BM 710...convince me

Matheos21 said:
It was a nice knife, but the quality of the G-10 was sorely lacking. You can even see in the pics shows with the Spyderco that the G-10 has a shiny look to it. In hand it felt plasticky and smooth to me. The handle material was no where near as good as Spyderco's or Emerson's. That being said the ergos were decent and it deployed very smoothly. Would I buy one again no, do I regret selling the one I had no.
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yes, the G-10 is much more smoother than others, but I like the feel it gives
anyway, G-10 will look like that eventually in a used knife, and I see some folks even sand down their G-10 handled folders, for a smoother feel :D
I think the smooth G-10 works and looks nice with the 710 design overall
 
First of all, a thank you to jacktrades nbk for the excellent comparison photos.
Next, I have the D2 710. I carry it every day. Great knife, very solid in the hand, fast to flick open, easy to close one handed. My particular knife had a cosmetic flaw when I received it. The upper swedge cut on one side was 5 mm longer than the other side. I know it was a petty nonfunctional detail :) but it bugged me. I sent it back to BM and I paid for a new blade. The replacement was perfect, also arrived as one of the sharpest knives I have owned.
 
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having used the 710 in d2 & 390 i do'nt think either will let you down. the 390 cuts longer but b.m.s d2 will put a smile on most faces.--dennis
 
stormbird said:
First of all, a thank you to jacktrades nbk for the excellent comparison photos.
Next, I have the D2 710. I carry it every day. Great knife, very solid in the hand, fast to flick open, easy to close one handed. My particular knife had a cosmetic flaw when I received it. The upper swedge cut on one side was 5 mm longer than the other side. I know it was a petty nonfunctional detail :) but it bugged me. I sent it back to BM and I paid for a new blade. The replacement was perfect, also arrived as one of the sharpest knives I have owned.
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You paid for a new blade instead of requesting a blade swap since it was a factory mistake?? Had you used the blade much already? No way I'd pay for a new blade because of an improperly ground factory swedge.
 
Well, if the 710 would be your first BM, I think you'd be more smitten with the fact that it's an axis lock than anything else. The Axis is THE biggest plus IMHO on a BM folder. If the design doesn't speak to you, opening/closing with the axis might. If the 710 (or any other BM axis folder)was a liner or framelock, I don't think anyone would have love for it. 2 cents.
 
I carried a 710 every single day for three and a half years and it did everything I needed it to.

I moved on to other knives a few years ago, but just last week I pulled the 710 back out and gave it some carry, and it still feels very right to me.

The G-10 is smoother than Spydercos, but I like it.

I'm not a Benchmade fan at all. Their business practices leave a lot to be desired and to be perfectly honest, their designs don't do anything for me. But the 710 is one knife I couldn't live without.

IMG_0201.jpg
 
Baliboy74 said:
Why does Benchmade have bad business practices? I'm confused
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I assume he's referring to their fairly strong MAP policies, which are similar to SureFire's. IMO it amounts to customer abuse, because those who put a little effort into trying can easily circumvent the policy, while those who don't pay higher than necessary prices.
 
Psychopomp said:
I carried a 710 every single day for three and a half years and it did everything I needed it to.

I moved on to other knives a few years ago, but just last week I pulled the 710 back out and gave it some carry, and it still feels very right to me.

The G-10 is smoother than Spydercos, but I like it.

I'm not a Benchmade fan at all. Their business practices leave a lot to be desired and to be perfectly honest, their designs don't do anything for me. But the 710 is one knife I couldn't live without.
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It says a lot about the 710 design that it is still in production 13 years after it was introduced with essentially no changes in the design. McH & W got it right the first time. I think it is one of those knives that every knife fan ought to own or at least road test.
 
Medic1210 said:
You paid for a new blade instead of requesting a blade swap since it was a factory mistake?? Had you used the blade much already? No way I'd pay for a new blade because of an improperly ground factory swedge.
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I had used the knife a lot. To their credit, BM also replaced the thumb studs, the Omega springs, cleaned it, sent a new clip and screws in a bag (I left my old one installed), and sent it back super sharp. All in a 9 day time period. I felt like I got a new knife back for the low price of just the blade. Any way, it made me happy.
 
