Bradley Alias 2: Poor Man's Sebenza Indeed

M

Muaddib1116

Joined
Dec 26, 2010
Messages
1,091
So, I'm in the grips of a powerful ti-framelock kick and I bought a small Sebenza last week and I love it. This week, I purchased a blue-anodized Bradley Alias 2, which I just got today. There are definitely things that I like about this knife. The overall design, the aesthetics, the materials. The blade is sharp and well centered, it locks up tight and solid, and the lock engagement is a solid 35%. The blue anodized scales are beautiful (except for a thin scratch a at the pivot screw). But there are tons of reviews out there talking about all the good features of this knife, and at the risk of making this post seem aggressively critical, I'm not going to go into the pros more than I just have.

I have to say, I was expecting more. The design is proven and solid, but the execution isn't as good as I would like (especially for the money). I've watched and read a number of very positive reviews of the knife, many talking about it's fantastic benchmade fit and finish and compare it favorably (not equally) with the Sebenza. I am underwhelmed.

The few things that stand out to me in rising order of how much they bother me are: The blade finish, the screw head heights, the lock bar stickiness, the pocket clip, and the ball detent position.

The blade finish is a really minor nitpick. There are very rough grind marks on the spine and a mark at the end of the jimping that looks like they accidentally almost ground another notch of jimping, but stopped. If I end up keeping it, I can probably polish that out though.

The screw heads for the two pillars are countersunk, but not all the way, and very very slightly unevenly. Also the screw heads, including the pivot screw, are not centered very well within their countersink. Also a minor issue, but I'm a little surprised.

I'm guessing the lock-bar surface is not carbidized, judging by how sticky the lock is and how angled the blade tang surface is. I'll see if some pencil helps a bit, hopefully it will smooth out. If it doesn't, that might bump this criticism up to number 2.

The clip is serviceable but not good. The primary problem is that the up-sweep of the tip of the clip is too pointy and does not sweep up enough. It is difficult to slide the edge of your pocket under the clip, at least with the pockets of my dress pants, jeans might not present as much of a problem. I'm sure I'll get used to this though.

The one thing that actually sort of bothers me is that the ball detent does not hold the blade against the stop pin when closed, it holds it slightly off of it, so you can press the blade more closed and it springs back. This doesn't present an issue as far as holding the blade in the handle safely or deploying the blade, but it is annoying in the hand. This is a problem I've only encountered on the cheap Chinese knives that I bought a couple years ago, certainly not with a knife of this price.

I realize that this post seems like I'm dumping all over the Bradley Alias 2, and that's not really my intention. I could write just as much about the things I like about this knife, I just feel that they've all been said many times before. I'm honestly surprised by these issues. My much cheaper Sage 2 has far and away better fit and finish, as do all of my (much cheaper) Spyderco knives, except for maybe my Persistence and Tenacious.

I'm really not sure what I want to do with this right now. For a knife of this price to have all these issues, as well as a faint scratch in the anodization near the pivot screw, it's a hard pill to swallow. If these weren't discontinued and so hard to find (especially the blue handle version) I'd probably try a replacement to see if this was an outlier. And if there weren't so few options for sub-Sebenza priced ti-framelocks under 3", I would probably just return this one and live without. But because they are so rare and nice looking, part of me wants to swallow my criticisms and the price. I'll have to think about this one, that's for sure.
 
Last edited:
I felt the exact same way about my Alias II. I bought one thinking it would serve as a cheaper alternative to a CRK. I didn't have the problem you described with the detent ball or the pocket clip, but all those other loose tolerances really irked me. My lock was also very sticky and it did not go away or get better. Eventually I bought a Seb and the Alias was soon up for sale. It was a great knife, but I'm really really picky about lock rock. If it was stick free I probably could have forgiven everything else and kept the blade. It's possible that some are perfect and others are not so great. I'd love to get a perfect specimen but I'm not about to gamble it anytime soon.
 
I had to send my Alias I back to Benchmade twice, once to fix the sticky lock (required two hands to disengage sometimes) and then to fix the lock rock that developed after they fixed the sticky lock. Eventually they sent me a new knife that is in perfect working order. After all of that, I really enjoy the knife. They are NOT up to CRK standards however, but at roughly 60% the cost a decent alternative. YMMV
 
Yeah, I'm honestly not expecting the Alias to match the Sebenza's quality, but at more than 30% more cost than a Sage 2, and being made by Benchmade (whom many consider to provide equal/superior quality to Spyderco), I expected more.

