Quick and dirty comparison of Benchmade w/ AXIS vs. SOG w/ ARC-Lock

[Death's Head]

First off, I am not an expert in knives. Not even a serious collector. Just a guy handled a few of knives.
Just received recently a Benchmade HK 14210 followed by my SOG Vision. Two very good knives. The knives are different kinds of knives, so comparison in some respects are not totally accurate. The Vision is a significantly larger knife than the HK. The knives are both very well made. Fit and finish of both knives are excellent. No overhang of scales or liners. No blade play on either of the knives either. Both have blades similar steels. The SOG is made with ATS-34 and the Benchmade is made with154CM. Both are hair-popping sharp.
I know the locks are work differently, but function similarly. You can get the info. from the other threads on this site.
The HK has G10 scales. The knife is a bit small for my hands. And for textured G10, the handle actually feels a bit slick. The finger choil helps with grip though. The Vision has titanium scales. that are a bit smooth also. Of course metal tends to slick, but I have other knives with titanium scales that has a rougher finish that is actually provides very good traction.
No for the action and locks of both knives. Many may disagree with me, but this is a forum and that is what is forum is for. It is just my personal opinion regarding both these knives. Both knives are great and I am not taking anything away from either.
The AXIS lock is rougher than the ARC-Lock. When the blade of the AXIS is opened slowly, you can here a click at a certain point in the movement of the blade. I think it is the springs in the lock, not sure. The also seems to be some roughness when the blade pushes against the lock. Not a big deal though. The ARC-Lock was much smoother. Nothing audible from the movement. The AXIS lock feels more secure than the ARC-Lock though. There is more tension in the AXIS lock that seems to keep the knife more securely closed. The Benchmade also feels more "flickable" due the the tension of the lock. When closing both knives, the ARC-Lock again feels smoother. The AXIS seems to tilt against the liners (I think its the liners in there) slightly creating a bit of friction. Pushing on the lock from both sides feels much smoother. The Arc-Lock feels much smoother to close than the AXIS when closing from on side of the lock. Both knives pass the spine-whack test when whacked with moderate force.
So which knife am I keeping. The SOG. I can only keep one. I wish I can keep both though, but not right now.
Benchmade, of course has the better reputation of the two. I owned a SOG Flash for about a week before returning it because I wasn't satisfied with the fit and finish. But with the SOG Vision, it has everything I want in a knife except for a wave. That will be fixed shortly. Going to get a wave done from STR in a few days.
I like the SOG's lock better, and I love titanium. Too bad Benchmade doesn't make a knife with an AXIS lock and titanium scales. Don't know which one is more secure or more durable though. Just basing my opinion on what I can observe now. Like I said earlier, I wish the SOG's titanium handles were a bit grippier.
Here is my quick and dirty review of the knives. I apologize if I left anything out, but this is one of my first reviews. I may edit this to add things later if I think of anything else to put in.
Feel free to ask me any questions regarding thing like the locks, etc.
Thanks for looking.

 

[irabren]

Yup - I have both and they are both great knives. Also prefer the SOG - it is really sweet!

 

[Barrabas]

Great Pics and Great review.

Can you believe how tight the scales are on that?
Why did SOG quit making knives like it? - To me they have not come close to making it's equal.

I love my Ti Vision, Had it for a couple of years and concerning toughness, I have driven nails with it, and batonned through a frozen rib roast a week or so ago, the lock never flinched and a few strokes on a Ceramic rod, and it was shaving again.

Got a question for you though, if you don't mind:
Do you have concern with the maintenance on the springs (for lack of better term) in the ARC? I keep mine oiled well, but I do have concern that over time, it could accumulate mositure in there, and rust

I don't know how comfortable I would be in taking it apart to clean it out..

 

[gud4u]

That 'little click' the axis lock makes seems characteristic of the lock, and seems normal. It happens at about 10 degrees from closed-blade position when opening, and happens again at same angular position on closing on my 806D2.

Great comparative review!

 

[Death's Head]

Great Pics and Great review.

Can you believe how tight the scales are on that?
Why did SOG quit making knives like it? - To me they have not come close to making it's equal.

I love my Ti Vision, Had it for a couple of years and concerning toughness, I have driven nails with it, and batonned through a frozen rib roast a week or so ago, the lock never flinched and a few strokes on a Ceramic rod, and it was shaving again.

Got a question for you though, if you don't mind:
Do you have concern with the maintenance on the springs (for lack of better term) in the ARC? I keep mine oiled well, but I do have concern that over time, it could accumulate mositure in there, and rust

I don't know how comfortable I would be in taking it apart to clean it out..

The Ti Vision is the one of the best knives I have ever handled. For locks like the ARC and Axis, I am not too concerned about moisture. The lubing that I apply to the does cover the portion of the blade around the pivot area. As for the internal workings, I am guessing they did not use high carbon steel. Only my blades have rusted on my knives. I have never had any of the screws or liners rust on my. I don't think knife makers use the same kinds of steels for all parts of the knife. Someone correct me if I am wrong. I am worried about debris getting trapped, so I use the air sprayers for computers to clean out the lock.

