T-Mag for a week

jabba359 · #1

Seems like every time the T-Mag is brought up that many people tend to discount it as "useless", inadequate, and even referred to as "crap". While I haven't used mine much (mostly gets carried with dress pants, only cutting strings, opening plastic bags, etc.), I think that it is much more capable than many (myself included) give it credit for. Sure, the magnet doesn't hold the blade super well, but a finger in the choil -the most comfortable way to hold it- will keep the blade from ever shutting on my hand.

To see whether or not the knife is underrated, I've decided to EDC my T-Mag for the entire week and see if it can do everything I need a knife to do. While I don't use my knives very hard or super frequently, I've got a few days this week where I'll be shooting on set and that's when my knives get the biggest workout. I'll also use it for all my food prep knife needs (well, maybe minus spreading peanut butter).

After carrying the T-Mag exclusively for this week, I'll let everyone know how it did, what it excelled at, what it didn't do very well, and I'll possibly include pictures of it at work. Feel free to share your own stories and experiences of things you've done with your T-Mag.

SteelDragon · #2

My story is short: "I opened the box and handled the knife for about 30 seconds and put it back in the box and sold it." May be a good knife but wasn't anything I could use. Good luck with your EDC for the week, sounds like a cool test.

brj · #3

My T-Mag is one of my favourite :spyder: s.

Maybe I got lucky, but the retention on my specimen, while not comparable to, say, that of the UKPK, still gives me plenty confidence in use (the magnet will stick to the fridge with aplomb).

The T-Mag is the only knife I've taken in the "suit & tie" sort of travel, and I never felt "underknifed" - granted, my tasks required little less besides cutting muffins in half at breakfast, but anyway.

It is a great piece to show to NKPs, has a nice action to play with (just remember to keep your fingers outside of the blade’s arc), carries well and can be easily opened with either hand. As for interferences with CC / electronic devices, I’ve found none – more on the topic in this thread.

Please let us know how you two get along :)

jzmtl · #4

I did carry mine for sometime, it's not useless, I just prefer something with more blade retention. With finger choil the blade won't close, but still the blade keep disengaging from the magnet and move up and down, which is a really weird feeling.

Franciscomv · #5

I was intrigued by the T-Mag since it first came out and got one when the price dropped to $50, it was just too good a deal to pass. I see it as a sort of friction folder, it's good enough for most urban knife chores.

I like the design and materials a lot, I bet it would sell well with a lock.

heathen · #6

My wife and I actually use mine quite a bit. It stays stuck to the fridge and is used as a utility knife in and around the kitchen. While I agree that the retention of the magnet is not a lot, it is not really bad enough to bother me, especially with the finger choil. I don't think that the knife is a great edc however. I have tried carrying it clipped to my pocket and it just did not feel right to me. Stuck to the fridge as a quick and handy utility knife though, it is a great knife. Not to mention a great conversation piece when people first notice it.

Jay_Ev · #7

I won't be carrying mine but the recent T-Mag talk did cause me to dig mine out & play around with it for a while.

Sequimite · #8

My only problem with the T-Mag was having others things stick to it. At times it was handy to have a magnet but more often it was a bother .

The General · #9

It was an interesting concept design. I said when I first saw it several years ago that I did not see the point. The UKPK did everything this did but much better and at a much lower price point.

Its nice to try something innovative but I expect Sal went into this project knowing it would pretty much be a flop. Can't fault him for trying though. :spyder:

Leatherneck · #10

I wanted to like mine. It was extremely well made, silky smooth and very nice feel. I just didn't like the retention like many others. Yes I know the finger choil was well placed and would likely prevent a nasty cut but you cannot simply rely on that 100% of the time.

HotSoup · #11

Just thought of something...

Imagine getting metal-filings all clogged up around the pivot, near the magnets? Must be a B**CH to try and remove that?

Okay, so its an unlikely scenario, but STILL!

alexcue · #12

jzmtl wrote:I did carry mine for sometime, it's not useless, I just prefer something with more blade retention. With finger choil the blade won't close, but still the blade keep disengaging from the magnet and move up and down, which is a really weird feeling.

Ditto... very well put

jabba359 · #13

Okay, I did it. While this was a relatively light week as far as cutting is concerned, I did put my T-Mag to use a bit more than the usual "dress pants" carry allows. First, the pros.

Mine has a pretty strong magnet, so "lock-up" (if I can call it that), is decent. I wouldn't use it without my finger in the choil, but it clicks into the open position very distinctly. It is also a very comfortable knife, as the handle is ergonomic and the non-glossy carbon fiber handles provide adequate grip. Mine also came extremely sharp and I have yet to need to sharpen it (mostly due out of lack of use).

While I would have preferred to use a different knife for certain cutting tasks, such as cutting the plastic strapping used on pallets, it managed to do everything I needed it to and looks good while accomplishing these jobs. It also rides low in the pocket due to my having switched the clip out for a low-rider version, and is thin and stealthy.

Here's the T-Mag hanging out in front of a 12-bank set of lights while shooting on set yesterday.

jabba359 · #14

Now the cons.

My keys kept sticking to it in my pocket, which I found to be annoying. Some pairs of pants had deep enough pockets that this wasn't an issue, but it was still something that bothered me on the other days. I also didn't let anyone else use it, as it's non-locking nature makes it less safe to use without some instruction on how to hold it so it won't just close up on the hand.

As others have mentioned, the up/down movement while cutting things was not only annoying, but uncomfortable. I discovered while cutting the aforementioned plastic strapping that if I pushed on the thumb ramp while cutting, as soon as I got through the material the pressure from my thumb would close the knife partially. Of course my finger in the choil kept it from closing much, but it would pinch my finger. The solution was to push with my thumb on the spine of the handle instead of the thumb ramp on the blade, but that pretty much makes the thumb ramp useless.

I don't know if the magnet in the knife would demagnetize my credit cards, but I made a conscious effort to keep my wallet separated from the knife, just in case.

Overall, the knife did it's job for the week and I didn't encounter any situations that it couldn't deal with. Sure, other knives would have been more efficient at some tasks, but the T-Mag was a good deal at the $50 close-out prices. I think if I had paid full price for it, however, I would have felt that my money was not well spent. The knife was one of those gambles that didn't pay off. Fortunately for us, Spyderco tends to succeed more often than not. I appreciate the risk of doing something no one else was doing and think that the T-Mag will continue to do a great job back in it's dressy pants role.

Here's another picture of the T-Mag hanging out on set.

SmoothOne25 · #15

^shooting a porno...? :D