I'm a bigtime Spyderco fan, but i've been hearing a lot of good things about Benchmade's knives, i know they're great knives, my local shop has a relatively limited selection, they have the Pika series, the Griptilians (i think that's what they are, $65 knives with axis locks, either black or purple scales) and the ones that have the slipjoint blade in the back handle, and on the smaller side, they have the small neck knives, and the Benchmite II.....
i tried out the Pika series, but they just felt too plasticky, too light, i know they're good knives, they just didn't feel right....
the Axis lock models were really nice, great feel, smooth action, but a little more than i was willing to spend at the moment (i already purchased an "expensive" knife at the beginning of the week, a PE Dodo off the Spyderco website, the *last* one i believe....), and the selection they had there all had similar blade shapes
then i saw this tiny little Benchmade, sub 2" blade, wierd frame-lockish looking thing, Tanto-esque blade shape, looked like a great little "bang around in the pocket/shove it in the wallet blade....
i decided to check this one out, the Benchmite II, it's heavier than it looks, the Levitator lock i have a sort of love-hate relationship with, i love how solidly the blade locks up when it's open, arguably the most solid lock feel of any small pocket/keychain blade i've handled yet, the fact that the knife locks closed also makes it arguably the *safest* folder i've used yet, yet i hate that it prevents one-handed opening
it locked up solidly vertically, had *slight* horizontal play, but nothing major, to be expected in an entry level blade, and i really had to *force* it to get side-to-side play
i decided to purchase it, the one i got was just as solid and well built as the display model, the AUS-8 blade seemed decently sharp out of the box, not as sharp as my Spydies, but close, if Spydie sharpness (on a scale of 1-10) was a 10, this Benchmite would rate about a 7, it wasn't shaving sharp, or scary sharp, but it had a decent factory edge....
when i got it home, a quick Sharpmaker session and some stropping put a shaving sharp, scary sharp edge on it.
nice little knife, if this is the quality of their entry-level "Red Class" knives, i can only imagine how good the higher classes are
i tried out the Pika series, but they just felt too plasticky, too light, i know they're good knives, they just didn't feel right....
the Axis lock models were really nice, great feel, smooth action, but a little more than i was willing to spend at the moment (i already purchased an "expensive" knife at the beginning of the week, a PE Dodo off the Spyderco website, the *last* one i believe....), and the selection they had there all had similar blade shapes
then i saw this tiny little Benchmade, sub 2" blade, wierd frame-lockish looking thing, Tanto-esque blade shape, looked like a great little "bang around in the pocket/shove it in the wallet blade....
i decided to check this one out, the Benchmite II, it's heavier than it looks, the Levitator lock i have a sort of love-hate relationship with, i love how solidly the blade locks up when it's open, arguably the most solid lock feel of any small pocket/keychain blade i've handled yet, the fact that the knife locks closed also makes it arguably the *safest* folder i've used yet, yet i hate that it prevents one-handed opening
it locked up solidly vertically, had *slight* horizontal play, but nothing major, to be expected in an entry level blade, and i really had to *force* it to get side-to-side play
i decided to purchase it, the one i got was just as solid and well built as the display model, the AUS-8 blade seemed decently sharp out of the box, not as sharp as my Spydies, but close, if Spydie sharpness (on a scale of 1-10) was a 10, this Benchmite would rate about a 7, it wasn't shaving sharp, or scary sharp, but it had a decent factory edge....
when i got it home, a quick Sharpmaker session and some stropping put a shaving sharp, scary sharp edge on it.
nice little knife, if this is the quality of their entry-level "Red Class" knives, i can only imagine how good the higher classes are
