- Joined
- Feb 25, 2001
- Messages
- 6,676
I got in my Benchmade 710 today, and Im a very happy camper. I initially purchased the 710 to use while my Sebenza is sent out for tender loving care, but I can see it getting a whole lot of its own carry time in the years to come. Ive only had this knife for a few hours now, but Ill throw a few initial impressions at you. Ill also make some comparisons to the large classic Sebenza. I wouldnt normally do this with a new folder, but the 710 is that good. Its also very easy to see the slightly different design philosophies when it comes to the ergonomics of the two knives.
Both knives are what I think of as straight handle designs. They dont have that made to fit your hand style grip like Darrel Ralphs EDC or Ken Onions Boa, but tend more toward versatility instead of ultimate comfort. The 710 and Sebenza do have a few subtle differences though. The 710 is bent more toward a traditional style of grip, being comfortable enough for extended normal use. Its also good in a reverse style grip, but its the weaker of the two. It seems that Chris Reeve took a slightly different approach, opting for a design that was equally comfortable in both grips. The downfall here is that the Sebenza isnt quite as comfortable in a traditional sabre grip. I think I like the 710 better as far as grip goes. I use a knife in both grips, but the large majority of my knife using tasks are done sabre style. I might as well be more comfortable 95% of the time, and deal with only a slight lack of comfort on that oft hand reverse grip maneuver.
Pocket carry is also slightly different, with the same level of give and take. The Sebenza has a more square shape to the back end of the handle, allowing for a useful lanyard hole. This square shape makes reaching into your pocket a little more uncomfortable, but the lanyard is very handy when drawing the knife. The 710s design has a more tapered back end to the handle. This design makes for, IMHO, a functionally useless lanyard hole. The lanyard would sit up too high on the handle, getting in the way of the grip. The tapered end does make for a more comfortable carry though. You can get your hand in your pocket without the knife getting in the way too much. If you regularly walk with your hands in your pockets, or use your pocket to carry more than your knife, the 710 is the easy preference. I will miss the Sebenza lanyard though, as it is both very functional and aesthetic.
These two knives also deviate in where the thumb ramp grooves are placed. The Sebenza has grooves on the blade, where the 710 builds the grooves into the handle itself. This is again a matter of comfort. The 710s design feels more comfortable to me, but the Sebenza allows for slightly more control, allowing me to make direct thumb contact with the blade itself.
Now lets talk about strengths. I personally much prefer the opening of the Sebenza. While the 710 opens very smoothly, it is somewhat hard to get a good purchase on the thumb stud. Im quite surprised that Benchmade didnt grind the G-10 around the thumb stud. A small indentation in the G-10 would make for much easier opening. The classic Sebenza has a nice big cut-out in the titanium scales, making the thumb stud supremely accessible.
The classic Sebenza has a great blade shape, offering both a tank-like blade and pointy tip. The Sebenza also cuts like crazy with its sensational geometry. An added feature to the Sebenza is the rounded blade spine. If you do two-handed push cuts, you quickly grow to love that rounding. But even with all of those great features, the 710 does excel in some ways. It simply has the most utilitarian blade shape Ive ever owned. The 710 has a more pronounced recurve for slicing, and has a drop-dead awesome tip to it. I love this tip!!! The 710s blade might not be as overbuilt as the Sebenzas, but Ill bet that its a functionally superior design. This is a trade-off like anything else. I might be able to rely more heavily on the Sebenza, but the 710 is probably more useful in the long run. This is assuming that the 710 cuts as well as the Sebenza, which has yet to be determined. Ill save that test for later, once Ive had the chance to regrind the 710 for a higher performance edge, as well as have Chris Reeve put a new edge on my Sebenza.
