Well said, Jimbo! I don't so much yearn for the return of the AFCK, but I would like to see BM put out something that impresses me as much at or around the same price. As I have stated several times in this thread, it was never my intention to bash BM. On the contrary, I am a long-time fan of their knives. It's just that this is the first year that none of their new items even remotely caught my attention. Yes, I love the Skirmish and the Rukus, but those are not new. Also, they are a bit more than I am willing to pay for something that is going to get used OFTEN (I am far from being 'well-off' financially).
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Is Benchmade losing their edge?
- Thread starter J.Davey
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Ahh it would seem the Axis lock is THEE premo and preferred lock for BM? But in this very thread many state the new additions to the BM line are mostly Liner Locks? So if the best lock, which most if not all BM fans prefer, is being ignored in the new line up...wouldn't that be a step in the wrong direction...Or in the spirit of this thread, perhaps BM is losing their edge?The Griptilians run around $60. It would seem that they are some of the best sellers considering that there are so many versions of the Griptilian. I'd prefer an axis lock Griptilian over any plastic handle lockback, even though I'm not an axis lock fan. Benchmade Rules.
Well, I can't presuppose to speak for Benchmade, but I can hazard a guess or two....
- I think the AXIS takes up more room and the knife has to be slightly thicker. A liner or frame lock (or even a lockback, for that matter) can fit the bill for those who want a slimmer profile;
- I love the smoothness of the AXIS, but I dislike having to readjust my thumb to pull the release lever back when closing. A liner or frame lock is perfect (for me) ergonomically;
- BM might recognize that there are "traditionalists" out there who, while they may like a frame or liner lock, just won;t trust an AXIS. I think I've even seen a thread where people have posted about not liking it because they don;t trust it, but even if not, BM may think or know they're out there.
I don't mind certain blade shapes, size and steel. It's just the plastic handle lockback part that bores me.
I didn't compare plastics. I like 6061-T6 and G-10. I prefer them over anyones plastic handles.:thumbup:
So your main problem with a knife is a tried and proven (read: reliable) material and the locking mechanism?
Woods for the trees...
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The Axis lock isn't being ignored. It is a feature of the new 14205 - which is going to be outstanding. :thumbup:
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Please check out the now discontinued 921 Switchback. McHenry and Williams didn't realize it when they made the first axis lock for their custom knives and didn't realize during their first few years designing for Benchmade, and may have never realized it, but the axis lock was made for the 921 Switchback. That knife is very slim and petite; thinner than many linerlocks and lockbacks; and has an axis lock.
I doubt Benchmade has lost their edge; they're just not impressing us jaded knifeknuts this very second (well, okay, I think their Morpho and Rukus/mini-Rukus knives should impress the heck out of people for years to come on looks alone, but that's digression...). Our tastes change almost as fast as New England weather, so it wouldn't surprize me if these 'oh so boring' offerings of 2007 turn into year's sleepers and ones that got away.
Oh yeah, and while they're getting away, I'll be buying Spyderco, Kershaw, and Busse-family knives.
I prefer Liner Locks over the Axis lock. The Axis Lock is a close second. Benchmade makes knives for everyone.
Boring knives are not a problem. Plastic handle lockbacks are boring. I just buy better (read: very reliable) material and locking mechanisms like the 6061-T6, G-10, and a better lock like the Axis Lock.So your main problem with a knife is a tried and proven (read: reliable) material and the locking mechanism?
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If I see the out of patent "hole" mentioned one more time as "intellectual property" I am liable to say something that'd get me banned.
There is hardly a more moronic point available to be made against Benchmade or any other maker.
That the "hole" is now appearing in late model Spydie fixed blades, as presaged on these forums as an obvious after the fact CYA for a very lame "trademark" application and that anyone in the folding knife industry honors that bogus trademark is nothing short of amazing.
On a patent, you get to enjoy the monopoly protection from the market for a fixed period of time--AND THEN IT IS FRIGGEN OVER.
I never hear anyone bitching about their generic pain candy, the makers of it just don't get to call it Advil or Tylenol. Everything else about it can look just as identical as they care to make it.
There is hardly a more moronic point available to be made against Benchmade or any other maker.
That the "hole" is now appearing in late model Spydie fixed blades, as presaged on these forums as an obvious after the fact CYA for a very lame "trademark" application and that anyone in the folding knife industry honors that bogus trademark is nothing short of amazing.
