William Henry Icon, featuring MattLock

Paul Davidson

Paul Davidson

Joined
Apr 3, 1999
Messages
2,052
The new (June) Blade magazine came a couple of days ago. The William Henry Icon is the cover knife and it really caught my eye. This is probably my favorite William Henry so far. It is a Ti handled interframe featuring a new ambidextrous lock called the MattLock (designed by Matt Conable). It seems to be a lock system along the lines of the Axis Lock, Rolling Lock, or Arc-Lock at first glance. There are no schematics given, but Conable makes a reference to having to destroy the lock bar to get it to fail. I'm sure the details to this lock will be exposed shortly.

The knife on the cover has a spear point blade, with a swedge, and pearl inlayed into the Ti handle. Carbon fiber, snakewood, and abalone are also going to be offered as inly options. Price range of $395-$550 listed, with CF being cheapest and abalone the most expensive. Size is given as 4" closed, weighing 2.5 oz. Thumbstud opening device and thong hole are also present. Whether other blade types are going to be offered is not mentioned.

From the pictures and information in the magazine this looks like a real winner to me. They are supposed to be available in April also.

Has anybody handled one of these so far? Dexter?

There's some other nice new factory stuff shown in there too. For me, it has actually been one of the better issues of Blade in a while.

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Paul Davidson

Them:"What's that clipped to your pocket, a beeper?"
Me:"Uuh....yeah, something like that."
 
Oh yeah, there was no mention of the blade steel type. You would think that would have made it in there somewhere. For a WAG I would say ATS-34.
Paul
 
Paul,
I was thinking the same things when I saw the short write-up in Blade. This could be a real dandy! The question is, with a name like Mattlock, will a picture of Andy Griffith be etched on the blade
wink.gif

David
 
While I like the William Henry line very much, I would have to disagree about the new knife being a "winner". There are MANY custom knifemakers out there who are producing excellent quality knives that are in the WH Icon $400-500 price range.

I am quite sure that the WH is a very nice knife, just not for that kind of money. Yes, the $400-500 is a suggested retail price, so in reality, the price range is more like $250-350 (which also has many customs) area, but still a bit high for a "delicate" use knife.

I wish them luck.

(edited for spelling only)
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C.O.'s-"It takes balls to work behind the walls "


[This message has been edited by Jailhack (edited 03-30-2001).]
 
Well Jailhack, I can certainly agree with you about the price being a bit high. I will probably not buy one either, for that reason. The knife still looks very well made, and I doubt that the carbon fiber one would be considered a "delicate use" knife if the lock is as strong as they are claiming. This knife looks much more robust than WH's previous offerings. I still think it will be a "winner" due to WH's excellent reputation for quality and the new lock. I guess only their sales and the knife's poplularity will tell us if it is a "winner" for them or not, which is mainly what I was referring to.

I would also like to know what custom makers are offering Ti interframes with MOP inlays for the steet price that this knife will sell for.

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Paul Davidson

Them:"What's that clipped to your pocket, a beeper?"
Me:"Uuh....yeah, something like that."
 
Yeah, the price is a little high. Really a beautiful knife though. The pearl version would best be left at home, as striking as it is in the photo, somehow I don't envision it growing old gracefully. MOP surrounded by a frame of marred titanium just doesn't paint a pretty picture to me. It could face some stiff competition in the form of the new wood inlay folder from Chris Reeve (mnandi?). While slightly smaller at 3.6" closed it is still looking to fill the same niche. At $305, it just fills it a little cheaper
smile.gif
 
My four year obsession with pocket knives was beginning to subside - until I got this issue of Blade in the mail yesterday. WOW. While I'll not be spending that much money on *any* knife - custom or not - the Icon is easily the most fascinating knife Conable & Co. has conceived.

I didn't realize that the frame was Ti - polished Ti at that. I like the break from liner-type locks and this "Mattlock" looks very promising.

Again, all I can say is "WOW, I wish I could get one." I'd even settle for the lowly CF version.
biggrin.gif
But, for now, I'll keep my sights trained on the Lancet and save my pennies...

Jon
 
Paul - believe it or not, the June Blade was the very first time I've seen it. Apparently you have more info on it than I do. Didn't go to SHOT this year
frown.gif


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Proud member: AKTI, NCCKG, NCKK, and SCAK


Living life on the edge
 
Sounds like an interesting design. Can anyone post a picture for us?