 

[Lurp]

Great review! I own the SOG X-ray vision and cant speak well enough about it. Great knife with a solid feel, but I only with they made it with a plain edge and maybe in a drop point blade. That would be my all time favorite knife without a doubt.

 

[Death's Head]

Great review! I own the SOG X-ray vision and cant speak well enough about it. Great knife with a solid feel, but I only with they made it with a plain edge and maybe in a drop point blade. That would be my all time favorite knife without a doubt.

If you love the X-ray, try getting your hands on a Night Vision. It is the same size but with SS liners and G10 scales. They are selling on Ebay for $50 at this time. Can't go wrong with that.
I don't mind the tanto blade, but I do wish there was a plain edge made.

 

[Death's Head]

I just checked ebay and there are only Night Vision for "buy it now". I bid on one last week and lost at $55 though. The Night Visions are selling for $120. I paid $125 for my titanium Vision!

 

[Death's Head]

The Ti Vision will be off to STR for wave modding. Will post some pics when it comes back.

 

[Death's Head]

The postman was here with my Ti Vision, but I missed him. I will have to get the knife tomorrow from the Post Office. Will post pics as soon as possible.

 

[GarageBoy]

if they make the SOG with a plain edge, I'd soo buy it

 

[Dijos]

Sog vision handle with a Jetedge blade-I've been begging, but to no avail.

 

[Death's Head]

if they make the SOG with a plain edge, I'd soo buy it

I know exactly what you mean. The only 2 things this knife was missing was a wave and a plain edge. Just didn't have a choice with the blade. Got the wave though. Still an awesome knife.

 

[Death's Head]

Sog vision handle with a Jetedge blade-I've been begging, but to no avail.

What's a Jetedge? Plain edge?

 

[Redguy]

What's a Jetedge? Plain edge?

Sog Jetedge: http://www.petestacticalknives.com/Image Expert Images/SOG/Jetedge.jpg

Sorry, could'n find a bigger picture.

 

[medusaoblongata]

A little bit of roughness is not unusual for a new axis lock, but they wear in smooth.

I'm mostly a Benchmade/Axis guy, so when I wanted a tanto to add to the collection I bought a BM 722 online, and didn't like it at all. I sold or traded it off right away and bought a SOG Night Vision. I've been carrying forever. Great knife and very smooth. I've noticed a lot of Arc locks develop a tiny bit of vertical blade play, but it doesn't seem to increase or compromise lock integrity. The G-10 scales of the Night Vision are perfectly grippy. Very smooth and solid knife; I think you made a good choice.

A few years ago SOG did, after a lot of complaints/requests from forumites, make a handful of plain edge Visions, available only direct from the the factory at full retail, and they didn't sell very quickly. For all I know they might even have some left.

I haven't been following them very closely, but I haven't seen anything else from SOG that comes close to the Visions, which is too bad, because the quality and construction of those is on par with BM or Spyderco, and they could have released a lot of other knives just as cool. Don't know why they didn't.

 

[Resistor420]

If only they sold the Vision with a black blade... SOG should definetly make more variants of the Vision, or X-Ray actually.

 

[Death's Head]

A little bit of roughness is not unusual for a new axis lock, but they wear in smooth.

I'm mostly a Benchmade/Axis guy, so when I wanted a tanto to add to the collection I bought a BM 722 online, and didn't like it at all. I sold or traded it off right away and bought a SOG Night Vision. I've been carrying forever. Great knife and very smooth. I've noticed a lot of Arc locks develop a tiny bit of vertical blade play, but it doesn't seem to increase or compromise lock integrity. The G-10 scales of the Night Vision are perfectly grippy. Very smooth and solid knife; I think you made a good choice.

A few years ago SOG did, after a lot of complaints/requests from forumites, make a handful of plain edge Visions, available only direct from the the factory at full retail, and they didn't sell very quickly. For all I know they might even have some left.

I haven't been following them very closely, but I haven't seen anything else from SOG that comes close to the Visions, which is too bad, because the quality and construction of those is on par with BM or Spyderco, and they could have released a lot of other knives just as cool. Don't know why they didn't.

Would just like to say one thing that I stated recently on a similar thread. Both of these locks are awesome. They are both user-friendly and secure. The thread was a comparison of both locks side-by-side. Knit-picking really.
What I said in another thread was that both of these locks was like comparing platinum and gold or filet mignon and prime rib. Both great, but to me one is a little better than the other.

 

[Death's Head]

If only they sold the Vision with a black blade... SOG should definetly make more variants of the Vision, or X-Ray actually.

It really is one of the only great knives that they make. I think the ti version is the greatest that they ever made. The rest of their knives really vary in quality and function.
I personally don't like black blades because they wear off. Even the DLC stuff I have read a few complaints about, but I do like the look of black blades, and if you don't mind the scuffing, then more power to you.
By the way, I welcome you to bladeforums. You are going to learn a lot and have some fun. Let me know if you need any assistance.

 

[cistjam]

The postman was here with my Ti Vision, but I missed him. I will have to get the knife tomorrow from the Post Office. Will post pics as soon as possible.

I'd love to see those pictures (mostly because I'm not sure what a "wave mod" is on a knife)