Microtech Marfione Custom Sunrise Sigil Knife Review

For over 20 years, Microtech has been working to build a long standing tradition of innovation and quality with each knife that leaves our facility. In a world of ever-changing technology, they strive to ensure their customers have access to the latest advancements in knife making, while still continuing to maintain a humanized element throughout the manufacturing process. As the company continues to grow, their focus remains the same: to deliver revolutionary products that exceed the industry’s ever-increasing desire for groundbreaking ideas. They appreciate their customers, for the years of loyalty and support, and for motivating them to better themselves so that they may continue to rise about your expectations.

Microtech Knives was established in 1994 in Vero Beach, Florida relocating to Bradford, Pennsylvania in 2005. They have always operated with a simple mission: To make the best possible knives. The mission is still true today. Their goal is to attain and maintain extremely high quality knives throughout the evolution of growth and change. Founder, Anthony Marfione’s objective is to ensure that every day, each customer will receive the highest quality knife that money can buy. They deliver personalized service with exceptional attention to detail. Even though they produce thousands of specialized knives, the quest for quality remains their primary focus.

The Microtech Reputation has continued to stress quality which means that they have extremely close tolerance—their designers and technician measure to the thousandths to ensure precision action. They also only use USA manufactured parts, material, and labor. They research and test only the highest grade of Tool Steel, Aircraft Alloy, and component pieces—all developed by USA Manufactures. Also, approximately 95% of all parts are fabricated by them not for them. All of their knives are designed and engineered by experts—aiming to meet and exceed customer needs, targeting ease in application and effectiveness. They also have a lifetime limited warranty of all Microtech Worldwide products. Microtech does not compromise on quality.

During their history, they have produced revolutionary tactical knives and in keeping with their tradition, they continue to introduce new innovative products, striving for excellence.

Microtech is a leader in the industry. They will continue to be one of the World’s finest in pioneering creative and inventive designs.

Microtech’s goal is to attain and maintain extremely high quality knives throughout the evolution of growth and change. They deliver personalized service with exceptional attention to detail. Even though they have produced thousands of specialize knives, the quest for quality remains their primary focus.

The Blade:

The steel is made out of M390 Stainless steel. This is an ultra premium steel. M390 is one of the new super steels on the block, manufactured by Bohler-Uddehom. It uses third generation powder metal technology and developed for knife blades requiring excellent corrosion resistance and very high hardness for excellent wear resistance. Chromium, molybdenum, vanadium, and tungsten are added to promote sharpness and outstanding edge retention. Unlike ZDP-189 most carbides are formed by vanadium and molybdenum, living more ‘free chromium’ to fight corrosion. M390 hardens to 60-62 HRC.  Bohler calls this steel “Microclean” and it can be polished to achieve a true mirror. This steel is moderately difficult to sharpen, but won’t take you as long as with S90V.

The blade on the Sunrise Spectrum Sigil is finished with a mirror polish. A mirror polished finish is done by hand, polishing the metal into a highly reflective surface. Just like the name suggests, a mirror finish will literally reflect like mirror. While it provides a great look and offers better corrosion resistance due to the smoothness of the blade, this finish type involves a lot of polishing to maintain its look and its reflective quality would be telling in tactical fieldwork. The amount of skill used to create this finish often results in an expensive blade. In fact, a mirror finish is one of the more expensive knife finishes out there, and it is typically used on custom knives. A mirror finish is quickly scratched when used and is largely a presentation finish. The high polish and smoothness in this type of knife reduces cutting resistance and makes the knife easier to clean. This type of finish also has the greatest corrosion resistance.

The Wharncliffe blade, not to be confused with the sheepsfoot blade, is very much like a standard blade shape turned upside down. This type of blade has a totally flat cutting edge, and the spine of the blade drops gradually until the tip forms a point. There are a few stories as to how the name Wharncliffe came to be, with some people claiming that the pattern originated many years ago from some of the patterns used for Scandinavian Seax Knives and others claiming that it came from a British Lord who commissioned the knife to be made. There is one thing that is for certain however according to the website of Ron Neep. There were several Lord Wharncliffes that the blade shape could have been named after, but the actual name “wharncliffe” did not exit prior to 1833, which means it was named after hat point in history. Regardless of history, the Wharncliffe is a very useful blade shape. It is fantastic for office folk for opening boxes and envelopes and excels in box cutter type chores. It is not very good for preparing food and skinning as the lack of a belly makes it difficult for cutting soft tissue and using on a cutting board.

This blade does sport a plain edge. The edge is especially easy to sharpen because the edge is so straight, with no curves. The plain edge is better equipped to take on a wider variety of tasks than a serrated edge would have been able to. And, because the edge is plain, it is easier to get a finer edge on it. Plain edges excel at push cuts, slicing, skinning, and peeling. In general, the plain edge is better than the serrated when the application involves push cuts. Also, the plain edge is superior when extreme control accuracy, and clean cuts are necessary, regardless of whether or not the job is push cuts or slices.

