940-1 or ZT

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Jun 18, 2016
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Just got my father in laws 940-1 back from benchmade after the tip broke on the previous one. Hes not exactly careful with them lol
Would he be better served with a ZT? He liked the 0562; maybe I should try trading for one?
 
I like both of those knives. The 0562 would definitely be a bit tougher, due to the thicker blade stock, if future broken tips is what you want to avoid.
 
The ZT562 will have a thicker tip and blade stock than the 940-1, with that comes a heavier knife. If he doesn’t mind a little more weight and width in the pocket than I say get the ZT. My preference would be the carbon fiber version but the G-10 would give better grip.
 
The ZT0562 is my favorite weekend EDC. I have a number of high quality knives and once had a 940-1 too. As others have said the ZT0562 is heavier and more robust, however IMHO its' weight is comfortable and perfectly manageable. It's a beautiful knife especially in CF, beautiful grind, wonderful contoured handle, and one of the industries best designed deep carry pocket clips. IMO a step up from the 940-1.
 
Just got my father in laws 940-1 back from benchmade after the tip broke on the previous one. Hes not exactly careful with them lol
Would he be better served with a ZT? He liked the 0562; maybe I should try trading for one?

He broke the tip on a 940 ? o_O ?
That's the 940 that every time I look at one I have an almost uncontrollable urge to grind it thinner ?
That 940 ?

I would say there is only one thing to do. Buy him one of these ( the red handled pry bar).
Write "Knife" on the side and give it to him. :thumbsup:

IMG_4870.JPG
 
Thank you all for the suggestions! I’ll be looking into the forums for a 562. Maybe I’ll just keep the 940 for myself
 
The Benchmade Contego is basically a 940 on steroids. It's an almost four inch blade and you can get it in either M4 or M390. If your dad prefers the axis lock and the overall look of the 940 you could look into that as well.
 
A possible alternative is the zt 0450. Almost the exact size of the 940. It's got a thicker, presumably tougher blade.
Costs $60-80 less than the 0562. Its light, tough, soooooooo smooth, gorgeous, extremely pocket friendly.
I love mine.
I did quite a bit of comparing between the 0450 and the 940 and for me the 0450 pretty much won every catagory.
 
K Knivesandreels
I believe they made the 562 available with Elmax. With how soft most companies run their Elmax, you can expect some higher toughness compared to the other alloys used on the model.

Ideal for Elmax wear resistance is 61-62, and most companies run theirs between 58-60. Some go even lower, though not often.
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As far as sizing goes, I loved my 940 and 940-1, as well as my 562, and the 450 was too small for my hand. Though it is the same size as the 940, the handle has some added shaping and ergonomics that don't line up with my hand as well as the more neutrally based 940.

ETA: If it were my dollar, I would look for a non bearing based pivot (one current ZT is washer, afaik, as well as 90%+ of the Benchmades).
Bearings on soft Ti do not like lateral loads, and may cause issues with the bearing denting the Ti bearing race. I have not seen this happen much, but if it is a possibility, I would attempt to limit it. Especially if the knife is used for things other than knife stuff (cutting)...
 
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While I was thinking about this, lightbulb...

Head to countycomm and get him a widgy bar. 2", 3", and 4" are available for $11 and under...
Their blub:
"When Uncle Sam requested a small pocket pry bar for technicians to open ordinance crates in the field, we offered these as the solution. The Widgy Pry Bar is made to fill the high demand for a customizable widgy bar which you can sharpen into your own EDC tool. These compact bars are heat treated D-9 steel and provide a common sense solution to broken knife blades and bent screw driver shafts. These are first run extras from our government order."

My emphasis, sounds like it fits the bill, eh?
 
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Get him a SAK and he'll have a flat head to pry with. :)

I do like the 0562 way better than the 940 though.
I like like them both as well but the OP's FIL sounds like a SAK guy to me?;):)
6LWZh4j.jpg
 
K Knivesandreels
I believe they made the 562 available with Elmax. With how soft most companies run their Elmax, you can expect some higher toughness compared to the other alloys used on the model.

Ideal for Elmax wear resistance is 61-62, and most companies run theirs between 58-60. Some go even lower, though not often.
----
As far as sizing goes, I loved my 940 and 940-1, as well as my 562, and the 450 was too small for my hand. Though it is the same size as the 940, the handle has some added shaping and ergonomics that don't line up with my hand as well as the more neutrally based 940.

