If you follow just about any prominent YouTuber, you've seen the Maker Knife. Essentially, it's a sliding and locking mechanism that allows you to carry a box blade o...
To read the rest of this blog entry from The Garage Journal, click here.
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- Thread starter Ryan
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If you follow just about any prominent YouTuber, you've seen the Maker Knife. Essentially, it's a sliding and locking mechanism that allows you to carry a box blade o...
To read the rest of this blog entry from The Garage Journal, click here.
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Lucid Moments
Well-known member
Delivery times I can understand with a new company, but you are more forgiving of quality control issues than I am. If a knife doesn't open, close, and lock reliably then I consider it to have failed in its basic purpose.
I've got the 2 of the 1st generation Maker Knives in silver. I like them & still use them. Had a bit of cosmetic issues on the blade holder on both but I was able to refinish them myself & satisfy me. I shouldn't have needed to but then again it's not a high dollar knife & was made in China.
Then the 2nd gen came out & he offered "upgrade kits" for the 1st gens. So I bought 2 kits. Well not much of an upgrade, I feel like mine worked better with the original 1st gen parts. I also never experienced any of the "issues" that the upgrade kit was suppose to resolve.
I doubt I will buy anything from him again, well not for a while anyway. That is until he gets more experience with production & QC.
Then the 2nd gen came out & he offered "upgrade kits" for the 1st gens. So I bought 2 kits. Well not much of an upgrade, I feel like mine worked better with the original 1st gen parts. I also never experienced any of the "issues" that the upgrade kit was suppose to resolve.
I doubt I will buy anything from him again, well not for a while anyway. That is until he gets more experience with production & QC.
Eric29
Well-known member
I agree. I’m absolutely persuaded to not buy one after reading about the poor machining.
Itsjustdirt
Well-known member
Quality issue with a TINY $40 knife is not acceptable. A knife that small, for that price, could be manufactured in America.
Not to mention...You cant even buy one right now...
A China made product at American made prices, with Chinese quality....and you cant even get them...
Gerber makes a small fold out blade holder for about $15.
Not to mention...You cant even buy one right now...
A China made product at American made prices, with Chinese quality....and you cant even get them...
Gerber makes a small fold out blade holder for about $15.
OP
I'd say if you aren't comfortable modding things to make them work correctly, stay way from the Maker Knife.
Like I said, it's a brilliant design that was failed by its manufacturing. If you can get it working yourself, it's amazing... I love it.
This was designed in Italy... by an Italian... the first gen knives were made in Italy... the second gen knives were made in China and like I said in the review, my experience has not been great.
***
All this being said, if anyone knows of a really pocketable box blade holder - let me know! The typical folder holder you get at a box store is no good for this purpose.
OP
Yeah... Sounds like you had the same experience as me... I hope he gets it figured out.
The 1st gens were made in China too. They were supposed to be made in Italy & was one of the reasons I bought them but they couldn't find a machine shop to meet their needs. They announced production would be moved to China & gave people the option of cancelling their orders if they were not happy about that. He posted videos on his trips to China for his searches on a manufacturer.
IIRC they planned to assemble & ship out of Italy but due to more hiccups they decided to assemble them & ship them from China. Then there was the whole silver anodizing issue which delayed my order even longer as two of the silver is what I ordered. After the 1st batch of silver from the 2nd gen they announced they would never make the silver ones again.
IIRC they planned to assemble & ship out of Italy but due to more hiccups they decided to assemble them & ship them from China. Then there was the whole silver anodizing issue which delayed my order even longer as two of the silver is what I ordered. After the 1st batch of silver from the 2nd gen they announced they would never make the silver ones again.
Yup, pretty much, reread your article again. The blade carriers looked like they were hand finished, mine were all inconsistent. When I refinished mine further is when I found out how inconsistent their tolerances were, or should I say lack there of. The upgrade carriers (from the 2nd gen desgin) seems like they were even more poorly made, at least the ones I received anyway.
Like you I love the design & I like mine, just disappointed in the quality. I expected a bit better.
dutchgray
Well-known member
I see no reason to change from my multiple Stanley 99E knives.
For $40 it should be perfect with no manufacturing issues.
For $40 it should be perfect with no manufacturing issues.
WittHay
Well-known member
I really like the the concept . Just not sure how you can have something with that nice Italian styling that probably requires German or Japanese precision manufacturing and sell it for a made in China price.
My nearest tool store has some products from around the globe. Maybe someday they can get the bugs out and sell them through some non online stores
My nearest tool store has some products from around the globe. Maybe someday they can get the bugs out and sell them through some non online stores
snickers muncher
Well-known member
I've carried the Gerber EAB for years and figured you can't get much smaller/lighter. For less than half the cost of the Maker Knife I'd go with the EAB.
OP
This can design can be... it’s just not... and that’s sort of the point.
OP
It’s sort of a novelty in that there is nothing else on the market like it... other box blades are either too bulky or the blade is too hard to access with one hand.
The gen 2 is def. over priced as you have to work on it to make it function right. But... I’d pay even more for one that was made well. I mean, I use the **** out of mine.
I watched a teardown video showing how the mechanisms work. The design doesn't exactly scream "inexpensive to make in low quantities." But maybe they just haven't found the right people.
OP
I watched a teardown video showing how the mechanisms work. The design doesn't exactly scream "inexpensive to make in low quantities." But maybe they just haven't found the right people.