Does anyone know if Bradley/Benchmade will still service the Alias even though it's discontinued? If I do decide to keep it, I'd probably like to get the ball detent issue fixed (possible or not?), and if possible the scratch in the anodization touched up.
 
Not sure about the scratch in the Ano, but Benchmade will certainly service the detente issue. Just give them a call, they were great working with me on the issues I had.
 
Not to sound offensive, because that's not my intention, but "a faint scratch in the anodization", "the clip is too pointy", and "the screw heads being very very slightly uneven" sound like mind-bogglingly nitpicky things to complain about, especially if you intend to use the knife. I have an Alias as well, and it has lock rock so bad that you can get the lockbar to slip right off the tang and disengage (and that's after I sent it in for repairs). Things like a sticky lock, lock rock, or some kind of actual fault with the finish (like the scratches on the blade or grind marks where there shouldn't be any) are actual issues, but "a faint scratch in the anodization"? It does make sense to me to be picky about a knife this expensive, but that seems excessive even to me.

Just my $0.02.
 
I thought I made it pretty clear that most of my complaints are very minor and not deal breakers at all, I was simply reporting on my observations. The ball-detent is a fairly legitimate complaint in my opinion, but obviously some people might not have issue with that. I never complained about the scratch as a criticism of the knife's design or fit and finish, obviously that's a separate issue.

These are just first impressions that I had in the first few minutes after unpacking the knife. First impressions aren't always lasting impressions, but they're almost always influential.

My comment on the scratch is mostly driven by how beautiful the blue anodizing is, and that if I decide to keep the knife, I'd look into trying to get it touched up.
 
I also had a Bradley Alias II that had a VERY sticky lock right out of the box. I spent a few weeks trying to break it in, but it just got worse. I sent it to Benchmade and they replaced the locking side and it ended up being very smooth to disengage. It had no blade-play or lock-rock, but it did have the annoying detent issue--something I thought was nearly a deal-breaker.

All in all it was a GOOD knife and not a GREAT knife. My advice to anyone who may be interested in one: if you have never owned and used a Seb then you will likely be pleased with an Alias. However, if you have owned and used a Seb then you will likely find some disappointment in the Alias.
 
Did your's still have the detent issue after they replaced the locking side? If I can't smooth out the sticky lock, I'll give them a call.
 
I think in sum what we are seeing here is what additional value the tolerances, QC, and F+F Chris Reeve is bringing to the table. As you climb the quality ladder each increment of quality gets more and more expensive, or in other words it's diminishing returns.
 
I guess I'm 'odd man out' here.

I have an Alias 1 in blue that's 4-5 years old that doesn't have anything wrong with it except for wear and tear scratches. When I bought the knife it was by far
the smoothest and fastest knife I owned.

Maybe BM made the Alias better 4-5 years ago than they're making them now.
I hardly ever use mine. I have other knives I liked better than the Alias 1. I guess I show sell it and use the $ for another knife.

It's too bad the quality isn't what it used to be.
 
I've had some time to cool my heels and play with the knife a little more, and I realize that by not going into depth on the things I like about the Alias 2 I was painting a pretty unfavorable picture of things, and my disclaimer wasn't as effective as I'd intended. I also feel that I need to correct my claims about the disparity in price/quality between the Alias 2 and Sage 2, since I was thinking of the prices that you can find these knives at, not their original msrp. Although, thinking about it, I'm not sure that's a fair comparison either, considering that Spyderco's msrp is usually double what you can actually find them for.

For the record, the pros are: beautiful ti scales, good blade and handle shape, super sharp, great materials, even blade grinds, perfectly centered blade, awesome blue anodized pillars and thumbstud, decent jimping on spine, great jimping on lock bar, smooth glassy action with zero lateral play, very solid lock up with no lock rock, good lock engagement percent, and acceptable lock dis-engagement (after pencil treatment).

This leaves my list of cons at: visible grind marks on the blade spine, imperfect countersinking of screws, mediocre pocket clip shape, and stupid ball-detent closed blade position. And I'm guessing that most people wouldn't notice or care about the first three.

