- Joined
- Sep 12, 2007
- Messages
- 333
Hello everyone,
for the past three years I've been carrying mostly my beloved Spyderco Manix. I paid some 111$ for it and it was money well spent. Recently however I noticed there is a similar knife on the market, the Benchmade 741 Onslaught. Since I was in a mood for change (recently I quit a job where I spent three years as well), I decided to try it.
The 741 costs around 150$ in most shops, but somehow I had some sort of discount in the shop where I usually purchase knives, so I got it for 110$ - same price as my Manix was. This is not the last time I compare these two - since the Manix is a "knife fatale" for me, this will be more like a comparison of these knives.
Ergonomy
My first impression was - this knife is big! I do prefer larger knives, but this is almost too much for me
But despite its size, the knife carries well - better actually than slightly smaller Manix. It slips in and out of the pocket with ease, which is great. On the other hand, the Spyderco hole on this knife is rather small, and since it is also partially submerged under the scales, it could be more difficult to open the knife if you have a larger thumb, or with gloves etc. At least the opening action is very smooth and effortless. It was the same with my Manix, but in that state the knife had some side to side blade play, so I tightened the pivot and then the opening was not as smooth as before. This is not the case with 741, as there is only very little blade play side to side and none vertical. Which brings us to:
Fit & finish
The grinds on my knife are quite symmetrical, especially the swedge - the swedge also goes straight to the tip of the knife, ending neither below or above the tip (as is the case with my BM 710). The scales are not perfectly flush with the liners - no big deal, and not too noticable because both scales and liners are of similar color (I think if the liners were bright steel it would be worse). The edge is ground significantly higher on the right hand side of the blade. I can't say if it is because of different angles or if the edge is off center. I guess it will be fixed after a couple of sharpening sessions. Also, the clip seems to be a little scratched in some places and the sharpness out of the box was quite subpar - not even shaving sharp.
I got the knife two weeks ago, so I can not really say how it behaves under stress - maybe after some time. For now, let's see some pictures (sorry for both quality and size):
With the previous king of the pocket:
Both knives are of roughly the same thickness, but Manix has noticably thicker blade and it is also a bit bulkier.
It is not obvious from the picture, but the blade is well centered when closed.
With another knife I got - Boker Exskelibur I. Very nice knife, light, sharp, sleek
While the knife has some cosmetic flaws, I am very happy with it and will carry it regularly. For those of us who have to overcompensate and like to carry something big in their pants for a change it is a good knife I think. Too bad not many people will get to enjoy it due to law restrictions.
Take care, I'm off to watch our hockey team beating the crap out of Russians
Pavel
for the past three years I've been carrying mostly my beloved Spyderco Manix. I paid some 111$ for it and it was money well spent. Recently however I noticed there is a similar knife on the market, the Benchmade 741 Onslaught. Since I was in a mood for change (recently I quit a job where I spent three years as well), I decided to try it.
The 741 costs around 150$ in most shops, but somehow I had some sort of discount in the shop where I usually purchase knives, so I got it for 110$ - same price as my Manix was. This is not the last time I compare these two - since the Manix is a "knife fatale" for me, this will be more like a comparison of these knives.
Ergonomy
My first impression was - this knife is big! I do prefer larger knives, but this is almost too much for me
But despite its size, the knife carries well - better actually than slightly smaller Manix. It slips in and out of the pocket with ease, which is great. On the other hand, the Spyderco hole on this knife is rather small, and since it is also partially submerged under the scales, it could be more difficult to open the knife if you have a larger thumb, or with gloves etc. At least the opening action is very smooth and effortless. It was the same with my Manix, but in that state the knife had some side to side blade play, so I tightened the pivot and then the opening was not as smooth as before. This is not the case with 741, as there is only very little blade play side to side and none vertical. Which brings us to:Fit & finish
The grinds on my knife are quite symmetrical, especially the swedge - the swedge also goes straight to the tip of the knife, ending neither below or above the tip (as is the case with my BM 710). The scales are not perfectly flush with the liners - no big deal, and not too noticable because both scales and liners are of similar color (I think if the liners were bright steel it would be worse). The edge is ground significantly higher on the right hand side of the blade. I can't say if it is because of different angles or if the edge is off center. I guess it will be fixed after a couple of sharpening sessions. Also, the clip seems to be a little scratched in some places and the sharpness out of the box was quite subpar - not even shaving sharp.
I got the knife two weeks ago, so I can not really say how it behaves under stress - maybe after some time. For now, let's see some pictures (sorry for both quality and size):
With the previous king of the pocket:
Both knives are of roughly the same thickness, but Manix has noticably thicker blade and it is also a bit bulkier.
It is not obvious from the picture, but the blade is well centered when closed.
With another knife I got - Boker Exskelibur I. Very nice knife, light, sharp, sleek
While the knife has some cosmetic flaws, I am very happy with it and will carry it regularly. For those of us who have to overcompensate and like to carry something big in their pants for a change
it is a good knife I think. Too bad not many people will get to enjoy it due to law restrictions.Take care, I'm off to watch our hockey team beating the crap out of Russians
Pavel