Right? The design parameters don't match up with the core competencies of Chinese manufacturing.
I think a better play would be to look into German or Swiss manufacturing. He could save on EU import/export taxes, increase the price to $75 (or so) and do lower numbers. I'm sure that would kill his margins... but I think lower margins would be a pretty good trade off given he wouldn't be attaching his name/brand to quality issues any longer.
Ironically, looks like the maker knife sold out yesterday.
Edit: I should say... I've never tried to mass produce anything with this many parts and this level of complexity.... So I am totally talking out of my ***.
TuxThePenguin
Well-known member
Like every "product" I've seen with "maker" in the name, what an overly simplistic design. What's the attraction to these products? These "I took a piece of metal and I did like 5 seconds of machining on it and now I'm trying to sell it to you" products... it's like they have a "less is more" policy when it comes to actually machining a product out of a raw material.
There are plenty of Chinese manufacturers who could make this knife to high quality standards. It's an issue of cost, not COO.
Just spitballing here, but I'd expect to pay closer to $100 for this knife, assuming the people making it are meeting decent quality standards and not losing money.
TuxThePenguin - take a closer look at how the knife works. It's pretty clever and obviously not "I did 5 seconds of machining."
Just spitballing here, but I'd expect to pay closer to $100 for this knife, assuming the people making it are meeting decent quality standards and not losing money.
TuxThePenguin - take a closer look at how the knife works. It's pretty clever and obviously not "I did 5 seconds of machining."
OP
You are probably right. I have zero experience with such things.. When I disassembled mine and started working on it, I felt like some sort of a low rent Swiss watchmaker...
I do think there is a market for such a thing even at a higher price point. I know of nothing else even close to it on the market.
TuxThePenguin
Well-known member
It is a knife. With a blade. That comes out. Which looks like it was machined by a 15-year-old.
I watched a video about it where the guy was talking about adjusting screws, about not wanting it to open in his pocket, and about lubrication.
I can go spend like $3 on a Stanley knife with none of those issues.
Kickstarter seems to be full of products that do the same things as existing products, but worse...
The gerber EAB is really small, barely bigger than the blade inside. Its also easy to open one handed, and costs like 12-15 bucks on amazon. Simple mechanism
OP
Yes, you can... but with a completely different use case and functionality. I think maybe you are jumping to conclusions for confirmation bias? Which is fine... You do you.
I am gonna order that thing and see. I'm on it!
OP
Done. Once I get this thing in the mail, I'll carry it for a few weeks and report back... Should be an interesting comparison to the over-priced, under-built Maker Knife.
Edit: I forgot... Thank you for that!
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gahrajmahal
Well-known member
I have had the good fortune to travel to Italy many times and I can attest to Italian made products to be things of beauty and impeccably made. This particular example does not seem to meet this criteria once the inventor got lazy and outsourced this to China.
For my utility knife needs I use this https://www.stanleytools.com/produc...-quickchange-retractable-utility-knife/10-499
For my utility knife needs I use this https://www.stanleytools.com/produc...-quickchange-retractable-utility-knife/10-499
TuxThePenguin
Well-known member
If it's using the same razor blade as a cheap Stanley knife, then it's not a different use case. Those blades aren't nearly robust enough to serve as an EDC knife. Is this thing intended to replace my Kershaw knives as an EDC? The thought that a razor blade is a robust enough knife is pretty much insulting.
This thing is just trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist, and yet it feels to me like they still found the wrong way to do it.
OP
These are fine for sitting around the shop or in a drawer and pulled out when you need the heft, but I can't imagine carrying one around in my pocket every day. I actually have a small collection of vintage Stanley 199, 299, and *99 utility knives and love them... It's the perfect design in terms of usability and tactility... I just can't carry one in my pocket.
OP
Yeah... So, not your thing. Got it!
OP
Here's another interesting option:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084CXMJNC/?tag=atomicindus08-20
Note: No pocket clip. WTF?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084CXMJNC/?tag=atomicindus08-20
Note: No pocket clip. WTF?
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gahrajmahal
Well-known member
Ryan, here is where you should steer all of us to the “less often viewed” https://www.gearjournal.com/. A fun board to view every once and a while
OP
Ha! I don't think anyone reads that thing... I just write and post for myself... Like an overly complicated bookmark service for my own use!
In alot of ways this reminds me of the rexford R.U.T. that came out a few years ago: https://www.knifecenter.com/item/RE...center-exclusive-maze-milled-titanium-handles. There are a bunch of knockoffs of this design out there. If u want old school and minimalist (as well as cheap) Then u have this old school style one as well : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UZHT432/?tag=atomicindus08-20
OP
Yeah... If cost is of no concern, there are actually quite a few options out there. The X-1, for example, is a little cheaper (still $$$) and has a better blade system than the Rexford:
https://resolutetools.com/products/x-1-edc-utility-knife
WhoWhatNow
Well-known member
I have the EAB and I like it. It locks firmly and is nice and small. It also has a bit of weight to it so it doesn’t feel flimsy. You will like it.
Vercingetorix
Well-known member
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Hytekrednek
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2015
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I much prefer the older gerber all stainless utility pocket knife, or my older SuperKnife.
The SuperKnife has survived 10 hour days in a cabinet shop and for home repair duty for 10 or so years. Best $30 I ever spent on a blade tool.
The SuperKnife has survived 10 hour days in a cabinet shop and for home repair duty for 10 or so years. Best $30 I ever spent on a blade tool.