MachineWise's $930 Mojave Runs S60V and a Plunge Lock

MachineWise built its name on balisongs, then moved into folders with the Sonora, and the Mojave is the bigger, thinner sibling. The 1636 version runs a 3.45-inch CPM-S60V blade in a Grade 5 titanium frame, weighs 3.6 ounces, and costs $930. That price is not a typo and it is not a mistake in the listing: this is small-shop American manufacturing at a scale where every handle is machined in batches of dozens.

The details explain part of the price. Anodized Grade 5 titanium sandwiched scales, a flipper tab, a deep-carry pocket clip, a plunge lock, stonewashed S60V, and a package that includes a custom display box and stand, a bit driver, a sample of Carbon HoneyThin lubricant in a house scent, a QC/COA card, and a maintenance card. Overall length is 8.40 inches with a 4.90-inch handle.

S60V is a high-vanadium Crucible steel with around 9 percent vanadium, designed for wear resistance at high hardness. In a folder it behaves like a harder, more abrasion-resistant cousin of S90V, and MachineWise runs it thin behind the edge with a flat grind that makes the knife a better slicer than its 3.6-ounce Titanium build suggests. It is not a tough steel; do not pry with it.

The plunge lock is the mechanical story. It is a button-actuated lock that engages a plunger into the blade tang, which gives fidget-friendly one-hand operation without the flex of a liner. Compared with the Sonora at $905, the Mojave is larger but thinner, with a longer blade and a slightly heavier build. Compared with a Chris Reeve Sebenza at $500, you are paying nearly double for a smaller maker, a more exotic steel, and a lock that most people have never handled.

Verdict: a collector's daily carry for people who have already owned the usual titanium suspects. It is a beautiful, well-packaged knife at a price that only makes sense if you value the maker as much as the materials.