Benchmade vs. Other Name Brands

Catalyst Edge said:
I've already got myself 2 Benchmades, I mean they seem like great knives. What other brands do you guys feel stack up to Benchmade and can offer something truly BETTER? The axis lock on Benchmades are truly the best locking mechanisms i've ever used.
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I love Benchmades and have quite a few. I find their QC and materials to be of a high standard and think that I get my money's worth with each Benchmade I buy - after applying the discount from certain dealers.

That said, IMHO there are many other mfgs of great knives to be sampled as well. My collection has a variety of names in it. So, my suggestion is to branch out and check out some of the other folks as well. There are some real gems out there (my Spyderco Manix2 knives are better than comparably priced Benchmades, for example - IMO) and part of the fun of knife collecting is to find out for yourself what does and does not appeal to you.

Have fun with it. :)
 
singularity35 said:
If you're that much into BM's(they do make a good knife), should anybody even try to answer you with serious recommendations?
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lol. I've noticed that you're not very nice to people on here. So he likes Benchmade knives a lot and believes they are the best knives he's ever experienced. I dont see a need for remarks like yours. You have experience with knives right? Recommend him some brands.

Im also curious about what other people think are on par with Benchmades. My obvious suggestion would be the Spyderco Paramilitary 2 with the compression lock. Its very similar to the axis lock. How about the SOG version of the axis lock?? I dont know how many knives its on, but I do know its on the Flash 1. Also, the extremely ugly Zero Tollerance knives have ball bearings in them in the pivot area. So they are ultra smooth like a Benchmade... and there is one or two designs out their or coming out that give a hint that they may be branching out in style slightly.
 
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I like Benchmade a lot
But after having a spring break ( but fixed :) ), I have my concerns with the Axis lock
 
I guess it just depends what kind of knives you go for. Benchmade makes some fantastic knives. If you like them stick with them.
 
I like Benchmades a lot. The AXIS lock came on my first real knife and I've been a fan ever since. I thought is be hard pressed to find another lock which would be good enough to carry. Recently, I've picked up the Hogue EX-01 with an aluminum handle and I think I've found my goto knife from now on. I highly recommend this button lock. Smoothness, reliability, ease of use, speed... It's all I'm looking for.
 
I like Benchmade and loved my Rift. That said, I absolutely hate the Griptilian line. Too clunky and plasticy and I mean no offense to any owners, but it just feels cheap for a Benchmade.

Then again, most people will already hate me because I thought my Endura, Vantage, and M16 were all POS's.
 
I've tried all the "regulars" and have had stinkers as well as gems from all. I tend to drift towards the more plain Benchmades with a 940 being the most fancy. 707, 556, Ritters, 940 have been my favorites thus far. I used to immediately put custom scales on the Griptilians but then realized that the stock scales are extremely serviceable even if some see them as just "plastic". Also keeps the knife in the bargain price area. I don't see any knives I buy as x vs x but simply what makes me carry it.
 
I like BenchMade because many of their designs can be found featuring high end steels.

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The same is true for many of the Spyderco models.

With KAI you're a little limited with the blade steels on the Kershaw line, but stepping up to their ZT products get's you better steels as standard issue.


For a steel snob like myself, it's worth the extra money to step up to the premium steels.

I guess what I'm saying is that agree with many here, Spyderco and KAI or worthy competitors to BenchMade.




Big Mike
 
We all have our favorites. Mine is Spyderco and CRK when it comes to modern locking folders.
I also like Benchmade alot.
Its a great thing that we have so many great companies to choose from these days.
 
I love my Benchmade stuff. Now, you ought to look at:
Reeve
Strider
Hinderer....
the trinity of production knifes.
 
xX_Blade_Xx said:
I guess it just depends what kind of knives you go for. Benchmade makes some fantastic knives. If you like them stick with them.
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For a lot of people their first knife purchase of a knife that you can't buy in a store is a Benchmade. Therefore, I a lot of people, myself included, have wondered what other awesome brands are out there that they may not know of. Also, not everyone buys every single knife they can think of. So a lot of people haven't tried Spyderco, Cold Steel, Emerson, SOG, Strider, Busse, OKC, etc. Oh and as an actual suggestion to the original poster, Chris Reeves knife quality is on par or better than Benchmades (depending on which knife), but Chris Reeves also uses more premium materials than Benchmade. You pay up the A for it, but you do get something better than a Benchmade. in the end.

People keep ignoring the OP's question and instead people are giving him ultra simplistic advice that he isn't looking for. I'm just trying to keep this thread on track instead of it being killed by people trying to be smart. I've already made my suggestions in a previous post.

All opinions and statements are welcome unless they are insulting or strictly attackin other peoples opinions. Trying to kill threads is also not cool.
 
jonnyt16 said:
To answer your question bluntly: Emerson.

Now, I like certain Benchmades and own more than a few. I'm lucky enough to own a Rukus and that is one of my all time favorite blades. The 950 Rift is also up there. BUT, for serious work I keep going back to Emerson.

Been carrying a Super Commander for about the last 3 years consistently at work. And I have not taken it easy on this thing....mud, dirt, sand, paint, digging, cutting on metal surfaces, dropped on the ground and thrown in the back of trucks countless times, you name it. Even some (gasp!) light prying. I rarely clean or lube the thing, only blow the crud out of it with an air hose once in a while. And ya know what? This thing continues to kick ass. The axis lock on my Benchmades get gritty and slow just from pocket lint. And if need be, I can completely take apart my Commander and put it back together within minutes with just the tools on my Leatherman. Oh, and you simply cannot beat the wave for speed of deployment.

Again, I like Benchmades and think they're great for EDC. But my real workhorses gotta be Emersons.

clq7.jpg
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WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!!!!

Seriously Emerson is the best knife money can buy imo!!
 
Catalyst Edge said:
I've got the Full Sized Grip and the Mini Barrage.
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One other thing to point out is the Benchmades you have are on the entry level knives. Unless the Barrage is the 581 585 version. You can buy some really nice Benchmades for a little more money.
I'm not knocking your blades, I have both of those models. The difference in quality from the 580 and 581 is incredible IMHO. And you don't have to fork out much more dough.

I know I've mentioned this lately in several posts, but I recently picked up 2 S30V PM2's and they kicked all of my Benchmades out of my pocket. That alone is a feat and testament to the PM2. I do like the Axis lock the best also, the compression lock is a close second.

Anyway, enjoy several brands, if you want. I just keep digging myself deeper as I try new brands because I usually find they rock, so one won't do.
 
Hey, i think the best locking mechanisms are the axis lock and the spring latch ( bm balisongs & bradley mayhem) nothing really compares, the compression lock from spyderco is not ambidextrous and weaker so in my opinion it sucks.
When you look at the tests made, liners, frames and other classics locking mechanisms are weaker and most of them are not self-adjustable.

That said, there are a few knives that have very good designs in other brands : zero tolerance 0770 will be a great one if you like flippers, protech tr series for single action automatics, microtech for dual action automatics, hogue ex button lock series, spyderco hawkbill series or cold steel big folders series like the raja.

If you consider fixed blades and don't have special needs like survival or close combat, spyderco makes a few good ones : mule or street bowie for exemple.

I did not talk about custom knives because if you pay enough you can have exactly the design/materials you want, but not the locking mechanism thought.
 
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