Hey everyone, first post in a long time.....
So for the past couple of years ive been eying the 707 because to me it looked so perfect that i knew i had to get it one day. I held off because of the apparently tiny size and ridiculous price. As my collection grew, i got hold of a variety of very different knives. I have always had a pretty low budget so ive been trying to get knives that were all very different so that i could try out different steels, blade shapes, grinds, handle materials, etc. Before getting the sequel, my folders included the Tenacious, Native 5, 586 mini barrage, 556 mini grip, and a Para 2. I felt like i had a well rounded taste of the knife world, but the problem was, i could never be happy picking up just one in the morning because each had its strong suits and none were well rounded in and of themselves. The 586 is awesome and i love the m390 and assist, but it was tooooo assisted to be an ideal knife for all situations, just like the para 2 was big,ergonomic, and strong, but was far less sheeple friendly than i would have liked. I felt overknifed with the para 2, but felt underknifed with the Native, and i was so far past the 8cr13mov of the Tenacious. I couldnt find one knife in my collection that had it all: a good steel, people friendly, great performance, but still something that i WANTED to look at and use every day.
But when i got the 707 in my hand, i knew i had finally found the knife i was meant to EDC. I dont think i am exaggerating when i say that this is the single BEST designed Benchmade on the market right now. The size is actually ideal, and while many complain about it being too small, in my opinion its perfect. I have large hands, but thin-ish fingers and with a hammer grip i can get four fingers and then some on the handle without a problem. I dont understand why people who complain about its size do the test by actually trying to use the lousy excuse for a thumb ramp this knife has.
If you do that, obviously you wont have enough room. I dont even think it should be considered a thumb ramp. This isnt a knife that needs one anyway. But the first thing i noticed about this knife is the efficiency. It literally only has a tiny bit less usable cutting edge than a para 2, and has more edge than both the 586 and Native 5, but is smaller than all of them! I mean, talk about efficiency. Benchmade really got this one right. You can tell by how close the handle to blade ratio is.
This knife has it all, from the blade shape to the awesome aluminum handles, which btw DO provide a nice amount of traction because of the anodizing thats been done. The G10 inlays do nothing, but still look good enough that i dont complain. The pocket clip is great, and as always the Axis lock is perfect. No blade play and so smooth the blade literally closes itself upon disengaging the lock. And i swear to God, this thing closes faster than it opens! The way its designed, the axis provides a much more powerful detent that pulls the blade into the handle from farther out than it does on the mini grip. This also means it doesnt bounce back out as easily when you axis flick it closed.:thumbup: I think of the 707 as what the mini grip should have been, but that it hasnt overtaken it because of the price difference. People "settle" for the Valox handles because the knife is still very good and is much cheaper. But BM proved it could be even better. I think if they made the sequel around $100 and the mini grips $80, many more would buy the 707. While the steel isnt the latest supersteel, i dont mind it at all. I find 154cm to work just fine, and lets face it, i cant have m390 on everything
Oh and by the way, i dont know why people complain about BM's factory sharpness. Mine was so sharp, i cut myself 6 times trying to get used to opening it and it popped hairs from 3 feet away. I was terrified 
Last but not least...... I found it on sale somewhere for $105 shipped. Ive seen some mini grips going for that price nowadays
Overall, this knife is so perfect, im tempted to start selling off the rest of the collection because i honestly dont think ill be using anything else anytime soon. But i guess ill keep them for the sake of variety. This knife does everything an edc blade should, all the while keeping sheeple friendly and being awesome to look at. Thank you, Benchmade. Never stop making this knife. It is WAY too underrated for how good it is. This is one knife that will never leave my pocket. 707 FTW!
So for the past couple of years ive been eying the 707 because to me it looked so perfect that i knew i had to get it one day. I held off because of the apparently tiny size and ridiculous price. As my collection grew, i got hold of a variety of very different knives. I have always had a pretty low budget so ive been trying to get knives that were all very different so that i could try out different steels, blade shapes, grinds, handle materials, etc. Before getting the sequel, my folders included the Tenacious, Native 5, 586 mini barrage, 556 mini grip, and a Para 2. I felt like i had a well rounded taste of the knife world, but the problem was, i could never be happy picking up just one in the morning because each had its strong suits and none were well rounded in and of themselves. The 586 is awesome and i love the m390 and assist, but it was tooooo assisted to be an ideal knife for all situations, just like the para 2 was big,ergonomic, and strong, but was far less sheeple friendly than i would have liked. I felt overknifed with the para 2, but felt underknifed with the Native, and i was so far past the 8cr13mov of the Tenacious. I couldnt find one knife in my collection that had it all: a good steel, people friendly, great performance, but still something that i WANTED to look at and use every day.
But when i got the 707 in my hand, i knew i had finally found the knife i was meant to EDC. I dont think i am exaggerating when i say that this is the single BEST designed Benchmade on the market right now. The size is actually ideal, and while many complain about it being too small, in my opinion its perfect. I have large hands, but thin-ish fingers and with a hammer grip i can get four fingers and then some on the handle without a problem. I dont understand why people who complain about its size do the test by actually trying to use the lousy excuse for a thumb ramp this knife has.
If you do that, obviously you wont have enough room. I dont even think it should be considered a thumb ramp. This isnt a knife that needs one anyway. But the first thing i noticed about this knife is the efficiency. It literally only has a tiny bit less usable cutting edge than a para 2, and has more edge than both the 586 and Native 5, but is smaller than all of them! I mean, talk about efficiency. Benchmade really got this one right. You can tell by how close the handle to blade ratio is.This knife has it all, from the blade shape to the awesome aluminum handles, which btw DO provide a nice amount of traction because of the anodizing thats been done. The G10 inlays do nothing, but still look good enough that i dont complain. The pocket clip is great, and as always the Axis lock is perfect. No blade play and so smooth the blade literally closes itself upon disengaging the lock. And i swear to God, this thing closes faster than it opens! The way its designed, the axis provides a much more powerful detent that pulls the blade into the handle from farther out than it does on the mini grip. This also means it doesnt bounce back out as easily when you axis flick it closed.:thumbup: I think of the 707 as what the mini grip should have been, but that it hasnt overtaken it because of the price difference. People "settle" for the Valox handles because the knife is still very good and is much cheaper. But BM proved it could be even better. I think if they made the sequel around $100 and the mini grips $80, many more would buy the 707. While the steel isnt the latest supersteel, i dont mind it at all. I find 154cm to work just fine, and lets face it, i cant have m390 on everything
Oh and by the way, i dont know why people complain about BM's factory sharpness. Mine was so sharp, i cut myself 6 times trying to get used to opening it and it popped hairs from 3 feet away. I was terrified Last but not least...... I found it on sale somewhere for $105 shipped. Ive seen some mini grips going for that price nowadays
Overall, this knife is so perfect, im tempted to start selling off the rest of the collection because i honestly dont think ill be using anything else anytime soon. But i guess ill keep them for the sake of variety. This knife does everything an edc blade should, all the while keeping sheeple friendly and being awesome to look at. Thank you, Benchmade. Never stop making this knife. It is WAY too underrated for how good it is. This is one knife that will never leave my pocket. 707 FTW!
