BenchMade Bone Collectors

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nolan raborn

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Aug 18, 2005
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Hello all. I would like to know what is the general opinion of BenchMade Bone Collector knives in general and in the D2 steel used in them in particular. Any idea why they call hunters "Bone Collectors?"

Thanks for any replies.
 
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(No, you weren't putting this in the right place. You put it in a custom knife maker's subforum. Moved to General Knife Discussion.)
 
Hope you edit your first post and put some info into it, theres not a lot of talk about the bone collectors.
 
Well, I have been a BenchMade fan for several years and own several of them. I have always bought BM knives with S30V and 154CM steel and love them, specially the ones made of 154CM steel. A month ago I was browsing through a little knife shop while on vacation and discovered a couple of Bone Collectors. They used D2 steel which I was not familiar with. I was intrigued as the one that looked like a Griptillian had a very beautiful set of scales on it so I bought it. Didn't come cheap! The more I carry it and use it the more I like it. I would just like to get the take from some more experienced knife owners and users out there. Thanks!
 
I do not have nor have I handled any of the BC series. WIth that said, I have quiet a few BM's with D2. All I can say is that the D2 that are in my BM knives are great. They may not take as such a fine edge as your 154cm, but it will take a nice paper push cutting edge if you have patients to work with the tougher (maybe a better word is harder or wear resistant) tool steel.

I have only had the D2 steel rust when it was in my waist band getting sweat on the exposed areas of the blade, or may pants are so soaked with sweat that it gets to the knife. I have had this happen with S30V blades from BM as well. This is eaisily taken off with brasso. Be warned if you let the rust sit too long, it will pit the steel. I was on a week long campint trip and my BM 710 (with D2 steel) was ALWAYS in my waist band, even when I was underwater dredgeing. This was in Aug. in the eastern side of GA. I did not clean the rust off the whole week. When I got home, there were small pits under about half the larger rust spots.
 
johnwaynesandw said:
I do not have nor have I handled any of the BC series. WIth that said, I have quiet a few BM's with D2. All I can say is that the D2 that are in my BM knives are great. They may not take as such a fine edge as your 154cm, but it will take a nice paper push cutting edge if you have patients to work with the tougher (maybe a better word is harder or wear resistant) tool steel.

I have only had the D2 steel rust when it was in my waist band getting sweat on the exposed areas of the blade, or may pants are so soaked with sweat that it gets to the knife. I have had this happen with S30V blades from BM as well. This is eaisily taken off with brasso. Be warned if you let the rust sit too long, it will pit the steel. I was on a week long campint trip and my BM 710 (with D2 steel) was ALWAYS in my waist band, even when I was underwater dredgeing. This was in Aug. in the eastern side of GA. I did not clean the rust off the whole week. When I got home, there were small pits under about half the larger rust spots.
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Thanks! This is good information. Take Care.
 
I have a large one but have not used it a whole lot. The scales are a little too thick making the knife fairly bulky which feels good in your hand but noticeable in the pocket. I have been thinking of putting the scales on the mill and taking about half the thickness off but haven't gotten serious about it.

From my limited experience with Benchmade's D2 steel it is pretty good but can be hard to get a super sharp edge on which I like. I have a fixed blade that held an edge well while cleaning a 9' gator. My dad has a 710 that also seems to hold a good edge, probably a little better than 154CM. If you like the Bone collector I suggest checking out the Rift. It is my all time favorite knife and is similar in size to the large BC but less bulky and I like the shape better.
 
Bone Collector name and skull logo come from a TV show featuring some wilderness survival guy. I bought a backpack with the skull logo stitched in, it's really sweet.
 
wsfarrell said:
Bone Collector name and skull logo come from a TV show featuring some wilderness survival guy. I bought a backpack with the skull logo stitched in, it's really sweet.
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Thanks very much! This is the type of information I was trying to find. Please, anyone else with information on this subject, please feel free to chime in.
 
I will preface my opinion by saying I am not a very experienced knife guy. The large bone collector is the first knife I've bought in 5 years.

That being said I have been very pleased with it. It opens smoothly while having no blade play, came sharp and has been easy to keep that way, and is very comfortable in the hand. I have not found the size or weight to be a problem, but when you carry a gun every day with at least one spare mag it's not a big deal to add a reasonably sized folder.
 
