Benchmade or Spyderco ?

J

John Puckett

Joined
Dec 10, 2000
Messages
418
I was wondering which one of these two knifes to buy, A BM Mel Pardue 720 or a Spyderco Starmate ? Which is best all around, like everyday carry, value, blade steel, etc.... ? Thanks for your help.
 
I own both and for a using knife I would go with the Pardue and it's Axis lock.Very strong.
My .02

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have a"knife"day
 
Actually the only way to truly know the answer to this very important question as we all know is to buy BOTH blades, perhaps one at a time if that fits the budget and keeps the Mrs. off your back. When she finally asks why another blade you can just smile and say your doing 'a test'. This obviously leads you down the never ending path in the quest for the 'perfect' blade. A great journey....lots of good blades and great people to meet in this fun trip. bf is a beautiful oasis on your journey...a great place to relax...recharge your batteries and get you all charged up in your search for the 'next' perfect blade.

Enjoy
 
My condition now is that I've found knives and carrying systems that work and solve all of my problems. (This really kills the hobby of collecting). Things will be like this until the blade show here in Madison next spring. I was thinking of just getting an Opinel to carry and sharpen and just complain about...--OKG
 
If you really want to know, buy both and send me the one you don't like.
tongue.gif

Just kidding, I would start off with the Axis lock Benchmade and add the Spyderco later if you are not pleased with the 720.
 
I respect Spyderco's efforts in the knife market. I love the hole in the blade. I even own a Sharpmaker.

But that's the only Spyderco I have bought or own. I don't like their grinds. I don't like their handles. I don't like their blade design. I don't like serrations. This does not make them junk though.

Benchmade has been a better knife for me every time.

You'll have to handle them both to form your own opinion.

I recognize that I am in a minority, possibly as small as one, in not liking Spyderco.

Phil
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by John Puckett:
I was wondering which one of these two knifes to buy, A BM Mel Pardue 720 or a Spyderco Starmate ?</font>
Click to expand...
Are those the only ones you are considering?
I've bought both. The Starmate I liked instantly but realized wasn't very good for my purposes after some time so now it's been permanently retired. You can also note that there are several other people who've liked it a lot but modified it, so I think they're agreeing with me in that it doesn't have all that good ergonomics as it comes from the factory. (It's basically another model which've been modifed with the hole. Didn't work this time.) It's also got a thick blade but a thin edge. Thicker than is reasonable for a folder.
Spyderco makes lots of other better folders, what about a Military or Endura?
The 720 felt good in my hand from the beginning and it still does and it performs well when cutting. But it also has problems. One's that it's all metal, the other is that it's not always easy to manipulate the mechanism. The mechanism is also a bit sensitive to jamming by foreign material -- but not as much as some similar designs.

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Urban Fredriksson www.canit.se/%7Egriffon/
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"All this takes only about ten seconds, and then I hang the knife vertically, with a nail through the thong hole (and that's one of the big reasons why most every LOVELESS knife has a thong tube; it makes things easy, handling the blades and knives here in the shop)."
- How to make knives, Richard W. Barney and Robert W. Loveless
 
Both knives will perform well for their form
factor and intended purpose, however, you are
likely to find better edge retention from the
ATS-34 Benchmade than the 440V Starmate. This
combined with the very strong Axis lock puts
me in favour of the 720, especially seeing as
there's no weight penalty associated with the
Benchmade compared to the Starmate (I tend to
favour Spyderco when carry weight matters).

Hope that helps,

T.
 
Tough choices guy, but I would end it with the BM940 Osborne axis lock folder, great knife and lock and opening! gotta love it! but that being said, I'm saving up for a Spyderco Lum Chinese folder as I just a gotta have one of those too!!!
My point? it never ends so give up and just get the one that you keep going back and looking at! The axis lock is pretty great, better over a liner lock in my opinion....

So think about the one you keep looking at the most and just do it, as a famous sneaker company likes to tell us all the time!

G2

in the mean time here is my Osborne...enjoy!

View



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"The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions!"
Take the time to read your Bible Now, don't be left behind...
 
For me, 2001 will bring in a fresh batch of blades. And I have high hopes for the Osborne 940 (with the superb axis lock) and the Spyderco Native Ltw. The Native is an excellent value for the money--lightweight with CPM 440V blade with a lock back, as opposed to a liner lock--possibly a safer mechanism. Ever owned a Microtech?
wink.gif

Have fun deciding?
Barry H.
 
I'd go with the Spyderco...Buying a Benchmade is like gambling, because the QC over there is a toss-up.

Also, the Starmate features better steel (if that matters to you, I seriously doubt 99% of users take the blade's steel to its limit), Spyderco's eccentric pivot, offset radial blade tang (for stronger lock-up), a more secure pivot assembly, that doesn't use those overly thick nylon washers, and an edge that's vastly superior to most other manufacturers.

The Axis is a really good lock system, but I don't think anyone has tested it, yet for its maximum strength potential.

--dan

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Co-Moderator of the General Flashlight, Lantern, & Headlamp Discussion Board at www.candlepowerforums.com
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Theres much greater chance of the spyderco being right the first time ( all right thats closer to absolutely certain, their qualtiy control is awesome) Benchmade on the other hand can be a gamble, but their biggest problem is sharpening. Which its not really that bad, just a wide angle and a thick edge. Thats easy to fix. As for any other problems, Benchmade has great customer service and will take care of making things right if you have a problem.
I've had one of each, a combo edge delica 98 from spyderco which was retired after 2 years of hard use ( still in good shape though). I wanted something more solid and opted for a 750s pinnacle from benchmade. Both are awesome knives everything was perfect on both of them. They just serve different purposes and are in very different price ranges. The spyderco did cut about 10 times better out of the box though.
I'd pick the knife that fits what you want best regardless of which brand it is. both will be good knives.

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I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer... but I've got the sharpest knife in the room.
 
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