Commander/BM-710/Buck-Strider??

Joined
Oct 20, 2002
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Choices, choices . . . I'm looking for my first nice folder, in the $100-$120 range. I've pretty much narrowed it down to the following plain blades:

-Emerson: Commander or CQC7A spearpoint
-Buck Strider spearpoint
-BM 710
-Maybe a Kershaw BOA

Is this the Chevy/Ford no-winner argument? What are your experiences w/quality, smoothness, functionality? I'd prefer comments on the knives I've mentioned, instead of your knowledgable-but-only-more-confusing recommendations regarding limitless other knives I didn't mention.

Thanks :)

P.S. Last night I used a Lansky for the first time. When I was done with my Buck Oddesy, I noticed that even though I used the same angle (17) on both sides of the blade, one side had much less of an angle. What did I do wrong?
 
I would narrow it down to:
BM 710
Buck Strider
EKI Commander

Then I would flip a 3-sided coin. :)

I have 2 out of 3.

A few quick notes:
The Commander has a chisel ground edge. Takes a little while to get used to, but many like it. The wave is awesome.

The 710 has the famous axis lock. Hard to beat.

The Buck Strider is very sweet, and tough as nails. You might want to stay away from it, as it might leave you with the uncontrollable desire to purchase Striders, including the AR, GB, SnG, and a multitude of fixed blades. :)

Seriously though, all are great knives, you really can't go wrong with any of them.

-- Rob
 
I would recommend the BM 710.

I had an 806D2, and I traded it for an 710. I found the AFCK to be too big and oddly shaped for everyday use. The blades are the same size but the 806 seems much larger in your pocket due to the pointy extension at the handle.

I find the 710 blade geometry to be (for me) the best overall shape I have seen on any pocket knife. Nice and thin with a functional point and just a hint of a recurve. Some people have been unimpressed with the 154CM steel, but I have not had any complaints about it.

With the exception of the Boa, I have handled the other knves you mentioned. I found both the Commander and the Buck to be too singular of design intent to appeal to me for everyday use. The Commander was sorta nice, but I didn't find anything to validate the "#1 hard us knife" advertising. If i had to pick a "bet your life knife" between the two I would take an Axis lock over a liner lock any day. The chisel grind doesn't appeal to me.

The Buck/Strider was big, thick, and heavy. It did not cut very well at all compared to the other knives mentioned. This is a trade-off for ultimate strength. If you desire to break rocks with your pocket knife, this is the one for you. If you want to cut things, look elsewhere.

The Boa looks interesting. I would probably own one if it wasn't for the assisted-opening and the monster recurve.

I find that for an EDC your better off to avoid extremes of any one quality so much that it starts compromising the others.
 
Ok, I've owned and used all the knives you mentioned. Here's what I thought of 'em:

Emerson Commander - ATS-34 blade, Titanium liner lock, G-10 handle. I thought it was a very good design, and it is well constructed. It is very secure in the hand in a variety of grips. I liked the recurved blade shape a lot - it seemed like it cut like crazy! The wave opener is one of the coolest opening features to come out in a long while. Pull the knife from your pocket and *boom* it's open! Too cool! I didn't like how thin the liners were even though they worked perfectly and kept the handle rigid enough. It just didn't have the "overbuilt feel" of some knives. Also, the chisel grind may not be for everyone.

Buck Strider Spearpoint - ATS-34 blade, (THICK)Titanium liner lock, G-10 handle. This thing is built like the proverbial brick sh*thouse! It has very thick liners, a very thick blade (for a folder) and thick handle scales. It is just overbuilt all the way around. The G-10 handles are very rough and they will tear the crap out of your pants! (I have 3 pairs of jeans with ragged pockets and a pissed off wife to prove it!) The thing is so tough you can do practically anything with it. If you want to pry or dig or maybe even chop something with a folder, this would be the right one. Even though the handle is not very ergonomic, the knife felt great in my hand. You should get this one if you want an extremely overbuilt knife that doesn't cut as well as the others, but will stand up to tons of abuse. I really can't explain how huge this knife is... you've just got to hold one and form your own impressions. For me it was way too big for it's purpose.

