Benchmade Vs. Spyderco opinion

marthinus

marthinus

Joined
Dec 10, 2006
Messages
5,972
Alright then First of the bat I am not dissing any maker or brand. I am just becoming a bit annoyed that I have been waiting for my Grip 551 for almost 4 months to arrive at the Benchmade dealer and I have decided on the following. If the Grip arrives before the 30th March I will buy it or else I am looking for something in the $100 mark from Spyderco. I am thinking Pacific Salt. Any opinions on or of other knives?

Thanks
Marthinus
God Bless
 
marthinus said:
Alright then First of the bat I am not dissing any maker or brand. I am just becoming a bit annoyed that I have been waiting for my Grip 551 for almost 4 months to arrive at the Benchmade dealer and I have decided on the following. If the Grip arrives before the 30th March I will buy it or else I am looking for something in the $100 mark from Spyderco. I am thinking Pacific Salt. Any opinions on or of other knives?

Thanks
Marthinus
God Bless
Click to expand...

I am not sure is it critical for you or not superior corrosion resistance of H1 steel. If not I think you should concider ZDP Endura or Delica which both fall in this price range. This is biggest bang for the bucks now on the market.

From other hand it seems like your problem is related to your BM dealer - I usually buying knives over Internet from New Graphm, KnifeWorks, Grand Prairie, KnifeCenter etc...

Thanks, Vassili
 
nozh2002,

I'm a big Spydie fan, but I haven't been sold on ZDP yet. I'm reading too many cases of chipping under normal conditions, particularly for knives with serrations. I'm happy with VG-10 for now.

Marthinus,

I really like my Pacific Salt. The steel actually gets better with use and I never have to worry about rust. However, none of my knives have really been at risk of rust yet. I got the PS for the summer time when I'm at the beach and on boats.

Good thing for you, there are plenty of choices for your price range. Here are a few:

Spyderco:
Endura4/Delica4 (with or without the Wave feature)
Pacific Salt/Salt 1
Mini Manix
Paramilitary
Military
Manix
Caly 3

These are just some of the favorites with the Spyderco community.
 
Don't forget the D'Allara DP if you were going to get a Grip. The D'Allara is a great value and underappreciated, IMO. I also really like my Manix and R2 (the R2 is VERY under rated, great ergonomics, lightweight, and full flat ground VG-10), and the Caly Jr. ZDP is hard to beat for a precision cutter.

Mike
 
The fact that you put the Salt in the $100 price range makes me believe that knives are a bit more 'spensive in South Africa?

Personally, I think the Salts are among the best knives on the market, period. Their complete corrosion resistance coupled with good toughness and edgeholding make them unique and Spyderco really went out of their way to make these right, including Ti clip and specially treated hardware, so that the entire knife lives up to its name. I also like the no frills-all business attitude of the knife and the relatively cheap price is just the icing on the cake.
 
Thanks for the replies so far. The reason I buy from the dealer direct is just because I prefer it taht way. Still bit scared of internet transactions in South-Africa. Anyway. The reason I am considering the PS is that I ordered the Grip for a Hiking trip me and my friends planned and that is about 2 weeks away and I do not know if it will rain or not. And the other thing is I DO GO TO THE BEACH QUITE OFTEN. So thats why I considered the PS. But I am keeping my options open for now.

Ps. I have a D4 and love it! Just want a new knife.
 
HoB

Jip youre right. Usually I look at the msrp of a knife. $95 for the Salt and multiply by 7.3 then you know how much I pay for a quility knife. The "no frills-all business attitude" I love!
 
Why is the fact that you've been waiting for a Grip for four months relevant?
"Which $100 Spyderco?" would have been a better title for the thread.
It sounds to me like you're throwing your teddy out of the pram. :rolleyes:

Anyhow, unless you are intending the knife to be for marine use I would go for VG10 over H1, as it holds an edge better. The Endura is a good choice.
 
I think the grip is worth the wait, but if you are going for a spyderco, the salts are nice but most of their models are very rust resistant, so unless you are a professional mariner this really isnt that big a concern.

I agree that the Diallara is a really cool design that doesent get enough attention.

Though I havent tried it yet I hear nothing but good about the Manix. I am looking at an Ocelot personally but thats a bit higher price
 
Steven Andrews

Maybe it was not realevant, but it was going threw my head and I just typed.
 
ignoramus said:
nozh2002,

I'm a big Spydie fan, but I haven't been sold on ZDP yet. I'm reading too many cases of chipping under normal conditions, particularly for knives with serrations.
Click to expand...

Well, I did not hear any. And what serrated ZDP blade are you talking about - I am not aware that it was made any except may be Delica and Endura just recently. What are you talking about.

However on my opinion serration is for steel which does not hold the edge like chineese knives 10 for $1. Anyway ZDP show superion edge holding if you use knife for cutting.

Ignoramus is not sold on ZDP, but many including me consider it as a best cutting steel for now for small knives. WHat do you expect with 65HRC? For example W&H top priced jewelry knives are now all made out of ZDP189.

So again my advice if it corrosion resistance not critical pick ZDP Endura or Delica.

Thanks, Vassili.

P.S. ZDP189 is hard to get so many manufacturers not able to, and so have only to expose sceptisism for now. It is Spyderco and Kershaw only able to deliver ZDP knives.
 
