Opinions on a Benchmade Knife

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Squashfan

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Jun 6, 2012
Messages
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I would like to get your thoughts on the Benchmade H&K Soldat Tanto. I like the look of it but am not sure if I will carry it due to the wide handle. I want to try a tanto as I have many, many knives with the drop point, etc.

Any thoughts on the steel would be welcome as well.

Thanks and Merry Christmas!
Squashfan
 
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Tantos can take a bit to get used to. The American style tanto that that blade has will give you a fairly stronger Tip with a secondary tip where the main grind meets the "tanto" up swept section that is very handy for cutting cardboard and paper. That steel is an OK steel I think one thing about it is that is will perty much not rust even if you dump it in the ocean for a week. Im not very knowledgeable with that model and how strong the Benchmade button lock is. But it look ok for the price point One thing with tantos I would stray away from the part serrarated styles it realy limits your slicing portions of the blade, just stick with a plain edge style tanto.

If you can save up a few more dollars look at that Emerson CQC-7sw it pure classic tanto style. I have about 9 Cqc-7 I like them soo much but it takes a while to get used to. Over all the steel will never rust and should keep a keen edge, but is not a higher carbon knife steel that will perform better. The blade will take you a while to get used to and you will Love it or hate it. The benchmade Button lock looks ok but I perfer the Axis lock. Its not an US made knife but that does not mean its not a "quality" knife. Spyderco's offering from over seas are top notch and very well made but im not sure about the HK line from Benchmade. If you want to stick with benchmade and can spar a bit more cash you can get a custom Griptilain or Mini-Grip in a tanto with you choice of steels I wold suggest the D2 or S30v and you have tones of color options to choose from making the knife your own. you can find them under the build a grip section on Benchmades web page.

enuff rambling

pros:

Low Price Point
Light Weight
Supper rust resistant steel
Thin Blade should slice well for EDC

Cons:
Steel will not hod an edge that well
Only option is a black coated blade
Niot a true Benchmade knife It's an outsourced knife that Benchmade sells
 
MadMullet said:
. Its not an US made knife but that does not mean its not a "quality" knife. Spyderco's offering from over seas are top notch and very well made but im not sure about the HK line from Benchmade.
Click to expand...

It is made in USA.

Photo is not mine. I swiped it from some Evilbay auction via a image search.

soldatz.jpg
 
Pretty sure its made in China or Taiwan.
The Soldat is an outsourced knife made by HK through Benchmade.

Edit:
I stand corrected. Its made in the usa and has a good steel.
Get it now as I think it will be gone before we know it.
 
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I can't speak directly to the Soldat but I've been very satisfied with the Benchmade HK line in general. The HK knives I've owned were high quality and good design. Their well made with quality materials. I don't think you can go wrong with them.

The HK Ascender is one of my favorites.

For the price they offer great value. Very underrated and not as well known but good knives just the same.

Best of luck!
 
Get it.
It has N680 Steel which is used in some lower end knives as well as higher end knives and has a decent edge retention and sharpens easily as well.
It's made in the USA - Which most H&K's are NOT anymore and that is definitely a good factor.
Button Lock - While these appear to be used a lot, they are not normally used in lower end knives from what I've seen and that's also a cool factor while being a good lock on top of that.
The Soldat has also been discontinued so I would get it while you can.
 
As a die-hard Benchmade fan this knife was nice to look at, but despite being made here is surprisingly cheap, IMO. Without the support of liners and with thick plastic handles, this knife makes the Griptilian 551 look like a prize. The blade looks good, N690 is OK but gets dull quickly under hard use. As a glove or toolbox backup this is certainly affordable.
 
I'm not in love with the execution of the point. I quite like American tantos, but one of the big advantages is that you can grind a very strong, obtuse secondary edge while still having a thin, efficient slicer in the main edge. Although it's hard to tell from the pictures, it does not look like they've taken advantage of this at all.
 
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