Drop + Ferrum Forge Mordax Button Lock Folder Discussions | Drop

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Drop + Ferrum Forge Mordax Button Lock Folder

FULL DISCUSSION

Hatuletoh

850

Jan 22, 2019

A disclaimer: I'm receiving no compensation for this. I'm going to shill, but it will be an honest shilling from the heart, for a product and brand I genuinely love; and also, in the interest of fairness. I have no compunctions about cryin', complainin', carpin', criticizin', callin' out, or generally kvetchin' (Yiddish with a Western drawl, sounds like my family reunion) when I don't get what I want for at least 30% off (again, shades of my family reunion), I think it's only fair a speak up when the opposite is true. With that out of the way: Some folks have expressed unhappiness over the body of the Mordax here being built from aluminum (Al) rather than titanium (Ti). I had a similar reaction at first, because, after all Ti is more of a "premium" material, and has been used on all the past models. I wondered about the change--was the weight savings really that important, or was it more about saving some sweet, sweet margin points? Then I saw who was lined up as the OEM to actually produce the Mordax, and all became clear, and much less chintzy. I assume you all at least know of Pro-Tech, but perhaps not so well as to know ALL their knives are made from Al, save for some of their super dressed out custom models. They do this, I'm sure, in part to keep costs down; they do the same thing by using for most models 154 CM steel for the blades, and S35VN for the rest. Good steel, but not the PREMIUM stuff we're all getting more and more inflexible about having, just like Ti for the rest of a knife. And I'm exactly the same way--154 CM and Al doesn't really excite me...unless it's on a piece from Pro-Tech. Their "thing" is making knives with the tightest tolerances, and best fit 'n finish anywhere. In other words, the $ saved by using Al instead of Ti is invested right back into their knives in the form of engineering and rock-solid construction. I also think that the consistency of materiel has madr their techs incredibly skilled in the use of said materiel. I own a number of Pro-techs of various types, and I've never so much as tightened a pocket clip screw on one. To top it off, they sell the best autos on the market for usually less than $300. A couple models have the majority of their variants priced above $300 (the Large Don and Magic 2), but even with those, the basic, unadorned models are around $260. Comparable quality knives from the few competitors out there start around $350 (think Ratworx or Heretic). Sadly, the Mordax will not be an automatic (unless I find someone good to convert it for me). I understand the reasons why, but damn that would be cool. Never the less, it will have the incomparably tight Pro-Tech build. That, combined with a premium blade steel, make the price of the Mordax what it is. I'm not telling anyone they ought to buy it, I'm not saying anyone is wrong who feels it's over-priced. I'm simply saying that it will be made from Al instead of Ti because that's the preferred material of the OEM, and I trust that outfit to make an awesome knife, worth every penny. Here are some pics of SOME of my Pro-Techs, which show some of the colors and blade finishes that are options on the Mordax. I don't know why, but pics of knives for sale online never seem to accurately reflect colors, blade finishes, etc. I don't think it's anything intentional; most likely it's a result of the photography being so professional they make the subjects hard to imagine in real life. So here's some real life:

I love Pro-tech's grey, esp w/ a satin blade. I will probably get that color Mordax. For once the one I want is the base price!

Black w/ satin blades on the sides, stonewashed in the middle.

Closer look at the difference betweem the stonewashed and satin blades.

Black on black.

Black on black, closer.

I also love Pro-Tech's blue--very bright and lively.

Close-up on blue, and grey/black. And when the initial run is over, maybe we will have some options for upgraded materials...?

Jan 22, 2019

FerrumForge

200

FerrumForge_Chris

Jan 22, 2019

HatuletohThank you for taking the time to type out this comment. Everything you are saying is correct about the use of Aluminum rather than titanium on these. ProTech has consistently knocked it out of the park with quality knives for the past two decades. Dave and the team at ProTech deserve all the props on this collaboration for working out the engineering and manufacturing necessary to make the best manual button lock flipper on the market. They absolutely know what they're doing with aerospace grade aluminum. It is their preferred material and we ended up cutting about 50 grams off the weight when compared with the orignal Mordax we built in 2015.

Jan 22, 2019

Icehawk

Jan 23, 2019

FerrumForgeAre the handles milled out on the inside at all? I love my Protechs but I do wish the CQC-7a I had was milled to drop weight a bit.

(Edited)

Jan 23, 2019

Vote

FerrumForge

200

FerrumForge_Chris

Jan 23, 2019

IcehawkThey're not milled out on the inside, but this Mordax is still on the lighter side. It feels very balanced in hand.

Jan 23, 2019

OGBOBBYJOHNSON

Jan 23, 2019

IcehawkHoly smokes if it was milled on the inside it would fall apart in your hands with all the milling it has on the outside lol I’m assuming you were talking about the plain scales so I’m just ribbing ya 😜

(Edited)

Jan 23, 2019

Hatuletoh

850

Jan 26, 2019

FerrumForgeThank you, Mr. Elliott. It's hardly revelatory to say "Pro-Tech = great knives!", but anyone who tells you it's not satisfying to have his own ideas supported by an esteemed expert is a ridiculous liar. The moment after I posted that ode to Pro-Tech, I realized I'd forgotten to say anything about Ferrum Forge. And I'd wanted to say a few things about how I doubted that Massdrop's most prolific and longest-running collaborator (by a wide margin) for knives had decided they were comfortable cutting corners just to save and few cents... ...but then I realized that there is no group of people anywhere who have less of a need to hear something like that about Ferrum Forge than the people on the Massdrop Blades discussion forum. So I didn't bother with an edit. But I'm glad to have a chance to say thanks--for the continued partnership and steady release of new products; for being active in the discussion forums, and around to answer questions; and for what I suspect is a great deal of QC that we don't actually see, but are the beneficiaries of--for all of that, and for whatever I might have missed, thanks very much.

Jan 26, 2019