(oh no, not again...) Spyderco Military vs. Benchmade 710

710

The Military is a fantastic design...except for the lock. If the Military were a frame lock, I think it would be vastly superior to the 710.
 
The recurve on the 710 pisses me off. What a senseless way to screw up an otherwise superlative folder.
 
starboard said:
The recurve on the 710 pisses me off. What a senseless way to screw up an otherwise superlative folder.
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This used to bother me, but I've started using rods for sharpening. I put a Sharpmaker triangle on my DMT whetstone and sharpen using the DMT Aligner clamp. This new idea put the 710 in my head once again. I'll just get it profiled at a shop and then do all the touching up myself.
 
powernoodle said:
710:

- pros: opens like butter, solid lock; aesthetically appealing; tip up or tip down
- cons: blade profile is not the easiest to sharpen (for me)

Military:

- pros: thin for easy carry, big blade, fits the hand well, can open soothly;l but mostly its that combo of thin + large blade, which is the best of both
- cons: tip down only

I prefer the Military.
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Nope. Just tip up.






As for the thumbstud placement....push up, not out.
 
THG said:
This used to bother me, but I've started using rods for sharpening. I put a Sharpmaker triangle on my DMT whetstone and sharpen using the DMT Aligner clamp. This new idea put the 710 in my head once again. I'll just get it profiled at a shop and then do all the touching up myself.
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I mostly convexed mine, but of course the strop does a less than stellar job on the recurve. Maybe it's time to give up and do a "combo edge", freehanding with Sharpmaker sticks in the recurve to get a toothy bite for slicing, and stropping elsewhere for the push cut.
 
As a lefty, I greatly prefer the 710.

Ambidextrous unlock, clip placement, etc.

Besides that, the Military's linerlock is a huge turn-off for me.

All that said, with these 2 knives, it comes down to personal preference. They're both very high quality.
 
I own multiples of each and have carried versions of each for EDC for months on end.

I no longer recommend liner-locks to others (that is another issue for another day).

The Benchmade 710 model is my favorite knife design and it is the design I compare all my other knives to. It is not perfect for all uses nor the best for all uses, but I have found the 710 to be a great knife that I have repeatedly returned to.

That said,

Both the the Military and the 710 are great knife designs. Both knives are made by pretty good companies to a pretty good standard and have been offered in some pretty good steels. "Petty good" all around.

It really is hard to beat the Military for weight with such a blade length and the blade shape is great at slicing through stuff. The relatively thin blade point is handy for some tasks, such as plucking out splinters or other fine cutting. The Military handle is great, too, since it fills the hand and lends control when cutting. But, then, too, the liner-lock is a part of the Military (and I can't imagine the knife without the lock) so I don't use mine for the tougher cutting tasks. I note most cutting tasks couldn't by any stretch be considered "tough".


The 710 just seems "right". The Axis lock really works well in this knife. I like the low, out of the way thumbstud and I don't get those who can't use it well. The blade works in most situations and I like the bit of recurve for back-hand cutting. The overall design is slim and trim with a solid feel in the hand. The 710 offers a lot of blade considering its size.


I've come to think of "stabbing" movements and cutting "grippy" material as examples of "tougher" cutting tasks - just experience. Notice the Military's handle is more secure when pulling the blade away for the cutting surface and the 710 handle is shaped to prevent the hand sliding forward to the blade.
 
starboard said:
I mostly convexed mine, but of course the strop does a less than stellar job on the recurve. Maybe it's time to give up and do a "combo edge", freehanding with Sharpmaker sticks in the recurve to get a toothy bite for slicing, and stropping elsewhere for the push cut.
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If you had a CE 710D2, would you have to worry about a recurve at all? Don't the serrations take up all the space in the recurve, and then the PE part is all normal drop point? I've never been able to handle a CE 710 up close, so I don't know.
 
The Military feels and cuts among the finest of any knives I've ever used. The handful I've owned and handled were absolutely sterling, to boot. In contrast, I was unimpressed with the highly-touted 710. The blade profile does nothing better, and the ergonomics are weak. The two I used also had blade-play.
 
I forgot to point out that I, like most other people, do prefer the millie's ergonomics to the 710, despite my slight preference being for the 710.

I love both their blade shapes...probably slight preference to the recurve. I know most disagree with me here, but I find recurves to be so useful in my day to day tasks....
 
The military is my favorite knife, it carries well with its profile, its got an amazing blade and grind, for cutting and piercing tasks and it fits so damn well in the hand. The way that g10 locks into your hand its just amazing.The 710 is a great knife but I dont like its handle, its a little too thick but I do like the tip down carry clip.
 
