Kimuras are Back!

BenchCo Spydermade

BenchCo Spydermade

Joined
Feb 10, 2014
Messages
4,120
Holy smokes, I heard no buzz about this whatsoever and look this morning at new arrivals at some online stores and BAM! Christmas! Bradley is back making kimuras. This model has g10 on steel and I think it looks great. What do you all think?
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kwick72 said:
This is probably my most favorite blade shape of the Kimura line. Ill wait and here some reviews before I buy one.
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I'll give my opinion when it arrives. Impulse bought one when I saw it... Wifes gunna be pissed. I am assuming it should be more quality like before...

I dont mind bear OPS balis, but they have too much play and aren't as well balanced as a kimura. Bear and son aren't bad for an entry level Bali to learn on. A lot nicer than the China town special I learned on.
 
So I got my new kimura last week and its got its plusses and minuses.

First, the quality is still very good. Smooth action, no play(yet) and great feel. Came with a huge burr, but I took that right off and now its shaving sharp. There is one stripped pivot screw. That kind of annoyed me.

Flipping:
It's just a bit to heavy, particularly for its length, to be a great flipper. My other kimura(pictured on top) is very fast and particularly well balanced , IMO. This new one still has smooth flipping, but is slower and needs to be manipulated a bit more deliberately. Of course, I am still adjusting and learning this knife, so maybe its me.

While it may be a mediocre flipper, I think it's an outstanding EDC. The g10 feels great and to me makes it feel like it should be put to work. The leaf shaped, flat ground, 154cm blade is nice and slicey.

I hope to see more variations.
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BenchCo Spydermade said:
I just went and checked them out. Looks like I'm not the only one w a stripped screw. At least mine has no play. Looks they need to get their qc together.
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Yea I was rooting for them too. A lot of people were suspecting this was going to happen back when they announced the re-release.

A sub $150 decent quality bali is desperately needed in the knife world. I ponied up $275 for a Benchmade 51 a few months ago. I'm very happy with the knife but I do think it is marginally overpriced.
 
BenchCo Spydermade said:
So I got my new kimura last week and its got its plusses and minuses.

First, the quality is still very good. Smooth action, no play(yet) and great feel. Came with a huge burr, but I took that right off and now its shaving sharp. There is one stripped pivot screw. That kind of annoyed me.

Flipping:
It's just a bit to heavy, particularly for its length, to be a great flipper. My other kimura(pictured on top) is very fast and particularly well balanced , IMO. This new one still has smooth flipping, but is slower and needs to be manipulated a bit more deliberately. Of course, I am still adjusting and learning this knife, so maybe its me.

While it may be a mediocre flipper, I think it's an outstanding EDC. The g10 feels great and to me makes it feel like it should be put to work. The leaf shaped, flat ground, 154cm blade is nice and slicey.

I hope to see more variations.
3f1907e7efc01745761c2024ed452afd.jpg
Click to expand...
That sucks to hear. I was seriously considering this knife. Not so much anymore. Hopefully they can reduce the problems and make this knife acceptable.
 
Just to bump this thread, I put in an order for one. At $90 from KC I couldn't resist. Looks to me like the reviews of the latest runs are more favorable. I also asked KC to look it over for the most common problems. We shall see....
 
Boy howdy! I've meant to come back to this thread and post my experience. Better late than never...

ievsZeuh.jpg


With a contego:
ENI9bQRh.jpg


And my old crap import Bali from the mid 90"s:
EYRSAlKh.jpg


I am no balisong expert, at all. That said, I am not disappointed at all in the $90 I paid for this knife. Out of the box it was a bit stiff. But after playing with it for a day it flipped quite nicely. There are a few fit/finish issues but considering the price of better balisongs, they don't bother me.

The bead blast doesn't go all the way to the tip:
KimdnJ8h.jpg


One of the washers looks pinched not circular:
OuEq9y5h.jpg


One stop pin is a bit off:
dfRLIvKh.jpg


It did come with a bur but once removed it is razor sharp. Not a bit of the above impacts the flipping or EDC use I've put it through. No play after lots of flipping. No stripped screws. All in all, for what I paid, I think this is a very good intro Balisong!

ETA: now that I think about it the latch was tight but is loosening up.
 
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