Mini Bugout

I really have no idea as to what you guys do with your knives. Most of my knives have s30v steel and I use them at work to cut open beef boxes and cut plastic straps all day long, among other things. I've never experienced any micro chipping in either my Benchmade's, Spyderco's or Kershaw's - none.

The only time I damaged an s30v blade, was when I jabbed the point of my 943 into a metal meat cooler wall. I broke the very tip off but I would be the only person to even notice it. A couple sharpenings and it looks like nothing ever happened other than being a millimeter shorter.
 
I deliberately bought a Cold Steel "Tuff-Lite" with a bright red handle. I would not classify my choice as an "emergency defensive tool" however, if I have to slice something quickly (like a jammed seat belt in a car wreck) I want to be able to find a knife!

I usually carry a larger folder and a smaller one. All I have to do is look down at my pockets in a quick glance and I can see where the little red folder is clipped.

upload_2020-2-21_10-46-52.jpeg
 
Got this a couple days ago. I was very turned off at first, but realized it was because I'd been carrying much larger knives. I then remembered my love of the Mini Griptilian and put the little storm trooper in my pocket. It's a great little knife. I can get a four finger grip on it and it opens and closes great. I imagine that with a set of aftermarket G10 or titanium scales this knife will be the shizzle. :)

I actually bought the white handled model with plans to RIT dye them. I've not chosen a color yet. I'll get back to you on that. ;)

I took some pics outdoors today with one of my most used knives.

Enjoy...

ch7Zd5t.jpg


LqE2aaD.jpg


nMhebSM.jpg


jALbYv1.jpg
 
colin.p said:
I really have no idea as to what you guys do with your knives. Most of my knives have s30v steel and I use them at work to cut open beef boxes and cut plastic straps all day long, among other things. I've never experienced any micro chipping in either my Benchmade's, Spyderco's or Kershaw's - none.

The only time I damaged an s30v blade, was when I jabbed the point of my 943 into a metal meat cooler wall. I broke the very tip off but I would be the only person to even notice it. A couple sharpenings and it looks like nothing ever happened other than being a millimeter shorter.
Click to expand...


Im not hard on my knives at all, but they do get used. I cutup cardboard, tape, things of that nature. Sometime strip the tips off of a few small gage copper wires. The chipping I experience on my Bugouts and their S30v is micro chipping. Most likely you may not see it, but if you run the blade down your fingernail, you will feel the blade catch in several places. This is after cutting on a few pieces of cardboard, and I'm not talking about thick stuff. Amazon boxes mostly.

I have tested my Spydercos CTS BD1N and my Tenacious 8Cr13MOV and neither get any chipping after making the same amount of cuts, on the same materials. I'm talking 5 to 7 cuts, which is nothing and no blade steel should suffer any issues from that. It's not just on one Bugout either, I have three and all three experience the came chipping.

I love the Bugout, but hate the Steel. I'm not a steel snob, but I do expect a bit more out of a 100+ dollar knife's steel.




TXPO
 
Texaspoff said:
Im not hard on my knives at all, but they do get used. I cutup cardboard, tape, things of that nature. Sometime strip the tips off of a few small gage copper wires. The chipping I experience on my Bugouts and their S30v is micro chipping. Most likely you may not see it, but if you run the blade down your fingernail, you will feel the blade catch in several places. This is after cutting on a few pieces of cardboard, and I'm not talking about thick stuff. Amazon boxes mostly.

I have tested my Spydercos CTS BD1N and my Tenacious 8Cr13MOV and neither get any chipping after making the same amount of cuts, on the same materials. I'm talking 5 to 7 cuts, which is nothing and no blade steel should suffer any issues from that. It's not just on one Bugout either, I have three and all three experience the came chipping.

I love the Bugout, but hate the Steel. I'm not a steel snob, but I do expect a bit more out of a 100+ dollar knife's steel.




TXPO
Click to expand...
Interesting. I found the S30V to be one of my favorite steels for edc. I've been carrying a bugout for a few months and never experienced any chipping of the edge, micro or otherwise. I also have 3 bugouts but only 2 are in rotation (mainly the blue one). I just got the new Bailout so that'll be my edc for the next couple of weeks at least.

ja4hhAY.jpg


teQCEfV.jpg
 
BC42 said:
Interesting. I found the S30V to be one of my favorite steels for edc. I've been carrying a bugout for a few months and never experienced any chipping of the edge, micro or otherwise. I also have 3 bugouts but only 2 are in rotation (mainly the blue one). I just got the new Bailout so that'll be my edc for the next couple of weeks at least.

ja4hhAY.jpg


teQCEfV.jpg
Click to expand...

I have been considering the 3V bailout version. I like 3V the tanto style would work fine for the task I use it for.


TXPO
 
Thanks for the compliments folks.

Just ordered a set of OD Green scales for it from Rogue Bladeworks. I've had scales from them in the past and they were great, so looking forward to 'em.
 
Thanks for the post, what are you thoughts on the Mini as an EDC? How is it working out?

I have the full size Bugout...
 
Texaspoff said:
I love the bugout as a whole, but I sure wish Benchmade would run out of S30V already. While some may not be bothered by the micro chips, I absolutely hate having to touch up my blade after just opening some boxes or cutting a few zip ties at work.

S30 may be a good steel, but all three of my Bugouts suffer from chipping with very minimal use.

I carried my LW para3 and used it all week to cut wires and other things during our Axon video install, and the blade it still like a razor, with no chipping at all. My Bugout would have been crying after that.

No more bugouts for me until they offer it in the custom shop, with a choice of steels or upgrade the steel in the line.



TXPO
Click to expand...
My two normal Bugouts chip also.The one sharpened at 15 per side is a nightmare!
 
After carrying my LW Para3 for a while I decided to pack my bugout last weekend. I realized how much I really liked the bugout despite the chipping. I called Benchmade and explained what was going on and they had me send it in for blade replacement, so off it went.

During it's hiatus, I located a Ranger Green one to comfort me in the meantime. On a side note, I have used this one for a few tasks, and it had remained sharp, clean and chip free, which I find interesting.

I'm still not a huge fan of S30V and it's chipping, but the positives of the Bugout outweigh my aversion to the steel. IMO it is simply one of the best EDC blades out there. There isn't much out there that can beat its size, weight to blade ratio. As and LE I have enough crap to carry, and anything that takes up less space, and room, but still gives me a viable tool to use is a win.



TXPO
 
Texaspoff el al, I have both base bugouts, one in CF and the other ranger green, and have no chipping issues. I love the thin blade, and wish BM would offer the 940 in 0.10. Everyone in my family loves s30v, some from other makers. So lots of different geometries and use patterns represented. Blade swap, longevity of s30v in BM's tools, and Texaspoff's new blade experience suggests batch heat treat or edge burning issues... I consider s30v to be a baseline now, ruining me for buying many wonderful knives in lesser steels with the execption being those knives going to the grandkids.
Their dye-ready mini bugout is in my future, as an incredible pocket knife, lock and steel for 1.5x oz! Saving my pennies.
 
Has anyone tried to Rit Dye the orange scales to anything else? I prefer the sating blade, but not as interested in the orange.
 
Anyone have a picture, or able to take one, of a mini Bugout with a standard Benchmade parkerized clip mounted?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top