If you take my comments seriously about how minor my criticisms were, then the only thing that really bothers me about this knife is this detent annoyance. If it's a design feature, then it's stupid, and if it's a defect, then it's a pretty sloppy mistake. However, there really is a lot to like about this knife.
 
I like my Alias I. I'm not extremely critical or nit-picky about it but I paid 1/3 of a Seb. price for my Alias so I can overlook minor points. One thing I like about the Alias is the styling, something you can't get from CRK. I have no argument with Seb. owners that pay a lot for them and like them, I'm just not going to buy one myself. If someone was going to give me a knife, and I had to use it and not sell it, and the choice was an alias or a Seb., I would take the Alias because I like the styling that much better.
 
I would guess that the "design feature" of an early detent was to reduce the rate of rejects due to a detent that engaged at, or beyond the blade-fully-closed position. I don't know how high the Alias production was, but it certainly wasn't a mainstay of Benchmade's catalog, unlike CRK where the Sebenza is the main moneymaker and has been refined over the years. I would expect that the CRK line has been adapted and focused over the years to produce the Sebenza and produce it well, and the fine tolerances of the brand are well-known.

The four issues you have identified are not issues to me, not when considering a knife for an EDC role. Were I seeking a collectible which would live in a display case, then I would absolutely be as careful and particular in my selection as you are here.

Additionally, the knives were made by Benchmade for Bradley Cutlery. How much of the design came from each company, I don't know but one might suggest any slop were a result of the original design.

Enjoy the knives, and if you're looking for a shelf queen, there's plenty out there for the taking. Use the blemished ones, wear them out, and send them in if they start to fail mechanically.

All the best
J
 
My Alias 2 is about 5 years old.
Maybe the quality was better back then because mine is a great little knife.

The lock doesn't stick at all. The action is among the smoothest of any folder I own, regardless of price. CRK should have such a smooth pivot.

The detent is strong, yet the blade flies open better than most bearing pivot knives.

The alias has been my most used, go-to, work knife. Its still as solid as ever.

I've actually gotten rid of Sebenzas because I didn't like them that much. I will never get rid of my Alias.
 
darkangel55555 said:
I would guess that the "design feature" of an early detent was to reduce the rate of rejects due to a detent that engaged at, or beyond the blade-fully-closed position. I don't know how high the Alias production was, but it certainly wasn't a mainstay of Benchmade's catalog, unlike CRK where the Sebenza is the main moneymaker and has been refined over the years. I would expect that the CRK line has been adapted and focused over the years to produce the Sebenza and produce it well, and the fine tolerances of the brand are well-known.
Click to expand...

I had the same thought, but then realized that my Tenacious, Persistence, and SRM 710 don't have this issue at all. Clearly the trick to getting the knife to close properly is not cost prohibitive.
 
I once trade a Bradley Alias 1 for a new Sebenza even up. A fine gentleman at a show was not impressed at all with his Sebenza and traded me even up for a Bradley Alias 1. Imagine that.
 
I don't think your statements are overly critical, and it paints a good picture to someone thinking it's the "same" as a Sebenza or is trying to compare it to the Sage etc. Don't get me wrong I like knife praise too, but really at these price points the knife should be functional, well finished, etc. that should be a given. Plus these are the type of posts that really let people know some of the subtle differences that many knife enthusiasts are really interested in and issues, for example the several posts about sticky locks. Some of them are not so small to some users either, for example some guys probably have their knife in and out of their pocket all day, if the clip design hinders that it might be a big deal. The way I see it the reader gets to make up their mind if those things are nitpicking or not. So many of the companies are turning out really good knives now in the $125-$200 range that it's the small details that set them apart from each other.

Other posts also show such things might be hit and miss (as we see with most companies) so while the Alias is a knife I thought about ordering, after hearing about the sticky locks in several posts I'd want to handle one in person first. Plus it only has a single thumb stud which is a deal breaker for me on any folder, but that's a personal issue.
 
I bought one when they first came out. Very nice knife but no Sebenza. Bottom line: If you want a Sebenza save up and buy a Sebenza. If you want a really nice Benchmade buy a Bradley.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top