I've had my T-Mag now for 2 days. It's been in my pocket ever since.
It came in VERY handy this afternoon.
You see, my hobby is woodturning. It's what I'm doing when I'm not at work or reading Spyderco.com.
Today I was working on the little angel you see below. I was putting on the eyelet on top and dropped it into a 3" pile of wood shavings!! :eek:
Normally this is a disaster! But not for someone with a T-MAG in his back pocket. I pulled out the T-MAG and with a quick pass over the probable landing zone I found my eyelet in short order!
Score one for the T-MAG!! :D :D
Cheers,
Mike
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I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be. Douglas Adams
jujigatame wrote:I am surprised that a lot of folks are, or were, still thinking of this knife as having a lock. It doesn't and it never did. Comparing the magnet to any standard lock is moot past a certain point because the magnet is not a lock. Maybe this is splitting hairs to some. Still, for as long as this knife has been out and there have been reviews/comments posted, I'd have thought there would not be this many people seemingly caught off guard about it.
I was thinking about this and something was kicking around in the back of my head. I went and reread the official description of the T-Mag on this website. It specifically states that the magnet performs the same function as a notch or slipjoint. It also states that it "holds the blade open."
So, you are technically right in that it was not advertised as having a lock, but it was advertised as having a mechanism that would provide resistance to the blade being closed. That is why people are being caught off guard. We all "knew," but we thought it couldn't be that bad.
A number of years ago, I was talking with a knifemaker and he told me that he made two types of slipjoints, gents folders and working knives. The difference was more about the stiffness of the backspring than the materials used -- gents folders needed to open and close easily, working knives needed to stay open. I played with Ralph Turnbull's magnetic knives at Blade a couple of shows ago and they were gents folders. Quite frankly, that was what I was expecting from the T-Mag, but it isn't even close; the magnet will keep the knife open against gravity but will yield to minimal applied force. Still, well worth the $50, but this is not a knife I would lend to someone else for fear that they would hurt themselves.
I don't know why everyone is so down on the lack of a locking mechanism on the T-Mag. I actually really like it. The magnet makes the T-Mag feel fast and responsive, gliding smoothly open and closed with a nice snap. It is by far weaker than the UKPK's slipjoint but the nice jimped choil makes it just as safe to use, while being far smoother to actuate. It is a JOY to use this knife. For a gent's folder the magnet seems like it aught to be enough.
My sample came with extremely good F&F with only a slight cosmetic blemish on the titanium liner. The only thing separating this knife from a much more expensive one IMHO is the lack of finishing on purely aesthetic components.
The matte CF is a nice touch. I expected it to be polished smooth but the matte offers a nice compromise between grip and elegance. The patterns of the woven CF are subdued but clearly visible and add to the "flair" that the knife has.
The high rider wire clip used on the T-Mag and quite a few other Spydercos has never really rubbed me right. I always found it too stiff and more difficult to deal with than the more traditional clips or the low-rider wire clip found on the UKPK and Caly3. Happily the UKPK clip will fit it, so I will be ordering my replacement clip soon.
The blade is a wonderful shape with a nice point and an upswept spine, reminiscent of the Worker as someone else pointed out. The high hollow grind means this knife should perform well at deep cutting, although I would be cautious with materials that bind due to the magnetic system used.
I would call the T-Mag one of Spyderco's best gentleman's knives and quite a steal at $50. I'd happily pay the $150 street price knowing what I do now about the T-Mag. In a world where everyone demands beefier locking folders, Spyderco really took a chance on this design and it's too bad that it never took off. Maybe someday Spyderco will revisit the magnetic system, because I think it is one of the better non-locking designs out there for a gent's folder.
By the way, I think the T-Mag is my new favorite Spyderco.
Got mine yesterday, it's an awsome knife. Although there are a few things I wish are different, like the point could be better looking if it was a full clip point instead of having the drop on the tip. Didn't quite like the finish of CF scale either, so I made it into a full satin finish with 80 grit sandpaper. Clip is very tight, also wish it's the low rider version.
I don't mind the "lock" at all. Sure it won't work if you stab and cut drywall with it, but for more mundane EDC tasks, it works just fine. Only problem I had with the magnet is it picks up iron dust easily.
Be sure to tell Spyderco you want the low rider clip for the Caly III, but that it will go onto a T-Mag. They'll provide the proper replacement screw (in case you need it). The screw for the T-Mag is different from the one on the Caly III.
