Bear with me, as this will be the first review that I've written. I can't remember exactly, but I believe I've had this knife for about 6 months or so, and I really like it. It has a little more class than my Ka-Bar Dozier thumbnotch folder, and I usually carry mine in more sheeple infested areas.
I like the tip-up carry, and the clip has good retention. The clip is set up for only tip-up, interchangeable to right or left side. This knife is quite thick for the size, about 1/2 an inch or so at the butt. It has a serrated thumb ramp, although the knife is a little small for my hands to accomodate a full saber grip (FYI, I wear large gloves, have fairly large hands). The handle does lend itself well to hammer and icepick grips, and the ergos are nice. The thick handle feels more comfortable to use for longer periods that thinner FRN handles I've used. The handle is also serrated on the rear of the butt, and the underside at the butt and towards the blade as well. They seem to add to grip security but nothing quantifiable. The lanyard hole seems quite small, I would think even a shoelace would be difficult to thread through, if lanyards are your thing. The thumbstuds are ridged, similar to the Kershaw Vapor II, and quite "grabby", if a little difficult to use, depending on opening technique.
The FRN handle doesn't feel cheap like some knives, owing to the dual steel liners I'm sure. I haven't beat the hell out of the knife, but I do have great faith in the Rolling Lock that this knife utilizes. It tolerates numerous hard spine whacks and palm pressure to the blade spine.
I haven't quite decided what to think about the In-Draft system. On the one hand, living in Canada, having a pocket knife with a detent as strong as this one makes it difficult to flick and thus safer legally speaking. On the other hand it can take some time and practice to open the knife quickly and safely if you're not used to the mechanism. I prefer a sort of abbreviated thumb flick myself.
Edge holding seems to be on par with other AUS8 knives that I have used, perhaps a bit better with this knife. Maybe Benchmade runs their AUS8 harder than CRKT, Timberline and Ka-Bar. I'm sure someone with more knowledge than I can comment on that. It took me longer to sharpen this folder than knives with similar steel, so I use that as a frame of reference. I do know that my Mini-Ambush takes a great edge and holds it well. Touch-ups have been quite simple as well.
I do have a complaint regarding the thumbstuds however. The thumstuds on this knife are huge. They stick out 3/16" on either side of the blade. It wouldn't be an issue were it not for the reprofiling it with my lansky. It took some creative work to try and sharpen around those monstrous thumbstuds. Even touch-ups on a ceramic crock stick were difficult. As a frame of reference, I reprofiled the edge to 30 degrees inclusive, 15 per side to take advantage of the nice flat ground blade. Maybe the factory edge is catered to the protruding thumbstuds. It's not a huge problem, but I feel the knife loses some points overall for that.
To sum up my rambling overview:
Pros:
Nice ergos, comfortable handle
Good blade steel
Solid lock
Good blade shape, lends itself well to slicing
Tip-up carry, if that's your thing
Cons:
Thumbstuds, can be awkward to use and are very large
In-Draft System, can be mitigated with practice. Good for the legally paranoid but hard on the thumb.
Overally,I would recommend the Mini-Ambush to anyone interested in it. I like mine, and I'm sure I could grow to love one day. Mine sees a lot of pocket time, but unless I bring my folders to work they generally don't see much hard use. I myself am more of a low speed operator, and my Mini-Ambush works very well for me.
