I recently started looking for a replacement for my Benchmade Stryker 910. I have carried it faithfully for 10 or so years. A few months back, I thought I had lost it, and much to my dismay, found out that the 910 was discontinued. I am not a big fan of auto or assisted knives, so I began to look at other makers. I bought a SS handled Delica plain edge, and while the quality was acceptable, it just wasn't my cup of tea. I found out that I like thumbstuds better than Spyderholes.
Lo and behold, I found a shop near me that has a brand new 910D2, but they want 170 dollars for it. I'll pass, thank you. But I did inspect a 950 Rift while I was there. The lady running the shop was going to sell it to me for only 200 dollars. It was a first production run, with a low number, you see.... Uh, no thanks. I don't buy them for investments, I buy them to carry and use every day. Maybe someone else can appreciate this one a little better than I.
I liked the knife and decided to look online for a better deal. Found one on Ebay, it shipped to me about the fastest I ever had one arrive by mail.
I opted for the plain edge, I am not big on serrations, although a combo edge with black coating is available. The Rift has a 3.67" blade of 154CM steel. The knife is an Osbourne design. It haa what Benchmade calls a reverse modified tanto blade. (Sorry for not posting pics, but plenty of them are available on the net.) The blade stays perfectly centered when closed. The ambidexterous thumb studs are adequate for me, but if they were a tad larger, that would be a good thing. The knife opens very smoothly, with a satisfying "snick". This is my first Axis lock knife, but I am pleased with the design and ease of use. Some smacks to a counter top on the blade spine, soft to hard, caused no lock failure but did chip a few gouges on the counter. While open, I held the tip of the blade and butt of the handle and there was zero blade play. That's a good thing.
The scales are G-10, grey and black, being very highly tooled for a no nonsense grip pattern. The edges aren't too sharp to have an uncomfortable hold, but a little sandpaper could fix that for any user who finds them a bit sharp. The handles have that nice little section at the end for you to get a good grip with your pinky. The scales on the other end are a bit wide for my tastes, right at the pivot end. Who knows, maybe some quality time with my Dremel may fix that.
That's it for now, I will post more tomorrow after getting hold of some cardboard and sisal rope to test cut.
Lo and behold, I found a shop near me that has a brand new 910D2, but they want 170 dollars for it. I'll pass, thank you. But I did inspect a 950 Rift while I was there. The lady running the shop was going to sell it to me for only 200 dollars. It was a first production run, with a low number, you see.... Uh, no thanks. I don't buy them for investments, I buy them to carry and use every day. Maybe someone else can appreciate this one a little better than I.
I liked the knife and decided to look online for a better deal. Found one on Ebay, it shipped to me about the fastest I ever had one arrive by mail.
I opted for the plain edge, I am not big on serrations, although a combo edge with black coating is available. The Rift has a 3.67" blade of 154CM steel. The knife is an Osbourne design. It haa what Benchmade calls a reverse modified tanto blade. (Sorry for not posting pics, but plenty of them are available on the net.) The blade stays perfectly centered when closed. The ambidexterous thumb studs are adequate for me, but if they were a tad larger, that would be a good thing. The knife opens very smoothly, with a satisfying "snick". This is my first Axis lock knife, but I am pleased with the design and ease of use. Some smacks to a counter top on the blade spine, soft to hard, caused no lock failure but did chip a few gouges on the counter. While open, I held the tip of the blade and butt of the handle and there was zero blade play. That's a good thing.
The scales are G-10, grey and black, being very highly tooled for a no nonsense grip pattern. The edges aren't too sharp to have an uncomfortable hold, but a little sandpaper could fix that for any user who finds them a bit sharp. The handles have that nice little section at the end for you to get a good grip with your pinky. The scales on the other end are a bit wide for my tastes, right at the pivot end. Who knows, maybe some quality time with my Dremel may fix that.
That's it for now, I will post more tomorrow after getting hold of some cardboard and sisal rope to test cut.
