Cpm-m4 556 - Update - Broken Spring.

richstag

richstag

Joined
Feb 22, 2007
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cell pic

Hi all,

First post in the benchmade section. Just picked up one of these in CPM-M4. I always wanted to try the steel. I have had it for a few and used it for cardboard, whittling hardwood, foil, food, rope/twine etc. It will see a lot of use in the future. I waited to put up my initial reaction until I figured out sharpening this. Turns out its not bad at all. My beloved collection of Arkansas stones were not the most useful but the diamond makes it a snap. I settled on my hard leather strop with black compound that I made. Gave me the best reaction out of all my strop types and compounds. Interesting enough I can still use the translucent Arkansas stone in the picture. It takes the stropped diamond edge and just pushes it even scarier with a few light passes. I am sure I will be figuring tricks hear and there to get even more out of this steel but that will come with time and using the knife.

As for the knife, its small in my hand and a three finger grip but that is okay. The blade centers and has no lock play. Speaking of lock play this is my first experience with the Axis lock and I have to say this lock is ingenious and it makes me wonder why I ever spent so much on all my liner locks and frame locks. That is for another time though.

The blade is nice and thin for a modern knife with a great flat sabre grind. I would prefer a full flat grind but its still nice geometry. The handle is great, I love checkering and do not need the extra weight of G10.

All in all I really love this little knife for what it is and it will be my carry for a while. I am a HUGE traditional fan but this one spoke to me.

Thanks,

Kevin
 
Yeah, that GPK M4 mini is a heck of a knife. For an approx. 3" blade, it's just a great combination.
 
Thanks for the great post. I really like my mini grip M4 as well.m great knife!
 
What's truly amazing is that it's limited to 500 pieces and there's still some left! I'm shocked. I got in on the pre-order thinking that they would be gone in no time. Either way, I got mine and I am thrilled to death with it. It makes a hell of an addition to my collection alongside my Ritter mini.
 
Thanks a lot guys and yeah, I am surprised these are still available. I missed the first run due to funds and I am very happy I was able to get in on this bunch.

Holo07, Mine came with a tenacious wire edge just like the one in your picture! I have worked a little more on mine with a LOT of cutting tests in between just to see what this steel is all about. I modified my old barbers strop and swapped in a new compound that works better with this steel. Now I am feeling MUCH more comfortable with this as an EDC. I thought some may be interested to see a 100x microscope shot of my edge as it stands now. You can see at the apex the microserrations with a lack of any burr. The other interesting detail is my diamond stone does not seem to be broken in that well. You can see some larger abrasions, but do remember this is 100x. I hope to get this edge even better as I learn more about it through my own trial and error.



Kevin
 
my only complaint was the handle size was too small to get my pinky around it. but after getting my wilkins grips on it, which are a little bit bigger it fits nicely in my hand now. I would definetly recomend some wilkins grips.

 
Once I got used to the three finger grip and added the lanyard with bead for better security I have no complaints. I really like the lightweight feel too.

With that said, what can you tell me about those aftermarket grips? I just looked them up and I see they are an open back design? I do not prefer that for my knives as coins and such can hit the edge. I appreciate any further info you can give me on my options!

Weights would be a great additional bit of info.

Kevin
 
Thanks!!! I will check them out! Yeah, I didn't think of it either but I used to carry EKI's and Sebenza's daily and I had to worry about it. It drove me nuts.

Thanks again!


ericvar101 said:
yeah, about part 70 % of the back is open, there is a spacer that covers about 30 %. I guess a coin can get in there, I never though of that. I dont really carry change im my pocket if I can help it. but heres the link to what he has.

http://wilkins-knives.com/wilkinsgrip-stocklist
Click to expand...
 
Wow, I saw some grips I like the looks of on that page but man, they sure take the knife from a bargain to more of a high dollar piece!
 
Accelerator said:
What's truly amazing is that it's limited to 500 pieces and there's still some left! I'm shocked. I got in on the pre-order thinking that they would be gone in no time. Either way, I got mine and I am thrilled to death with it. It makes a hell of an addition to my collection alongside my Ritter mini.
Click to expand...

Not for long..only 15 are showing left in stock..
 
Any available direct still? No way I'm getting gouged on the bay or similar.

Neuron604 said:
GPK already had a run of full size M4 Grips back in Nov-Dec of last year.
Also, shot show knife from this year was a full size M4 Grip with G10 scales.
Click to expand...
 
I'm about to order a couple new "real" knives for myself. I'm new here and new to the knife collecting world, so please be patient.......

While looking through the vast amount of great quality knives from many manufacturers, I keep coming back to this Mini-Griptilian with the M4 blade steel. I'm all set to buy this along with a 943 Osborne, but have one question about the coating on the blade. How does the coating hold up? I am concerned after some use the blade coating will start to wear which would take away from the looks and resale value. Can anyone tell me (or show me) how the black coating stands up to everyday use?

Thanks
 
I don't have the black but my grey has scratched from carboard and wood.

I don't mind at all though.
 
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