Hey guys weird thing happened and I did not get me the T-Mag like I really wanted, ended up at my dads house and he claimed it--long story!!!--and now they are sold out :mad:
SO does anyone want to sell me one of their extras they bought to me..PLEASE :)
I realy like the finger choil, it's very usefull on the T-Mag. Try to close the blade with your finger on the choil of the UKPK, it slide, and your finger "go out the choil" and is not safe ^^. Try the same thing on the T-Mag, your finger skin will be "bloqued" in the choil and the blade can't close, your finger can't slide, because the little "teeth" are blocking your skin. The lock is less strong but less dangerous... are you ok with that ?
Hey, very good point Antoine. Those just looked decorative to me, but they really are functional - makes me feel a lot better and I will make sure to grip tightly with the index finger into the choil to make maximum use of the internal jimping in the handle. Thanks - will have to keep this one.
I love my new T mag, I did not spend the 150 on this knife when it came out, I was very happy with the Caly3 at the time, But I am glad I scored on for 58 !
Mine was scary sharp, centered, and very clean. I have been carrying this one for a couple of days. The clip is very tight, and I would prefer the deeper clip. It did come open on me during a draw, I was not cut but it was not cool. I will try and tighten the action.
Would it be possible to use a small watch battery, and make the lock electromagnetic? Or is that just crazy talk?
This is my first post although I've been reading the Forum for a couple of years. I've been accumulating/using Clipits since I purchased a Worker in January 1989. I carry a Clipit-currently a Caly 3-virtually all the time (excluding showering and sleeping!). I have very positive feelings about Sal and Spyderco and, although I could elaborate at length, there's no time/energy right now. Perhaps I'll say more later as it is important that folks we believe are doing good need to hear encouragement from us.
Having used disc shape rare earth magnets in many applications for a number of years I know that attractive force can be enhanced by setting the disc in a steel cup. See this link for images of the magnets and the cups: http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx ... 42348&ap=1
This is a long shot but would it be possible to acheive somewhat the same effect by attaching an L-shape piece of steel, perhaps 1/16"-1/8" thick on the two adjacent sides of the TMag's magnet that are accessible and which are not in contact with the tang, i.e. the "top" and the rearmost surfaces? The steel would have a width equal to the thickness of the magnet and the legs of the L would be the dimensions of the two adjacent surfaces of the magnet. The magnet would not be as fully enclosed as the discs are by the cups but maybe "enclosing" the two sides are enough to help a bit.
It would be easy enough to try this-the magnet itself would at least temporarily hold the steel in place and, if it works, the L-shape piece could subsequently be epoxied to the magnet. Anybody want to give it a try?
buckthorn wrote:This is my first post although I've been reading the Forum for a couple of years. I've been accumulating/using Clipits since I purchased a Worker in January 1989. I carry a Clipit-currently a Caly 3-virtually all the time (excluding showering and sleeping!). I have very positive feelings about Sal and Spyderco and, although I could elaborate at length, there's no time/energy right now. Perhaps I'll say more later as it is important that folks we believe are doing good need to hear encouragement from us.
Having used disc shape rare earth magnets in many applications for a number of years I know that attractive force can be enhanced by setting the disc in a steel cup. See this link for images of the magnets and the cups: http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx ... 42348&ap=1
This is a long shot but would it be possible to acheive somewhat the same effect by attaching an L-shape piece of steel, perhaps 1/16"-1/8" thick on the two adjacent sides of the TMag's magnet that are accessible and which are not in contact with the tang, i.e. the "top" and the rearmost surfaces? The steel would have a width equal to the thickness of the magnet and the legs of the L would be the dimensions of the two adjacent surfaces of the magnet. The magnet would not be as fully enclosed as the discs are by the cups but maybe "enclosing" the two sides are enough to help a bit.
It would be easy enough to try this-the magnet itself would at least temporarily hold the steel in place and, if it works, the L-shape piece could subsequently be epoxied to the magnet. Anybody want to give it a try?
Show me a pic of EXACTLY what your talking about and I ll give it a try I have 2 small cube N52 magnets on the way as we speak to replace the stock magnet and hope for something so send me a drawing and we will see what happens :D oneslo1996@yahoo.com
:spyder::spyder:If its not Spyderco its CRAP!!!!!!!!:spyder::spyder:
regarding the idea of placing metal pieces, around the magnet, as far as I can tell only the top and bottom are magnetized which makes sense being that there can be polls on all sides I would assume. I tried a primitive experiment placing a piece of metal against the the top magnet, to see if it added anything to the strength, it seems that it might. However not a whole lot, however this idea also has the added benefit possibly of absorbing or blocking the magnetic Fields in that direction minimizing its effect on surrounding objects, I don't know if any of this really makes any sense. From a physical or mechanical standpoint but I thought I'd throw it out there.