On a patent, you get to enjoy the monopoly protection from the market for a fixed period of time--AND THEN IT IS FRIGGEN OVER.
I never hear anyone bitching about their generic pain candy, the makers of it just don't get to call it Advil or Tylenol. Everything else about it can look just as identical as they care to make it.
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Not sure what this has to do with the current discussion but I want to see some profanity.
You say adding tiny holes in fixed blades is CYA? Yes it is called Dilution Protection http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defensive_trademark
Since you seem to fall to grasp how a round hole can be a trademark allow me to point out: As any sign which is capable of performing the essential trademark function may qualify as a trademark, the trademark concept extends to include a range of non-conventional signs such as shapes (ie. three-dimensional trademarks), sounds, smells, moving images (eg. signs denoting movement, motion or animation), taste, and perhaps even texture. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark
For example the little jingle you hear at the end of computer commercials to indicate "Intel Inside" can and likely is a trademark.
Patents are different than trademarks.
Now let us see you what you got for a tirade, Boats.
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Actually flamebait would have been to not post that.
Boats is fully grown, he knows what I'm saying.
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:thumbup: Yeah, really. Here I am looking at my plastic handled Delica with literally no flare whatsoever, and yet is a time proven, classic worker, and in my other hand is a BM with excessive, useless grinds, fancy carbon fiber bolsters and winewood scales with jeweled blue liners, and it's the standard offering of that model.
Hell, BM has a whole line dedicated to being fancy with no utilitarian value, where as Spyderco very rarely puts anything on a knife that doesn't have a purpose.
That's probably the most backward statement I've ever read.
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This thread reminds me of when I was young and waiting at the bus stop. There would be kids arguing the merits of Nintendo versus Sega. Neither could be persuaded to budge from his position. Myself I mowed enough lawns to be able to have both and enjoy both. I will take the same position here as well, although I no longer cut grass for income.
To answer the original poster's question. No I don't think they are losing their edge at all. Is there a portion of knife buyer's that Benchmade is not totally committing to? Sure. That is why lots of companies make knives. If I want a strong lockback with a serrated blade and a black handle I know who is going to get my dollars. If I want a 4-6" fixed blade I know who to go to. One company really should not have to be everything to everybody. If one company fills all your needs great, but everyone has different needs. Never even mind getting into everybody's wants.
Just to clarify I think I played the old Atari much more than those newer Nintendo's and Sega's. So whatever that is worth.
To answer the original poster's question. No I don't think they are losing their edge at all. Is there a portion of knife buyer's that Benchmade is not totally committing to? Sure. That is why lots of companies make knives. If I want a strong lockback with a serrated blade and a black handle I know who is going to get my dollars. If I want a 4-6" fixed blade I know who to go to. One company really should not have to be everything to everybody. If one company fills all your needs great, but everyone has different needs. Never even mind getting into everybody's wants.
Just to clarify I think I played the old Atari much more than those newer Nintendo's and Sega's. So whatever that is worth.
Hey, some people like to drive a 2007 Ferrari and some people like to drive a 1985 tercel wagon.:barf:
You apparently are a wagon kinda guy.:thumbdn:
Also if the 690 is such a useless knife, ill gladly pay you $50 for it, or even trade a sharpmaker for it.
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Actually flamebait would have been to not post that.
Boats is fully grown, he knows what I'm saying.
Yep, you're saying the same drivel that lost this argument the last time around.
The hole is functional on folders--no trademark protection.
The hole only now appears on late model fixed blades to obscure the inconvenient truth about the TM prospects for the hole after the patent on it expired.
Oh, and name another trademark that is allowed to be used by its direct competitors. Name just one other such trademark in any other field of business if you can.
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Benchmade and Spyderco are both very good companies that have different ideas of how a knife should be. It's a matter of opinion. Personally I have almost a equal number of both companies and like both. I like the BM 2007 catalog better than the 2006 on the other hand I've liked some of their older line ups a little more. So to me it seems that Benchmade is sharpening their "edge". As far as other companies using the spydie hole yes, it is what Spyderco is known for. If your looking at a knife from a distance and see a hole in the blade 9 out of 10 times it will be a Spydie. On the other hand if the patent expired than technically it is a free for all and I welcome it. The hole for me anyways is at least if not better than a thumb stud and somebody had to invent the thumb stud and nobody seems to care that almost every knife company in the world uses that. So, who cares? Unless you own stock in either company it shouldn't be something to worry about.