Delica 4W vs Benchmade Mini Pika

H

Hesparus

Joined
Oct 31, 2004
Messages
1,442
I've been extoling the virtues of the D4W since I got it nearly a year ago. There isn't much more I'd want in a knife. Unfortunately, given the sketcy legality of the wave, I wanted something that would fill the same niche, but be more kosher to carry in more places. The benchmade mini pika caught my eye a short while ago as a clear delica bootleg, and, lacking any benchmade knives and the money to buy a non-waved delica, I figured I'd go for it.
The punchline is: there isn't a contest.
But let me start from the begining. The two knives are nearly identical in size, with the benchmade being about 1/8" shorter overall but with the same blade length and slightly longer edge length. The handles are very similar in their ergonomics, and the benchmade has a 4-position clip, steel liners, and screw construction. The blade on the benchmade is canted slighly forward and the handle is slightly more curved. The benchmade feels slightly lighter. Both seem to have the same overall thickness and blade thickness. When closed, the benchmade is narrower by a little over 1/4". The spyderhold on the benchmade is a little smaller, and is not completely exposed when the knife is closed.
The handle material (it seems to be some kind of FRN) feels and looks cheap. It is not nearly as grippy as the delica and is, IMO, less classy. The ergonomics are not quite as good, either, although I do like the angle of the blade. The benchmade has jimping all over it which I like, but it is still not as secure feeling as the spyderco. The low-ride clip on the benchmade seems flimsy and works its way loose. The action on my delica is totally smooth, whereas the action on the benchmade is gritty and rough, as the part of the blade that contacts the lock is not polished as it is on the delica. When the benchmade is closed, the lock is flush with the back of the handle. When it is open, however, the lock sticks out about 1mm. To its credit, though, the blade on the benchmade looks very good. The grinds are very clean (although not symmetrical) and it seems to have a brighter finish. It came very sharp but not as sharp as a spyderco and I know that with the inferior (although functional) steel (9Cr13CoMoV), the edge will never be as good.
My final opinion is that the mini pika is a fine knife for the money (about half what the delica cost) but certainly does not measure up. It will be fine for the little use it will get.
I'll see about posting some comparison pictures tomorrow.

- Chris
 
Thank you for your review.

You also could try one of those Byrd knives made for Spyderco.
Btw, like the Byrd knives, the Benchmade's Red Class knives are made somewhwere in Asia (as far as I know).

Tom
 
I've actually got a G10 Byrd Meadowlark. I carry it occasionally, but I'm not a huge fan of G10 and the dimentions of it are a little wierd. IMO the mini pika is better than the meadowlark, but proportional based on the price. That said I plan on getting some a few more byrds in the future. The mini pika is made in china.

- Chris
 
It has just a little bit of vertical blade play — no more than spyderco lockbacks — but is solid otherwise.
 
I have a Byrd Meadowlark in FRN and it is a great mid-sized knife for the price. I just looked at the Pika II and I actually like its design better. The two knives really look like they came from the same factory. I'd like to find a place locally to look at the Pika - I really like the look and it also seems to come in a slightly longer blade.
 
Finally got the pictures working.
One more thing about the benchmade that I forgot to mention in my first post and that you can't really see in the pictures: The blade is warped slightly to the left as you look at it from the edge side.
6tc2txl.jpg

8g50imu.jpg

85kxloz.jpg

With these last two pictures, you can see what I was talking about with the lock bar sticking out when the knife is open. My Byrd Meadowlark has a similar problem but not as bad.
7xt6jht.jpg

81p0bag.jpg
 
Man, that BM looks pretty much like a Delica knock-off, esp. if you look at the shapes of the handles (and the Spyderhole of course.:grumpy:) Can't believe this (until now, I had only seen the old version of it.)
 
Spyderco does what we do. We innovate and blaze our own trail, which is why we have our own strong identity.

sal
 
To your credit, even when benchmade stands on your shoulders they can't reach higher than you.

- Chris
 
I have the old Mini Pika. It sat in my knife basket for most of the last year unused. Now its in my pile awaiting ebay sale. I prefer my Spydies or Byrds. I would not trade 1 Meadowlark for 2 Mini Pikas. I had not realized how bad a Delica rip-off the Pika 2 was until seeing them side by side.

I suppose its easier to follow the trail of leaders than blaze your own.
 
On the other hand, there can hardly be a higher praise for a knifemaker than seeing some of your strongest competition start to imitate you. Yet another good reason for me to order a D4 ;)
 
Here we go again. Shiny footprints?

And in other news, I have a pink Endura and a Activator Plus on the way. A Spyderco AND a Benchmade.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top