- Joined
- Oct 26, 2001
- Messages
- 1,438
I went into my local B&M today, looking for nothing in particular, and came across the camillus black ops CQB junior. The price the man had on it was very reasonable $35 and I wound up paying $32 since he really wanted to make the sale and told me he'd come down a little. After checking the prices online I think he must have had the wrong sticker on it to begin with, since they seem to go for more than that. Anyway, once I got home I realized that it's about the same size as my Nimravus cub, and wondered how they would stack up together. To begin with here are the general specs on each. Both were 7.81 inches long overall. The actually cutting edge on the Camillus is 3.75 inches, while that of the Nimravus is 3.25 inches. The serrated portion of the Camillus measures 1.5 inches long and the B M 1.375 inches. This leaves a plain edge on the Camillus of 2.313 inches and the BM of an even 2 inches. Blade width: Camillus 1.0 inches, BM 1.125 inches. Blade Thicknes .125 inches each. The major difference was in the handles. Handle length was 3.94 inches on the Camillus and 4.375 inches on the BM. Finally the handle of the Camillus tapes from 1' down to .75 inches and on the BM from 1.125 down to .938 inches. Other differences are that the benchmade handle is held on with torx screws, while the Camillus has pins, both had triple point serrations, but those on the Camillus are deeper than those of the BM and the BM has a kydex sheath, while the Camillus has a kydex lined nylon sheath, with a small pocket. The Camillus is made from 0170-6C carbon steel, and the BM from 154CM stainless.
Okay, that's the basic specs. I didn't really beat on them much, but I did put them through some basic tests. I started by using both knives to cut up some carrots and peel and slice an apple for my post workout snack. The edge bevel is a little thicker on the BM and I expected the Camillus to outperform it on the carrots, but the opposite proved true. Both easily sliced the vegetables, but the BM required less effort. On to fruits. In this case the Camillus was the better of the two, peeling and slicing the apple a lot more easily than the BM, probably due to its lower edge geometry. I then tried whittling fuzzsticks the the two knives. Again, both knives performed well, but the Benchmade did a little better, and required less force to make a nice smooth slice. However, the edge retention was better on the Camillus, which surprised me. I didn't have any manila rope, so I had to make do with .25 inch nylon. I made six cuts with each knife, using only the serrated portion of the blade. Although the Camillus knife had deeper, more aggressive looking serrations the Benchmade was noticeably better at this test, making much cleaner cuts, and requiring much less force to do so.
Conclusions. Either knife makes an excellent light utility belt knife, and can handle light camp chores well. Personally, I have large hands and find the handle of the Benchmade a lot more comfortable. It's slightly longer, and the Micarta has more texture to it, making it easier to hold onto. The Camillus, while still comfortable tends to get "lost" in my hands. The thumb ramp on the Benchmade is also a little more aggressive, and extends farther forward than does the one on the Camillus, allowing you to grip up for more control. On the other hand, the cutting edge of the camillus is longer, and the sheath imho is a lot nicer. The pocket is large enough to hold a lock blade SAC or small multi-tool. As an overall performer the Benchmade is slightly more versatile, and if I only had room for one knife this is probably the one I would take with me in the woods, or into a tactical situation. However, both represent an excellent value for dollar, and in combination with a small SAK (preferably with a saw on it) in the pouch the Camillus would ask make a great backpacking/light duty wilderness knife.
Sorry for the long post.
Lagarto
Okay, that's the basic specs. I didn't really beat on them much, but I did put them through some basic tests. I started by using both knives to cut up some carrots and peel and slice an apple for my post workout snack. The edge bevel is a little thicker on the BM and I expected the Camillus to outperform it on the carrots, but the opposite proved true. Both easily sliced the vegetables, but the BM required less effort. On to fruits. In this case the Camillus was the better of the two, peeling and slicing the apple a lot more easily than the BM, probably due to its lower edge geometry. I then tried whittling fuzzsticks the the two knives. Again, both knives performed well, but the Benchmade did a little better, and required less force to make a nice smooth slice. However, the edge retention was better on the Camillus, which surprised me. I didn't have any manila rope, so I had to make do with .25 inch nylon. I made six cuts with each knife, using only the serrated portion of the blade. Although the Camillus knife had deeper, more aggressive looking serrations the Benchmade was noticeably better at this test, making much cleaner cuts, and requiring much less force to do so.
Conclusions. Either knife makes an excellent light utility belt knife, and can handle light camp chores well. Personally, I have large hands and find the handle of the Benchmade a lot more comfortable. It's slightly longer, and the Micarta has more texture to it, making it easier to hold onto. The Camillus, while still comfortable tends to get "lost" in my hands. The thumb ramp on the Benchmade is also a little more aggressive, and extends farther forward than does the one on the Camillus, allowing you to grip up for more control. On the other hand, the cutting edge of the camillus is longer, and the sheath imho is a lot nicer. The pocket is large enough to hold a lock blade SAC or small multi-tool. As an overall performer the Benchmade is slightly more versatile, and if I only had room for one knife this is probably the one I would take with me in the woods, or into a tactical situation. However, both represent an excellent value for dollar, and in combination with a small SAK (preferably with a saw on it) in the pouch the Camillus would ask make a great backpacking/light duty wilderness knife.
Sorry for the long post.
Lagarto