Last week I purchased the Benchmade Volli at a local brick and mortar. I snagged it for $120 (after a $20 store coupon) which softened the blow of Benchmade's recent MAP pricing changes. It's been out for about a year, but I haven't seen a whole lot of reviews. This is by no means a complete review as I chose to return the knife and can't really comment about it's performance (more about that later).
I wish I'd taken a few pictures, but here's one I linked to just for reference.
Design:
The Volli is very clearly based on the design of the popular Barrage series. It comes with upgraded S30v steel compared to the standard full size and mini Barrages (154cm). It also comes with 3D milled G10 scales. Like the Barrage models, it retains full length stainless liners. However, these are nicely inlayed into the G10 scales. They also have a blackend finish to match the scales which is a nice touch. I'm not sure if these are painted or black oxide.
With a 3.26 inch blade length, it fit's comfortably in between the length of the full size Barrage (3.60 inch) and the mini Barrage (2.90 inch). Which begets the question? Is it more like a shortened full size Barrage, more of an extended Barrage, or neither? This is where it gets interesting.
I removed one of the scales to reveal the steel liner locks. The liners are EXACTLY the same as what is found on the Mini Barrage, the only difference being the black finish. To double check this, I removed one of factory scales from my own Mini Barrage and it fit the liners perfectly. Then Mini Barrage liner fit perfectly flush along the liner edge and screw placement was exactly the same. Even the blade thickness is the same between the Volli and Mini Barrage at .10".
The Volli is most definitely the child of the Mini Barrage. Think of it as a Mini Barrage that has extended scales to allow for a taller and longer blade. All the internals are the same. The only differences are the G10 scales, the blade and the back spacer, and the blade. From a manufacturing perspective, this makes a lot of sense. More shared parts between models cuts cost and helps manage the number of components they need on hand.
Blade
The blade is a bit taller and longer than the Mini Barrage while retaining the same thickness. It's got a nice high flat grind. I think it would be a good slicer, but I didn't get a chance to really test it's cutting performance. The Volli has a nice swedge on the back of the blade that runs from the handle down the first half or two thirds of the blade. This gives it what I think are very elegant lines and contributes to it looking very thin. Side by side, it even looks thinner than the mini Barrage.
In contrast, the Mini Barrage has a swedge front of the knife that tappers into the tip. Unfortunately, if you remove material from the tip from repeated sharpening or reprofiling, it kind of ruins the effect. The Volli avoids this issue by having no swedge at the tip.
The blade seems a bit short relative to the length of the handle. When opened, it just looks a bit short relative to the handle. When closed, it looks like Benchmade could have extended it a little bit more if they wanted. I think this would have given it a little more balance in terms of proportions. Not a biggie.
Fit and Finish
I really like the scales on the Volli. Seeing pictures of it doesn't do it justice. It has a nice texture that provides grip, but not overly so. It has more of a satin black finish rather than the matte finish I see so often on G10. The edges look sharper in pictures than they really are. It feels very comfortable in hand. The way the scale wrap around the liners contributes to an over all impression of thinness. Even though the Volli's handle is essentially the same thickness as the Mini Barrage, it doesn't so fat.
The blade came perfectly centered and the grinds looked even. I could not find any discernible tool marks.
The biggest problem I had was that one of the T6 torx screw heads completely stripped out. This on the scale that covers the pivot screw. I use nicely machined drivers to disassemble any knives, especially with the smaller screws. This one was really torqued down at the factory, and probably to the point where it was already stripping out the head. My impression of the screws Benchmade uses for scales has been that they tend to be rather soft steel.
For me this was a deal breaker and I returned the knife the store noting the issue I encountered. Being able to remove the scales is nice, but for this knife it's necessary to adjust the pivot tension. I don't know how much of this was a fluke, or how much of this is a sign of quality control issues at Benchmade. I'm concerned it's becoming more of an issue. I handled several Benchmades at the store, including the 940 Osborne. Out of four, two had grossly off-centered blades, which is a shame for the $184 asking price.
