Benchmade Mini-Dejavoo- pros and cons?

David Lowry said:
I have owned 2 Mini-Dejavoo's. Both of them had clip screws that stripped out just by removing the clip and putting the clip back on. The blade was not held shut well like others have said. And this is just my own personal preference, but the plastic backspacer sucked
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Sounds like their QC ain't up to par lately.
Inspect before you buy with this knife.
MINE is perfect, but the other one at the gun shop sucked.:thumbdn:
 
Appreciate all the help. It has been mentioned a few times about BM liner locks not being as good as they used to be, so I was wondering about the AXIS locks. I've heard some good things in the past, but never had the opportunity to try one. I know the newer AFCK's are now AXIS as well as the Osborne and Griptilian models. Is this type of lock as good as they say?
 
Lev said:
Appreciate all the help. It has been mentioned a few times about BM liner locks not being as good as they used to be, so I was wondering about the AXIS locks. I've heard some good things in the past, but never had the opportunity to try one. I know the newer AFCK's are now AXIS as well as the Osborne and Griptilian models. Is this type of lock as good as they say?
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AXIS lock IS awesome. The only complaint some people have is about broken Omega springs(rare, and never happened to me), or the lock being disengaged if you are holding the knife a certain way(thumb one the lock stud), and do a cut from high right to low left(like in an adrenaline fueled last-ditch defensive situation).
Benchmade will replace the springs(sometimes they'll just send them to you), and if you aren't planning on getting in any knife fights, you should like the lock just fine.:)
The studs can always be ground down so they don't protrude past the scales if you are worried about lock disengagement during the slash with one particular type of hold.
 
I usually reserve my La Griffe or FS Hideaways for any chance encounters, but good to know just in case:) I believe there are no perfect knives (though some would say the new Spyderco Stretch is).

AXIS seems the way to go, so I may get one and try it (and then add my own opinion). Though the monolock is quite cool as well. I had that style on my titanium folder by Dick Atkinson. Not a good grip though.

Lev
 
I believe the Dejavoo is a factory version of Bob Lum's "All-Rounder" which is on his website -it has a 4" blade.

I believe Benchmade scaled it down to create the "mini" Dejavoo. IMHO, the full size one has much better ergos. (I have both).

The mini works and is a nice compact knife, but for those with larger hands, the handle may seem small and the hole may be too close to the "lugs" at the front of the handle.

The ball detent was an easy fix, I replaced mine with a new 1/16" 440C steel ball. The detent is much better now -either the guy who fits them at the factory had a bad day and decided to beat the heck out of it and/or drove it too far into the liner.

Despite a few minor issues with the detent ball, and the handle fitting my hand like a glove, it is incredibly smooth with a perfect lock up and a superb EDC. The contoured handle is superb and I would highly recommend it. :thumbup:
 
I'm thinking that the Deja-voo would be an awesome knife to send to like say.....hmm....STR maybe. I would love to see the curved G10 on one side replaced with non-contoured G10 and the liner side replaced with a thick titanium frame lock. Then maybe even put a G10 or Ti backspacer in or some Devo-hat spacers. That would look smooooooooth. ;)
 
David Lowry said:
I'm thinking that the Deja-voo would be an awesome knife to send to like say.....hmm....STR maybe. I would love to see the curved G10 on one side replaced with non-contoured G10 and the liner side replaced with a thick titanium frame lock. Then maybe even put a G10 or Ti backspacer in or some Devo-hat spacers. That would look smooooooooth. ;)
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Good ideas. I'd have to measure the spacer in it but I would think one of the suppliers has some of the Devo hat spacers that would fit that or be something I could make fit it. It wouldn't be bad at all as an open design. I obviously love the frame lock idea but I think in conjunction with that some textured G10 of the non contoured type on the non lock side would be super personally.

Oh just incase you haven't seen them, you can look in my blog link and scroll down a bit if interested and you can see the thicker slab lock models I've done to date in the Dejavoo. I think at least a couple are on page one yet but if not click 'older posts' at the bottom and you can see the others I've put up. I'm behind on posting new stuff as usual but one day I'll make time to get more various project pics up.

STR
 
Despite its flaws, I like the Mini-Dejavoo a lot and carry it often. I addressed the weak detent by tightening the pivot slightly. Although my thumb touches the "guard" when I open it, I never noticed it until someone pointed it out on these forums. I'm used to plastic backspacers by now, so that's not an issue for me.

On the other hand, there are some real positives. It has a relatively thin, flat ground, leaf shaped blade, a feature I also like on the Spyderco Caly 3 and UKPK. But the the size of the Caly 3 and UKPK blades is a bit small for my liking, sub-3". The size of the Mini-Dejavoo blade is optimum for an EDC for my purposes. The ergos are good, other than the backspacer the materials are top-notch, and the lockup on mine seems very solid.
 
I have a full size Dejavoo, not the mini... but I like it quite a bit. Mine's ball detent does a decent job holding the knife closed, although it's admittedly not nearly as tenacious as some others I own.
It's a great slicer, and I use it in the kitchen *all* the time. Liner lock is solid and reliable, clip is sturdy yet discreet, and I'm also a big fan of the low-profile carry.
 
I woul REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY like to see a liner/frame lock WITH a slipjoint style spring to aid in closed retention. IMO this is the biggest flaw with the design. There is almost NO liner/frame lock knives that have good enough closed retention for me. The best I have come across is the Spyderco Military. The ball is very prominent, and the liner is quite forceful in pressure... even more than any frame lock I've encountered. Since there is ALWAYS a compromise, I would choose an over aggressive lock to an under aggressive closed retention. I would NEVER consider a knife that I thought I'd have to send to a "pimp" as new just to get it right. Of course, the Dejavoo IS beautiful... If I had the $$$ I may choose design over function, and get it pimped.
 
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