New 710FE-24

[WalterDavis]

Just got my hands on a new 710. I really like the color scheme of the limited edition with magnacut, but those divots look like a PITA to keep clean, and the $600 price tag was absolutely insane. So when I found a good deal on the base model I snagged it. My first impressions:
1. Even at the $315 I paid, it’s still overpriced. That should be the magnacut-version price on the street. Sorry BM, it’s nice but it’s not Chris Reeve Knives nice! (As a side note, I’m seeing the LE version going for 20% off some places, apparently I’m not the only one that thinks BM is aiming too high!)
2. The new Axis lock is pretty damn nice. Grippy without being sharp, shorter throw, and works better one handed-not as well as some competitors but way better that the original.
3. It’s heavier than I expected, and the milled design is shallower than anticipated. It’s not overly heavy for the size, but it’s about 15% heavier than the originals and it’s noticeable.
4. It’s a nice damn knife! Even with my gripes, it’s smooth, action is nice, grind is spot-on, centering is near perfect, edge is thin and sharp, and it carries and handles well. The grooves are just deep enough to make it easy to pull from the pocket even with slick, dry hands. It looks good, feels good, and so far works good.

I’m looking forward to putting it to use this summer. If someone makes some g10 scales for these I may swap them out just for the weight savings, but otherwise I’m just hoping I can put some wear and tear on this bad boy and make it earns it’s keep!

 

[Twindog]

In my opinion, S90V is a better steel for this knife than MagnaCut. This is not a hard-use knife, and S90V will have a lot better edge retention than MagnaCut.

Even if you run MagnaCut up to 65 Rc, you're getting only 560 TCC of edge wear, about like S30V at 60Rc.

S90V gets you 780 TCC, even at 61 Rc.

MagnaCut will have better toughness, and toughness counts, but less so in this knife. S90V's toughness is about like that of S30V, S45VN, VG10 or 154 CM -- not super tough, but plenty tough for a cutter with this kind of geometry. And will a lot better edge wear.

I tried to but the MagnaCut LE on eBay, because I got a good deal in bidding. But it turned out to be a counterfeit.

Then I bought a S90V version from a authorized dealer at full price, but it got lost in the mail.

I feel snakebit.

 

[WalterDavis]

In my opinion, S90V is a better steel for this knife than MagnaCut. This is not a hard-use knife, and S90V will have a lot better edge retention than MagnaCut.

Even if you run MagnaCut up to 65 Rc, you're getting only 560 TCC of edge wear, about like S30V at 60Rc.

S90V gets you 780 TCC, even at 61 Rc.

MagnaCut will have better toughness, and toughness counts, but less so in this knife. S90V's toughness is about like that of S30V, S45VN, VG10 or 154 CM -- not super tough, but plenty tough for a cutter with this kind of geometry. And will a lot better edge wear.

I tried to but the MagnaCut LE on eBay, because I got a good deal in bidding. But it turned out to be a counterfeit.

Then I bought a S90V version from a authorized dealer at full price, but it got lost in the mail.

I feel snakebit.

Damn, that’s a tough go! Hopefully the mail finds your knife!