Choosing is about compromises with an understanding of your intended use, and preferences. Your preferences will change as you learn, might as well buy a couple and get started.
I own the following (and a WHOLE bunch more) and make these observations on these that are already discussed on this thread, for your consideration (all have adequate lock ups IMHO):
Wegner:
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* Semi skinner blade profile is a great utilitarian and animal field dressing profile. That and good old, tried & true drop point are my favs.
* Handle is very ergonomic.
* Clip is on wrong side... the smooth curve of the handle is backwards in a front right pocket.
* Good enough steel, good enough heat treat on mine.
* Spyderco HUMP gets in the way when used upside down (skinning). Makes for a funky looking design IMHO.
* Fairly stout tip grind.
* Overall a great design, but one on which I can improve (and in fact have sketched out those improvements and will have Joel Chamblin build for me in 420V and ironwood soon).
Military:
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* Big knife. Past the limit of what I can personally comfortably carry in front right pocket of blue jeans when I sit down, and indeed, I sit sometimes. I'm 5'-11". Your comfort/tolerance may vary.
* Inefficient design, handle is very long compared with blade length.
* Distal taper is nice, so is flat grind, but perfectly constant angle of distal taper is taken to an extreme resulting in a relatively fragile tip.
* not that much belly, but not bad (I prefer belly to Wharncliffe, YMMV).
* 440V on mine is dandy and takes a wicked toothy edge, just what I prefer.
* Strong enough handle for me, and unusually thin and light for a knife this size... owes to recessed liner lock and has no full liners, just G-10 scales for the handle.
* mine is relegated to around the house and backyard chores requiring a good slicing edge, due to my consideration of the point geometry, despite the "Military" connotations of durability.
Spydie Starmate:
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Sexy grind lines.
Sexy handle lines.
Spear point grind, I dig it much. Makes for a reasonably stout point.
Enough belly.
Not enough index finger guard.
440V and heat treat on mine are great, takes a very wicked toothy edge.
Good lock up.
Same comments on liner and thin-ness as Military.
More efficient blade-to-handle ratio than Military.
One of my favs.
* I own a black coated ATS-34 Century Starfighter (parent design) custom from Terzuola, like lines/looks/lockup even better, but got a mediocre heat treat outta Bob so my production blade works better, but has that big hump with the sharp leading edge which I don't like.
BM AFCK 800:
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* Comfortable handle, secure in that it has a built in index finger guard.
* Great self defense knife for single edged, legal carry knife.
* Sharp pommel at butt is for self defense, but is generally in my way compared to the BM710. I know why Chris Caracci did it this way, and it's his knife design, and his preference. You make the call.
* Spyderco hole is done the right way IMHO, doesn't interfere or create big ugly hump.
* Both of mine have good ATS-34 heat treat, others are not so happy. M2 steel is much touted, not on my usin' knife for reasons of corrosion without attention. M2 probably fine if you don't take it into the great outdoors (backyard or indoors = fine). Your methods, requirements, and tolerance may vary, plenty do.
* Clipped point is very good but not great as a utility knife, makes for a pointy point, looks better than it works for things like backup field dressing knife. This may not matter to you.
* not a lot of belly but not bad.
* Tip is ground a bit thin.
* One of my favorite all around knives, and in the $80 price range, hard to beat still in my book (where often simpler is better than all kinds of funky finger grooves and impractical blade sizes and gewgaws.)
* The design I recommend to others for a "first good knife" more than all others, including the smaller 812 w/o serrations.
BM 710:
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* Great blade grind.
* Clipped point is fine, nearly a spear point. A little bit more belly than 800 which I like.
* Love the recurve at base of blade for lots of tasks including slashing in self defense.
* Axis lock... I like it a lot, it's strong, others rave, I find mine accumulates pocket grit despite lube selection and without continual care, feels like a couple grains of very fine sand are in there somewhere.
* Tip is ground a little thin, otherwise I'd put it near the top of my own preferences for a single edged self defense / utility shapes.
* handle shape is more useful than 800, but I know why Caracci did what he did with sharp pommel, so that's a personal preference thing.
* another of my favorite all around knives.
* Now on par with "most often recommended" to others with 800, although the smaller 705 is sorta tubby and fat, they didn't scale it down well from the 710.
I don't care much for anything by CRKT or REKAT that I've seen. You get what you pay for. And your opinions may vary. Enjoy them, learn from them, form your own.
Kershaw's 440V heat treatment would appear to be inferior to Spyderco's from comments I've heard. Onion's Speed Safe mechanism is more than a gimmick, I've played with it, I dig it. But I don't own one. Might get legislated away, hope not.
Finger grooves get in the way more than they help anything but armchair commando moves.
Reeve's Sebenza has the ultimate "liner" or integral lock, and super precision. His BG-42 heat treat is arguably the best around on a steel that beats ATS34/154CM, D2, and in many ways common/production 440V. It's like D2 only more stainless. You should own a Sebenza if you can afford it, fine one carried and used but not abused, you probably won't be sorry, if you are, plenty of willing buyers out there. All metal handle is "cold" feeling, so the wood inlays are nice but expensive. The Devin Thomas damascus they offer looks great. The stainless Thomas stuff doesn't perform anywhere close to BG-42, so don't buy it for that reason, it's for looks and just barely an "ok" blade steel. Too bad they don't offer Norris or Damasteel for a "pretty good" edge holder somewhere right below ATS-34.
(Mike Norris makes a great san-mai stainless damascus w/ a 440V and now 420V core, performs right below full 440V and above D2 if heat treated well/conscientiously. I have two custom hunters from this stuff...)
I've handled the MT LCC, like it a lot. Sent my DA back when it showed up in 154CM instead of the initially promised S90V (420V). Might buy the MA in 154CM. Give it a look, cool design, lots went right. Kinda thick handle. Kinduva bulldog.
I like D. Ralph's EDC a lot. Handled at a show, don't own yet. Have an Apogee, like EDC blade grind better. Integral lock is stout (not as stout or precision as Reeve), but can be adjusted as it wears on Darrel's. The Camillus version in 154Cm might be a reasonably entry point to a custom, from a guy who takes heat treating seriously with 440V and 420V. Kudos. All steel handle will feel "cold" over time after handling G10 and wood, your call.
Emerson's stuff: you are paying for his name and his designs, certainly not any better blade performance than any other competently heat treated 154CM. I can not tolerate a chisel grind on the wrong side for right handers, and therefore do not own any of his knives, probably won't until he offers a grind on the correct side. Very tight lockup when new, takes hundreds and hundreds of cycles for them to loosen up. Stout. Fit/finish no better than Benchmade for higher price. Did I mention the chisel grind problem? Love the Mach I design, but did I mention the chisel grind issue?
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rdangerer@home.com
[This message has been edited by rdangerer (edited 01-21-2001).]
