Benchmade 5000 or 5500?

[Smudge]

Can anyone tell me the major differences between these two knives? I am looking for an EDC while on duty as a police officer. I happen to like these two, but am open to any other suggestions. Thanks

 

[Planterz]

As far as I can tell, the 5500 is just a smaller version of the 5000. 2.97" instead of 3.42".

 

[Smudge]

oops...meant to say "5000 or 4200" not 5500.

 

[Planterz]

Aesthetics is the biggest difference. They're close to the same size and same weight. The blade on the 4200 is a bit thicker, but the 5000 is no lightweight either. The 4200 has G10 overlays to improve grip, but I can't imagine anything grippier than the 5000's handles with their agressive contouring.

Apart from looks, it's hard to say which is better, without handling them yourself. Even if there's no local shop that has either, there might be one that has a 520 and a 420, which are the non-auto counterparts (but otherwise basically identical).

This might sound odd coming from an auto enthusiast like myself, but I happen to find the non-auto AXIS lock Benchmades more useful than the automatic ones. If you pull back on the AXIS lock on a manual, you can flick your wrist and the blade comes out easily--basically like the auto does (just inertia assisted rather than sprung). However, with the manual ones, you can close it the same way. Can't do that with the auto AXIS's.

 

[mlot51]

Of those two, I think the 520/5000 offers a more secure grip. The clip is also better.