Newbie Question - Everyone's Favorite Thread!

Thank you for posting that! Great info...Now I have a few questions for you!

You have a Benchmade 710 in one of your photos, can you compare the two?

Also, you mentioned a small amount of vertical play...I'm not exactly sure what this means. Does it mean the knife moves "backwards" a tiny bit, when it is fully opened and locked in place?
 
zenon said:
Thank you for posting that! Great info...Now I have a few questions for you!

You have a Benchmade 710 in one of your photos, can you compare the two?

Also, you mentioned a small amount of vertical play...I'm not exactly sure what this means. Does it mean the knife moves "backwards" a tiny bit, when it is fully opened and locked in place?
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Whoops... scroll up and read it again, I added a bunch after the fact, should answer some of your questions.

As for the blade play... imagine putting the handle of the Manix in a vice, edge of the blade down, point out horizontal; then grab the blade carefully, and try to wiggle it in all directions. The blade play I mention would show up as movement of the tip of the blade up and down, around the axis of the pivot.
 
zenon said:
Do you notice this play in the 710?
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Not at all. And you won't find that sort of vertical play in any Axis Lock. The lock functions as a wedge between the blade tang and the liners; as it wears, it just wedges a bit further. The only way it could allow blade play is if it wore so much that the axis bar reached the forward limit of it's slot, which would require more material wear than I've ever seen on a knife.

Now, horizontal play is another matter. Loosen the pivot screw enough, and you can get that in any folder!
 
Good stuff. I have a lot to think about. :)

That said...Still very curious about the Doug Ritter knife. :)
 
I would recommend the Benchmade Stryker. It is large, yet lightweight and slim. The Titanium liners mean that you don't have to clean them because they won't rust.
 
You guys always throw me surprises.

Just out of curiosity, if the price range went up to $200, would the suggestions change at all?
 
All the above suggestions are great, especialy the 710HS and the Manix. An important question to ask yourself is how you are going to sharpen them when the time comes. The 710 with its slightly recurved blade can be awkward on benchstones, even for a somewhat experienced freehand sharpeners. The Manix leaf shape blade is a lot easier to maintain an edge on flat stones. Sharpening using V rod systems ie. Sharpmaker makes the job alot easier.
Other larger folders that are worth some thought would be the BM806D2, BM630, Spyd. Military, Paramilitary and what I would consider the best value knife going, the Spyd. Endura.
 
For around $100.00, I think the Manix is your best bet. If you're on a budget, I think the Endura is the best folder for the money. Be sure to get a Sharpmaker to sharpen your purchase with.

BM makes good knives too, but I prefer Spyderco overall. See if you can find a knife store that has some different models for you to try out.

Good luck.
 
I personally buy and use benchmade knives for my single bladed folder needs (don't have a spyderco yet, although I might eventually just to see what the fuss is about). Part of that is probably because they are much more lefty friendly, but I also really like the axis lock (I have one liner lock (cammilus heat, the knife that led me to want the 705-401 (made me decide I did have a lot of use for a smaller blade:P)) and a lockback (and old gerber model, which I actually gave to my brother), but find the axis lock just much more cooler and more enjoyable:)).

I bought the Rittergrip as my first high quality knife (due mostly to the people here, of course:)), and found it quite a nice knife, a very good slicer with a high grind on it. I ended up selling it recently, due to the fact that I found that the tip wasn't really quite pointy enough for my tastes (mostly due to the high grind), and decided to stick with my 806d2 for heavy duty carry, and pick up a BM 705-401 for lighter duty every day carry (including travel to states with 3" legal limits and such).

I think that for what you want, neither the 710, 806d2, or rittergrip would be a bad choice, but the best choice between those all comes down to what you think your personal preference will be. Most people think the 710 has a slightly better blade for utility then the 806d2 (no personal experience, since I haven't handled one).


Of course, there are also the people who'll suggest you to get a nice balisong (which I also enjoy), but the legality issues in most states for the carry of these makes that a bit harder (my BM42 never leaves my room:(). They do have the advantage of quite possibly the strongest lock of any folder, surpassing even the great axis lock.
 
HoB said:
I was thinking rather a Paramilitary from Spyderco. Personally I prefer the Manix but it is a bigger knife.
Click to expand...

The Manix is a pretty big folder, it has enough heft to make it easily clip off small branches, it also works better for heavy power cutting than the Paramilitary as the grip is thicker.

However the Paramilitary is easier to handle for most precision cutting, and the narrower blade is easier to turn. I'd carry the Paramilitary for most EDC work but take the Manix without hesitation for wood work.

-Cliff
 
The BM RSK-1 is a great knife. Good steal, great slicer, light weight. Mine is w/ me 24/7/365. Being flat ground and with similar steel the Manix will probably perform as well. The RSK-1 is definetly lighter and probably of a bit handier size.
 
If you want a biggun, Spyderco Manix, Military, or Benchmade 710. If you want a meddiun(?) Paramilitary (or wait for the so-called Mini Manix) or Benchmade 94X, 921, or Ritter RSK (Griptilian with S30V blade).

I carry a BM710HS myself.
 
Another question about the 710. I notice a lot of people say 710HS. What does the HS mean?
 
Stockman said:
All the above suggestions are great, especialy the 710HS and the Manix. An important question to ask yourself is how you are going to sharpen them when the time comes. The 710 with its slightly recurved blade can be awkward on benchstones, even for a somewhat experienced freehand sharpeners. The Manix leaf shape blade is a lot easier to maintain an edge on flat stones. Sharpening using V rod systems ie. Sharpmaker makes the job alot easier.
Click to expand...

To be honest, I'd probably be afraid to attempt to sharpen one on my own unless I had some good instruction on doing so. I may end up sending the knife to the company for sharpening!
 
High Speed.

By heat treating this type of steel can take high temperatures without loosing its properties. High temperatures may arise at high speed. I don´t know the english word, but there is a machine to cut holes into something. There is, right? Some of the heads are made of HS steel if you must cut a hole into metal.

You like the 710HS? Good choice. Wade F uses it over years. The only thing he had done to get it right was to reset the edge bevel for better cutting ability. But it´s up to you, what you prefer.

If you have come to like M2, i will not recommend any other knife. On folders and short fixed blades a really good choice hard to get something better.
 
zenon said:
To be honest, I'd probably be afraid to attempt to sharpen one on my own unless I had some good instruction on doing so. I may end up sending the knife to the company for sharpening!
Click to expand...

Get some quality stones and one or two cheap knifes and start learning. It will take some time but all our ancestors were resharpening their blades so its in your veins too. Just awaken it. :D

A good, that means small edge bevel is easy to resharpen. I never really found a difference exept one bevel was broader than 1mm (if you look from the side at the edge bevel).

Stones remove metal pretty easy and quickly and there are many stones to polish it down where you like it. And the are much cheaper.
 
I haven't really made a final decision yet, but the one review stating there was a bit of play in the Manix bothered me some. I may have to do what some users suggested and find a local shop that has some of these knives so I can see them in person.

I guess it'll be between the Manix and 710HS in the end, unless someone can throw a strong reason to look elsewhere. :)

Edit:

To Blop,

That's a good idea and it would save me a lot of time (and money) by learning to do it on my own anyway.

What should I be buying to care for any one of these knives?
 
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