Benchmade 737 Aileron

Lodd said:
You're probably right that my perception (from my comfy chair across the pond) of how many people actually carry a firearm in the USA is horribly wrong. Isn't it true however, that gun related crimes are relatively high in the USA? Or is that a misperception as well? (It doesn't help that gun laws/restriction seem to be a highly controversial and polarizing issue from what I pick up form social media*).

I think it's fair to say that carrying any kind of weapon is a conscious decision on the part of the person who carries it. As you point out, sometimes not carrying weapons is a conscious decision as well (for example if someone gave their self-defense some thought and decided they don't want to use lethal force anyway).

It just still surprises me that so many people, having decided to carry a weapon of some kind and having a range of available options to choose from, elect to pick a knife as their weapon. Where is the benefit/utility in that? I mean, a knife is one of the most useful tools for a lot of other situations, but I just don't see the role in self-defense in modern times. I suppose this surprise is equally applicable in all parts of the world, not just for the USA.


* I explicitly do not want to get into this discussion in this topic, I am just genuinely trying to learn something.
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Oi! This is GKD. No place for a serious discussion.

Gun related crimes/deaths include things like suicide and police fatalities. In reality the number of murders involving guns is pretty low.

Knives are easier to conceal and don't, by their own nature, alert everyone within a half-mile radius of the crime. Knife crime isn't a hot button topic for the news though, so you don't hear about it.

I'm ok with schools that teach practical, logical defense techniques. These goofy ones that teach you disarm your limp-wristed attacker with ninja-fu and a Denzel Washington sequel technique are just going to get people stabbed.

It's a good scam though. There's no need to worry about a lawsuit as anyone who puts your silly techniques to use will surely be too dead to persue you.
 
stonproject said:
I feel like benchmade has mostly been missing the mark lately
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The Crooked River (& Mini) and Bugout were home runs. I don't know if the Foray can be consider recent, but that's also a great knife. I like the look of the Fact, but to be quite honest I have no use for what is clearly a self-defense knife.

But yeah, I won't defend this thing. I don't like tactical knives period and this thing is just... not nice.
 
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T.L.E. Sharp said:
Gun related crimes/deaths include things like suicide and police fatalities. In reality the number of murders involving guns is pretty low.
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The statistics aren't always so general, you can find numbers for the number of homicides caused by firearms. The stats put America on par with some S. American countries but given the extremely high gun ownership rate, 4.62 firearm-related homicides per 100,000 people isn't actually that high, all things considered. However, Canada has a relatively high gun ownership and the firearm-associated suicides and murders are considerably lower, even if you were to extrapolate them based on America's gun ownership. But the issue is of course more complex than firearm ownership and this is not the place to discuss it...

But I have to say that if I lived in a state where open carry was allowed, I would be carrying a pistol and not a knife. Well, I'd still carry a knife of course but my intention wouldn't be to carry it for self defense. Then again, if a police officer stopped me in Canada and asked why I was carrying my EDC knife, I would have to be very careful not to say "for self defense purposes". But that's another story too...
 
I'm not crazy about the texturing on the blade, but I do like this as an alternative to the Loco, which I like but found the handle too slick. I by far prefer a hole opener to thumb studs, so most Benchmades don't really appeal to me. This might with an uncoated blade and plain edge...
 
Quite honestly, i like this. Love the looks of the handle shape, looks like would fit hand like a glove, Like the 275 and 5000. Don't like the blade shape, but will still have to get my hands on one of these at some point. I'm glad there trying new things and took a break from the farty old boring designs that have been repeated to death. I mostly like there black class stuff, not cause tactical, but cause they typically have the best handles/blade shapes for me. I wish the Loco had this handle, I'd probably still have one.
 
Obviously we need more professional tape cutters to design a knife for BM.

It's my understanding that the target audiences are those in the Federal Flight Deck Officer's program - which includes pistol training for armed pilots (on civilian flights) - and those in the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). If this isn't you (it's not me), the knife might not meet your requirements... Although I definitely plan on trying to handle one when it gets to my local dealer.

