BM 880 Darkstar

vactor · Oct 24, 2000

well, mine came today with the BT2 coated plain edge blade. i must say, this thing is very very nice. now, i also have a BM 710 with the BT2 combo edge. it is a real shame that i cannot find a Ti lined, 4" tanto bladed, axis locking knife. the axis lock just totally kikcs butt on the 710, and is missing on the 710, but the Ti liner lock is really solid. and, it allows this big knife (3.75" blade) to be very light. it is quite noticable how much lighter and less obtrusive the 880 is compared to the 710. knife is sharp and looked flawless under lupe/light inspection. blade opens smoothly with a flick of the wrist, but the clip only allows for tip down carry, making the snap open a bit of a chore to do smoothly/quickly. the blade looks rather sleek, yet menacing at the same time (and this counts for oh so much

i gotta say, i am impressed by both of these knives, and am just waiting / hoping that SOMEONE will make a Tanto blade with an anti corrosion coating, with titanium liners and an axis lock in a thin handled knife. as it stands, i am having a TOUGH time deciding wich of the knives to carry. i like both, a lot, for different reasons. if anyone else has either of these and wants to send me their impressions, please feel free to do so.
vactor1@hotmail.com

Chang · Oct 24, 2000

I must admit, when I saw the 710 and 880, I was quite impressed. If you want a tanto blade axis lock, check out the 722. Slightly shorter than 4" blade, and no titanium liners, but still very nice. I do believe that none of the axis series are titanium linered.

------------------
Chang the Asian Janitorial Apparatus

Chang · Oct 24, 2000

BTW, welcome to BladeForums. Stick around, it is good to see more knife interested people.

------------------
Chang the Asian Janitorial Apparatus

vactor · Oct 24, 2000

just a quick update, after a whole day of drooling over both of these, i can also say that both of these knives are VERY SHARP! i had a few misgivings after reading a lot of mixed reviews of the BM quality on certain issues, such as sharpness and finished assembly. again, VERY sharp, and also, ZERO play in both blades either side to side or fore and aft. the more i handle both nives, the more imporessed i am by both and am thrilled that i took the not-too-expesive plunge and got both, as i could not decide ... hell, just the 880 with an axis lock and tip up carry would be perfect. have i mentioned that the axis lock is really awesome on the 710? as is the titanium liner on the 880? again, just a brief update after a full day of handling these babies. oh, and they look quite stylish so carrying with a suit is ok too. but for that, the 880 is perfect due to its lighter weight (Ti coming on strong).

thanks for the welcome comrade

[This message has been edited by vactor (edited 10-24-2000).]

Chang · Oct 24, 2000

Most of the time, the complaints about sharpness are not that they are not sharp. They will shave fine. The complaint is that the edge is steeper than on a normal edge, and so it doesn't always cut as aggressively as it could. The reasoning I suppose is that since BM does free resharpening, they don't want to have to resharpen all that often, and steeper edges last a little longer and don't chip or roll over as easily. Or that the edges are ground unevenly. As for quality control, my 730 had a blade that hit spacers and stuff. I fixed it by disassembling, modifying the spacer a little, and moving it back a little. Now the spacer sticks out, but at least when you close it, you don't hear a "clack" and then notice that your blade is dulled at the area where it whacked the G-10 spacer with the twin omega spring's force.

I assume by your good review, that you have a knife that is perfect from the factory.

Most of the BM's are fine or have problems that are design faults and not quality control problems. That 730 was about the 5th BM I've had (even though I only own two now.... I normally only keep one or two at a time, and one was a gift from a friendly BFC member to help me get over me being bummed out over having a 730BT that whacked the spacer repeatedly among other problems that are now resolved). One major flaw that I've complained about a lot in the past is that the 910 models will have rear stop pins that will rattle after some use.

------------------
Chang the Asian Janitorial Apparatus

vactor · Oct 25, 2000

WOW! i went to a friend's house today who is a carpenter and shoed him my knife (the 710 SBT). he was very impressed. i went upstairs to get a coke and heard some banging from downstairs in his shop. lo and behold, he had used by new knife to not only carve and cut off pieces of 1x1 he had lying around, but had stuck and cut through some old galvanized steel vebtilation ducting he had lying around. i was not too pleased to see this (considering i told him i just got it and that he could "look" at it). anyway, sure the edge was a bit dulled (galvanized darn steel) but it sharpened right back up w/ a stone and a strap. the BT coating got marred and now want to clean it a bit, anyone know what i can use? anyway, after this guy just abused my hardware, i am thrilled to see that the 710 pretty much laughed off this abuse. i like this knife so much i may just get another one as well!!

oh, and the axis lock is even better than i thought as it allows for one handed closing of the knife by just pulling on the lock and a shallow, light flick of the wrist. amazing!!

Chang · Oct 27, 2000

If the coating is scratched, it is scratched. You can't fix the scratches. If you had the skill, you could hand polish it and remove all the coating. Some people use scotch-brite green pads to put a somewhat satin like finish on their knives (remove all the coating).

------------------
Chang the Asian Janitorial Apparatus