Just got my first Benchmade and its a little thick

S

Supra1988t

Joined
Aug 31, 2010
Messages
104
I got "into" knives somewhat recently and have owned several Kershaws and a Spyderco Sage. I wanted to try out some different brands, one of which being Benchmade. I looked around a little bit and found the Mini Rukus. I really liked its looks and size so I bought one off of another member here. It arrived today and I am really surprised in how thick it is. It is almost too thick. The fit and finish seems good although there might be a tiny bit of blade play. The blade is sharp and centered and so far I really like the axis lock. The only thing I don't like is how thick it is. I don't have the biggest hands and the Sage fits me great. It seems like if they had just rounded the scales along the groove for your forefinger the knife would be much more comfortable to hold. Are all Benchmades built this thick? Any suggestions on similar models that may be slimmer? I can only imagine how big the full size Rukus seems.
 
The Rukus is huge at the bolster! The LG. Rukus is GIANT!

Don't know of any other Benchmade that thick.

If you want thin ... 940.

What is the blade style ... black, satin, plain, serrated ?
 
That Ruckus is a monster of a knife, and the "Large" one is insane (imho). But don't let it put you off of other Benchmades. They make a quality knife with very good materials and the majority of them will not be near as thick as the Ruckus. You might want to take a look at the mini griptilian if you like the sage. Both of those knives fit my hand perfectly.

Nathan
 
I felt the same way about my griptillian after switching to a paramilitary. Gotta love those nested liners!!
 
BM 960 is one of the thinnest and lightest BM's I have owned:

benchmade%20960.jpg
 
Supra,

It is thick compared to other benchmades and other knives in general, but it's also one of the all-time-best knives Benchmade has ever produced, right up there with the Skirmish/Mini Skirmish. I guess it would be considering it's a Blackwood design.;)

The liners are double the thickness of their standard offerings, and they're not skeletonized either. The blade is nice and thick, and the overall fit and finish is superb.

I don't think Benchmade will be making anything like it again, enjoy yours, I know I enjoy mine.:thumbup:

Best,

Heekma
 
the mini rukus has double width liners iirc, and THICK G10. it's a heavy duty folder that will take anything you throw at it, not so much a thin lightweight knife.
 
heekma said:
Supra,

It is thick compared to other benchmades and other knives in general, but it's also one of the all-time-best knives Benchmade has ever produced, right up there with the Skirmish/Mini Skirmish. I guess it would be considering it's a Blackwood design.;)

The liners are double the thickness of their standard offerings, and they're not skeletonized either. The blade is nice and thick, and the overall fit and finish is superb.

I don't think Benchmade will be making anything like it again, enjoy yours, I know I enjoy mine.:thumbup:

Best,

Heekma
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I couldn't of said it better. The Rukus is the first Benchmade knife bought and it's one of my favorites. I just bought the 755 off Amazon for a very good price. Can't wait.
 
The Mini-Rukus is a handful, all right, but that substantial handle and ergonomic design make it an excellent choice when you're going to use it for extended periods. The BM 710 by contrast is thinner and easier to pack, but the grip tends to 'bite' your hand, or at least mine. I carry my Mini-Rukus IWB tucked to the right of my belt buckle and it rides fine there.
 
94x is really a thin, great knife. sits well in hand and pocket.

comes in a variety of steel options. if you don't like the reverse tanto, get the 943 :D
 
You can always get the spec's from BM's site - or catalogs - before you buy. The 480 Shoki is .37" thick - the 615 Mini-Rukus is .65" - the 610 Rukus is .79"! The Rukus models are a tad large.

Stainz
 
The Rukus and Mini Rukus are pretty massive combat knives, so I think the thickness is excusable. Benchmade doesn't have the commitment to flat slabs like Spyderco does and tends to do more 3D designs, which I tend to like, but it does make it thicker.

As someone pointed out, the 960 is pretty amazing--extremely light and quite thin. And unlike a number of Benchmades, the blade is made for straight up cutting--it's thin too. If you don't mind spending 120 or so, it's the one to get.

But if you want the thinnest mid-sized knife with an axis lock, you should probably get this one:
ba06687.jpg

http://www.benchmade.com/products/530
It's the closest thing I've seen to a credit-card knife in a mid sized folder.
 
I think you could hammer that Rukus into a tree and use it as a climbing spike all day long. It's built to be that heavy.

The 741 is a huge knife but IMO relatively thin for what it is. The large blade is very thin for slicing/skinning and is great for that, but I wouldn't go prying something with this blade. For the size of the 741, I think it carries well, about as well as it can for what it is...a BFN.
 
I find my BM 710 to be on the thin side, but I have fairly large hands and like meaty scales.
 
Thanks for the input everyone. I think I'll keep it a while and see if I like it. Would you guys say it compares to ZT/Strider/etc in terms of toughness?
 
Supra1988t said:
Thanks for the input everyone. I think I'll keep it a while and see if I like it. Would you guys say it compares to ZT/Strider/etc in terms of toughness?
Click to expand...

I would say most ZTs would be tougher in the sense that they use a less brittle steel (they seem to mostly use 154CM) and thicker blade profiles (to my eye anyway, I didn't look at any measurements).

The Rukus is more of a combat knife than a hard use knife--its blade shape and profile will probably be more effect at stabbing than the usual recurve in the ZT line. That said, the axis lock is undoubtedly superior to the general liner lock/frame locks used by most of the ZT folders (excepting maybe the ZT0500).
 
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