Onto the lock. The Sebenza is a nice, simple, and strong design. Everybody knows the strengths and lack of weakness here, so its not much worth mentioning. Just let me say that Im entirely convinced of the frame lock design. Chris Reeve can really build a lock. The 710 is a bit more complicated. The lock is supposedly as strong or stronger, and nearly as failproof. Both locks are functionally perfect in strength from my perspective. I just dont stress my folders to where one of these locks would fail. What I did notice is some roughness in the 710s Axis lock. It wouldnt stick out in my mind as much if I hadnt owned an Axis Benchmade Ares. The Ares is much smoother in closing. My 710 requires a more forceful push to fully close the knife. The Axis handle stud also has a slight tendency to get stuck when pressing down on it, where I sometimes have to move the stud upwards a hair before moving it downward. This could just be caused by some of the black blade coating that needs to wear off though. Time will tell.
Overall, I absolutely love both knives. While the 710 tends to be more user friendly and practical as a knife, the Sebenza bends in the direction of being more of a survival tool. Id trust my life with a Sebenza, but Id prefer to use and carry a 710. Its all a matter of trade-offs. Both manufacturers have produced mind-blowing designs, where individual preference determines the winner.
As it always comes up in comparison, Ill address the issue of price. The 710 is much less expensive than the Sebenza. There is a reason for this. The overall fit and finish of my 710 is quite good, but its the finish of a production knife. The Sebenza is the hands down winner in this category. No contest here. Does this level of fit and finish justify the much higher cost? Thats up to you. People pay huge amounts of money on custom knives, largely for the superb level of craftsmanship and attention to detail. The Sebenza just fits snuggly between the production knife and the custom here.
On a personal note, my 710 purchase is forcing me to reevaluate my everyday carry. I initially purchased the large Sebenza for this purpose six months ago. My Spyderco Military, which held this position beforehand, was relegated to the outdoor in the mountains folder. The Military gets more of the overall abuse, and like it or not, Ive had to rely on the Military more than the Sebenza. This is just because I normally use the Military in more inconvenient and stressful circumstances. The Sebenza has gotten more use, but not as hard a use. I have that feeling that my preferences will now be changing. The Sebenza, with its rock-solid and dependable design may become my heavy outdoor use folder, while the 710 will take its place as my everyday large folder of choice. This will put each folder to work, utilizing their strengths more appropriately.
Both knives are what I think of as straight handle designs. They dont have that made to fit your hand style grip like Darrel Ralphs EDC or Ken Onions Boa, but tend more toward versatility instead of ultimate comfort. The 710 and Sebenza do have a few subtle differences though. The 710 is bent more toward a traditional style of grip, being comfortable enough for extended normal use. Its also good in a reverse style grip, but its the weaker of the two. It seems that Chris Reeve took a slightly different approach, opting for a design that was equally comfortable in both grips. The downfall here is that the Sebenza isnt quite as comfortable in a traditional sabre grip. I think I like the 710 better as far as grip goes. I use a knife in both grips, but the large majority of my knife using tasks are done sabre style. I might as well be more comfortable 95% of the time, and deal with only a slight lack of comfort on that oft hand reverse grip maneuver.
Pocket carry is also slightly different, with the same level of give and take. The Sebenza has a more square shape to the back end of the handle, allowing for a useful lanyard hole. This square shape makes reaching into your pocket a little more uncomfortable, but the lanyard is very handy when drawing the knife. The 710s design has a more tapered back end to the handle. This design makes for, IMHO, a functionally useless lanyard hole. The lanyard would sit up too high on the handle, getting in the way of the grip. The tapered end does make for a more comfortable carry though. You can get your hand in your pocket without the knife getting in the way too much. If you regularly walk with your hands in your pockets, or use your pocket to carry more than your knife, the 710 is the easy preference. I will miss the Sebenza lanyard though, as it is both very functional and aesthetic.
These two knives also deviate in where the thumb ramp grooves are placed. The Sebenza has grooves on the blade, where the 710 builds the grooves into the handle itself. This is again a matter of comfort. The 710s design feels more comfortable to me, but the Sebenza allows for slightly more control, allowing me to make direct thumb contact with the blade itself.
