Spyderco Military vs. Benchmade 710

Strange luck, or something. :) I have a version of every model except the ATS 34 first model, and the newest orange G10 and every one locks up like a vault with an audible sound that is unmistakable. The alignment is perfect on each.

My favorites are the BG42 , and S90V models.

The 710's I've gotten rid of except the 710M4. I even got rid of my M2 model not long back. It too is a great knife, though typically they haven't come as sharp, and there may be very slight problems with scale alignment. Nothing that affects safety or performance.

I recommend the super steel versions of both. Nothing like having S90V, or BG42, or CPM D2 choices, or 154cm, D2, M2, and CPM M4 versions to chose from.

We are living in the golden years of knives right now. Joe
 
hey Joe, have you compared BM's M4 to Spyderco's??
my M4 Mule is still away from home (handle & sheath aren't ready yet :grumpy:)

one more eye candy for you guys

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I just go my first Mili (in orange). It is huge but that is okay. I has a very arched handle which will take some getting use to. I never understood the advantage of that shape. The BRKT Fox River is similar in shape. Lock is very solid. And by the way, you can flip the blade out with the correct motion. Hold the back half of the knife with the hinge pointed up and away at about a 45 deg angle and your arm bent close to your body. Extend your arm sharply down and away, then stop and flip the knife back with your wrist. Short quick motion.
 
HornyToad said:
I just go my first Mili (in orange). It is huge but that is okay. I has a very arched handle which will take some getting use to. I never understood the advantage of that shape. The BRKT Fox River is similar in shape. Lock is very solid. And by the way, you can flip the blade out with the correct motion. Hold the back half of the knife with the hinge pointed up and away at about a 45 deg angle and your arm bent close to your body. Extend your arm sharply down and away, then stop and flip the knife back with your wrist. Short quick motion.
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I just thumb-flick mine ;).

personally, I think anything too severe tends to add too much wear to linerlocks or framelocks, and can possibly cause indents or misformation of the lock surface as I have seen mild forms of this in just about every linerlock and framelock I own (excepting my Sebenza and Militaries).
 
Probably a good idea not do it on a regular basis but good to know you could in an emergency. And as you said:

senoBDEC said:
I have seen mild forms of this in just about every linerlock and framelock I own (excepting my Sebenza and Militaries).
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If you go through this thread, you may notice something interesting. Comments such as blade misalignment, factory blade dullness, obvious scale gaps during production. I know that Benchmade makes good knives and I like them also but......... Why are buyers willing to put up with this sloppiness, and fix these knives after purchase instead of demanding that the manufacturer pull up its socks?
 
Here are my two (Military S90V and 710 M4 w/ custom scales):

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I just got the military and haven't used it that much yet.

Blade: Military. S90V by all accounts is awesome stuff and the full flat grind is just excellent. 710 is good, but the military is great.

Lock: 710. Hard to beat an axis lock. Axis lock is much easier to use, ambidextrous, and smoother.

Fit & finish: tie. The military lanyard hole insert is a little off and the 710 had a not perfect backspacer (which is gone w/ my custom work). Both have lackluster clips (can't anyone make a nice powder coated clip?).

Grip: 710. The carbon fiber military feel is excellent - it doesn't look as cools as the CF on the 710 but the roughness is perfect for a good grip. However, the swell in the middle of the handle of the military just doesn't fit my hand very well. The 710 grip shape is much more natural for me.

Overall: 710. They're both great knives but the grip and the axis are the clinchers for me. Your mileage may vary...
 
I'd go with the 710 cause:-

1) For a small closed folder it opens up to a deceivingly big one. For the Military the closed size is pretty long/big.

2) Axis vs. Liner lock, nuff said. Even when comparing with a really good liner lock.

3) Clip location is tip up in mine for the D2 710 but there is only tip down for Military. I'm not too keen with tip down.