It will be fair to say that I am not buying BM first because their Anti-Internet-Sale position and now I just do not see any exciting models, plus price is bit higher then average IMHO. I can buy expensive knife like Microtech but in MT case I know what I am paying for.

Delica and Endura has now all what Griptilian has plus supersteel, BM just bit behind now.

Thanks, Vassili.
 
nozh2002 said:
Well, I did not hear any. And what serrated ZDP blade are you talking about - I am not aware that it was made any except may be Delica and Endura just recently. What are you talking about.
Click to expand...

The Delicas and Enduras. I frequent the Spyderco Forums regularly. The cases I'm talking about are over there. Here's one thread:

http://spyderco.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27137&highlight=steel


However on my opinion serration is for steel which does not hold the edge like chineese knives 10 for $1. Anyway ZDP show superion edge holding if you use knife for cutting.

Ignoramus is not sold on ZDP and ignoring it, but many including me consider it as a best cutting steel for now for small knives. WHat do you expect with 65HRC?
Click to expand...

I certainly don't expect excessive chipping on materials that can be cut without problems with cheaper steels like VG-10. If I were to use a knife with ZDP only for softer materials and didn't like to sharpen often, then ZDP might be a good candidate for me. But that's not the case for me. I need something that's fairly "versatile", if you can call it that. I just like the ability to cut from light plastics to cardboard without having to worry if my blade has chipped.
 
Be sure the dealer you bought the Benchmade knife from is a direct dealer. That wouldn't be us, by the way, so this is not an ad. The direct dealers get shipped first and then the distributors get whatever the direct dealers didn't take from the production run. Benchmade doesn't build to inventory so most of their products are unavailable most of the time. The direct dealer route is the way to go.
 
marthinus said:
Alright then First of the bat I am not dissing any maker or brand. I am just becoming a bit annoyed that I have been waiting for my Grip 551 for almost 4 months to arrive at the Benchmade dealer and I have decided on the following. If the Grip arrives before the 30th March I will buy it or else I am looking for something in the $100 mark from Spyderco. I am thinking Pacific Salt. Any opinions on or of other knives?

Thanks
Marthinus
God Bless
Click to expand...

Does you dealer have a Pacific Salt in stock? If your dealer is having problems getting stock and you only have two weeks left, you probably need to choose from what is available. So what are your choices?

Wouldn't want to suggest something that would subject you to the same frustrations.

Aside from taking it to the beach, how else were you planning to use this? What kind of carry do you like? What types of cutting do you do?
 
ignoramus said:
I certainly don't expect excessive chipping on materials that can be cut without problems with cheaper steels like VG-10. If I were to use a knife with ZDP only for softer materials and didn't like to sharpen often, then ZDP might be a good candidate for me. But that's not the case for me. I need something that's fairly "versatile", if you can call it that. I just like the ability to cut from light plastics to cardboard without having to worry if my blade has chipped.
Click to expand...

I am not sure how did this soft materials came up here, certanly I did not mention it. I think with 65HRC it may almost cut the glass... Anyway how many ZDP knives do you have? Is it personal experience, because I did not see it yet.

I cut leather laying on the wood so tip is always cutting wood with quite a pressure applied and I did not see any chips etc. What you sad kind of surprize me.

Thanks, Vassili.

Aha, here your reference:

First:

"Couple that with a hard, relatively brittle, steel like ZDP-189 and the probability of chipping is fairly high."

This is kind of generic statement did not based on real experience.

Second:

"My SE D4 ZDP-189 is chipping WAY more than it should.

The first chip I let slide because I was slicing up an old mattress and hit the springs HARD. But the two new chips happened while ripping out old carpet, I didn't hit any staples that I am aware of.

All and all I gotta say I am a little disappointed in ZDP-189..."

Wow! I guess if you try to cut spring hard you may chip any blade and old carpet with whatever is in there - sand may be dirt. I do not see here any base for you statement like ZDP is only for soft materials...

Third from the same thread about VG10 now and it is not about hitting spring hard but about cardboard:

" After having a passaround SE VG-10 Caly 3 get a large chip from cutting a cardboard shipping tube, I'm not sure VG-10 wouldn't have chipped under similar cutting circumstances as you describe with the old carpet. VG-10 will be tougher than ZDP, but when you are talking 20 degree included angles or less and high carbide stainless (whether it be VG-10, S30V, or ZDP) you can expect some damage when hitting metal and cutting up tough stuff (I hear old carpet is very tough on edges, but haven't cut it myself)."

From all what I see I can make conclusion that you are making up something here.

Again many manufacturers not able to get any ZDP189.

Thanks, Vassili.
 
I have both the Benchmade and the Salt 1. If I had to choose right now I'd take the Salt 1. I am a HUGE fan of Benchmade (see username), however lately I have been bitten hard by the Spyderco bug. For the money, the Salt series are some of the best knives on the market IMHO. I find I use my Salt 1 for many more tasks because I can rinse it off and never worry. H1 takes a razor edge, holds it well and only gets better with sharpening. I now take my Salt everywhere. Land, sea and air (well not air :) with no worries.

cheers

marvin
 
H1 is a work hardening steel. The more you sharpen it, the harder it gets, hence the longer edgeholding you get. It was first discovered when routine tests showed that the SE blades have a higher Rc rating than the PE ones. I doubt it will surpass ZDP189 though.

Wouter
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top