Wow, this is my first post on BF again for a looong time 
So I moved to California from NYC in order to retain my job and go on an "adventure." When I got here I didn't carry a knife for a few days to get the feel of things - and then I realized that I better not carry any of the knives I currently have and enjoy... The corporate policy is no knives with a locking blade >3", and unfortunately my favorite knives are all bigger. In addition, this is the first corporate environment i've worked in. (the NYC office was far from corporate) As much as I think it's a pile of steaming bullshit, a single incident with a manager and a knife can seriously impact the future of your job, not necessarily getting fired but passed over for various things, seen as unstable or whatever bad things you could imagine.
So, for the last 2 months i've been getting by with the knife on my leatherman juice. I still hadn't shaken my "reach for clipped on knife" instinct. I decided to get a knife within policy that I would trust. For around $100, the BM771 is the only knife I could find with a blade almost but under 3" without a liner lock. I trust big liner locks like my SERE2k, but puny little liner locks feel too easily moved if I shift my fingers on the handle.
Here's the knife:
My initial complaint was that it's tip up, I really don't want to reach into my pocket one day and SLICE! get blood all over my clothes. Fortunately the thumbstuds are really nicely rounded and do not protrude past the bolsters.
The aluminum handles have by far the strangest texture I have felt. They feel sort of like grippy felt, maybe it wears down over time (it's aluminum, probably) but currently I almost think the handles on this particular knife weren't finished. Here's a closeup (click for an extreme closeup)
Size wise, I love this knife. The blade is long enough to do actual work, and the handle fits my hand very nicely. On an attempt to stab a concrete block one's hand would probably slide up onto the blade, but for normal tasks the recessions for the thumbstuds also function very well as a guard.
Here's a comparison to a Chinook
The blade is nice and thin as well, obviously no crowbar but slices and stabs nicely.
The Clip:
I really like the clip on this knife. It has no sharp edges so you can't hurt yourself with it, It's nice and thick so if you should snag it on something it won't break immediately. Since the knife is clip up the part that sticks above the pocket almost looks like a pen, it definitely does not remind me of a knife.
This knife is SMOOOTH as well. By far the smoothest knife out of the box I have ever bought. My tachyon wasn't this smooth
If you pull the lock back, the blade flings out with the smallest of flicks. In addition the blade is so light I doubt you could damage the stop pin with the flicking.
Yes, those are bronze-phosphorus bushings or whatever you call-ems (or very good fakes!)
Overall I like this knife very much. No, I haven't skinned a wooly mammoth with it to test edge durability, or sliced 500 cuts in 2" thick rope, but it has performed general slicing without a hiccup so far. The axis lock mechanism is significantly smaller than the one used in the full size axis knives - I don't know how much durability and strength it loses from this downsizing.
Fit and finish on my knife were perfect, the blade has no play at all and is ground evenly. My only real complaint is that it's tip up and does not have a SERE2k style clip, and for a very small knife that isn't much of a shortcoming.
Adam
So I moved to California from NYC in order to retain my job and go on an "adventure." When I got here I didn't carry a knife for a few days to get the feel of things - and then I realized that I better not carry any of the knives I currently have and enjoy... The corporate policy is no knives with a locking blade >3", and unfortunately my favorite knives are all bigger. In addition, this is the first corporate environment i've worked in. (the NYC office was far from corporate) As much as I think it's a pile of steaming bullshit, a single incident with a manager and a knife can seriously impact the future of your job, not necessarily getting fired but passed over for various things, seen as unstable or whatever bad things you could imagine.
So, for the last 2 months i've been getting by with the knife on my leatherman juice. I still hadn't shaken my "reach for clipped on knife" instinct. I decided to get a knife within policy that I would trust. For around $100, the BM771 is the only knife I could find with a blade almost but under 3" without a liner lock. I trust big liner locks like my SERE2k, but puny little liner locks feel too easily moved if I shift my fingers on the handle.
Here's the knife:
My initial complaint was that it's tip up, I really don't want to reach into my pocket one day and SLICE! get blood all over my clothes. Fortunately the thumbstuds are really nicely rounded and do not protrude past the bolsters.
The aluminum handles have by far the strangest texture I have felt. They feel sort of like grippy felt, maybe it wears down over time (it's aluminum, probably) but currently I almost think the handles on this particular knife weren't finished. Here's a closeup (click for an extreme closeup)
Size wise, I love this knife. The blade is long enough to do actual work, and the handle fits my hand very nicely. On an attempt to stab a concrete block one's hand would probably slide up onto the blade, but for normal tasks the recessions for the thumbstuds also function very well as a guard.
Here's a comparison to a Chinook
The blade is nice and thin as well, obviously no crowbar but slices and stabs nicely.
The Clip:
I really like the clip on this knife. It has no sharp edges so you can't hurt yourself with it, It's nice and thick so if you should snag it on something it won't break immediately. Since the knife is clip up the part that sticks above the pocket almost looks like a pen, it definitely does not remind me of a knife.
This knife is SMOOOTH as well. By far the smoothest knife out of the box I have ever bought. My tachyon wasn't this smooth
If you pull the lock back, the blade flings out with the smallest of flicks. In addition the blade is so light I doubt you could damage the stop pin with the flicking.
Yes, those are bronze-phosphorus bushings or whatever you call-ems (or very good fakes!)
Overall I like this knife very much. No, I haven't skinned a wooly mammoth with it to test edge durability, or sliced 500 cuts in 2" thick rope, but it has performed general slicing without a hiccup so far. The axis lock mechanism is significantly smaller than the one used in the full size axis knives - I don't know how much durability and strength it loses from this downsizing.
Fit and finish on my knife were perfect, the blade has no play at all and is ground evenly. My only real complaint is that it's tip up and does not have a SERE2k style clip, and for a very small knife that isn't much of a shortcoming.
Adam
