Benchmade or Spyderco - make a choice

A

akula57

Joined
Jul 24, 1999
Messages
198
Two great companies.

Why buy a Benchmade - in general, Benchmade makes better locks (liner locks, Axis), my favorite production knife(AFCK), and uses G-10.

Why buy a Spyderco - in general, they seem sharper out of the box, they use a variety of steels/handle materials (V-10, 440V), the opening hole is great, and are more internet friendly. (My favorite Spyderco is the Endura - great price, lightweight).

Take the best of both and you'd have one heck of a knife making company. At least thye help keep each other honest.
 
I'll agree at least on the one point, both are great companies.

But I'll contest your statements that Benchmade makes better liner locks, Spyderco does those pretty well too. And they (Spyderco) use G-10 for their knives as well.

The Axis lock is sweet, though- I can't wait to see Spyderco's to be released "Compression Lock", should be interesting. And as far as quality between the two companies, it seems everyone has had their good and bad experiences with both.

For me though, I like the Spydies alot, but I won't buy a Benchmade unless I can handle it personally or have the dealer check it out for me. Other than that- they both make some darn fine knives.

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But I don't want to make a choice!!!
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I'll just buy and carry both!

I like the Spyderco fit and finish, the
Spyderhole, and the great interaction from Sal.

I like the Axis lock and the looks of some of the Benchmade knives. I am dissapointed at the customer interaction on the BM forum.

Two companies that make good knives
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!

~Mitch
 
Benchmade is fine knife. Spyderco is just OK. I own knives from both. SOG, though, is fantastic! How many Blade Magazine awards have the others won? Not many, I would guess. SOG has won many, including last year's Import Knife of the Year for their Vision. I own the Vision, and it is ONE SWEET KNIFE!

I hear that SOG is coming out with an awesome new lock called the ArcLock. I talked with someone who handled it at the SHOT show and he was truly amazed by it. You can see pictures of it on their site.

www.sogknives.com

Their Pentagon Elite 2 is a folding knife with a 5" blade! I have the smaller verson (with the 3.9" blade) and love that one immensely.

I use these (and other SOG knives) knives in the field. They perform, they don't falter, they come and stay sharp (sharper than either of the other knives listed here), and look great. Those I work with look at my knives and want to use them rather than the knives they carry.

I own over 70 knives. I only carry SOG on a daily basis.
 
Benchmade is fine knife. Spyderco is just OK. I own knives from both. SOG, though, is fantastic! How many Blade Magazine awards have the others won? Not many, I would guess. SOG has won many, including last year's Import Knife of the Year for their Vision. I own the Vision, and it is ONE SWEET KNIFE!

I hear that SOG is coming out with an awesome new lock called the ArcLock. I talked with someone who handled it at the SHOT show and he was truly amazed by it. You can see pictures of it on their site.

www.sogknives.com

Their Pentagon Elite 2 is a folding knife with a 5" blade! I have the smaller verson (with the 3.9" blade) and love that one immensely.

I use these (and other SOG knives) knives in the field. They perform, they don't falter, they come and stay sharp (sharper than either of the other knives listed here), and look great. Those I work with look at my knives and want to use them rather than the knives they carry.

I own over 70 knives. I only carry SOG on a daily basis.
 
I would have to agree with you on this but also something that dont like about Benchmade is that if you take apart the knife, it voids the warranty....
 
Tsunami-

"Spyderco is just ok?" Gasp!

I'm not even sure how to respond to that one!
Maybe I'll just send you a Wegner...(or a Military, or a Starmate...)

Ever notice the "awesome new lock" from SOG is quite similar to Benchmade's Axis? Or that their "Access Card" vaguely resembles the SpyderCard.... hmmmmmm...

Just messing with ya' SOG's ok. (I guess)
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You're kidding right?

Benchmade may have a smaller selection, but at least their quality is marginal.

BTW - My SOG Government has the lowest "quality-to-price" ratio of any knife I've ever purchased. I would buy another (gasp) Benchmade before I bought another SOG.

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AKTI Member #A000832

"That which does not kill me just postpones the inevitable."
 
Good one, tsunami
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Cheap advertising...

