Benchmade 300SN arrived.

Ray Settanta

Ray Settanta

Joined
Aug 30, 2012
Messages
1,487
This is my first Benchmade and I am impressed. The fit and finish is excellent. The G10 scales provide great traction. I love the blade shape and the handle fits my hand well. The only flaw that I could find is that the blade deploys too easily. I could open the knife by holding the bottom of the handle and flicking it downward. I am concerned that the knife could open while carrying it.
Anyone else have this problem?
 
I just picked up one of these too.

It flicks open easily enough, but I don't think it would open up in the pocket by mistake.

Just tighten up the pivot point a bit and it should be fine.
 
I got my SSN today too. I love it!

I really like the way it feels in my hand.

Here's mine with a Leek for size reference.

44EF0858-02E7-408C-8A80-7C10790421EB-2885-000001A44252689B.jpg


And to the OP, mine was a little tight for my taste. You can just tighten the pivot screw. If you carry the knife with the top of the blade against the back of your pocket, there's no way it's going to open in your pocket. I've been carry spring assisted Barrages like this for years, with the safety off with no problems.
 
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I like the look of that knife too it is on my list. I just got my hinderer today though so it's gonna have to wait for awhile. Nice purchase though
 
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Does it flip like knives with detents? Obviously it's going to be somewhat different, but do you have to flick your wrist?

I'm kinda surprised that they didn't use a longer, heavier blade. Seems like a heavier blade would flip really well.

Maybe I should head over to youtube. :)
 
Ray Settanta said:
The only flaw that I could find is that the blade deploys too easily. I could open the knife by holding the bottom of the handle and flicking it downward. I am concerned that the knife could open while carrying it. Anyone else have this problem?
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In a word, yes. See this thread:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1026995

I don't care for pocket clips. But with a button-lock or Axis-lock flipper, I'd either carry it clipped to my pocket tip-up with the spine of the knife against the pocket seam or in a pouch or sheath.
 
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I dropped by my local dealer today and he had a 300sn in stock. I confirmed that I could get the blade to release by holding the knife at the top of the handle and flicking the knife downward aggressively. (Make sure you have a tight grip on the handle before you try this.) I brought my Olson button-lock flipper along with me and sure enough, I was able to get the blade to release the same way. So I came home and tried it on my Griptilian. It did exactly the same thing. (If anything, it was easier to deploy the blade on the Griptilian than the 300sn using this technique.) So I'm guessing that this condition isn't a flaw at all. It's simply the way button-lock and Axis-lock knives behave. The problem with the design of a button-lock or Axis-lock FLIPPER isn't that it behaves this way. It's the flipper itself. By sticking out above the handle, it could easily come into contact with something in your pocket and dislodge the blade. And that could prove to be problematic.
 
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That is why I never tried an Emerson. I thought the wave feature would cause the blade to deploy even if you did not want it to, snagging your pocket. Guess that is what it is supposed to do, but not something I want.

bld522 said:
I dropped by my local dealer today and he had a 300sn in stock. I confirmed that I could get the blade to release by holding the knife at the top of the handle and flicking the knife downward aggressively. (Make sure you have a tight grip on the handle before you try this.) I brought my Olson button-lock flipper along with me and sure enough, I was able to get the blade to release the same way. So I came home and tried it on my Griptilian. It did exactly the same thing. (If anything, it was easier to deploy the blade on the Griptilian than the 300sn using this technique.) So I'm guessing that this condition isn't a flaw at all. It's simply the way button-lock and Axis-lock knives behave. The problem with the design of a button-lock or Axis-lock FLIPPER isn't that it behaves this way. It's the flipper itself. By sticking out above the handle, it could easily come into contact with something in your pocket and dislodge the blade. And that could prove to be problematic.
Click to expand...
 
