First of all, keep any insults or assumptions about my professionalism in check, sir. We’ve got enough going on in my field regarding other matters besides personal knife choice, thanks to lots of self-proclaimed experts. Additionally, as the father of an autistic child, that was uncalled for in this discussion.
Londinium, while I perhaps called out this matter as being trivial, in my opinion, and in the grand scheme of things as a real-world concern for most people, hell, even professionals, I never attacked you personally. If any sarcasm or condescension about the circumstances under which this problem would really ever apply offended you, then I apologize, but it was merely to point out that I, and I think anyone else who has commented here, believe you are belaboring a point that we understand
you are concerned about, but others here don’t seem to be, much less the manufacturer, because it’s just not a widespread issue over the fanbase. Second of all, we should all acknowledge knives are just inherently dangerous, especially when you factor in extreme use, and should be handled commensurately within their design limitations. The Bugout you referenced above is a super slim, super lightweight utility knife at best, and not a Black Class knife. As much as I think it’s a neat offering for handy, light day-to-day use. I doubt anyone who has ever handled one would assume it is a viable option for dedicated self defense, except maybe in a last-ditch situation, or even “hard use” by utility standards, and they don’t market it as such anyway. The irony to all of this is that their Black Class line of automatic knives DO have a secondary safety which prevents the Axis bar from sliding rearward when engaged. So, maybe that’s a better choice for you, or anyone else for whom pommel striking is a concern. If you can’t legally own an auto, that’s not my fault, and something you, or anyone else affected by such laws, has to deal with.
Additionally, there’s something to be said about walking into a bar and asserting that their hometown football team sucks. It’s probably not going to be well received, regardless of how science or statistics may indicate that your preferred team IS actually better. You could express all day how your team has more points, more championships, better overall players, longer history, whatever, and, you could be objectively correct. But it’s not always about objectivity, is it? Would all of that data be enough to convince the hometown fan who is a fan because generations of his family were fans, to change teams? Maybe, but probably not. That said, you can root for your team if you like for those objective reasons, and that’s the amazing thing about choice. You will be less likely to receive contention cheering for your team with other fans of your team, but be prepared for disagreement if you choose to continue to try to convince the opposing fans that their team is worse, even if, objectively, it is.
The same is true here, and I’ll readily admit, internet forums can be quite the hornets nests sometimes. Upset one, and everyone who agrees with one side or the other comes out stinging. But, you have to expect that, at least a little, coming into a Benchmade forum essentially saying “look, here’s why you shouldn’t like this about your Benchmade.” I find no fault in your objectivity, but this audience is going to be tough to convince because everyone’s experiences and subjective reasons for liking whatever brand they like are different. I personally have over my lifetime, and currently own several other brands. This happens to be one of my favorites for reasons that matter only to me, and I’ll stand by my rationale for my needs and uses.
Since my overt hyperbole about “everyone” and “anyone” was pointed out, fine.
I understand the risks associated to this locking mechanism you have conveyed, but I’m willing to accept it for myself, given the other attributes that I like about the Black Class line that cause me to continue to buy them. They work for
me. I never claimed it wasn’t possible for knives with this mechanism to close on you if you pommel strike with them, in fact, I acknowledge it likely could, because, well, physics. And
that should be common knowledge for anyone who is into knives, or any other dangerous thing, for that matter. Same rationale exists for slipjoint knives that don’t lock open at all. I wouldn’t be inclined to dedicate one as a personal defense knife, and don’t usually carry one, but plenty of people still buy them because they suit their needs and wants. You just have to understand their capabilities and limitations, which most folks in this brand-specific forum are usually aware of. I’m certainly not saying your video wouldn’t be helpful to someone completely uninitiated who wasn’t familiar with the mechanism and jumping blindly into the game looking for an ideal self defense knife where pommel striking were his/her expectation. Again, it’s this audience, and, perhaps, the approach. Admittedly, you did get ganged-up on, and I’ll apologize for my part.
Ultimately I, personally, think it’s A) foolish to pommel strike with any open folding knife under any normal circumstance, and B) it’s an unlikely scenario for most, not completely impossible, but unlikely. If your, or anyone else’s concern about it is so great, there are plenty of other options. If I’m embroiled in a knife fight, for whatever reason, we’re already at deadly force, at least in my jurisdiction... for now anyway. Pommel striking is not going to be a likely action for me if I’m fighting for my life, and I venture to say for most untrained people. In fact, the likelihood I will ever be in a knife fight at all (even as a professional where the chances of such an encounter are possibly higher than the average “tactical“ knife buyer) is simply not very high for me to throw away all the reasons I like Black Class knives for one I don’t find pertinent. Could I see how it could be effective? Sure, but if I’m there, things are already sideways, and gentlemanly mercy is probably no longer an option. All that said, if getting into knife fights is a regular occurrence or highly likely for you, or anyone else For that matter, I understand I cant possibly have any more useful advice for you or anyone else in that situation. Maybe consider moving
Have a great day.