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

 
It's all a matter of personal preference and experience. Generally, I prefer the hole over the stud. (No pun intended.) Experientially, QC is better from Spyderco than from BM. Yes, I HAD a number of the BM's to arrive at my judgment. Nevertheless, I will have to get the BM 42 when it becomes available.

sing
AKTI #A000356
 
I could not choose between such great companies. Both have their advantages. Spyderco is much more consistent at QC. I would feel comfortable ordering a Spyderco sight unseen. I would much rather buy a Benchmade inperson to make sure the blade didn't hit the spacers or that the liner lock was not too tight or that the blade was ground evenly etc. BM, however, is much better about quickly getting new models into production. Spyderco is bad about having dozens of projected models and then taking years to actually produce them, and even after they have been produced, Spyderco cannot always produce them in adequate numbers like the Lum and Starmate. One final difference, BM is basically a tactical company. Only four current Benchmade models could be called gents knives: the 330, 880, 885, 886, all Mel Pardue designs. Spyderco, instead, makes a large number of nice, small folders out materials besides zytel.
 
Anthony,

You left BM 850, which is also a Mel Pardue design. But you were right, I wish Benchmade made more gents folders.
 
Easy choice, spyderco. Benchmade is pretty good, they have some nice knives. But I don't like a lot of there designs, or at least I like spyderco's designs better. And like everyone else stated you can't always trust benchmade with their quality control. It makes me wonder if they purposely let stuff like that get through in hopes that some non knife nut will buy it and never notice that the grinds are uneven. I can't see a company making much profit if they run the machines in a way that makes that many errors, but is only willing to sell top notch knives.There would be way to much waste in thee materials, adn higher production costs. I haven't heard any real complaints on spydercos quality, do you think they have that many knives that go to scrap, or have to be remade?

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Fix it right the first time, use Baling Wire !
 
I agree completely - Spyderco has the better QC, but Benchmade has the better designs. I also agree that Benchmade's are generally more tactical and ALL are liner lock or better. I think Benchmade takes its customer base for granted and puts too much emphasis on their automatics.

Sooner or later, their thunder is going to be stolen by another company - Spyderco, SOG, Columbia River or whoever. Come on Benchmade, get the QC down and don't go mass market/downmarket. The 20% who buy 80% of your products won't be fooled for long. In the end, a great company will lose out. (For those on the East Coast, just think of EJ Korvettes aka 11 Korean Jewish War Veterans, now no more - they had a great market but got greedy and reduced the quality of their products.)

 
It's funny... My favorite folder for the last 3 years or so has been the Benchmade AFCK (especially the left handed version, since I'm a southpaw). Yet, one of the main reasons why I like it so much is the Spyder hole.

I've read a lot of bad things on these forums about BM's QC, and I have no reason to doubt it; however, I must be one of the lucky ones, since my two AFCKs work flawlessly. I carry both opf them with me, everywhere I go.

OTOH, I've bought more Spydie folders than BMs, and I'm always checking both companies' latest releases...
Boy, talk about a tough call...
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Regards,

Leo Daher

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"Though the meek shall inherit the Earth, they won't keep it past Saturday night..."
 
Well, I'll have to go with BenchMade on this one. Spyderco is awesome, but they don't make Bali's or an axislock. Besides, we really don't have to choose, this is just for fun!!

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"I can go over to your mama's house, and start a small fire in her panties." -G. Busey
 
My two cents... I have never had a QC problem or any other kind of problem with Benchmade. (Or Spyderco for that matter) It is understandable that a lemon may slip out. But overall both are great companies.
 
I don't happen to own a knife from either of these companies. (sob...sniffle) But FWIW, I ordered catalogs and info from five of the major brands, including BM, Spyderco, and SOG. The only one of these to e-mail me to thank me and let me know they were sending the catalog was Spyderco.

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Dave
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Were things ever really as good as they used to be?
 
out of the two, i'd definitely have to go with spyderco. they make a large variety of knives and you can find one to suit any conceivable purpose. on a daily basis, i carry two spydercos (BF native & goddard LW in plain edge) and a BM 750. i could easily switch the BM if i HAD to, but you'd find it difficult to take away the spydercos. more just a personal preference for the ergonomics of various spydies than a QC issue.
 
I love knives from both companies.
Lately, however, the knife I really prefer above all others in the BM line is the Pardue Axis lock, which I don't have yet.

Overall, my favorite is Spyderco. I own more Spydies, and my current favorite(s) are Spydies. I use them more, too. It is hard to break the habit of carrying them. Even when I carry one of my BM's I still have a Spydie or two somewhere on me. But both are great companies, CRKT also.
Jim
 
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