bld522 said:
I dropped by my local dealer today and he had a 300sn in stock. I confirmed that I could get the blade to release by holding the knife at the top of the handle and flicking the knife downward aggressively. (Make sure you have a tight grip on the handle before you try this.) I brought my Olson button-lock flipper along with me and sure enough, I was able to get the blade to release the same way. So I came home and tried it on my Griptilian. It did exactly the same thing. (If anything, it was easier to deploy the blade on the Griptilian than the 300sn using this technique.) So I'm guessing that this condition isn't a flaw at all. It's simply the way button-lock and Axis-lock knives behave. The problem with the design of a button-lock or Axis-lock FLIPPER isn't that it behaves this way. It's the flipper itself. By sticking out above the handle, it could easily come into contact with something in your pocket and dislodge the blade. And that could prove to be problematic.
Click to expand...

I tried all the knives that I had in easy reach- Spydercos, Kershaw and CRKT. The only one that I could open by using that method (besides the 300SN) was a Crawford Kasper. It has a weak detent. I still like the Benchmade a lot and, if I have to, will take off the clip and carry it in a sheath.
 
Locutus D'Borg said:
That is why I never tried an Emerson. I thought the wave feature would cause the blade to deploy even if you did not want it to, snagging your pocket. Guess that is what it is supposed to do, but not something I want.
Click to expand...

No Emersons for me neither. I've seen what the wave feature can do to a pants pocket and it's not pretty.
 
Ray Settanta said:
This is my first Benchmade and I am impressed. The fit and finish is excellent. The G10 scales provide great traction. I love the blade shape and the handle fits my hand well. The only flaw that I could find is that the blade deploys too easily. I could open the knife by holding the bottom of the handle and flicking it downward. I am concerned that the knife could open while carrying it.
Anyone else have this problem?
Click to expand...

My Griptilian does this too.
 
Mine will open, but the shake it takes is to an unrealistic degree. In other words if my knife is jarred that hard while in my pocket I've got bigger problems!
 
I love the idea of a Benchmade flipper, but this knife is way too stubby for me. I guess I might just have to wait for their next flipper to come out.
 
Strigamort said:
Mine will open, but the shake it takes is to an unrealistic degree. In other words if my knife is jarred that hard while in my pocket I've got bigger problems!
Click to expand...

When it comes to non-flippers, I agree completely. But the opening mechanism on a flipper (i.e., the flipper itself) protrudes out the back of the knife and it's entirely unprotected by design. In addition, button-locks and Axis-locks don't seem to provide as secure a detent as frame-locks or liner-locks do. (Try shaking open a frame-lock or liner-lock knife and you'll see what I mean.) Put those two facts together and it doesn't take a "bigger problem" to conceive of a situation in which the blade on a button-lock or Axis-lock flipper could accidentally become dislodged in your pocket. Again, there are ways to reduce or eliminate that possibility. If a user avails themselves of one of those methods, this issue becomes largely academic.
 
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bld522 said:
When it comes to non-flippers, I agree completely. But the opening mechanism on a flipper (i.e., the flipper itself) protrudes out the back of the knife and it's entirely unprotected by design. In addition, button-locks and Axis-locks don't seem to provide as secure a detent as frame-locks or liner-locks do. (Try shaking open a frame-lock or liner-lock knife and you'll see what I mean.) Put those two facts together and it doesn't take a "bigger problem" to conceive of a situation in which the blade on a button-lock or Axis-lock flipper could accidentally become dislodged in your pocket. Again, there are ways to reduce or eliminate that possibility. If a user avails themselves of one of those methods, this issue becomes largely academic.
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Oh yeah I agree. I was comparing my experience to the other posters griptilian. I should have quoted him to avoid confusing the issue. If I had the 300 personally I'd have it with the spine against the edge of my pocket and with nothing else in there. Like you said the issue would thus be largely academic. ;)
 
You should be good to go in that configuration. Just be careful to grab the knife behind the flipper when you go to withdraw it from your pocket. Or better yet, reach deep enough inside your pocket so you can grip the knife with your hand pressing against the back of the flipper. That will keep the blade closed when you withdraw it. Otherwise you might be in for a nasty surprise.
 
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