BM 942 Pass-Around Evaluations

BM 942 is on it's way to Calyth...

That said, here's my review.

The 942 came very sharp (thanks!) with a flat grind. I tested this against a hollow grind knife that was equally sharp, but a little shorter.

I must say that while my first impression was good, it went downhill from there as soon as I started testing it side by side with my other knife(knives).

The axis lock is sloppy and during hard use, my fingers occasionally engaged the lock and the blade started to close - yikes! :eek: :eek:

It does, however, close with a very solid snap - IMHO, a sign of a well-made folding knife. Even my wife was impressed with that.

Still, though, I couldn't see using it for anything more rigorous than cutting boxes or slicing produce.

I tried wood-cutting and wood-carving and the blade geometry (straight vs. curved) made it difficult to work with.

I took a bunch of pics thinking - this will be a great test... but lost my excitement to post them because I kept getting disappointed.

Note: this is not to say that the 942 is not a well-made knife - it is clearly a nice production knife. But it couldn't touch any of my custom knives in cutting or edge holding.

my 0.02

Dan
 
Though I'm not an active participant I do have some history with that knife, all of it positive and do agree with previous posters about the NEW Benchmade type of edges, they are thinner and cut a whole lot better than previous models I've handled, reason for my post, I recently picked up via a trade a very nice BM943, same handle profile and blade thickness, just a variation in the blade design, but also designed by Warren Osborne, one heck of a nice fellow in his own right! had the opportunity to meet him a few years back in his home town, he was JUST getting ready to go on a hunt of some sort but took the time to allow me to visit his shop, can't ask for more than that!

This 943 is every much as smooth as the pass around knife is being claimed to be, and lock up is nice and solid. Double thumbstuds, concur on that, very close calls on my older 940s hasn't happened yet with this but I've not had it as long and also am aware of the way the thumbstud can catch so I watch out for it!

Below is a scan of the knife, while I'm not a fan of Combo blades, loved to get a plain edged model! It is a Proto-Type dated on the
blade as Oct-2001, if someone would like a Collectible to trade for a plain edge nib, give me a holler! here she be, love the lines of this knife!

G2
 
Yay!!! Finally.
And just the right time because I'll be getting money soon to ship it back ou ;) :D
 
Since my last post in this thread on page 2, I've accidentally ended up with two more of these knives. Now I have a pair of the red handled 941BC1 LEs and a plain edge satin blade 943.

I really like this knife. It's light and slim. I've always preferred tip up carry anyway. This knife sits at the back of my pocket out of the way until I need it. Then, it's a longer blade than my small Sebenza but has a similarly small footprint in my pocket. In my pocket this allows easy access to whatever else is in the pocket like money and keys.

It's less bulky than my Socom Elite and doesn't seem like it's quite as strong, but this is a very strong knife. With the BC1 blade coating on the LE and the distinctive red scales, the 941BC1 LE has become my EDC.

I still carry both my lil Sebbie and the Socom E on occasion and love them both but the 941/3 design has captured my attention in an EDC folder for the moment. It's sleek enough for dress wear, but big enough to carry when I'm not working. I wouldn't feel as bad if it was lost in a suitcase on a business trip as I'd feel if my lil Sebbie or Socom E went missing, but I would still be bummed out.

After purchasing my first 941BC1 LE I liked it enough to go looking for a non LE version that I would feel better about putting in checked luggage when traveling (in case it's lost). I had been looking for a better travel knife than the old medium CS Voyager that I have been using for checked bag usage for the past couple years.

I'd probably rather have the Socom E if I was trapped in a building, but I wouldn't feel helpless with a 941/3.

Gary, email me. I might be willing to swap the plain 943 I have for an LE combo blade.

jmx

might
 
Originally posted by jmxcpter
...Gary, email me. I might be willing to swap the plain 943 I have for an LE combo blade.

jmx

might
Click to expand...

jmx...had emailed you but decided to ride this one out, not sure if it's bad luck to change in mid stream, BUT, thanks for the offer!

G2
 
Ride this one out? Do you mean try carrying a partially serrated blade for a while? I carried a CS medium (small) voyager part serrated tanto for a year or two before I got hooked on all this high end (for me) stuff. I got your email this AM but had to run to work and didn't have a chance to reply. I guess I coulda just emailed OK, but I'm not sure either. If I got your proto half serrated,and it was also NIB it'd probably sit in the safe with me hoping that one day, having two limited edition variants of the same model might be worth more. I'd still the carry the red LE I was carrying today as I too prefer plain blades for maintainance and slicing purposes. The earlier post about this knive's slicing ability were right on BTW.

If you decide your still interested, email me. If I keep it, it might just become my check bag knife.

