- Joined
- Feb 12, 2001
- Messages
- 4,501
Well, this is my first attempt at a knife review, so bear with me. I have had Benchmade 942S pre-production #464 for about a month now, and I just wanted to share a few thoughts with you all. Here's the short version: I love this knife. It goes from the pocket of my work jeans to the pocket of my shorts when I get home, and in between, it rests on my nightstand. If you don't have one, you need one. Buy it now!!! Here's the longer version: When I first saw this knife at a local store, I thought it was tiny. Of course, I had been carrying the full sized CRKT KFF for a while, so compared to that, I guess it is kinda small. The second time I saw it, however, I realized that it is actually a fair-sized knife. The slim, sleek lines make it look smaller and more delicate than it actually is. It's not a tank of a knife, but it is definitely up to some hard use.
I won't bore you with the specs-they are available at 1sks, etc. One thing that isn't readily apparent from most pics I have seen, though, is the incredible grind on the spine. I can't describe it very well, and unfortunately I don't have a digital camera. If anyone can post pics or a link to pics, that would be great-it is one tough looking piece of steel. The fit and finish of the knife are excellent. I have heard many complaints of loose blades, blades rubbing liners, bad grinds, etc with Benchmade; my particular knife, however, displayed none of these. It was shaving sharp out of the box, but a bit of time on the sharpmaker made it the sharpest knife I currently own. Incidentally, the bevel pretty much matched the 15 degree setting on the sharpmaker, so re-bevelling was pretty easy
. The great thing about this knife, aside from materials and craftsmanship, is the design. With its "reverse tanto" blade, the knife looks kinda funky, and doesn't seem like it would be a practical cutter at first glance. However, the more you use it, the more you come to appreciate each aspect of the overall design. Reach your finger down to steady the blade, and lo and behold, there is a flat spot to accommodate your fingertip. Go to whittle a piece of wood, and another plane of the blade accepts the length of your finger for a precision grip. The more I use this knife, the more it grows on me. Benchmade and Mr. Osborne have come up with one incredible little knife. My only wish would be for it to ride a bit deeper in my pocket, but such minor complaints are easily forgiven. I haven't performed any super-strenuous cutting tasks with it yet, but it has so far cut everything I have needed it to cut. I will certainly update my review in the future if the knife fails in any way, but my gut feeling tells me it will be riding around in my pocket for quite some time.
--Josh
I won't bore you with the specs-they are available at 1sks, etc. One thing that isn't readily apparent from most pics I have seen, though, is the incredible grind on the spine. I can't describe it very well, and unfortunately I don't have a digital camera. If anyone can post pics or a link to pics, that would be great-it is one tough looking piece of steel. The fit and finish of the knife are excellent. I have heard many complaints of loose blades, blades rubbing liners, bad grinds, etc with Benchmade; my particular knife, however, displayed none of these. It was shaving sharp out of the box, but a bit of time on the sharpmaker made it the sharpest knife I currently own. Incidentally, the bevel pretty much matched the 15 degree setting on the sharpmaker, so re-bevelling was pretty easy
. The great thing about this knife, aside from materials and craftsmanship, is the design. With its "reverse tanto" blade, the knife looks kinda funky, and doesn't seem like it would be a practical cutter at first glance. However, the more you use it, the more you come to appreciate each aspect of the overall design. Reach your finger down to steady the blade, and lo and behold, there is a flat spot to accommodate your fingertip. Go to whittle a piece of wood, and another plane of the blade accepts the length of your finger for a precision grip. The more I use this knife, the more it grows on me. Benchmade and Mr. Osborne have come up with one incredible little knife. My only wish would be for it to ride a bit deeper in my pocket, but such minor complaints are easily forgiven. I haven't performed any super-strenuous cutting tasks with it yet, but it has so far cut everything I have needed it to cut. I will certainly update my review in the future if the knife fails in any way, but my gut feeling tells me it will be riding around in my pocket for quite some time.--Josh
