Benchmade Pinnacle, Kershaw Avalanche or Puma Falcon?

T

Tilli

Joined
Aug 1, 2000
Messages
3
Hello guys,

I'm going to buy my first "real " knife.
Until now, I only had "noname" knives of medium quality.

My favorites are:
The Puma Falcon, the Kershaw Avalanche and BM's Pinnacle 750 (I've read Sergiusz' great reviews).
I think the BM Pinnacle is probably the top model of that three,
but as a beginner I'm a afraid of sharpening it's recurved blade.

The Kershaw Avalanche (top favorite) looks very useful. Most impressive to me are it's light weight,
the speed safe system and the all-round blade geometry.
Does it's CPM440V steel hold any difficulties for a beginner like me?

A cheaper alternative would be the PUMA Falcon. (I've never seen it on a american website, do you know it at all?)
(picture on http://www.toolshop.de/knives/puma/10.html )
It has a well designed ATS34 blade, G10 scales and the length of handle and blade are comparable to the Kershaw Avalanche.

Can anyone give me some advices?

Does anybody know the handle thicknesses of these knives? That's an important feature for me?


Tilli

(excuse my english. Any scary mistakes?)
 
Welcome to the forum. Had no expericen w/ Puma Falcon, but had some experience w/ the other 2. They r both very nice knives, tough choice. If ask me to pick, i'll go w/ the BM. The lock on the pinnacle seems stronger, and also i have a thing for titanium
biggrin.gif
. The Avalanche is a very well built knife also, but how strong is the torsion bar? Would it ever gets loose or break?
Just my $.02
 
Pinnacle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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have a"knife"day
 
No scary English mistakes. Welcome to the forums. Out of those three knives, I've only handled the Pinnacle. The recurve doesn't seem that big, and you can sharpen it with a 204 Spyderco Sharpmaker (does serrations too). The only thing I'd worry about with sharpening the Pinnacle 750 using a Spyderco Sharpmaker is that the Sharpmaker has no coarse stone and therefore removes at a moderate or slow pace. Benchmade's edge grinds are very thick, and so this could take an hour or more on many of their knives. However, the knife is a rather sturdy feeling knife, doesn't have the extremely quality control sensitive problems as their liner locks do.

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Chang and the Rebels of the East!
Southern Taiwan Shall Rise Again!
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I have the Avalanche and I am also thinking about the BM. I guess I will end up with both. BTW the torsion bar (if it ever breaks) is easily replaceable. And if you want good price (Avalanche) look at www.gpknives.com and add less than 5.00 USD for shipping to Europe.

David

PS: The Avalanche handle is 13 mm thick.

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[This message has been edited by David1967 (edited 08-02-2000).]
 
Having handled all but the Puma, I say don't get the avalanche, get a Boa! Then get a Pinnacle.
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For maximum strength and reliability, get the Benchmade 750. For a relatively simple sharpening solution, get the Spyderco Sharpmaker. But these knives are an apple, and orange, and an apricot, so comparisons are difficult.


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- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001
 
Tilli,

I absolutely love the Kershaw Ken Onion knives BUT I am going to have to cast another vote for the Benchmade 750 Pinnacle. You can put this knife through hell and it will laugh in your face. I think it will make a great first "real" knife. Don't worry about sharpening the recurve, like previously stated, it is not a strong recurve and can be easily handled with the "Spyderco 204 Sharpmaker". You need a good sharpener now that yau will have a good knife. The Sharpmaker is the way to go.

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Louis Buccellato
http://www.themartialway.com
Knives, Weapons and equipment. Best prices anywhere.
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"only the paranoid will survive"


[This message has been edited by TheMartialWay (edited 08-03-2000).]
 
Thanx for your tips.
And the nice reception to the forums.
(Puma is out of race)
Can you tell me something about disassembling cleaning the Kershaw Avalanche with it's speed safe mechanism? Is it more difficult to re-assemble as BM's Pinnacle?

I've an additional question:
Both knives have a hollow grind. Can anybody tell me whose hollow grind is shallower/deeper?

Bis bald,
Tilli

[This message has been edited by Tilli (edited 08-03-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Tilli (edited 08-04-2000).]
 
Taking apart the Avalanche is not a problem. You need torx 6 for the small screws and two bigger ones for the pivot pin (sorry I do not remember the size). You might need two T6 as well to hold the opposite screw). Just make sure you open the knife first (before you start taking it apart). The torsion bar mechanism is quite simple and you can see pictures of it on my Photopoint page (Knives - Misc.). You do not even have to take the clip off.

I do not have this particular BM so I cannot compare the grinds but on my other BMs the grind was always thicker.

David



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DIVERTI NESCIO

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My Photopoint pictures

Mikov Knives

Visit our region
 
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