Again, I don't know why they don't use knife internet forum members as federal agency instructors, but according to Gunsite Academy where Mr. Tarani is "on staff", here is his Mc'background:

"Mr. Tarani, formerly sworn in the states of CA and NV, is a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) full-time employee who served in force protection including firearms instruction, was also formerly on staff at the US Dept. of Energy (DOE) National Security Institute (Security Force Training Dept.) at Kirtland Air Force Base (NM) teaching firearms and defensive tactics. He is a federally certified force options instructor actively contracted by the US Department of Defense, National Security Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, Drug Enforcement Administration, and remains an advisor to the US Department of Justice (DOJ). Holding numerous federal firearms instructor certifications: US Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) Firearms Certified Instructor (FITP), US Department of Energy (DOE) Firearms Certified Instructor, US Department of Defense Security Center Firearms Instructor, etc., Steve has been on staff at Gunsite since 1997 teaching Defensive Tactics, CQB, Pistol and Carbine."
 
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Ulf Krogstad said:
Quite honestly, i like this. Love the looks of the handle shape, looks like would fit hand like a glove, Like the 275 and 5000. Don't like the blade shape, but will still have to get my hands on one of these at some point. I'm glad there trying new things and took a break from the farty old boring designs that have been repeated to death. I mostly like there black class stuff, not cause tactical, but cause they typically have the best handles/blade shapes for me. I wish the Loco had this handle, I'd probably still have one.
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Not to offend, man, but other than the laser etching, which I just don't care about much either way, I struggle to see this as anything new.

It looks solid, and well designed, but it kinda does seem like a design that's been done to death.
 
Scott321 said:
"Mr. Tarani, formerly sworn in the states of CA and NV, is a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) full-time employee who served in force protection including firearms instruction, was also formerly on staff at the US Dept. of Energy (DOE) National Security Institute (Security Force Training Dept.) at Kirtland Air Force Base (NM) teaching firearms and defensive tactics. He is a federally certified force options instructor actively contracted by the US Department of Defense, National Security Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, Drug Enforcement Administration, and remains an advisor to the US Department of Justice (DOJ). Holding numerous federal firearms instructor certifications: US Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) Firearms Certified Instructor (FITP), US Department of Energy (DOE) Firearms Certified Instructor, US Department of Defense Security Center Firearms Instructor, etc., Steve has been on staff at Gunsite since 1997 teaching Defensive Tactics, CQB, Pistol and Carbine."
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This reads like my 11 year old’s Fortnite resume.
 
I am a bit disappointed in 3.4". The blade shape has reminded me of 560 and hoping for at least 3.6" of Freek.

Oh well.
 
Ulf Krogstad said:
Quite honestly, i like this. Love the looks of the handle shape, looks like would fit hand like a glove, Like the 275 and 5000. Don't like the blade shape, but will still have to get my hands on one of these at some point. I'm glad there trying new things and took a break from the farty old boring designs that have been repeated to death. I mostly like there black class stuff, not cause tactical, but cause they typically have the best handles/blade shapes for me. I wish the Loco had this handle, I'd probably still have one.
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I detest the aesthetics of most tactical knives and generally would be too embarrassed to carry them in public, I don't like knives with damascus blades on top of busy scales and other eye candy, I haven't bought a Spyderco because I really don't like the leaf blade, I think most CRK knives look ugly, anodized accents typically look gaudy to me etc. Yet a lot of these things are very, very popular. That people can have diametrically opposed tastes doesn't surprise me anymore... and I wouldn't pass an ounce of judgement when it comes to the tastes and preferences of others. It's sometimes interesting to see what some people like and don't like. And based on the list of my dislikes above, if I got worked up about models I didn't like I wouldn't have much time to relax.
 
Scott321 said:
It's my understanding that the target audiences are those in the Federal Flight Deck Officer's program - which includes pistol training for armed pilots (on civilian flights) - and those in the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). If this isn't you (it's not me), the knife might not meet your requirements...
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Please, let's get real. The target audience for this knife is not the handful of people in the Federal Flight Deck Officer program, it's those that wish they had been "a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) full-time employee who served in force protection."

