Spyderco Southard vs Benchmade 940

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BrolyJr

Joined
Nov 7, 2012
Messages
39
I love both knives the black southard is coming out soon and the s90v CF 940 is coming out aswell. Im on the fence about which one I should start saving for...
 
The black Southard is just a different color, the 940-1 actually has different materials. That said I don't know how S90V compares to the CTS-204P on the Southard.
 
I have a 943, have a 940-1 on pre-order, and am planning to buy a southard soon. So I would say both..
 
Don't have the 940 but the Southard is my favorite EDC. Knife is built well. Did change the color of the scale and made it tip down/up carry.
P1000383-vi.jpg
P1000384-vi.jpg
 
That's a really hard choice (for me anyways) the southard has cts 204p which is basically m390 and s90v holds a longer edge in my experience. I only have the manix xl s90v so that's my only knife I can judge the steel. I'd go with the benchmade only because it offers new material on a classic model where as the southard has black g10 which you could dye the brown to look identical. Either way its a hell of a blade, my southard is my top 3 spydies, and the 940 the top 5 benchmades I own.
 
Both have their selling points but the 940 isn't for me so I'd go with the Southard on this one. I prefer the 943's blade if I had to go that route.
 
I love my 940. I don't have the Southard, but I've handled it and I want one really bad! The Southard is a bit more heavy duty, but still very carry-able. The 940 is sleek, smooth, and will disappear in your pocket. The scales on the Southard are very rough, and the aluminum scales on the 940 are very smooth. One is a frame-lock, the other has the axis lock.

So, it depends on what you're after. I think you get a more substantial knife with the Southard, but there is no denying the form and function of the 940 either.

I say close your eyes, wave your mouse cursor around for half a minute and which ever one the cursor is closest to is what you should buy.
 
s90v outclasses cts 204p for edge retention and wear resistance. axis lock can probably take triple the force than the southward. Plus everyone remembers this picture from an earlier post.
knifefailurepictures001_zps877c90dd.jpg.html
 
farokhsidhwa said:
s90v outclasses cts 204p for edge retention and wear resistance. axis lock can probably take triple the force than the southward. Plus everyone remembers this picture from an earlier post.
knifefailurepictures001_zps877c90dd.jpg.html
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Don't forget it's also made in Taiwan rather than the US. That thin blade tang from the internal stop pin scares me. No freaking way for any knife I'd buy.
 
firstly, "probably" generally implies the person is GUESSING. secondly benchmade actually posts their lock strengths on their youtube channel videos. http://www.youtube.com/user/bkcompany?feature=watch. By using a chatillon TCD1100 digital force tester they can measure precisely how much weight the lock can take
For example, the 810 contego can take 1103.0 inch pounds of torque before the lock gives out. The old 940 is actually only at 698 inch pounds. Does spyderco post lock strength videos? NOPE.... so can't prove anything, but i have seen how thin the material gets near the cutout on the southward, and we have a post here about the blade breaking easily. (hence my picture post)
 
severedthumbs said:
Get the Spyderco, Benchmade makes disappointingly sub par knives.
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Get the Benchmade, Spyderco makes disappointingly sub par knives.

Seriously though, they're probably both great knives, so handle them and see which you prefer. Personally I would go with the 940 because it's lighter weight and the axis lock gives some more options for opening/closing, such as opened with the thumb or flicked open using hand motion. However it cannot be opened using a flipper, obviously. I cannot comment on steel
 
o4tg said:
Don't forget it's also made in Taiwan rather than the US. That thin blade tang from the internal stop pin scares me. No freaking way for any knife I'd buy.
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I've batoned a ~3" diameter tree down with my Southard and no damage to anything that was before I know that you don't baton with a folder. There was no blade play or any change in the lock up. Only other knife I own that can take that much abuse is my SnG. I think that's saying something about the Southard's strength.

For what you'll pay, you'll get superb craftsmanship and material. There's a reason why the Southard is my absolute favorite knife. Price to quality ratio is quite high.
 
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I've never held a benchmade that I liked.

Southard takes pocket time from my sebenzas.
 
Going to go ahead and assume he just has a gripe with Benchmade. And he's giving people false advice IMO. I've had a few benchmades and I really enjoyed them all. I just ended up going the Spyderco route because I love the designs. Both feel to me like they're really high quality knives as far as production/materials go.
 
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