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Benchmade Axis-lock with tanto blade-why none yet?

Doesn't it seem crazy to anyone else that Benchmade hasn't made a tanto-bladed axis-lock yet? It seems like such a waste that that STRONG lock has been coupled with comparatively WEAK blades so far. I would pay retail in a heartbeat for a Styker with an axis lock! I have only had two liner lock knives, a Spyderco Jot Singh Khalsa and a Benchmade Stryker and both of them have developed blade play over time. In all fairness, the Spyderco developed SERIOUS blade play within a month, the Benchmade I have had for 2 years with very little, almost unnoticeable blade play developing. Still, it seems like liner locks are just prone to this sort of problem over time if they are used.

Trent
 
Joined
Sep 20, 1999
Messages
178
Hold on, I was at my local dealer last week, and he just got notice saying that Benchmade will be releasing two tanto axis lock models this summer.
 
Cool. Well, this is the first I've heard of it. Not that one would know from looking at Benchmade's webpage. They don't even have the Ares axis lock on the webpage yet and apparently are still deliberating about what will be the "Knife of the Month" for March. Nonetheless, I will definetly be looking forward to those models. My friend has an Ares and it is tight. If only it had a tanto blade I could throw it...
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Check out Benchmade's forum (at www.benchmade.com). One will be the 722, basically a 720 with G-10 handles and a tanto blade. The other will be a collaboration with Warren Osbourne - green anodized Al handled axis locker with a "reverse tanto" blade. If Mr. Osbourne's handmade knives are any indication, it should look something like a sheepsfoot blade with a bit of a curve to the edge. I'm looking forward to that one!

Jon
 
Additionally, I wouldn't call the current axis-lock blades "comparatively WEAK" unless the other half of the comparison is a Busse or Kuhkri...

Jon
 
There have been some threads lately indicating the "knife of the month" delays have been upgraded, they just don't have pictures yet. The Benchmade forum would be an excellent place to get info.
 
Got it. Both of those knives sound pretty cool, but a bit on the small side if you ask me. Yeah, I know they are only like .3 inches shorter than the Ares and the Styker. I don't know what it is, but 1/2 inches of difference really seems to be alot when you're talking about blades between 3 and 4 inches. For example, to me the Ares seems fine, if a little short, but the Pardue Axis seems WAY to short. Thanks for the info though. If ANYONE can get a photo of these blades, PLEASE post it!

 
Oh, and by weak, I just mean that I wouldn't feel to comfortable driving the tip of any of the current axis-lock models into a board and snapping it out to the side and I that is something I want my knives to be able to do...ever since I broke the tip off that Buck Model 110 when I was 12...

Actually, the Ares axis lock might be able to handle that but my friend won't let me give it a try with his knife...
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Trent,

OK, I'm with you, but *why* do you want to be able to do that? That smacks of "pry bar" and folders are simply not intended for that kind of use. If you have a specific task that requires such an action grab a chisel or something. Don't pound nails with a wrench and don't pry with a folding knife.

Jon
 
Ghecko, most people don't carry a pry bar around with them. I would rather buy a knife that I know can stand up to that IF I ever really need it, than a knife that can't. It's just like saying "Why would you want to buy 440V steel, you'll never end up using the knife that much for daily carry. Ats-34 does a good job." It's just nice to know how elite your knife is
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For self-defence reasons its pretty obvious why you would want a knife that is very strong and can take alot of abuse without the tip/lock breaking..
I don't know if the comparison with the steel was a good example, but I can't think of anything else right now..
err wait..
How about "Why do you want a Ferrari, you'll never drive it faster than a regular car could go."
Its the fact you have it, and just knowing it has power adds to its style
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I am taking myself the liberty to quote somethin from Grand Prairie knives:

"New Benchmades:
New Model 722-Mel Pardue 720 w/G-10 handle and Tanto Style blade.
New Model 940-Osborne Axis Lock w/Machined Green Aluminum handles and a 3 3/8" modified Reverse Tanto Blade and Titanium backspacer.

Both are due to ship on 6/26. They will be selling for $133.30. Please Click the above links to backorder yours today. As soon as we have any further info on these knives we will release it here. Hopefully, within the next few days we will have some pictures."




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Tea drinker and hellraiser from Northern Sweden, above the arctic circle.

 
As far as prybars go, why not have one that you can fold up and clip in your pocket, weighs under 5 ounces and can also be used to slice, dice and puncture (or as a missile weapon!)...

Obviously there has to be some compromise between having a cutting tool and a prybar, but why not get a knife that maximizes strength? I find that the most aesthetically appealing tools are often the strongest...damascus wasn't designed for beauty but it is. I don't see what's wrong in wanting a knife that I won't have to worry about the tip breaking...I guess what I need is a Buck Strider, but I have lost confidence in liner locks. And I feel that if my Stryker had an axis lock, it would be damn near the ultimate knife!

Anyway, what is the URL for Grand Prairie knives? And people, please, if anyone has a picture of a prototype, don't be afraid to expose it to public scrutiny!

 
For daily carry and normal pocketknife use, I think Tanto's are way over-rated, another fashion trend for all the armchair commandos, but that is because I always use my folding knives to cut things, not to pry or chop things. I have other knives for prying in a pinch (Busse) or chopping things (soft machete, big bowies). Tantos are are assuredly harder to sharpen, although that isn't any particularly big deal.

(And Emerson got it WRONG for right handed people, using his knives for daily utility carry, to put the bevel on the left side of the blade! Period! A whittling cut pushes the wrong way. I can't think of a good self defense reason for the left side bevel. It looks better that way for pictures and for the admiring right-handed eye, though. Mercifully, some other vendors bevel the right side for right handed knives.)

And a normally stout folder w/ clip or drop point can be plenty strong for stabbing, self defense type situations (very rare in my life so far, an understatement since I have a CCW permit anyway). I sold my CQC7 because the weird discontinuity in the blade just didn't work right for daily cutting chores, same with previously mentioned bevel mistake. Oh well, you buy the knife, and learn why you want to sell it later.

I like my BM Striker (symmetrical grind!), but ended up sharpening the transition from straight blade to tanto tip area kinda "round" and kinda smooth ... got rid of that discontinuity, that corner. Now it's fine, but honestly, doesn't get carried much. (But I like the looks of that Spyderco Lum.... will I ever really learn?)

If you find a folder with a strong enough blade to pry, or to stick the point into a board and bend it out sideways without breaking (I cringe at the thought of my boss years ago on the golf course breaking the tip off my Buck 110 folder), next you'll end up ruining the pivot and lock (as it sounds like some have).

If you assuredly want a small, daily carry pry bar that also happens to be sharp, I think you are into fixed blade territory immediately. Check out the Busse Mean Street or have someone build you a custom out of 1/4" stock with no distal taper and a quick transition from full width to the point, out of something tough like A2 or CPM-9V or M2 or CPM-3v, and have them keep it Rc 55 or whatever, and then have it Black-T coated or something. An "in pocket" swinger sheath might do the trick if you don't want a belt sheath (seems like Dozier builds horizontal kydex sheaths for short fixed blades also).

No sense (to me, anyway) in ruining expensive folders all the time, especially by throwing or prying. Throwing a knife.... as useful as throwing your handgun to the assailant in my book. Rant, rave, enough.
 
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