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Lot of posts in this topic... have you been convinced yet? If not lemme contribute a little:

I've have about 3 710s now (traded, re-bought, traded, re-bought). I've always came back to this knife (along with the 940... probably went through 5 of those).

It's got a massive D2 blade that's housed in a nicely textured G10 handle. If you're worried about the closed construction, it's easy to convert it with barrel spacers (just be careful to go slow). It's lightweight (considering its size) and applicable to any use.
 
Yeah, I think I'm convinced. There are definitely more attractive options, but you can tell by looking at it that it's a winner. The closed construction is not a dealbreaker, but thanks for pointing out that I can change it. That is a definite PLUS.

I actually prefer the G-10 to be a bit slick. Something that turned me away from Spyderco G-10 a while back.

I currently have a 940 and love the AXIS lock. I have to agree that if this knife had a liner lock I would probably pass.

I also agree that a lot of BM designs are not very desirable. Even the 805/806 models are not standouts. But I have to say IMHO the 635 mini-skirmish is about as good as it gets (save for the chamfered hole).

I'm still thinking whether I should just grab the 805 now and wait a bit longer for the 710 or just skip the 805. Anyway, many thanks for all of the posts. Anytime I have doubts, I always no where to go.

Lev
 
i don't see where anybody has warned you, about this, yet -

be VERY careful buying a 710. it has the potential to RUIN your knife shopping. mine was a gift (in 99 i think) and i have YET TO buy a (non balisong) folder for myself, since then. the problem with the 710 is: once you have one, you've almost totally destroyed the need to ever buy another folder :( seriously.
 
I think I am gonna pull mine out of the safe and carry it. I should give my sprint para military a rest. I now have a belt sander than I can take the platen off and slack belt sharpen that recurve. I think it will be with me for a month or two. It is a classic design that works well in the hand.
 
It's well made, steel is good regardless of whether it's D2 or M390 (I have the M390 one), the blade shape is awesome - slender, good length, with slight belly in front for slicing and skinning. I also put barrel spacers in mine to make cleaning easier. The only thing I would ask for would be for thicker scales. I find them to be somewhat slim, but I have L-XL sized hands. I have yet to hear of anyone who's didn't like it.
 
It is a cool design: the great Axis lock, excellent steel, thin for easy carry. On the other hand, D2 is a pain to sharpen, especially with the recurve and the thin handle bites your hand under heavy use. Still, a neat knife.
 
Can those of you who've done the barrel spacer mod psot some photos? I have a 710 and would love to do this. Can you also provide a link to the source for spacers and the size used?

Edited to add: looks like I missed the photo above. At any rate, would love to see others, and would still like a link to the proper sized spacers. I think I'd like to do this to my 806 as well if possible.
 
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Medic1210 said:
Can those of you who've done the barrel spacer mod psot some photos? I have a 710 and would love to do this. Can you also provide a link to the source for spacers and the size used?

Edited to add: looks like I missed the photo above. At any rate, would love to see others, and would still like a link to the proper sized spacers. I think I'd like to do this to my 806 as well if possible.
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Here's a video. FYI, I play the steel-string guitar and (try to) keep my fingernails long, so no comments on that.


[youtube]N0jdLD4N9bA[/youtube]
 
Lev said:
Is the 710 that good?
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It opens like butter, and is very aesthetically appealing IMO. But mine almost never gets carried, as I have too many other EDC knives that I prefer from Spyderco, Cold Steel, Kershaw, SOG, etc.

Its very subjective, as each of these knives will cut open a box just the same.
 
You can get all the advice in the world on a particular knife but unless YOU handle it you'll never know...So go out and get a feel for it at your local store bro........:thumbup: Oh yea... here is another buy it vote for the 710.
 
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