Other American brands like Benchmade?

S

speedfan

Joined
Sep 5, 2003
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Are there any American-made brands like Benchmade? I find myself gravitating towards Benchmade knives, but it's boring to only look at one brand.
 
Many Kershaws, some of Spydercos are made in the US. Also, there's Lone Wolf, ProTech (if you are into autos), and many others. Which brands/models caught your eye?
 
Well, I'll tell you what I own and I guess you can tell me if there's a theme:
AFCK (lives in my toolbag - it's probably a shame that a discontinued knife sees such hard use, but it is a tool after all)
921
Spyderco Persian (which is made in Japan)
and on order but not yet here: BM 51 and 440.

Most Spydercos look very ugly to me. The Enduro and Military look ok though.

Things I value in a knife:
strong lock
light weight for the size (whatever that size may be)
an efficient closed length (i.e. a close to 1:1 blade to handle ratio)
 
You probably know a bit about Kershaw by now and if you don't like Spydercos looks then take a good look at Lone Wolf knives. They are an awesome Oregon company that makes very good knives with quality and style similar to Benchmade.
 
nevermind35 said:
You probably know a bit about Kershaw by now and if you don't like Spydercos looks then take a good look at Lone Wolf knives. They are an awesome Oregon company that makes very good knives with quality and style similar to Benchmade.
Click to expand...

I'm liking this Paul Poehlmann line. In fact, I'm kinda wishing I knew about them and got a Paul Executive instead of a BM 440...then again, I guess one can never have too many, right?

Although, just what is 400 series stainless?
 
Break down and get a spyderco, from what I hear you wont be sorry and even if you are there are enough people here that would take it off your hands. I have yet to give a syderco a try but I think the milli may be my next knife
 
I am kinda liking that Military, but, liner lock? How mundane. Plus, I don't see it doing anything the AFCK doesn't do.
 
I'm probably opening a
worms.gif
here... but why limiting yourself to American brands only? You're missing out on many other nice knives... After all, for me it's the quality that's more important, not where it's made.

Sorry for going off-topic, but it's something I'm curious about...

Kind regards,

Jos
 
It's just the way I feel about things - I have a preference for American made. When American made is not available, the preference then becomes for made in a country with comparable labor and environmental laws.

It is a preference, and not a requirement though. For instance, when I bought a multi-tool, I went with the SwissTool because I find it to be superior to the Leatherman offerings. However, with knives, there's nothing Benchmade doesn't do for me, so my desire to find other brands is because I find Benchmade lacking in some way (like I do with Leatherman), but just for the sake of variety. (the latter rule, about being made in a country with comparable labor and environmental laws IS a requirement, unless it simply cannot be met, like when buying a laptop for example).
 
FYI. Benchmade only recently discontinued its red box series, but you may still be able to find them - these are made in far away. Buck also offers several chinese-made knives. So, check every model's country of origin if this is such a dealbreaker.

A few recommendations from the USA-made Spydercos:
- The Manix 2 is a very sturdy working knife
- The UK Penknife is a lovely edc that combines the charm of classic slipjoints with a modern approach. A knife with barely any competition.

about:
I am kinda liking that Military, but, liner lock? How mundane.
Click to expand...
It actually offers one of the very best and most dependable liner locks ever - which is not so mundane.
Also good about the military is how light it is considering its size. Yet it's plenty sturdy enough.
 
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