BM Does the Spyderhole Better!

J

jag-engr

Joined
Dec 21, 2006
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341
I have been a long-time Benchmade fan. I've only recently came around to the merits of Spyderco, but it's quickly vying with BM for favorite knife company (I love the Centofante III, but I'm a lefty. I'm hoping to acquire a Caly3 soon!).

I've observed that a lot of the Spyderco faithful have some animosity toward BM for using the thumbhole, but don't you think that BM does a better job with the thumbhole that Spyderco has yet?

Benchmade has done oval thumbholes, and I've yet to see a BM that doesn't have a chamfer around the inside edges of the thumbhole. Maybe there are some Spyderco models with the chamfer, but the MiniPersian that I have was almost sharp enough along the Spyderhole to cut my thumb!:eek:

A lot of companies copy other companies, (i.e., SOG and Cold Steel have both ripped off BM's Axis-lock). Why does BM's use of, and improvement upon, the thumbhole get so much negative attention?
 
Spyderco does not chamfer the holes so that you get a better purchase on it with your thumb.

As for the rest of your question, all I will say is I'd rather have the original as I prefer Spyderco over Benchmade folders.
 
What Halfneck said. I've complained here about overly sharp edges on blade holes before. Sal maintains that they're semi-sharp on purpose to make sure that the blade opens in an emergency situation. Several folks chided me for having "sissy thumbs" that weren't tough enough. (I was cut to the point of bleeding on three different knives) I still think that the blade hole is often too sharp- but if you check for this at the point of sale, you can usually pick a good one that won't cut you. (Which doesn't work if you order online). A too-sharp blade hole can also be fixed in a few minutes with a round diamond file if need be.

I think the only people who care about Benchmade using the Spyderhole are people on these forums. I think they are using the hole with Spyderco's permission, so who cares? FWIW, I think Benchmade tends to chamfer their blade holes WAY too much, making them too slippery. As for the difference between BM's & Spydies with holes- the round hole is definitely superior to an oval hole, so I like it when BM's have them. The AFCK & 806 are much better knives with round holes, if for no reason other than "they look better".

The main difference between the two companies, the way I see it, is in their design philosophy. Spyderco's emphasis is almost entirely on function. Benchmade pays more attention to looks. As a result, Benchmade knives tend to look better, but aren't quite as efficient as tools. I love both companies, and own tons of products from both. Spyderco will win every personality contest because Sal is such an awesome guy. But there's nothing wrong with Benchmade.
 
jag-engr said:
I have been a long-time Benchmade fan. I've only recently came around to the merits of Spyderco, but it's quickly vying with BM for favorite knife company (I love the Centofante III, but I'm a lefty. I'm hoping to acquire a Caly3 soon!).

I've observed that a lot of the Spyderco faithful have some animosity toward BM for using the thumbhole, but don't you think that BM does a better job with the thumbhole that Spyderco has yet?

Benchmade has done oval thumbholes, and I've yet to see a BM that doesn't have a chamfer around the inside edges of the thumbhole. Maybe there are some Spyderco models with the chamfer, but the MiniPersian that I have was almost sharp enough along the Spyderhole to cut my thumb!:eek:

A lot of companies copy other companies, (i.e., SOG and Cold Steel have both ripped off BM's Axis-lock). Why does BM's use of, and improvement upon, the thumbhole get so much negative attention?
Click to expand...

Wow, you are in TROUBLLLLLLLE :) :) :)
Good luck with this one :D

Arnon
 
I have a BM 806D2 from my early days. I don´t like the oval hole as much as the Spyder Hole. I sometimes have slipped over the well chamfered oval and I don´t want to if I´m very nervous in an emergency. If Benchmade would really think the oval is better then they wouldn´t have changed back to the original Spyder Hole. They knew some good people would not be happy about it. It´s a secret how they managed to get away with it. I guess they needed this ingenious design input to sell their knives better.

Very small things can show one´s true face, revealing his greatness and his littleness. (Zenta Maurina)

JB
 
I guess you didn't understand the "point" of my last post. It means that I (and I'm sure many others) don't agree with you that bm has improved upon Spyderco's design.
 
I like em' both!

pic-from-station.jpg
 
jag-engr said:
I've observed that a lot of the Spyderco faithful have some animosity toward BM for using the thumbhole, but don't you think that BM does a better job with the thumbhole that Spyderco has yet?
Click to expand...

This statement is laughable. I'll explain why shortly.

jag-engr said:
Benchmade has done oval thumbholes, and I've yet to see a BM that doesn't have a chamfer around the inside edges of the thumbhole. Maybe there are some Spyderco models with the chamfer, but the MiniPersian that I have was almost sharp enough along the Spyderhole to cut my thumb!:eek:
Click to expand...

