Mantis Knives MT1
Review by Phil Elmore
It was in early 2007 when The Martialist first took note of Mantis Knives, a brand that seemed to appear out of nowhere in dealer catalogs and knife magazine advertisements. Contacting a real, live human being through the company's website proved surprisingly easy. We are therefore happy, after a year of living and working with these knives, to present long-term reviews of this company's blades.
According to Jared West, owner of Mantis Knives, the company was
founded in late 2005 and debuted at the 2006 SHOT Show. "The
Mantis Logo came to me before the name did," Jared told me. "I
was sitting in an International Business class at the Hilton Business
School at L.M.U. in 2001. I was taking notes, and this logo just
hit me, so I scribbled it down. I revised it a couple of
times. Now it's the logo that you see on every Mantis Knives box
that ships out of our Anaheim Hills headquarters."
That headquarters is a 10,000 square foot facility in Orange County,
California. Some of the knives in the Mantis line are made in the
United States, while others are assembled in Taiwan from US-made
materials (sent by Mantis from Crucible and other sources). The
result is a line of affordable knives of decent quality for the money,
including the only brand of knives officially sanctioned by the United
States Catfish Anglers Tournament Series. "We're the only company
they endorse," Jared states. "We're [also] the only knife
company in the world to offer S30V stainless steel on a folder for less
than $100.00 [USD]."
Jared carries his own company's MK1 model when "hucking boxes and
working in the shop or warehouse." While out on the town, dressed
nicely, or in formal meetings, he carries "my MT2SC. It's slim,
lightweight, and elegant." Price, performance, and style are what
set his company apart from others, according to Jared. "Put our
knives to the test," he urges. "They endure. Every Mantis
knife has a unique, post-modern, industrial look to it. Ever
since I was young, I've been into strange angles and structures in
architecture and design. If I were to design a building, it would
look an awful lot like the Getty Center in Los Angels, or maybe even
the Walt Disny Concert Hall."
At just 27 years old, Jared is a young entrepreneur who seems eager to take on a competitive and often politically charged industry. Mantis' blade materials range from stainless steels like 420HC to more rugged alloys like BG42 and 154CM. Handle materials also range from unusual metal designs to more conventional G10 and carbon fiber slabs.
The Mantis MT1 "Mako" is a gent's folder with heavy (relatively speaking) 6061 T6 aluminum handles. The black-coated and recurved 3-inch blade is of 420HC, ground on both sides. Overall length is just over 7 inches.
This is a classy traditional liner lock that offers no pocket clip. While the handles are relatively smooth, it is not intended as a "tactical" blade. The smoothness of the handles facilitates an easy draw from the pocket (which is where I carried my sample). Small, graduated, dual thumb studs facilitate one-hand opening.
The knife opens smoothly and the liner locks up securely, engaging the blade tang fully while leaving room for wear. There is no play in the locked-open blade. The recurved edge cut well through a variety of test media, ranging from fruit to cardboard to plastic. The edge was just a tiny bit inconsistent out of the box, but once I touched it with literally two swipes from a diamond hone it was cutting superbly.
The whole knife just feels smooth, which makes it a comfortable pocket companion. It is relatively understated in appearance, so this makes it acceptable among a wider audience of folks who might not necessarily be blade-users. While I generally like grooves and texturing on my knife handles and blade spines, their absence on the MT1 was not an issue. The knife is what it sets out to be -- nothing more, and nothing less.
That is buyer satisfaction when it comes in the form of an affordable knife like this. >>