for that evening, and I'll start to turn around to come back for my kiridashi, only to realize it's already sitting in my pocket. And I don't carry it uncovered either, it's combined weight in the sheath is ridiculously light. (and speaking of the sheath, it's functional, yes, but also absolutely beautiful. Amazingly soft and supple, a perfect companion.) Finally, and maybe most importantly, it is gorgeous. Completely stunning. From it's design, to the wondrous colors. It is a work of art. If everything goes to plan, I'm going to pick up somewhere between four and six more pieces of his superbly crafted pieces.


TLDR: I own one of the kiridashi made by Mecha. I use it to cut things. I like it a lot. It holds it's edge well. It is lightweight and beautiful to look at.


k1.jpg k2.jpg
 
Notaflashyguybyanymeans said:
So...this is something that I have been meaning to write for awhile. An honest assessment of the titanium kiridashi I received from Mecha.

I've spent some time trying to think of a funny way to start this. But for some reason I just can't get the line right. So I'm going to throw it out the window and get down to brass tacks. I purchased a titanium kiridashi, I have used it for a variety of tasks, and I love it.

It's a small blade roughly 5.5 inches long, .082 thick with a 1.3 cutting edge. So I haven't used it to take down a tree or split kindling for fire wood. But I have used it for a variety of task suited for it's size and it has exceeded my expectations. I've used it to trim bushes, trim plants in the garden, detaching fruits and vegetables from their stems, opening mail, opening packages, breaking down a couple boxes, cutting a silicone mold, cutting a sandwich, and marking a 2 x 4 when I lost my pencil. I also might have used it to cut a knot or two out of my beard. So now you know a little about the blade and how I use it.

It is a joy to use; push cuts are easy, slicing is easy, and the fine point makes detailed marking simple. It makes clean cuts with little effort, the shape is exceedingly intuitive. It's like an extension of my finger, basically wherever I can fit my hand I van make an easy controlled cut. It has done everything I've asked it to and it has not let me down once. Even my fiancee loves using it. It has almost completely replaced her garden shears. Instead of going off to find wherever she last left them, she holds out her hand and says knife. I know that doesn't sound like much, but trust me, it's a fairly big deal. She isn't a big fan of knives and this is the first on of my collection that she actually wants to use on a regular basis.

Through all of this use, by two people, the edge has stayed fairly sharp as well.1 It hasn't chipped or rolled either. I know that it hasn't seen hard use or shock, I know I've read online (and you might have too) that titanium is too soft to use for cutting implement because it'll easily deform and it can't hold an edge. I will simply state that is not the case here. What Mecha does with titanium (which is basically wizardry.) solves these issues. If you want to know more about it read some of his posts here, or even ask him directly. I'm positive you'll learn something. I know I always do. Seriously, he's super knowledgeable and he's super cool about answering questions. In all honesty, I'd say take advantage of the access now, because...man if the world ever catches on to what he's doing...it'll be harder and harder to get pieces of his work and time to talk to him. It doesn't even have to be the whole world, just the ultralight hiking portion of it. What he makes...is everything their looking for. Lightweight, functional, durable, low maintenance, lightweight. I could see there being a massive rush.

I've covered information about the knife, I've covered how I use it, and I've talked about how it performs. I think that's everything...

Ok, I lied. I know it's not everything. I have saved a few important things for the end. One, seriously, never having to worry about rust is amazing. 2) It's incredibly lightweight. When I say incredibly, I mean I literally forget it's in my pocket sometimes. I'll go out to the garden to grab some tomatoes or something for that evening, and I'll start to turn around to come back for my kiridashi, only to realize it's already sitting in my pocket. And I don't carry it uncovered either, it's combined weight in the sheath is ridiculously light. (and speaking of the sheath, it's functional, yes, but also absolutely beautiful. Amazingly soft and supple, a perfect companion.) Finally, and maybe most importantly, it is gorgeous. Completely stunning. From it's design, to the wondrous colors. It is a work of art. If everything goes to plan, I'm going to pick up somewhere between four and six more pieces of his superbly crafted pieces.


TLDR: I own one of the kiridashi made by Mecha. I use it to cut things. I like it a lot. It holds it's edge well. It is lightweight and beautiful to look at.


