Any love for the 950 rift

I'll be sixty-five in a few days - and I have been a woodworker for most of my life. I've rebuilt cars (Alfa Romeo's) and homes, too. I've always used a plain edged knife, saving serrated edges for those who need and appreciate them. I've camped a lot, too - but my folding camp saw still looks new. My small axe/hatchet is another story. My few serrated blades were an only choice in the Vic SAKs I have with them - admittedly, a wavy variant at that. To be blunt, even they are horrible whittlers - a great example of the right tool for the job. BTW, I cut coax cable with wire cutters; hose and rope with branch trimmers or sheet metal shears; fiber paper, etc with a disposable blade; and I won't cut up a plastic paint can - who needs the mess? I will open packages and mail, whittle, trim wood, cut food, clean fish, etc, - I use my knives, I don't abuse them.

As to the Rift. My first basic 950 was kind of ho-hum. A return visit to my local sharp-things-emporium after Christmas that year yielded a deal - a black bladed 950 which was assisted - for $89! Only after I got home did I find the number - 9500 - on the blade. They were dumping the brand new auto version! Well, I kept it - even if carrying an auto is illegal in some locales. Last June, after the BLADE 2012 show, where I perused the 950-1201 'forum' knife, my anticipation grew - and my 950 in M4 & CF soon arrived. Nirvana - the perfect Rift. Sadly, my do everything pocket hog, a 755 MPR, still gets the greatest time as an EDC - but the 950 is in the hunt. Great pocket knife.

If my suit had a loose thread, it would be a job for my small plain Sebbie. My dressy, ie, newer, cargo pants - I'd have my 480-1 Shoki (CF & m390). My usual ratty cargo pants or jeans - my Rift or 755 MPR!

Stainz
 
Torm said:
The Rift is an outstanding knife, without a doubt. Its my favourite folder to date by a fair margin.

@jonnyt16: Serrations have a purpose for rope, hose, or heavier materials sure but guess what my plain edge can do? It can slice those things just as well and leave a smoother cut behind. If you like serrations then great, they can be handy, but to imply that its the only blade design for "real work"? Well, you may just want to look at the long history of edged tools for a rather definitive counterpoint to your argument.
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Completely agree :thumbup:

I’ve seen many tests comparing combo-edge to plain-edge, and the end result is this: serrations seriously limits your slice-ability.. If you can maintain your PE (keeping it reasonably sharp, which isn’t hard), then it will outperform a CE. Not to mention, BM does a horrible job with their serrations - no offense.

jonnyt16 said:
Good choice. Mine is the serrated version as well. People who actually use their knives at work and such understand the value of serrations and actually know how to use them. The cubicle commandos here will of course argue that "serrations are useless". Well I guess they are useless if all you need a knife for is opening envelopes and cutting the occasional loose string from your dress shirt.
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A little less bias & personal perception, and a little more facts. No need to overcompensate for career choices here. :rolleyes:

Serrations aren’t useless - It’s just that many people feel that they get in the way.
 
P_Meticulous said:
A little less bias & personal perception, and a little more facts. No need to overcompensate for career choices here. :rolleyes:

Serrations aren’t useless - It’s just that many people feel that they get in the way.
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I see you conveniently skipped my post #40.
 
Yes, I think everyone is aware of the hype behind serrations and LE/EMS Responders.. It just comes down to personal preference. Both are good, both can cut.. This issue has been debated to death on every knife forum there is LOL
 
I love my rift, it was my first benchmade and still in my edc rotation. I've had it for about a year and a half now and it's had to fill the role of a fixed blade a few times. It holds up well even with some light batoning, which I don't recommend, but it can handle it.

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I have a 940 and i love it. I need to look into getting a Rift. It looks like a good step up.
 
I wonder if Benchmade will modify the design at all? Isn't there some issues with the blade shape/choil and gimping?
 
Hypermole said:
I wonder if Benchmade will modify the design at all? Isn't there some issues with the blade shape/choil and gimping?
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The Rift doesn't have gimping or a choil (Atleast I don't think of it having a choil.). Maye you are thinking of the Contego?
 
Nope a certain so called expert reviewer pointed these two issues out.

The lack of Gimping was his biggest complaint. He even went as far as putting grit floor tape on the top inch or so of the blade right next to the handle.
 
Hypermole said:
Nope a certain so called expert reviewer pointed these two issues out.

The lack of Gimping was his biggest complaint. He even went as far as putting grit floor tape on the top inch or so of the blade right next to the handle.
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I don't miss either one of those. I have them on plenty of Spydercos and they work OK. Sometimes they're overdone and limit the design of a particular knife. I'm thinking of the Native 5 and the choil that cuts the effective edge of a 3" blade down to less than 2.5". My Rifts, Presidios, and Bone Collectors work just fine without them. In fact, part of what I like in these models is the simple handle design and useful edge length of BM's blades.
 
dalefuller said:
I don't miss either one of those. I have them on plenty of Spydercos and they work OK. Sometimes they're overdone and limit the design of a particular knife. I'm thinking of the Native 5 and the choil that cuts the effective edge of a 3" blade down to less than 2.5". My Rifts, Presidios, and Bone Collectors work just fine without them. In fact, part of what I like in these models is the simple handle design and useful edge length of BM's blades.
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I wonder if the choil make any difference to the law when checking blade length?
 
The Rift is one of my favorites, it's a great smooth opener, has the axis, good ergonomics, and the blade shape is a great everyday cutter. I will admit that I rounded off the handle edges though, mine when new had silly grip but it would chew up the hands pretty fast under hard use. I'm tempted to try the 810 just because I like the blade shape so much but I think the handle ergonomics on the 810 are going to be very love/hate.
 
I was concerned about the grip of the 810, too. But the shape works. Well. I just had to dull the edges of the scales with some fine sandpaper.
 
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