I've never owned the 710, but I've held one and studied it. I'm awaiting the arrival of my order of one and that's why I was reading this thread. A few years back, I owned a millie-S30V all black; probably produced in 05 or 06. I did like the knife. I did feel that the millie's tip would break in an instant if it was to meet any hard material in a thrust. One night, being extremely hamered and night-hiking with a buddy (this explaining the ridiulous actions I'm about to explain), I decided to test my millie's "capabilities" on a small tree; aproximately 3 inches in diameter. Up to this point I had only carried my millie as a ready reserve defesive weapon and only used it for very, very minor slicing tasks. Anyhow, I hacked the tree down in a couple of swings with little effort. Afterwards I was astonished to find my mille had more bladeplay than something you would win at a county fair carnival game- not even an exaggeration. It was although the impact had just flat out destroyed the knife. Standing by a pond, I tossed my millie into it and vowed to never again buy a spyderco. I've bough many Spydercos since then and regret not just sending that millie into syderco for a fix as I now contemplate buying another. I'll probably get the new Police-3 though because I love tend to trust the lockback over the liner-lock though I love Emersons and personally deem them as the best. I have learned since then some knives are just lemons and had problems with Benchmades as well and when you get a lemon, you just write the company; although Benchmade won't respond to three crap nitrous strykers in a row. The 710, only having held and studied it, feels very strong and posseses the Spirit of a born killer. Axis locks, IMHO, are the best short of fixed blade. The millie has a devasting blade as well and easier to sharpen, but it's too light and has the feel of a Glock as opposed to 1911 feel of the 710. Personal preference. I do trust Spyderco's quality control over Benchmade as I've only had one dissappointing Spyderco incident and three with Benchmade. I hate the millie clip. Benchmade G-10 is slick and although I actually prefer the feel, many others will not; especially if their hands are wet. As far as S30V vs D2, there are no known S30V critics out there and those who despise D2 owe their distaste to imporoper blade maintinence and poor sharpening equipment. I personally have never had any problems with D2 rusting. I wipe my knives down periodically, before storage, and usually after use and every D2 bladed knife I have, came razor sharp and stayed that way, but with minimal use. I love S30V, D2, VG-10, 154cm, and ATS-34. I see too many criticisms of D2, VG-10, 154cm, and ATS-34 on here. They are good blade steels. Every steel has it's down-sides. S30V, which has been worshiped as a God as of late, chips like slate at times too. Back to the 710 and millie, they are both awesome knives, provided the factory isn't having a bad day, and they'll serve you wonderfully for the money.
 
No question for me

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dan55797 said:
I've never owned the 710, but I've held one and studied it. I'm awaiting the arrival of my order of one and that's why I was reading this thread. A few years back, I owned a millie-S30V all black; probably produced in 05 or 06. I did like the knife. I did feel that the millie's tip would break in an instant if it was to meet any hard material in a thrust.

One night, being extremely hamered and night-hiking with a buddy (this explaining the ridiulous actions I'm about to explain), I decided to test my millie's "capabilities" on a small tree; aproximately 3 inches in diameter. Up to this point I had only carried my millie as a ready reserve defesive weapon and only used it for very, very minor slicing tasks. Anyhow, I hacked the tree down in a couple of swings with little effort. Afterwards I was astonished to find my mille had more bladeplay than something you would win at a county fair carnival game- not even an exaggeration. It was although the impact had just flat out destroyed the knife. Standing by a pond, I tossed my millie into it and vowed to never again buy a spyderco.

I've bough many Spydercos since then and regret not just sending that millie into syderco for a fix as I now contemplate buying another. I'll probably get the new Police-3 though because I love tend to trust the lockback over the liner-lock though I love Emersons and personally deem them as the best. I have learned since then some knives are just lemons and had problems with Benchmades as well and when you get a lemon, you just write the company; although Benchmade won't respond to three crap nitrous strykers in a row. The 710, only having held and studied it, feels very strong and posseses the Spirit of a born killer. Axis locks, IMHO, are the best short of fixed blade. The millie has a devasting blade as well and easier to sharpen, but it's too light and has the feel of a Glock as opposed to 1911 feel of the 710. Personal preference. I do trust Spyderco's quality control over Benchmade as I've only had one dissappointing Spyderco incident and three with Benchmade. I hate the millie clip. Benchmade G-10 is slick and although I actually prefer the feel, many others will not; especially if their hands are wet.

As far as S30V vs D2, there are no known S30V critics out there and those who despise D2 owe their distaste to imporoper blade maintinence and poor sharpening equipment. I personally have never had any problems with D2 rusting. I wipe my knives down periodically, before storage, and usually after use and every D2 bladed knife I have, came razor sharp and stayed that way, but with minimal use. I love S30V, D2, VG-10, 154cm, and ATS-34. I see too many criticisms of D2, VG-10, 154cm, and ATS-34 on here. They are good blade steels. Every steel has it's down-sides. S30V, which has been worshiped as a God as of late, chips like slate at times too. Back to the 710 and millie, they are both awesome knives, provided the factory isn't having a bad day, and they'll serve you wonderfully for the money.
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You should separate your thoughts into paragraphs, reading a wall of text online is a world of hurt :(
 
Another factor that I believe is largely forgotten in the Military vs 710 discussion is cost. Unless I've been looking in the wrong places, the 710 is cheaper by about 30 dollars. I bought my 710 for about 111 online, including shipping. Being left-handed, I've been pleasantly surprised by the left-handed Military. But, it costs about 135 (without shipping) at the online places I've looked - including shipping this ups the price by about 5-6 dollars. The Military is going to cost (brand new) about 140ish shipped, that's roughly 30 dollars more than the 710. Maybe I got a fantastic deal on the 710, but I am under the impression that they sell around the 110 mark.

There is an ~27% difference in cost between the two knives. When there is a 30 dollar difference between knives, I'm not so sure that comparisons can be made so one to one. Ergonomics and blade shape, lock up, F&F play a large part in the desireability of a knife: I just think that economics should too.
 
I'm not quite sure why so many people think the liner lock on the military or any spyderco is weak. Have you ever tried snapping or bending one? It is not very easy especially not in the military's case. I think the idea that well done liner locks are flimsy is ridiculous and in most cases, has no foundation for such beliefs. Just my 2¢
 
dan55797 said:
One night, being extremely hamered ...I decided to test my millie's "capabilities" on a small tree; aproximately 3 inches in diameter...I hacked the tree down in a couple of swings with little effort. Afterwards I was astonished to find my mille had more bladeplay than something you would win at a county fair carnival game...Standing by a pond, I tossed my millie into it and vowed to never again buy a spyderco.
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Soo…ya got drunk tried to hack down a small tree with a folding knife and it caused some damage. I’ve ruined a knife while drunk as well but I didn’t blame the knife.
 
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