- Joined
- Sep 16, 2002
- Messages
- 1,801
I am the proud owner 3 new Benchmades, and one slightly used one. I just received my BM 940, 921, and 806D2 (all plain edge) today. I had received a slightly used 910 Stryker plain satin earlier in the week. For those of you that have followed my ordeal in GBU, I have updated it. For those who don't know what I'm talking about, here is a link.. I have to say that Benchmade quality is much better from what I remember a couple years ago. The only other Benchmade I have ever owned was a Stryker 910HSSR with M2 steel, which I unfortunately lost this summer
. It's quality was no where near the quality of my new knives. Anyway, my first impressions of the new knives I now own are all good. They are razor sharp, and will easily shave, and slice a circle in a sheet of paper while it is held with one hand. I'm glad to see they aren't leaving the very rough grind lines like Benchmade of old. Granted, the edges aren't polished like a Sebenza, but they are a far cry from the edges BM used to put on their knives. When you are used to old BM and Emersons rough edges, these are definitely higher quality. The major complaints about benchmade that most people had a couple years ago was their poor sharpness out of the box. This has obviously changed. The 806D2 isn't quite as sharp as the 940 and the 921, but that is probably due to the thicker blade, and bevel. The bevels are perfect on the 940, and 921, but very slightly off on the 806D2. I can live with that since I will most likely reprofile the 806's edge a bit anyway. I think I will actually keep the edges that came with the 940 and 921 though, since they are so sharp. I haven't hit the sharpmaker yet, but I am interested in seeing if the bevels are mated to the 204. I am very glad BM is now using Phosphor Bronze washers, as this virtually eliminates any lateral blade play that BMs have been notorious for. These are the very first Axis lock knives that I have ever owned, but I did try one when they first started making them. I have to say, I love the Axis lock! It is silky smoothe, and now I know what all the hype is about. Unfortunately, when I tried one when they first came out, I wasn't impressed at all. The lock was awkward to disengage with only one finger, so I had to try to unlock the knife with my index finger and thumb at the same time. Talk about hard! This unfortunately turned me off of the axis lock until recently when I tried a 940 at Bass Pro Shops. I just have to get used to not trying to thumb the liner lock, which is an old habit. I can't wait to really put these knives to use, since I have only been playing with them since I got them. I am interested in seeing how the 3 different blade materials compare. I have used a few different blade materials, but never used S30V, or D2. I think these knives should perform very well for me.
Mike

Mike