Lets pick the Benchmade Dejavoo apart!

rugbymatt said:
The Benchmade is not a copy of the spyderco. The Spyderco is a copy of the Lum Chinese the Benchmade is a copy of the Lum All Rounder, they are two different knives designed by the same man, Bob Lum.
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Hence the name, "Dejavoo."

While not a complete copy of the Syderco model, it's close enough that you feel it to be familiar. :D
 
Carrying this today, and I absolutely hate the liner lock on this one. This knife would kick my 710 and 705 out (not making a comparison, just what my EDC has been for quite some time) if not for this. Anyone else feel that the lock is too loosey goosey?
 
This old post:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=468926&highlight=deja+voo

And...particular... note of the second paragraph of the review where he stated that the .... DELICA... was the PERFECT size.

Well, howdy DO!

I've known that for far too long. I have a drawer full of knives that are all in there because I always return to the Delica. However, I did not have a Delica THREE in plain edge so I have one on the way.

Tip up carry, great ergos, good grip, EEEEEAAASYYY open (try the Dejavoo against a Delica) and thin, thin, thin.

Damn ole Delica! Oughtta be a law! If I was a knife company, I'd pay Sal to quit makin them damn things.

:D
 
so monochrome you are saying that Bob Lum liked the spyderco version of his knife so much that he made a close copy with the "All Rounder" and then let benchmade copy the design???

Maybe its called dajavoo because its so much like his "All Rounder" that you have to take a second look
 
silenthunterstudios said:
Carrying this today, and I absolutely hate the liner lock on this one. This knife would kick my 710 and 705 out (not making a comparison, just what my EDC has been for quite some time) if not for this. Anyone else feel that the lock is too loosey goosey?
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Are we talking about the 745 mini here? I was all set to buy one when I visited my local knife shop, but after flicking open several 745's I found that the lock would bind and releasing the lock was a bit difficult. Nowhere near as smooth as my Spyderco Military for example. It's a good looking knife, love the blade style, weight is no issue, but for the price the lock just did not feel right to me.
 
I have always liked liner locks and the one on my 740 is as good as they get. It is solid with no play yet doesn't bind or have any other issues. It is just about as good as liner locks get.

I do love the Axis as well and I wouldn't kick a Dejavoo with an Axis lock out of the bed!
 
delkhouri said:
so monochrome you are saying that Bob Lum liked the spyderco version of his knife so much that he made a close copy with the "All Rounder" and then let benchmade copy the design???

Maybe its called dajavoo because its so much like his "All Rounder" that you have to take a second look
Click to expand...

Nope! I'm saying it just feels familiar.
And why can't you guys ever get my name right?? LOL ! :D
 
Sorry i misspelled your name 'monocrom' not to be argumentative though have you held both of them because i have and i even held them one after the other and I dont think they feel anything alike esepcially not the handles. The BM hadle is quite a bit bigger/thicker/rounder and the BM is imo a fair amount smoother when it comes to opening.
 
Quite right!

But as I said, the knife is supposed to make you say to yourself, "Hey, this looks familiar somehow."

And it does! Hence the name. :)
 
Just received a 740 in a trade and I have to say overall I like the design. It is fairly large, but there's always the mini.

I'm really liking the blade shape and handle. The handle is very comfortable and filling, though a tad thick to EDC in my opinion (.66"). I actually really like the smooth G10. It doesn't rip apart your pants, it's not too slippery, and the handle shape allows for a pretty secure grip in my opinion. It also looks nicer in my opinion. I'm not a fan of Benchmade's textured G10 anyways.

I love high (or full) flat grind knives in general, and this one has a well executed grind, both visually appealing and functional. The edge comes out to a nice thin .017".

I'm not a fan of the liner lock. While it is secure and has no detectable play when locked, the liner is very thin and just doesn't give me a feeling of confidence. It's also VERY sticky, which does make it feel more secure, but is also just annoying. I think they should have used a thicker locking liner. Ideally, in my mind, it would have an axis lock, but that would not stay true to the original.

Fit and finish is superb, which I find is something you can count on with Benchmade.

This is sort of random, but I think the backspacer is kind of cheap looking compared to the rest of the knife. I think they should have used a different material, or steel/titanium barrel spacers. The current molded plastic spacer, complete with mold line, just doesn't fit in with the rest of this beautiful knife.
 
I received my Dejavoo Mini today. A couple of observations:

RETENTION: The smooth G10 scales offer a bit of friction, but retention of this knife in the hand is really a function of its unusual handle shape: (1) the flared front and (2) down-turning rear of the handle, (3) the widening at the rear of the handle, and (4) the indentations towards the rear of the scales, which catch my 3rd and 4th fingers in a forward grip. The handle is also very comfortable, which aids retention for obvious reasons. It's just asking to be white-knuckled, more so with the clip removed. It's a brilliant design.

THE LOCK: Out of the box, lock-up was really tight. After a hard flick open, the lock was impossible to comfortably release one-handed, and in general releasing the lock was a little rough. After opening and closing about a 50 times, lock up is still tight and sounds more assertive, but can now be released one-handed after a hard flick open, and releasing is smoother all-around. I could not release the lock with a white-knuckle hammer grip. (UPDATE: After hundreds more open/close cycles, the lock is no longer sticky at all.)

WEIGHT AND BALANCE: In my personal opinion, Benchmade was smart to use steel for the non-locking liner. This places the knife's center of gravity right at the finger groove, where I think it belongs.

My only complaint is that opening the knife left-handed is a bit cumbersome, and closing it left handed is even a bit worse. I'm a righty, but I still care about being able to deploy the blade when either hand is busy.
 
I agree with most of what ehh said but specifically the backspacer being kinda cheap looking. I too wish that they used some kind of steel/titanium barrel spacer, but that is my only complaint about the knife.
 
I have the small dejavoo mini and am thinking about returning it tomorrow. It's a beautiful knife with a great edge and action but I can see blade play becoming an issue because of the way the blade is set into the handle. It just doesn't feel very solid to me. Anyone else feel this way or is it just me?
 
I like my full sized Dejavoo for what it is. A nicely made, easy to flip, lightweight, slicer. The Spyderco D-2 military I have seems like it would hold up better for heavy use, but it's way harder to open. There's so many knives out there, I just see good points and bad in them all and the only reason I own more than a few different knives is because of the fact that they are made with so many different small features, that a person that isn't into knives would never recognize. A knife is just a sharp thing with a handle to a lot of people I know. They could care about the details. So all of my many different knives to me have like "personalities" , it's what makes collecting them enjoyable!
 
If it had a better detent, mine would know what the outside of my knife drawer looks like.

It's pretty and the ergonomics are top rate, but it feels like a light-duty knife because of the weak detent and smooth scales. I can't bring myself to carry a light-duty knife.

What a shame because it is an excellent design.
 
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