The rougher the edge on the Spyderhole, the easier the blade is to open. If that edge on the hole was heavily chamfered(i.e. the DKPK) the blade would be nearly impossible to open one handed. Ergo, Spyderco leaves the hole sharper.

Furthermore, it is my firm opinion that if the Spyderhole cuts your thumb, you need to work with your hands more, because you obviously don't have ANY callouses on your thumbs.

I've seen these "I cut myself on the hole" threads before, and I can't even cut myself when I'm trying to.

jag-engr said:
A lot of companies copy other companies, (i.e., SOG and Cold Steel have both ripped off BM's Axis-lock)
Click to expand...

So what you're saying is that since they took the Axis lock from BM, it's ok for BM to take the Spyderhole? That makes sense.

Hmm...and where did Benchmade get their Axis lock from...:rolleyes: Someone remind me, I seem to have forgotten, since they don't ever give credit to that company.

jag-engr said:
Why does BM's use of, and improvement upon, the thumbhole get so much negative attention?
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To be honest, it only gets negative attention when one side provokes the other. In this case, you posted a question regarding the superiority of BMs Spyderhole on the Spyderco forum. That is pretty much asking for negative attention.;)

If I posted something similar on the BM forum, what do you think the response would be...gee I wonder.
 
moonwilson said:
I think they are using the hole with Spyderco's permission, so who cares?
Click to expand...

Since these are public forums, I would like to point out that I'm not sure this is the case.

I haven't yet read this assertion from either Mr. Glesser or Mr. de Asis, and I might be hesitant to believe otherwise unless I hear from either one of them or their legal counsel.

-j
 
the chamfering on BMs don't work. they slip. I had a mini-skirmish and I had to get aftermarket mods before they work. Spyderco's non-chamfered hole works far better. In fact the chamfered hole on the Emerson eagle suffers from the same problem as the BM hole also.

if it is really sharp (the Spyderco hole), just use a ceramic rod and smoothen it out a little.
 
jag-engr said:
A lot of companies copy other companies, (i.e., SOG and Cold Steel have both ripped off BM's Axis-lock). Why does BM's use of, and improvement upon, the thumbhole get so much negative attention?
Click to expand...

I don't know about any SOG with a copy of the Axis lock, but the Cold Steel Arc-Lock is a licensed copy (they got permission BEFORE they started using it).

The round opening hole is a registered trademark of Spyderco. Just like the "bowtie" emblem is a registered trademark of Chevrolet and the butterfly logo is a registered trademark of Benchmade. Benchmade is using the registered trademark of another company without acknowledging it as such. Once upon a time, they had permission to use that trademark, and lost that permission for failing to acknowledge it as being Sal's trademark. Now they have started using it again, still without acknowledging it. The fact that an announcement that the two companies "have reached an agreement" came weeks after the announcement of a new BM model sporting a Spyderhole makes me suspect they did not have permission to use it.

I used to be a Benchmade fan. Given a choice between supporting an innovater or an imitater, I am voting with my wallet. Spyderco all the way.
 
I have a BM 804 and 814. The chamfered hole does not work as well when using gloves, when wet, or on smaller knives.
 
smcfalls13 said:
If I posted something similar on the BM forum, what do you think the response would be...gee I wonder.
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Hmm... troll comes to mind. It would be intersting to know how often benchmade fans have to deal with threads similiar to this one like "OMG SPYDERCO ROXORZ TEH BIG ONE111!!!!" at their own forum. My conservative estimate would be that there are 10 times the amount of benchmade fans coming here and to the other forum. So they can enlighten us on the superiority of their knives out of the goodness of their heart :barf: .

It would be different if this thread were titled something like: I'd like to see more chamfered thumbholes.Then if they had went on to say something like "I prefer the way benchmade chamfers their thumbholes b/c ............". Then the OP wouldn't have looked like a troll. I think the OP knew what he was doing and wanted to get something started.

I personally like the way Spyderco does it b/c it makes the knife much easier to open.
 
jag-engr said:
Benchmade has done oval thumbholes, and I've yet to see a BM that doesn't have a chamfer around the inside edges of the thumbhole. Maybe there are some Spyderco models with the chamfer, but the MiniPersian that I have was almost sharp enough along the Spyderhole to cut my thumb!:eek:
Click to expand...

So, what you're saying is that it didn't cut your thumb. That sounds like the way the Spyder-hole was designed (by Sal Glesser/Spyderco, BTW), to be sharp enough to provide a good thumb purchase, yet NOT sharp enough to cut you.;)

In my opinion and experience (owning and using primarily Spydercos), if the Spyder-hole cuts a person's thumb, that person has a really weak thumb, and probably shouldn't be using knives to begin with.
 
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