At first blush, it's a nice knife. Hair-shaving sharp (but can be (was) improved). Nice even grind lines and the edge is ground even as well (with BM, ya never know). The pivot is smooth and there is zero play. Better than my 705 axis. The blade lies dead smack in the center of the liners. And when you pull the lock back when the blade is open, the blade pivots smoothly down and closes. This is great in a blade with zero pivot play. It opens the same way. Gravity is all you need. Very smooth.
Here's the downside: the cross pin on the lock feels somewhat gritty. It also "sticky" when you try to release the lock. I'm not sure if the gritty feel is due to the pin sliding in the liners or just friction where it contacts the blade. I think it is mostly due to sliding on the liners.
I've heard others mention the "sticky" problem. I may have to disassemble the knife and do some polishing. Or else send it to BM. Any suggestions here?
All and all, though, I think this is an excellent knife. I love the way it fills the hand and how comfortable it is in both the blade up and blade down position. I also liked the fact that I could repositon the clip. I now carry it in the tip up position because I don't like the clip interfering with my grip around the lock.
With the flat grind, I expect this knife to stand up to some abuse. I'm curious to see how well the spine will take to being batoned for chopping through small saplings.
I also like the tip. It is very sharp and pointy but not what I would call delicate. It should take a wee bit of abuse. It certainly has more meat on it than my miniAFCK (same blade length, BTW).
This should make a good hunting folder. The tip is fine enough for fine work on small game and fish and with the wide blade, the flat grind gives a strong edge but thin enough for excellent slicing ability. Also, the 720 should be robust enough to fill the category of "survival folder": rough and tough but small enough to have on you at all times. And safe due to the well-known strength of the axis lock.
These are all just observations based on design. More field testing is needed. Too bad it is blizzarding outside or I would be testing it out on a northern pike.
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Hoodoo
I get some pleasure from finding a relentlessly peaceful use for a combative looking knife.
JKM
