Hey group,
Just a quick review of the Mini Presidio Ultra by Benchmade.
I had some training I had to complete in Atlanta and forgot my mini-grip. As I'm sure many of you here have felt before, when I got off the plane, grabbed my gear and couldn't find my knife, I suddenly felt naked (called my wife, she say's I left it, so at least it wasn't stolen).
Since the training was going to be a week I did what any self-respecting man would do; I headed to the nearest place that sold knives. I didn't want to spend a lot, I'm not really a collector. I set my limit at a 100$ as that would allow my military per diem to absorb the cost and not affect my personal budget (read: my wife won't find out I dropped a hundred on a knife).
I ended up picking up the Ultra. Now I love the mini-grip, but I really dislike the handle length. I've often wished it was just a tad longer. The Ultra has that extra tad. The blade shape is great, I love it. Nothing crazy, just a nice and simple, usable blade.
The knife could be an open back design, but it isn't. It's closer to 1/3 open, 2/3 closed. I'm really thinking about making it an open back design by removing the spacer and installing two barrels back there. The grip is pretty good. While I'd say the mini-grip has more traction, the Ultra out does the mini-grip with the larger handle, making it feel much better in the hand.
The only issue I have with the knife is the lock. I own two other Axis knives, the mini grip of course and the 14210. Both of these knives are oh-so-smooth. The Ultra is gritty. I don't have my tools with me at the hotel to take it apart, so I'll have to get back to you after I do. However, I'm not sure that there is grit in there. The liners in the knife as well as the Axis barrel that actually makes contact with the blade are painted (well, they're black anyways, don't quote me on the paint). On my other knives they're just steel. It seems to me that this paint (or whatever it is) is causing the drag and grit feeling when operating the Axis. I'll be taking it apart and oiling it when I get home, as it really is bothering; I'm sure you flickers out there would understand.
Overall, I like the knife better than the grip. The only major difference to me is the handle length, but that difference is a big deal for my hands. The handles are GTX, much like FRN to me. Oh, and the blade is 440C. I'm not a steel snob, so I really have no idea where that falls in line on the steel hierarchy.
(TL;DR -- Love the knife, feels great in the hand with the longer handle, has a grit feeling in the Axis, think it'll replace my mini-grip)
Just a quick review of the Mini Presidio Ultra by Benchmade.
I had some training I had to complete in Atlanta and forgot my mini-grip. As I'm sure many of you here have felt before, when I got off the plane, grabbed my gear and couldn't find my knife, I suddenly felt naked (called my wife, she say's I left it, so at least it wasn't stolen).
Since the training was going to be a week I did what any self-respecting man would do; I headed to the nearest place that sold knives. I didn't want to spend a lot, I'm not really a collector. I set my limit at a 100$ as that would allow my military per diem to absorb the cost and not affect my personal budget (read: my wife won't find out I dropped a hundred on a knife).
I ended up picking up the Ultra. Now I love the mini-grip, but I really dislike the handle length. I've often wished it was just a tad longer. The Ultra has that extra tad. The blade shape is great, I love it. Nothing crazy, just a nice and simple, usable blade.
The knife could be an open back design, but it isn't. It's closer to 1/3 open, 2/3 closed. I'm really thinking about making it an open back design by removing the spacer and installing two barrels back there. The grip is pretty good. While I'd say the mini-grip has more traction, the Ultra out does the mini-grip with the larger handle, making it feel much better in the hand.
The only issue I have with the knife is the lock. I own two other Axis knives, the mini grip of course and the 14210. Both of these knives are oh-so-smooth. The Ultra is gritty. I don't have my tools with me at the hotel to take it apart, so I'll have to get back to you after I do. However, I'm not sure that there is grit in there. The liners in the knife as well as the Axis barrel that actually makes contact with the blade are painted (well, they're black anyways, don't quote me on the paint). On my other knives they're just steel. It seems to me that this paint (or whatever it is) is causing the drag and grit feeling when operating the Axis. I'll be taking it apart and oiling it when I get home, as it really is bothering; I'm sure you flickers out there would understand.
Overall, I like the knife better than the grip. The only major difference to me is the handle length, but that difference is a big deal for my hands. The handles are GTX, much like FRN to me. Oh, and the blade is 440C. I'm not a steel snob, so I really have no idea where that falls in line on the steel hierarchy.
(TL;DR -- Love the knife, feels great in the hand with the longer handle, has a grit feeling in the Axis, think it'll replace my mini-grip)
