I am not the world's biggest liner lock fan. In fact I've pretty much given up on buying them.
Now, I have a number of liner locks that have given me flawless service for years. But I've had several linerlocks fail - yes, Spydercos, yes, a Benchmade - and I just have trouble trusting them.
But, as someone here said recently, makers keep putting out some really neat liner locks.
My belated birthday present from my little sister arrived yesterday, a BM 425 Gravitator.
Wow.
I'm a big Snody fan. I have a Yojimbo, a Ronin, a Juju, and an Instigator. So far, the Gravitator has my favorite ergonomics - more comfortable than the Ronin, more hand filling than the Ronin, better handling than the Juju. (The Instigator is a skeleton - a great skeleton, but not even in the running for ergos.)
Let's get the negatives out of the way first. It's a liner lock, and it's tip-down only.
These are the thickest locking liners I've ever seen in person. From pictures, I think the Ontario Hossom Retribution folders have the same idea - liners as thick as some framelocks. They are twice as thick as the liners on my BM 690; they are within a hair of the thickness of the titanium framelock slabs on my old CRKT S-2. They have serious pressure, and engage less than halfway over - lots of room for the Ti to wear over the years.
The blade - well, it's a Janich-inspired Snody.
It's saber ground. I really like the full ground blades on my Yo and Ronin, but for a lower height grind, this is well done. The point angle is slightly less acute (ie less pointy) than the Yo, significantly less acute than the Ronin. The Instigator and Juju have curved spines, so the comparison is less direct. The 425 is more acute than either at the very tip, somewhat more obtuse once the curve fully kicks in on both.
The spine is a little funky, and I think I might know why. I like the Ronin, but as a less than lethal object, it's a lousy fistload. You can do a firm canted saber grip, inverted, presenting the 'tail' quite nicely, but it's too wide and angular to work as an actual (closed knife) fistload/kubotan.
The 425, lock down, blade spine back, fistloads quite tightly into my medium-large hand. The curve between the thumb ramp and tip fits right up against the meat of my thumb.
Furthermore, unlike, say, the Benchmade 940, the swedge is pure fuction, not just modern aethetics. Looked at from above, or dead ahead, the swedge tapers the spine and the top of the saber grind for easier penetration. Messing with my four layer industrial shipping carton cardboard says it penetrates like an evil wet dream - not as effortlessly as my Ronin, but significantly easier than my Yojimbo.
I thought at first it was pretty much a two (or three) grip knife, not a four (five) - it works very well edge forward with the blade up or down, but initially less well edge in. But a little edge in wiggling, and hey presto - your thumb locks right in the forefinger stall blade up, and it locks into a hammer pikal grip very solidly and reasonably comfortably.
And my experience with Benchmade out of the box edges continues to improve - hair jumped off my arm absolutely effortlessy. That said, I think the factory edge is a little obtuse (but d@mn well finished!) and I'll be thinning out the primary a little.
The it's-not-quite-a-framelock liner is snapping home awfully solid, and I'm going to give it a chance. But the tip down thing definitely has to go - maybe I'll finally try building a William Henry style pocket clip case.
And that's right guys, I have two women in my life buying me Benchmades. Life is good.
Now, I have a number of liner locks that have given me flawless service for years. But I've had several linerlocks fail - yes, Spydercos, yes, a Benchmade - and I just have trouble trusting them.
But, as someone here said recently, makers keep putting out some really neat liner locks.
My belated birthday present from my little sister arrived yesterday, a BM 425 Gravitator.
Wow.
I'm a big Snody fan. I have a Yojimbo, a Ronin, a Juju, and an Instigator. So far, the Gravitator has my favorite ergonomics - more comfortable than the Ronin, more hand filling than the Ronin, better handling than the Juju. (The Instigator is a skeleton - a great skeleton, but not even in the running for ergos.)
Let's get the negatives out of the way first. It's a liner lock, and it's tip-down only.
These are the thickest locking liners I've ever seen in person. From pictures, I think the Ontario Hossom Retribution folders have the same idea - liners as thick as some framelocks. They are twice as thick as the liners on my BM 690; they are within a hair of the thickness of the titanium framelock slabs on my old CRKT S-2. They have serious pressure, and engage less than halfway over - lots of room for the Ti to wear over the years.
The blade - well, it's a Janich-inspired Snody.
It's saber ground. I really like the full ground blades on my Yo and Ronin, but for a lower height grind, this is well done. The point angle is slightly less acute (ie less pointy) than the Yo, significantly less acute than the Ronin. The Instigator and Juju have curved spines, so the comparison is less direct. The 425 is more acute than either at the very tip, somewhat more obtuse once the curve fully kicks in on both.
The spine is a little funky, and I think I might know why. I like the Ronin, but as a less than lethal object, it's a lousy fistload. You can do a firm canted saber grip, inverted, presenting the 'tail' quite nicely, but it's too wide and angular to work as an actual (closed knife) fistload/kubotan.
The 425, lock down, blade spine back, fistloads quite tightly into my medium-large hand. The curve between the thumb ramp and tip fits right up against the meat of my thumb.
Furthermore, unlike, say, the Benchmade 940, the swedge is pure fuction, not just modern aethetics. Looked at from above, or dead ahead, the swedge tapers the spine and the top of the saber grind for easier penetration. Messing with my four layer industrial shipping carton cardboard says it penetrates like an evil wet dream - not as effortlessly as my Ronin, but significantly easier than my Yojimbo.
I thought at first it was pretty much a two (or three) grip knife, not a four (five) - it works very well edge forward with the blade up or down, but initially less well edge in. But a little edge in wiggling, and hey presto - your thumb locks right in the forefinger stall blade up, and it locks into a hammer pikal grip very solidly and reasonably comfortably.
And my experience with Benchmade out of the box edges continues to improve - hair jumped off my arm absolutely effortlessy. That said, I think the factory edge is a little obtuse (but d@mn well finished!) and I'll be thinning out the primary a little.
The it's-not-quite-a-framelock liner is snapping home awfully solid, and I'm going to give it a chance. But the tip down thing definitely has to go - maybe I'll finally try building a William Henry style pocket clip case.
And that's right guys, I have two women in my life buying me Benchmades. Life is good.
