After TWO weeks, the knives that I ordered from a DISCOUNT internet dealer, who shall remain nameless, finally came in. I got myself a Benchmade Large Ascent (plain edge), and my girlfriend, who is a southpaw, got herself a Spyderco Goddard Lightweight. These are my inital impressions, I haven't cut anything yet except for arm hair.
The Benchmade: First my druthers. The screws that retain the clip are torx, which in itself isn't bad, but they are in an uncommon size. I had to search for hours in town to get the T8 that I have, I think these are T6's, and I am not going to run all over town to find one of those. My other main gripe is that the grind lines are uneven. It looks as if the guy that put the edge on was right handed, but I am not sure, that is just from looking at how the bevel was ground. It really looks bad, and I wouldn't have been proud of it if it was my job. Being that this knife is is going to be my daily carry knife, and will be subject to unrelenting abuse, this edge won't be around to bother me too long. The texture on the handle isn't as grippy as the Goddard, and is only on one side of the handle, which I find a bit upsetting. The handle as an overall "slippery" feeling to it, whereas the Goddard feels almost "cleated" to my hand. If it were not for the exceptional finger groove in the Ascent, it probably wouldn't hack it for an everyday carry knife.
On the plus side, the handle is fairly ergonimic, and facilitates a plethora of grips comfortably. At first it seemed a bit over engineered, but after playing around with it a bit, it really is comfy. There is a finger index below the blade screw on the underside of the handle that is really handy, a feature that the Goddard Lightweight desperately needs. Despite the poor looking edge, it did come to me fairly sharp, as my bald left arm can testify to. The blade itself is a pleasing shape, and though it gets a little thin to be a hard utility knife, it does seem to give a good compromise between the utility and tactical worlds. I will now institute the first ever Mikey rating scale in the evaluation of this knife.
=good
=eh, I am not impressed,
=More trouble than its worth/purty dang useless, and any other facial xpression will be self explainitory.
Bang for buck=
Durability(will know more after more extensive testing,but tenetivly)=
Ergonomics=
Overall design=
Overall Quality=
I will add another post for the Goddard in a few....
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"No, it's a Vaquero Grande in my pocket, but I am happy to see you!"
[This message has been edited by Yekim (edited 23 January 1999).]
The Benchmade: First my druthers. The screws that retain the clip are torx, which in itself isn't bad, but they are in an uncommon size. I had to search for hours in town to get the T8 that I have, I think these are T6's, and I am not going to run all over town to find one of those. My other main gripe is that the grind lines are uneven. It looks as if the guy that put the edge on was right handed, but I am not sure, that is just from looking at how the bevel was ground. It really looks bad, and I wouldn't have been proud of it if it was my job. Being that this knife is is going to be my daily carry knife, and will be subject to unrelenting abuse, this edge won't be around to bother me too long. The texture on the handle isn't as grippy as the Goddard, and is only on one side of the handle, which I find a bit upsetting. The handle as an overall "slippery" feeling to it, whereas the Goddard feels almost "cleated" to my hand. If it were not for the exceptional finger groove in the Ascent, it probably wouldn't hack it for an everyday carry knife.
On the plus side, the handle is fairly ergonimic, and facilitates a plethora of grips comfortably. At first it seemed a bit over engineered, but after playing around with it a bit, it really is comfy. There is a finger index below the blade screw on the underside of the handle that is really handy, a feature that the Goddard Lightweight desperately needs. Despite the poor looking edge, it did come to me fairly sharp, as my bald left arm can testify to. The blade itself is a pleasing shape, and though it gets a little thin to be a hard utility knife, it does seem to give a good compromise between the utility and tactical worlds. I will now institute the first ever Mikey rating scale in the evaluation of this knife.
Bang for buck=
Durability(will know more after more extensive testing,but tenetivly)=
Ergonomics=
Overall design=
Overall Quality=
I will add another post for the Goddard in a few....
------------------
---------------------------------------------------
"No, it's a Vaquero Grande in my pocket, but I am happy to see you!"
[This message has been edited by Yekim (edited 23 January 1999).]