 

The Handle:

The handle is made out of anodized titanium. Titanium is a lightweight metal alloy, and it offers the best corrosion resistance of any metal. It’s a little heavier than aluminum but is still considered a lightweight metal and much stronger. Alas, it is also more expensive to machine. Titanium is one of those rare metals that has a warm feel to it, so it doesn’t make you suffer nearly as much in the winter time as something like aluminum. It’s very sturdy and yet springy, which is why you will commonly see titanium used as the liner material for a locking liner knife. However, titanium does suffer from being prone to scratches as compared to stainless steel. Titanium can be given a unique and attractive color through the anodization process which is particularly common on custom knives. This specific knife has been anodized light blue and purple with purple haze accents. Beware the titanium marketing machine however. You’ll often see Titanium being given more credit than it deserves through effective marketing. It’s far from indestructible and not all alloys are as strong as stainless steel.

This knife does have a finger guard to protect your fingers from slipping or getting sliced. It also has good ergonomics to give your hand a comfortable grip, even for long periods of time. There has also been a lanyard hole carved into the butt of the knife.

 

The Pocket Clip:

The pocket clip is made out of titanium that is statically designed for tip up carry only. The pocket clip has been anodized to match the handle identically. The clip also has a slight curve to it, to better fit against your pocket. All of the hardware on this knife is silver.

 

The Mechanism:

This Sigil features a frame lock design. Think of the frame lock as a beefed up version of the liner lock. They’re very similar to liner lock mechanism, except instead of an internal spring bar moving into place, tis part of the handle itself. Frame lock knives tend to be stronger than liner locks, as the piece of metal that slips into place is more substantial than that in a liner. Because of their similarity to liner locks, closing a frame lock knife is virtually the same—you push down on the spring bar so it no longer blocks the butt of the blade, then you remove your thumb form the path and then fold the knife is closed. This type of locking system puts a large portion of metal against the blade, ensuring a strong lockup for piercing, cutting, slicing, and other heavy duty tasks. Frame locks are seen in lots of mid to upper range knives, typically crafted from titanium.

This knife also features a flipper mechanism to help you open the blade. The flipper actually seems to be a relative newcomer on the one-hand opening scene, especially in terms of its popularity. While studs and holes enlist a thumb to open the knife, a flipper actually employ an index finger, and the feature is naturally ambidextrous. Some people express that deploying a flipper reliably takes a bit of practice, and that is the truth. An essential element of a great flipper is a high quality pivot mechanism. Flipper knives offer another way to smoothly open both spring assisted and manual folding knives. The flipper is normally located on the spine of the knife as part of the blade. Because you use your index finger to pull back on it, it not only keeps your hands at a safe distance from the blade but gives you an added finger guard once it is opened. The flipper in most cases will actually swing around and end up underneath the knife continuing to offer protection form accidental knife injuries. If you are concerned with the safety of your thumb, a flipper knife will be more to your liking than a thumb stud.

 

The Specs:

The blade on this custom Microtech knife is 3.875 inches long. The overall length of this knife measures in at 8.75 inches long and it has a closed or handle length of 4.875 inches long. The Marfione Custom Sunrise Sigil weighs in at 4.9 ounces. This knife was made in the United States of America.

 

Conclusion:

Marfione Custom Knives (MCK) are well known for their high-end custom knives and products that feature exotic materials that turn mere tools into works of art. Knife maker Deryk Munroe, of Munroe Knives, had first collaborated with Microtech CEO Tony Marfione to bring about two exciting new future-forward designs–the Sigil and the Sigil MK6. The MK6 series is the larger of the two and boasts almost a 4″ blade while still providing all of the same stellar components and sleek styling. Every frame lock designed Sigil model rides seamlessly on a ceramic bearing system and can be operated with the ambidextrous spine flipper or the unique thumb window. This MCK model features light blue and purple anodized titanium handle scales complete with purple haze accents and back spacer, titanium hardware coupled with a Moku-Ti over-travel pivot plate, a wharncliffe style blade in mirror polish finish and the titanium pocket clip is statically designed for tip up carry only. The steel that was chosen for the blade is considered a super steel because of all of the high qualities that it packs into itself. Choosing titanium for a handle was one of the smartest decisions because it is an extremely durable and corrosion resistant material. This knife was designed to take a beating, although with how good it looks, you probably won’t want to beat it up too hard. Package comes complete with a presentation box, zipper pouch as well as a certificate of authenticity. Pick up your Microtech Marfione Custom Sunrise Spectrum Sigil today at BladeOps.