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Semper Fi

-Bill
 
Dexter,
I don't think they even had this knife at the SHOT show. I didn't go either, but none of the reviews of the show has mentioned this knife.

Bronco,
I don't have a scanner at the moment.

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Paul Davidson

Them:"What's that clipped to your pocket, a beeper?"
Me:"Uuh....yeah, something like that."
 
Sure is nice! I've been waiting to see pictures of this knife for some time now. If anybody can scan the pearl version from the Blade, that'd be nice!
But the price... yes, considering Mnandi... it's quite high. And usually WH knives are sold at the suggested retail price. So it's very unlikely that the street price would be any less. It is not only competing agains customs and Mnandi, but WH limited editions also!

Hugo.
 
I can't really tell much about the MattLock from the picture but at first glance it looks very similar to A.G. Russell's One Hand Folder Lock to me.

I will be interested in learning more about this lock.



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AKTI Member No. A000370
 
Who knows how much the knife will actually end up costing us, though. I mean who ever pays MSRP on a knife, huh?
Let me also ask if you guys think that the knife would look better with a single inlay, rather than the "split" inlay. I do. I think it might even knock the price down a few bucks due to less workmanship.

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"Never let your morals get in the way of doing what's right" -Hari Seldon, Foundation, -Aasimov
 
I'm with you. That split inlay reminds me of a Boker and makes the overall look much cheaper than the cost of the knife.
 
The double inlay might have something to do with the cost and difficulty of finding nice large pieces of inlay material.

I admit that I have my reservations about the lock after looking at that close up of it on their site. It does look like some sort of short bar version of the Crawford/Russell type lock. Looks can be deceiving though. Hopefully I will be able to look at one in Atlanta in June.

WH does tend to stick to the MSRP like Chris Reeve Knives does. Some dealers might discount them a little but the price should still be pretty close to the MSRP.

Paul
 
From the picture offering a slight backside perspective of the Icon with the Mattlock on WHK's new website, I'd say the lock looks like a type of lockback? Only instead of depressing a portion of the locking bar below it's pivot, you're using the ambidextrous bar to push the locking bar aside from above it's pivot.

Anyone know more about this knife and lock to shed more light on it's operation?

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You could put nacho cheese sauce on it...
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Paul Davidson:
The double inlay might have something to do with the cost and difficulty of finding nice large pieces of inlay material.</font>
Click to expand...
This is what I think also. Could be different for the CF inlay... but there is not pictures of that at WH web-site.
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Paul Davidson:
WH does tend to stick to the MSRP like Chris Reeve Knives does. Some dealers might discount them a little but the price should still be pretty close to the MSRP.</font>
Click to expand...
And those few dealers that do give discount for WH knives aren't getting the knives directly from WH (afaik)... thus they might not get the more expesive models at all. At least they have never carried the LE models. So, I'm afraid that it'd be msrp what you pay.

It will be interesting to see if WH has elevated their quality to level comparable to CRK for instance. That would justify the price somewhat. But currently their quality isn't there - but the prices have been right for that level. That's what makes them my favourites at this time. But with that price... I'm might go back to CRK. But all this is speculating now... let's wait for the knife! It sure looks very interesting!!

Hugo.
 
Hello Guys,

I handled the Icon prototypes at the Shot Show in New Orleans. The knife is a mid-sized folder with titanium scales and choice of inlayed interframe materials - carbon fiber, pearl, abalone and snakewood. The Icon is a real departure from the small gents folders William Henry are known for. The shape and blade design is superb. The pearl and abalone models have titanium handles that are rounded and high polished. The carbon fiber and snakewood have a flat face that has been satin finished. The blade is satin finished ATS-34. I would classify the lock as a modified "mini-lockback" with an attached ambidextrous thumb bar. The lock is solid and easy to work. My first impression is that this is easily one of the nicest upscale production folders I have ever seen.

Now about the price: I don't find the price out of line with the workmanship, quality and materials. If this knife was custom made it would very likely be in the range of $650-800 or more. You are getting a lot of knife for $500. If you find a comparable custom knife in this price range and quality please let me know I would be very interested.

Have a knife day,

Larry

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