What we call "mall ninjas."

That doesn't mean it's a bad knife or unsuitable for your average EDC-type person.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
Not to offend, man, but other than the laser etching, which I just don't care about much either way, I struggle to see this as anything new.

It looks solid, and well designed, but it kinda does seem like a design that's been done to death.
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This is something "kinda" different from Benchmade(tho basically Loco with worse blade and better handle). I haven't gotten excited about anything from BM forever, or most other companies actually. Quite honestly hit a point where bored to death of knives in general, all it is now is addiction. Actually going back to basic stuff, as sick of all the tacticool medievil scifi shit, (tho i want this obscenely marketed tactical slop:p). I think there's only so far you can take knives without them just becoming more art than something to actually use. Which is fine, but i don't buy knives not to use them. Some creative stuff coming from other companies, but guess I really just don't care anymore, either way. Buy what I like and don't f@$&+£* care.

I would like to try one of these, all I see people doing anymore is bash Benchmade so just happy they attempted something kinda different and wanted to say appreciate that, I really like the handle, and the crap on blade. Blah blah.

But your right basically same stuff.
 
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That eye shaped opening hole just looks horrible, too.Thats the 1st dealbreaker for me, no need to continue....
 
At first glance, the laser etching for grip looks like one of those feature for a traditional knife that doesn't really translate all too well to a modern folder, cause redundancy.

Then I realized that this was tailored to aviators that do cqc and jumping and sometimes both simultaneously. Perhap, those little grooves would be helpful in opening a knife while falling at high altitude high opening free fall during combat, or being ready before hitting the ground. Same for the eye hole, cause again, redundancy.

Or cutting the chute to shoot.


Just cause Mr Taran is a combat instructor doesn't mean every knife he designs or designed will be combat oriented. That's just silly.
 
wensynch said:
At first glance, the laser etching for grip looks like one of those feature for a traditional knife that doesn't really translate all too well to a modern folder, cause redundancy.

Then I realized that this was tailored to aviators that do cqc and jumping and sometimes both simultaneously. Perhap, those little grooves would be helpful in opening a knife while falling at high altitude high opening free fall during combat, or being ready before hitting the ground. Same for the eye hole, cause again, redundancy.

Or cutting the chute to shoot.
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Nah. It's "for" these guys:

pilots2.png
 
Darkera said:
The Crooked River (& Mini) and Bugout were home runs. I don't know if the Foray can be consider recent, but that's also a great knife. I like the look of the Fact, but to be quite honest I have no use for what is clearly a self-defense knife.

But yeah, I won't defend this thing. I don't like tactical knives period and this thing is just... not nice.
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Thats why I said mostly. Benchmade always makes some awesome knives. But this thing, and their "spike", fixed blade infidels, the $550 balisong targeted at the bali flippers which cant even compete with the alpha beast (which is the pinacle of production balisong perfection) and then the freaking cigar cutter, but they discontinue the 710 for this stuff? Then they raise their prices ontop of it. I stand by my previous statement, benchmade has been mostly missing the mark.
 
Lodd said:
Some of the disarming techniques could work, because when you seriously twist someone's arm, they lose almost all their grip on what they were holding. Some of the stuff shown in the Benchmade 'trailer' just looks too flashy, though. Maybe the video does it a disservice though. It is, after all, just a commercial for a knife with a gimmick.

I used to practice some HEMA (Historic European Martial Arts) a long time ago. I wasn't very good at it, but it did teach (among many things) how to defend against attacks with a blade. It also teaches you the limitations of such a situation and why you should avoid it. After all, daggers were never a primary weapon for a reason. It always surprises me how much of these 'martial arts' courses with knives are based in the USA, a country known for its' wide availability of firearms.
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SpySmasher said:
Nah. It's "for" these guys:

pilots2.png
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I had the same look on my face seeing the video.
 
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