Now lets talk about strengths. I personally much prefer the opening of the Sebenza. While the 710 opens very smoothly, it is somewhat hard to get a good purchase on the thumb stud. Im quite surprised that Benchmade didnt grind the G-10 around the thumb stud. A small indentation in the G-10 would make for much easier opening. The classic Sebenza has a nice big cut-out in the titanium scales, making the thumb stud supremely accessible.
The classic Sebenza has a great blade shape, offering both a tank-like blade and pointy tip. The Sebenza also cuts like crazy with its sensational geometry. An added feature to the Sebenza is the rounded blade spine. If you do two-handed push cuts, you quickly grow to love that rounding. But even with all of those great features, the 710 does excel in some ways. It simply has the most utilitarian blade shape Ive ever owned. The 710 has a more pronounced recurve for slicing, and has a drop-dead awesome tip to it. I love this tip!!! The 710s blade might not be as overbuilt as the Sebenzas, but Ill bet that its a functionally superior design. This is a trade-off like anything else. I might be able to rely more heavily on the Sebenza, but the 710 is probably more useful in the long run. This is assuming that the 710 cuts as well as the Sebenza, which has yet to be determined. Ill save that test for later, once Ive had the chance to regrind the 710 for a higher performance edge, as well as have Chris Reeve put a new edge on my Sebenza.
Onto the lock. The Sebenza is a nice, simple, and strong design. Everybody knows the strengths and lack of weakness here, so its not much worth mentioning. Just let me say that Im entirely convinced of the frame lock design. Chris Reeve can really build a lock. The 710 is a bit more complicated. The lock is supposedly as strong or stronger, and nearly as failproof. Both locks are functionally perfect in strength from my perspective. I just dont stress my folders to where one of these locks would fail. What I did notice is some roughness in the 710s Axis lock. It wouldnt stick out in my mind as much if I hadnt owned an Axis Benchmade Ares. The Ares is much smoother in closing. My 710 requires a more forceful push to fully close the knife. The Axis handle stud also has a slight tendency to get stuck when pressing down on it, where I sometimes have to move the stud upwards a hair before moving it downward. This could just be caused by some of the black blade coating that needs to wear off though. Time will tell.
Overall, I absolutely love both knives. While the 710 tends to be more user friendly and practical as a knife, the Sebenza bends in the direction of being more of a survival tool. Id trust my life with a Sebenza, but Id prefer to use and carry a 710. Its all a matter of trade-offs. Both manufacturers have produced mind-blowing designs, where individual preference determines the winner.
As it always comes up in comparison, Ill address the issue of price. The 710 is much less expensive than the Sebenza. There is a reason for this. The overall fit and finish of my 710 is quite good, but its the finish of a production knife. The Sebenza is the hands down winner in this category. No contest here. Does this level of fit and finish justify the much higher cost? Thats up to you. People pay huge amounts of money on custom knives, largely for the superb level of craftsmanship and attention to detail. The Sebenza just fits snuggly between the production knife and the custom here.
On a personal note, my 710 purchase is forcing me to reevaluate my everyday carry. I initially purchased the large Sebenza for this purpose six months ago. My Spyderco Military, which held this position beforehand, was relegated to the outdoor in the mountains folder. The Military gets more of the overall abuse, and like it or not, Ive had to rely on the Military more than the Sebenza. This is just because I normally use the Military in more inconvenient and stressful circumstances. The Sebenza has gotten more use, but not as hard a use. I have that feeling that my preferences will now be changing. The Sebenza, with its rock-solid and dependable design may become my heavy outdoor use folder, while the 710 will take its place as my everyday large folder of choice. This will put each folder to work, utilizing their strengths more appropriately.
On a side note, the black coating is starting to wear the spot where the lock engages. The closing is starting to smooth out very nicely. As for dissing me, dont worry one bit. It takes a hell of a lot more than constructive criticism to get me going. No ego here.
Hehehehe. But in all honesty, I dont know which blade is stronger, or even how to define stronger. Lateral pressure under a fast load would be one definition, while resistance to edge chipping would be another. Im not sure whether failure in one test would be indicative of the results of other tests. Interesting thoughts though.