So that's my $0.02
Elisabeth (aka Tool Diva)
I wish I'd taken a few pictures, but here's one I linked to just for reference.
Design:
The Volli is very clearly based on the design of the popular Barrage series. It comes with upgraded S30v steel compared to the standard full size and mini Barrages (154cm). It also comes with 3D milled G10 scales. Like the Barrage models, it retains full length stainless liners. However, these are nicely inlayed into the G10 scales. They also have a blackend finish to match the scales which is a nice touch. I'm not sure if these are painted or black oxide.
With a 3.26 inch blade length, it fit's comfortably in between the length of the full size Barrage (3.60 inch) and the mini Barrage (2.90 inch). Which begets the question? Is it more like a shortened full size Barrage, more of an extended Barrage, or neither? This is where it gets interesting.
I removed one of the scales to reveal the steel liner locks. The liners are EXACTLY the same as what is found on the Mini Barrage, the only difference being the black finish. To double check this, I removed one of factory scales from my own Mini Barrage and it fit the liners perfectly. Then Mini Barrage liner fit perfectly flush along the liner edge and screw placement was exactly the same. Even the blade thickness is the same between the Volli and Mini Barrage at .10".
The Volli is most definitely the child of the Mini Barrage. Think of it as a Mini Barrage that has extended scales to allow for a taller and longer blade. All the internals are the same. The only differences are the G10 scales, the blade and the back spacer, and the blade. From a manufacturing perspective, this makes a lot of sense. More shared parts between models cuts cost and helps manage the number of components they need on hand.
Blade
The blade is a bit taller and longer than the Mini Barrage while retaining the same thickness. It's got a nice high flat grind. I think it would be a good slicer, but I didn't get a chance to really test it's cutting performance. The Volli has a nice swedge on the back of the blade that runs from the handle down the first half or two thirds of the blade. This gives it what I think are very elegant lines and contributes to it looking very thin. Side by side, it even looks thinner than the mini Barrage.
In contrast, the Mini Barrage has a swedge front of the knife that tappers into the tip. Unfortunately, if you remove material from the tip from repeated sharpening or reprofiling, it kind of ruins the effect. The Volli avoids this issue by having no swedge at the tip.
The blade seems a bit short relative to the length of the handle. When opened, it just looks a bit short relative to the handle. When closed, it looks like Benchmade could have extended it a little bit more if they wanted. I think this would have given it a little more balance in terms of proportions. Not a biggie.
Fit and Finish
I really like the scales on the Volli. Seeing pictures of it doesn't do it justice. It has a nice texture that provides grip, but not overly so. It has more of a satin black finish rather than the matte finish I see so often on G10. The edges look sharper in pictures than they really are. It feels very comfortable in hand. The way the scale wrap around the liners contributes to an over all impression of thinness. Even though the Volli's handle is essentially the same thickness as the Mini Barrage, it doesn't so fat.
The blade came perfectly centered and the grinds looked even. I could not find any discernible tool marks.
The biggest problem I had was that one of the T6 torx screw heads completely stripped out. This on the scale that covers the pivot screw. I use nicely machined drivers to disassemble any knives, especially with the smaller screws. This one was really torqued down at the factory, and probably to the point where it was already stripping out the head. My impression of the screws Benchmade uses for scales has been that they tend to be rather soft steel.
For me this was a deal breaker and I returned the knife the store noting the issue I encountered. Being able to remove the scales is nice, but for this knife it's necessary to adjust the pivot tension. I don't know how much of this was a fluke, or how much of this is a sign of quality control issues at Benchmade. I'm concerned it's becoming more of an issue. I handled several Benchmades at the store, including the 940 Osborne. Out of four, two had grossly off-centered blades, which is a shame for the $184 asking price.
So that's my $0.02
Elisabeth (aka Tool Diva)
