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Knife Review: Factory vs. Custom Version of Similar Knife

Factory versus custom knife review

 

Factory vs. Custom: A Knife Review Battle for the Ages

The blades of both the MOTAC by Doublestar and We The People by Brad Mock have somewhat of a triangular appearance. This provides a very sharp tip for fine work and a wider base for heavier jobs. I decided to start at the tip of each blade and work my way back.

Knife Test: Paper Cuts

The WTP sliced the copy paper great at the midway point to the tip, but the edge started to thicken toward the grip and was unsuited for slicing. The MOTAC was smooth and cut aggressively along the entire edge.

First up was a quick edge check by slicing 20-pound bond copy paper. Brad’s knife sliced great at the midway point to the tip. From midway to the start of the cutting edge it has a thicker edge geometry unsuited for slicing.

The Doublestar knife was smooth and aggressive along the whole edge, giving me nice slicing sounds.

Knife Test: Cardboard

It was time to thin out the cardboard pile. The MOTAC sliced smoothly and was very controllable. The thickness of the blade twisted the cardboard as I was cutting but did not affect the slices. We The People sliced very smoothly and cleanly. The handle shape made it easy to control.

My wife, Melissa, had purchased a new lounge chair. The box it came in had corner supports of compacted cardboard, solid and heavy duty—perfect for chopping. We The People chopped an average of 3/8 inch deep. The MOTAC averaged the same depth. This is some tough cutting medium, for sure.

Knife Test: Whittle

It was time to relax and whittle a spell. The MOTAC was very smooth at the pursuit. It gave great curly-cues and was extremely controllable. I really liked the deep choil.

We The People was choppy with the curly-cues. I had to increase the angle of my cut to dig deeper. The edge geometry was on the thicker side. The handle was very comfortable during use.

Knife Test: Rope Cut

Next up was the rope cut. I untwisted a 1-inch manila rope and used one of the 3/8-inch strands. We The People started off crunching until at 50 cuts the edge started to slide. The deep etching seemed to slow the blade down some. The handle was very comfortable during the push cuts. The MOTAC crunched to 135 cuts before the edge started to slide. The handle was slightly rough on my hand during the push cuts.

Knife Test: Brass Rod

Both knives flexed on the brass rod without chipping or dulling, an indication of good heat treatment on each.

To check the flexibility of the edge I employ the brass rod test. Both knives flexed without chipping or dulling, an indication of good heat treatment by both makers.

Bottom Line

I liked the feel of the We The People and the function of the Doublestar.

Suggestions

I would soften the handle edges on the MOTAC a little and decrease the edge angle on We The People.



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