Thanks.
 
upnorth said:
If you go through this thread, you may notice something interesting. Comments such as blade misalignment, factory blade dullness, obvious scale gaps during production. I know that Benchmade makes good knives and I like them also but......... Why are buyers willing to put up with this sloppiness, and fix these knives after purchase instead of demanding that the manufacturer pull up its socks?
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i live in Europe and shipping back & forth over the pond is kinda prohibitive
plus there is also the 'joy of tinkering' :)
 
Most people believe that an axis lock is stronger than the liner lock. However, I found my BM520's axis lock to be weak. I did a spine whack test out of curiousity, and it failed. The blade closed even from light whack. After inpecting the 520 for a while, I found out that the axis lock does not work well when there's dirt (or lint) jammed in the locking mechanism. This never happened with my millie.

Again, I speak solely based on my own experience.
 
Liner-locks don't work well with lint/dirt in the works either. Most folding knives don't.

The newest Military models seem to have more robust locks than the earlier ones in my experience.
 
brj said:
i live in Europe and shipping back & forth over the pond is kinda prohibitive
plus there is also the 'joy of tinkering' :)
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Well Benchmade was always listening to those problems. It is about six years ago as i received a completly new 806D2 without having to send back the defective.
 
beluga said:
Most people believe that an axis lock is stronger than the liner lock. However, I found my BM520's axis lock to be weak. I did a spine whack test out of curiousity, and it failed. The blade closed even from light whack. After inpecting the 520 for a while, I found out that the axis lock does not work well when there's dirt (or lint) jammed in the locking mechanism. This never happened with my millie.

Again, I speak solely based on my own experience.
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The axis lock is stronger, if the axis bar travels forth enough on the tang. My 520 did fail too. Compared to the 550, the axis bar was just half way up the tang. And, the tang has a higher angle in comparision.

Consider the 550, there may have been everything at the tang, whatever, it will not disengage.

Looking at earlier 520 models i guess, BM has improved it.

I believe, to many ppl. have talked about sticking axis bars, that BM might have tried to make the lock easier to use. It´s easy to see, if both knives are held together.
 
The advantage of the axis lock is strength when properly engaged. It's weakness is the springs and the possibility of crap (lint, dirt, wood, etc) getting jammed in the lock.

The advantage of the liner lock is simplicity. Less moving parts means less chance for error. It's weakness is strength, although with the Military (and all Spyderco liner locks) I feel that they are very strong & secure.

Sure the Axis lock will beat out any liner lock in a weight holding contest, but personally I don't put 300lbs of pressure on a lock every day. It's there to keep the knife open, and as a mechanical device, just like the safety on a gun, is prone to failure no matter how secure you make it.
 
although I generally agree about Axis being stronger, still, the Military lock seems plenty strong to me
IIRC, the liner lock found on the Mili is rated as Heavy Duty (over 100 lbs per inch of blade length - as per Spyderco's internal testing)
plus, Sal stated before that Spyderco pays a premium for a G10 that has 30% more glass fiber than normal, in order to compensate for nested liners
 
brj said:
although I generally agree about Axis being stronger, still, the Military lock seems plenty strong to me
IIRC, the liner lock found on the Mili is rated as Heavy Duty (over 100 lbs per inch of blade length - as per Spyderco's internal testing)
plus, Sal stated before that Spyderco pays a premium for a G10 that has 30% more glass fiber than normal, in order to compensate for nested liners
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I heard about the G-10 with extra fiberglass. :thumbup: Not unlike Spyderco to use materials that exceed normal expectation. They heat treat their wire clips for strength even.

I wasn't saying the Military's lock is weak, far from it. I'm simple saying in a destruction test, I would expect the Axis lock to fair better. Even then, I'm still partial to the Military.
 
Excellent review, brj, and a great collection of knives. Thanks for sharing. :thumbup:
 
Great review! Only ever owned a military and it was one hell of a knife. Handled a 710 once but since I had no idea what it was at the time I never bought it. Both look like great knives that I would love to replace with the brick currently in my pocket. I find the older I get, and the more I learn that I just don't need over built folders. Both military and 710 would be perfect for me. Those that have both, crack a beer, and smile.
 
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