I know, it's a bali-song. I'm just calling it what the manufacturer calls it. Anyway, this is my review for the Bear MGC 5" Butterfly Knife, model 116. I bought this a an entry-level bali-song. It seems to me that you can get the really cheap Chinese-made flea-market $10 cheapies or you can get the $130 Benchmades, but there's no real in-between. I found this one, a US-made all-steel model for about $25. It's not the best quality, but it's not one of the flea market deals either. Here's the details...
Handle Details: The Bear is 5" closed, and has stainless steel handles with some sort of powdered-on black finish. The handles are the same length, but they don't meet flush with each other. The latch is the same blackened color, and it was relatively stiff at first. The latch and blade are attacked to the handles via pins; they're not adjustable. Blade lock-up was good at first, but after dropping the knife while trying a triple aerial, the blade loosened up considerably. There was blade play in all directions when locked open, but no damage to either the blade or the handles. When locked closed, the knife still has no play. Overall, the Bear is pretty comfortable to use. It's not too slippery, and it's not too rough. Opening is easy and smooth. I just don't like that it loosened up so much after one drop. Just one.
Blade Details: The Bear's blade is advertised as being "440 Stainless" so in all likeliness it's 440A. It's relatively hard for 440A, and it was able to cut paper out of the box. It shaved with a little time on the sandpaper and strop. It's 4" long by the way, with a 3-1/2" cutting edge. The blade is a clip point, and there's a 2-1/4" swedge on the back. No markings on the right side of the blade; the left side tang says BEAR MGC above USA. The guards are pretty nice in terms of shape and size; I like to use them as mini-flippers to start the blade. Edge retention was average for such a steel; I believe it cut through a few cardboard boxes and some paper before requiring a touch-up on the 1000-grit sandpaper.
So that's that. The Bear 5" butterfly Knife. I'm not sure what else to say about it; it's the top-of-the-line of the bottom-of-the-line bali-songs. It's surely not a BM42 or Spyderfly, but I trust this thing more than anything put out by Blue Ocean, Jaguar, Eagle, or any of the other brands you've never heard of. It's an ideal starter bali-song.
Handle Details: The Bear is 5" closed, and has stainless steel handles with some sort of powdered-on black finish. The handles are the same length, but they don't meet flush with each other. The latch is the same blackened color, and it was relatively stiff at first. The latch and blade are attacked to the handles via pins; they're not adjustable. Blade lock-up was good at first, but after dropping the knife while trying a triple aerial, the blade loosened up considerably. There was blade play in all directions when locked open, but no damage to either the blade or the handles. When locked closed, the knife still has no play. Overall, the Bear is pretty comfortable to use. It's not too slippery, and it's not too rough. Opening is easy and smooth. I just don't like that it loosened up so much after one drop. Just one.
Blade Details: The Bear's blade is advertised as being "440 Stainless" so in all likeliness it's 440A. It's relatively hard for 440A, and it was able to cut paper out of the box. It shaved with a little time on the sandpaper and strop. It's 4" long by the way, with a 3-1/2" cutting edge. The blade is a clip point, and there's a 2-1/4" swedge on the back. No markings on the right side of the blade; the left side tang says BEAR MGC above USA. The guards are pretty nice in terms of shape and size; I like to use them as mini-flippers to start the blade. Edge retention was average for such a steel; I believe it cut through a few cardboard boxes and some paper before requiring a touch-up on the 1000-grit sandpaper.
So that's that. The Bear 5" butterfly Knife. I'm not sure what else to say about it; it's the top-of-the-line of the bottom-of-the-line bali-songs. It's surely not a BM42 or Spyderfly, but I trust this thing more than anything put out by Blue Ocean, Jaguar, Eagle, or any of the other brands you've never heard of. It's an ideal starter bali-song.