ETA: If it were my dollar, I would look for a non bearing based pivot (one current ZT is washer, afaik, as well as 90%+ of the Benchmades).
Bearings on soft Ti do not like lateral loads, and may cause issues with the bearing denting the Ti bearing race. I have not seen this happen much, but if it is a possibility, I would attempt to limit it. Especially if the knife is used for things other than knife stuff (cutting)...

You have to put a ridiculous moment on the pivot to get it to dent the titanium bearing surfaces, as seen here:

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/sbw_flipper-95-bearings-pivot-point-test.1263295/

That is the equivalent of treating a knife like a simply supported beam and standing on it, placing a huge bending moment directly over the pivot assembly itself. No prying you can do with a knife will come anywhere near that, as the largest bending moment will be on the tip of the blade (which would fail before you damage the pivot), with the moment falling off proportionally as you move up the blade towards the handle. I can tell you from a statics standpoint that this is not a concern, unless you can find actual examples of them failing in semi-reasonable use.

Also, they did make the 0562 in ELMAX originally. I have one in my personal collection.
 
BM warranties their knives for life. If you snap a blade they will install a new blade for $30-40 depending on the steel. I own all 3 Osborne's. If your Dad likes the style and feel of the 940 Osborne series he should try a 940-2 with the G10 scales. I like the 940 with its green scales, but its like a chalk board texture wise and can leave powdery marks on it from your skin. Im hoping that raised texture will wear down a litlle over time.

The 940-1 issue with me is I thought CF had more texture to it. I was disappointed in that the scales are like its a screened on picture and its also somewhat slippery. My other issue with it is that its super light weight. Great when I carry it as an EDC as I don't even know its there. Thats part of my problem with the 940-1, it doesn't even feel like a knife. I much prefer the weight and feel of the 940 or even better the 940-2. The 940 is a classic and the G10 scales make it even better IMO.

I can't comment on the ZT line as I don't own any, but they do look to be more robust then the BM's I own.
 
BM warranties their knives for life. If you snap a blade they will install a new blade for $30-40 depending on the steel. I own all 3 Osborne's. If your Dad likes the style and feel of the 940 Osborne series he should try a 940-2 with the G10 scales. I like the 940 with its green scales, but its like a chalk board texture wise and can leave powdery marks on it from your skin. Im hoping that raised texture will wear down a litlle over time.

The 940-1 issue with me is I thought CF had more texture to it. I was disappointed in that the scales are like its a screened on picture and its also somewhat slippery. My other issue with it is that its super light weight. Great when I carry it as an EDC as I don't even know its there. Thats part of my problem with the 940-1, it doesn't even feel like a knife. I much prefer the weight and feel of the 940 or even better the 940-2. The 940 is a classic and the G10 scales make it even better IMO.

I can't comment on the ZT line as I don't own any, but they do look to be more robust then the BM's I own.
The 940-1 is a gentlemans carry.
 
The 940-1 is a gentlemans carry.

So is my BM 490, I bought it for a gentlemans carry as I did for the 940-1. At least the 490 feels substantial to me. The 940-1 is the lightest of any of my knives. I like a knife to feel like a knife. The 940-1 to me is so light weight its almost bordering on toyish (just my humble opinion) I just opened the box of my latest BM that came a few minutes ago. Its a bluish BM Emissary 3.5. This one has the same scale texture as the 940, but this is 1 oz heavier. 940-osborne is 2.63 oz and this Emissary is 3.61 oz. Both my 940 and this Emissary are assisted opening as I like to mix up the actions of my various EDC's. I bet the OP's Dad would love this Emissary $195 from the authorized discount online knife shops or probably $150-160 range from a member selling one here. It has the heft and feel of my Para 2 which is 3.46 oz, but I'm not a huge fan of the Para 2's size and I don't like having to use spidey hole to open it and forcefully having to flick my wrist and its the same for the Delica I have. The best action I've found so far for a BM unassisted knife is the 940 series.
I wonder if the OP ever looked at a Para 2 for his Dad. It seems to be a workhorse of a knife especially if he is using it harder than a gentlemans type carry . . . to have broken that tip off. Maybe he used it to pop off a beer bottle cap?
 
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