View attachment 1418072 View attachment 1418073
Click to expand...

Thanks for the great review, Notaflashyguybyanymeans, I appreciate it.

This is good to hear because your kiridashi is made from '60's nuclear submarine alloy Ti 8mn, which is a new one to me. It tested well after the HT was reasonably dialed-in, but lots of real world use is always the best indicator of knife success.

Great to hear the knife shape is comfortable to use, and also that you like the soft sheath. Ms. Oye's soft sheaths are pretty unique.

Whenever you get around to sharpening that knife, I think you'll be surprised at how sharp it can really get.
 
Got the MadScienceForge Mechachete donation to Knife Rights in the mail today and went to work reducing hickory saplings to chopsticks. Snicker Snack, indeed! The mechachete is damn sharp out of the box, comfortable in the hand, and quick! It made quick work of hickory, privet and other woody veg encroaching on my range. I'm impressed and can't wait to see how it does this weekend!
 
:eek:
hso said:
Got the MadScienceForge Mechachete donation to Knife Rights in the mail today and went to work reducing hickory saplings to chopsticks. Snicker Snack, indeed! The mechachete is damn sharp out of the box, comfortable in the hand, and quick! It made quick work of hickory, privet and other woody veg encroaching on my range. I'm impressed and can't wait to see how it does this weekend!
Click to expand...

Excellent! That was a thin one. :D Thanks for supporting KnifeRights, btw.

p.s. sorry about the crude sheath. It was made by me, not Ms. Oye, obviously. I’m not so good at the game of sheath. :eek::confused:
 
Leaving it to Lorien to post a trail clearing video.

I was talking to my cousin workers about forged titanium blades and of course one had to say "titanium makes a terrible blade"...


I pulled up a few videos, including the full katana Dan Keffler was chopping down trees with!!
 
when people talk about things they don't know that much about, they're often wrong. Sometimes they get lucky and are right, but in my experience, people want to be heard more than they want to be correct.

uPm0Ozs.jpg


F1nZ1uM.jpg


3SctRzE.jpg
 
Mecha said:
It didn't cleave that steel pipe clean in half like a machine gun barrel in WW2. Sigh. Back to the drawing board. :oops:
Click to expand...
I'm still blown away with how little damage it actually took:eek: It truly behaves like a very well heat treated piece of steel:cool::thumbsup:
 
WValtakis said:
I'm still blown away with how little damage it actually took:eek: It truly behaves like a very well heat treated piece of steel:cool::thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Nice! :D So in your assessment, should I put another mark in the "It's kind of like 1084" column? It took years to get a large enough feedback pool, but more than anything people say as a blade edge it reminds them of well heat-treated 1084/high carbon steel. On top of that you get the various inherent advantages of ti alloy.
 
Mecha said:
On top of that you get the various inherent advantages of ti alloy.
Click to expand...
I kept meaning to come back to this...it hits WAY harder and bites deeper than it should for how crazy light it is, just an incredible "thunk" to it:eek::cool:
 
Hello, so I just picked up a kiridashi from Mecha last week and have been flogging it for the past week. I actually picked one up because I work with a lot of aggressive cleaning chemicals and sanitizers in a wet environment so the chemical resistance and non-rusting was a big bonus for me. It looks great, came very sharp and w/ sheath is incredibly lightweight. I normally carry it on my belt but sometimes just pocket it. For the brief time I have had it it’s been exactly what I was looking for. I will try and give an update after a year or so and let everyone know how it has been holding up.
 

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Bobthebrewer said:
Hello, so I just picked up a kiridashi from Mecha last week and have been flogging it for the past week. I actually picked one up because I work with a lot of aggressive cleaning chemicals and sanitizers in a wet environment so the chemical resistance and non-rusting was a big bonus for me. It looks great, came very sharp and w/ sheath is incredibly lightweight. I normally carry it on my belt but sometimes just pocket it. For the brief time I have had it it’s been exactly what I was looking for. I will try and give an update after a year or so and let everyone know how it has been holding up.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the initial review, Bobthebrewer. I very much look forward to a year's assessment.

Also thought it was fitting that a brewer got the one with the blue fizzy bubbles on the end.
 
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