BM 710 - ATS-34 blade (in my case), Steel liners, Axis lock, G-10 handle. This is a great knife! It has an absolutely excellent blade shape, great ergonomics, and one of the best locks ever. I feel like the axis lock is sturdy enough that I can trust it not to fail. I have really worked mine hard and it's still tight as a drum and silky smooth. The slightly recurved blade cuts like a demon. The handle is very comfortable in many different grips. (not as secure as the Commander, but very comfortable) Overall it's a great knife! I highly recommend it, and it is my "pick of the litter" for your question.

Kershaw Boa - CPM440V blade, aluminum handle, liner lock, speed safe assisted opening. My wife carries one of these. She uses it a lot and the blade NEVER seems to go dull. I have only had to sharpen it once, and that time it didn't take long. The blade shape makes it a wicked slicer, but not so great at stabbing things. The handle is comfortable, especially if you have small hands. My wife's Boa has the multicolored handle and it doesn't seem to draw much attention. People seem to think it's less dangerous since it has a brightly colored handle. The torsion bar assisted opening makes it a highly addictive knife. It has a "flipper" on the blade that flicks the knife open very fast. It has a great blade steel, it's very well constructed, and the speed safe gives it high marks for "gadget factor".

There are a few knives out that compare with these knives, but there is only one that I would recommend above all of them: the Al Mar Sere 2000. Even though the knives you listed are VERY good, if I had it all to do over again, I could have just bought a Sere 2K and been happy with it.

If I had to pick only from the knives on your list I'd go with the BM 710.
 
About the Lansky, I think the problem is that the factory's bevels were slightly unequal, so when you sharpened the knife, one side appeared to have a greater angle although it really is at 17 on both sides. I've had this problem on many of my blades, it's not an easy thing to get both sides to be exactly the same.
 
My Buck-Strider spearpoint cuts very well despite its thick blade... a real workhorse, no babying this knife. Takes and holds a great edge. But the grip is rough on clothes. I usually pack mine in an UNcle Mike's 9mm mag. pouch, which fits it very well.
 
Another solution for the Buck/Strider to even out the roughness is to either sand the G-10 slabs some, or have it customized with another material more to your liking.
 
Well I'm gonna go with the Commander on this one. It just recently replaced my AFCK as EDC. As most said the chisel grind is not to everyones liking but I'll be changing it to a V within the next week or so. After that I think I'll like the knife even more. I'll be able to do light utility work more effectively with a V grind.

The ergonomic grip and feel of the Commander are hard to beat IMO.

I'm having a lot of fun with mine.
 
i'd pick the boa or the benchmade, i have/had the commander, bm and boa. the boa handle is just absolutely perfect, the right thickness the ergos is great it feels very comfortable, the commander handle is also VERY good, the bm handle im not too fond of. the boa is a great knife the speed safe is cool the recurve is great good steel good fit and finish and very good for the price. the bm is standard axis lock goodness i haven't seen an axis lock bm i didn't like. the commander is more of a maybe, it's for some people but not for others, the liners are thin the stop pin is puny, the sharpened on one side sucks imo the grind is very low, i really find it ironic when i saw the caution knife is sharp warning in the box when the knife is dull like a stick and it says #1 hard use knife, i look at the liners, it's thin as hell the stop pin is puny and doesn't stop the knife good enough so that the liner lock doesn't get wedged in too tight when you open it quickly, and the blade is way off center.
 
These are exactly the responses I was hoping for--detailed and succinct. It is amazing what a little experience from others will do for those of us who have much less.

Thanks!
 
I have all four knives, and picked the 710 as my EDC.
My perfect EDC would have the 710 blade in D2, using the Commander handle with the Wave and AXIS lock.
 
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