Does anyone know how long D2 steel has been around? I was not familiar with it until I encountered the Bone Collectors. If it is an older steel I am curious as to why BM chose to go with it for their Bone Collectors which are not cheap. Up to now they seemed to be very favorable to 254CM and S30V as they used one of those steels in several BM knives that I have. So far the D2 has worked very well. Easy to sharpen and seems to hold it's edge well.
 
He's a hunter, not so much a wilderness/survival guy. Michael Waddell. Lots of info on him online, The Bone Collector is his TV show.

D2 has been around a while, but it's a great steel, with GREAT edge holding abilities. It is my first pick for a hunting knife. And prob why it was selected for the Bone Collector series.
 
displacedtexan said:
He's a hunter, not so much a wilderness/survival guy. Michael Waddell. Lots of info on him online, The Bone Collector is his TV show.

D2 has been around a while, but it's a great steel, with GREAT edge holding abilities. It is my first pick for a hunting knife. And prob why it was selected ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Thanks for this information. Now it is beginning to make sense. I will have to do some research on Michael Waddell. Also, the man who sold me the knife told me that D2 was favored by a lot of hunters. He was telling me right!

Bye the way, if you are ever in MountainView, Arkansas, Abe's Cards and Knives is a very good friendly knife shop. Abe is very knowledgeable about knives.

Displaced Texan, how far were you displaced to and is there a chance of you getting back? Being displaced from Texas is a terrible thing.
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I gave a Bone Collector to my son this past May for his 18th birthday.

It was convex sharpened by the previous owner, Samhain73....and was the sharpest knife I've ever encountered.

Love the ergos and that D2 steel polished out is a thing of beauty.

Blade shape suits hunting usage and as mentioned is marketed for Waddells hunting show as gear.
 
Well, I have heard a lot of good words about the Bone Collector BenchMade series. I had already decided it was a keeper but I did want to hear what some other folks had to say. Thank you all and if anyone else has anything to add please do so. I am glad I bought the little rascal even though I needed another pocket knife like I needed another hole in my head, but hey, it is not about what you need but what you want. Remember, if you ever need cheering up, go buy you another nice knife.
 
I have a small and large Bone Collector and think that they are awesome folders. They are very beefy knives that would hold up to anything I can imagine myself using a folder for. I really like the thick textured g10 and the ribbed g10 backspacer. I satin finished the pocket clip on mine and it made it look a lot cooler IMO.

D2 has been around for a LONG time. Soldiers were using it back in world war two and it was probably around before that. It is a highly regarded steel because it is very tough, holds an edge for a very long time, and is almost stainless. You can really only have two out of those three steel aspects, toughness, edge holding, and corrosion resistance and D2 excells in the two most important categories (to me). It is not a true stainless though so if you don't wipe the blade when you're done using it, it will discolor. Rust really shouldn't be an issue unless you store the knife when its dirty or use it in or near salt water.
 
I do not have one from the bone collector series, but I do have a BM Hardtail with D2 blade.

I have used it a lot, and it holds an edge for a long time.

I did a test with it - cut some carpet with jute backing - I wanted to cut until the edge dulled. It took some time. Even when it was dull I could force it thru the carpet.

I cannot get a refined edge on it - my edge tends to be a little toothy. It works for me, as the toothy edge tends to act as serrations.

I think you will be happy with the steel as long as you are patient and can work with it from a sharpening standpoint.
 
The term " Bone Collector" comes from hunters. They refer to the antlers as bones. Being the antlers are the trophy, they are collecting trophies. Antler collectineg..ie.."Bone Collectors". Micheal Wadell has marketed this term and calls his hunting show and products " Bone Collector". As far as the D2 steel on the knives...I haven't handled D2 before but from what I hear it is hard and takes more time and care to sharpen. And it seems the harder the steel the more brittle it is. For a hunting knife I would prefer 1095 or aus 8 for the ease of sharpening and the razor edge that can be obtained. A razor edge is necessary in feild dressing and skinning a deer. JMO:thumbup:
 
wsfarrell said:
Bone Collector name and skull logo come from a TV show featuring some wilderness survival guy. I bought a backpack with the skull logo stitched in, it's really sweet.
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A guy I work with worked behind the scenes of that show. He was also the person that called companies to produce products that bore the show's name, including Benchmade.
 
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