BTW: so far my 943 is new in box, not carried or sharpened, only flicked open about half dozen times (it seems to open just like it's red brothers).

jmx
 
Knife received.
Fit and finish: fit an finish is great, just like the one that I've seen in the knife store (only the one in the knife store is green scales). The clip certainly had shown some wear, not really boosting confidence for me about BT2 from Benchmade. I'm surprised that the anodized aluminum haven't got siginifant wear after having so many people handle it.
The Axis lock is really really smooth... almost too smooth in my opinion. I've tried to open in a single flick in one direction only, and it seems that if I flick it hard enough it would open. This was one of the test that I had ask a cop to do to determine whether it's illegal, and I think this knife would be wishy-washy to pass that silly test.
The satin finish held up quite well, with so many people before me who have used it, it showed very light scratches.
When I received it, the knife has a quite a sharp edge... It could shape hair quite readily.
Test: (non scientific, take with a truckload of salt)
I used the 942 to pierce through a piece of of what was formerly known as a cardboard box. It does quite well for its geometry; however, The Endura does better.
Then I proceeded to make cuts on two cardboard boxes. I completed about 50 cuts on cardboard, and noticed that the area that I've cut can't really shave anymore, however it will still slice paper very well. Quite impressive for me cause there's no sign of it being dull on the blade. I think some touch up on the sharpmaker would make it hair shaving.
Pressure to cut initiall with the 942 is less than the Endura, because the grind on the 942 has a lesser angle and much higher than the Endura. However, as I proceed more and more with the cardboard cutting, it require a bit more pressure.
I found it hard to try to make the cut straight with the 942. I end up cutting in a curvy line more than a straight line. The Endura doesn't have the same problem. I also find that I would like more palm swell on the 942's handle. It's secure, but doesn't give me that same sense of security that I have with the Endura. I also would like to see a small area of the blade very near the period to be unsharpened, becuase I see that the Axis lock wouldn't fail that easily, however, it could be accidentallly disenguaged and the blade would definately draw blood if your hand is in the way.
Anyways, the knife is a great piece. If I got the money, I would definately consider getting one of the Osborne. I'll probably choose the drop point because I like the geometry more than the reverse tanto.
Update:I've also tried to peel an orange with the knife and it's pretty handy. It can also chop small branches quite easily in one swing. It's pretty impressive. I like the Axis lock.
Update again: I find that it still ride quite high compared to the Endura, and the thumbstud locates quite close to where the thumbhole is on the Endura. Natually my hands are not big enough to utilize a good tip up draw for both of them, so that's not much of a problem, but I found that it's kind of strange that the Endura could contain just a bit more blade compared to the 942. I should stress again that I would prefer more palm swell on the handle of the BM, and perhaps a choil (is that right) to prevent cuts from accidental closing. Unless you're alreading tilting the knife down quite a bit, it would have enough momentum to swing back up into the handle enough to cut your finger if you did accidentally disenguage the Axis lock. Otherwise, it would've been perfect.
 
I want to thank all the participants in this pass-around. Most of them were concientious in mailing it to the next person and contributed some extremely good reviews. Hopefully I got some 942 converts out there out of this...but even if I didn't it was still enjoyable reading y'alls opinions. Then we all need to thank Joe from Heritage Sports for donating the knife and BM warranty buster kit. I'll be mailing this back to you Monday. Overall I think this went extremely smooth and wouldn't hesitate to recommend y'all to anyone else running a pass-around, I'd even recommend the Canadians! :D
 
I enjoyed taking a look at this knife for a few days. I may end up with one of the 941/943's. If I do, it will be because of this pass-around. I think all the knife companies would be smart to get in on this idea like it seems that Spyderco has. Anyone out there listening? Benchmade? Camillus? :D
 
Thanks to everybody for a great pass-around. Glad to see it went smoothly.

Even though I was not counted amongst the converts, I have a new appreciation for the BM942. In fact, I actually found myself saying a few times "Too bad I don't still have that BM942, it would have been perfect for __________"

It's on of the best production knives I've ever had - 2nd to the Large Sebenza.

Now, if I could only find someone willing to do a Camillus Talonite EDC pass-around...:eek: :eek: ;)
 
Yeah, thanks, Burkstar. This was my first knife pass-around and it definitely won't be my last.
 
Well, this is my first post, and I don't know if anyone will even see it. I went looking for a pocket knife the other day, and ended up at King of Knives store in Santa Clara CA. I don't know anyone into knives. The very knowledgeble guy there spent about 2 hrs with me, and I also spoke with customers in the know. My only prior experience is with a Swiss Army and a Buck that's 30 yrs or more old. So, I got the 942SBT. Yikes, my thumb is really sore from trying to get good at opening it quickly! I'm wondering just how to close it quickly. My comment after reading all of the great reviews: If you don't like the dual thumbstuds, why not just remove one or both if you want, assuming that that's possible? It all works so smoothly, that I worry about cutting myself when opening or closing it ;).

I think that it's really cool that you guys do this passing around of new knives. I've learned a lot from the wealth of information that you all posted.
 
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