Steelcraft Mini-Bodega

Blues Bender said:
Watch on YouTube to switch to HD.
[video=youtube_share;Bv1BivmJxJ4]http://youtu.be/Bv1BivmJxJ4[/video]
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Thanks Blues, been watching this one but I am still on the fence due to those clip pillars...seems like they would waste quite a bit of Ti and time milling a slab that thick down just for those two little pillars.
 
I also did a review type video of the mini bodega, I show both the blackwash and stonewashed in mine.

[video=youtube;vB3LxLpmkM0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB3LxLpmkM0[/video]
 
Scurvy092 said:
Gotta hand it to the Begg's. They know how to extract the maximum amount of money from people for production knives. 750-1100 for USA Bodegas and 400-500 for Chinese made ones...
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The Todd Begg Steelcraft Mini Bodega 3" sells for $445 and the Hinderer XM-18 3" sells for $425 both with S35VN. The XM-18 has G-10 on the presentation side and a replacement Hinderer titanium scale goes for $200! Also, the amount of milling and detail on the Mini Bodega is phenomenal. Mini Bodega is a flipper in name and performance. XM-18 is a flipper in name only.
 
Not to mention general blade geometry... The mini bodega is a bit thinner behind the edge and will out cut a Hinderer. I have a 3" Slicer and it is pretty thick behind the edge and doesn't cut very well... Even after being reprofiled to 15 dps, the factory edge on the mini bodega is much sharper.
 
Thanks for the responses and reviews. The good news is that I'm really looking forward to getting the Mini-Bodega. The "bad" news is that I think I am going to have to get the Kwaiken too.
 
josephrogers said:
Not to mention general blade geometry... The mini bodega is a bit thinner behind the edge and will out cut a Hinderer. I have a 3" Slicer and it is pretty thick behind the edge and doesn't cut very well... Even after being reprofiled to 15 dps, the factory edge on the mini bodega is much sharper.
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I definately agree about the Bodegas geometry. I was expecting a pretty thick blade, but it's actually a pretty decent slicer. The blade stock is not the thinnest, but performance is made-up by the high-shoulders of the hollow grind.

I was cutting some cardboard yesterday (early spring cleaning:)) and thought to myself "Wow, this is like cutting butter":D
 
RamZar said:
Nice overview Blues Bender.

Good point on a little jimping for the flipper tab. I've had a couple of misfires.

I just wish it was as smooth as my buttery smooth Steelcraft Kwaiken.

Overall, a solid 9 out of 10 score.

You scored it 8 out of 10. Other than jimping on the flipper tab do you see any other shortfalls, minor or not?
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**RamZar, I have the same (no-jimping) issue, but...with my Begg Steelcraft Kwaiken. I dealt directly with Mark a lot because the detent on my first Begg Kwaikien was set pretty hard, and I didn't want to to open the knife (due to the IKBS) to tweak the lock bar pressure myself, to soften up the detent a little. So Mark totally took care of me, took mine back and sent me a new/different one with a (to me) much more reasonable/comfortable detent. He was great to deal with all the way thought the process, and an extremely nice guy. But, and here's my relevant point...I did mention to him a bunch of times how I wished they, Begg/Reate had put some jimping on the Kwaiken's flipper tab. I've had quite a few misfires too, as the tab is so smooth. With the replacement Kwaiken and it's lighter detent, the problem definitely isn't as bad...but... I'm still doing now what I did with the first, hard detent Kwaiken..and that is I put a tiny slice of grip-tape on the flipper tab, right where my finger makes contact with the tab. Having that extra grip right there makes a HUGE difference. No slips, no misfires, MUCH more of a guaranteed (100%) snappy opening every time. And it really is amazingly smooth...like "a custom" smooth. LOVE this knife.:thumbup:



**Blues Bender, & josephrogers, thanks for the in depth, video review. It makes me wonder though. I just got a Kizer Gemini but have been thinking about still getting a Mini Bodega. Aside for the obvious esthetic differences between it & the Mini Bodega, looks like they are almost identical in size, shape, thickness(?) and I assume very close in weight. Both are great but they both, for me, seem right on the edge of being a little small, totally subjective, I know. Both have ceramic IKBS & detent. Don't know if you own a Gemini but I'm now wondering if they would serve the same roll & feel almost like a duplication, if they were both going to be edc users, not just collection pieces. And they both also lack jimping on their tabs I wish was there. If you own or have handled both, or just have an opinion, I'd like to know.:)
 
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Scrim said:
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**RamZar, I have the same (no-jimping) issue, but...with my Begg Steelcraft Kwaiken. I dealt directly with Mark a lot because the detent on my first Begg Kwaikien was set pretty hard, and I didn't want to to open the knife (due to the IKBS) to tweak the lock bar pressure myself, to soften up the detent a little. So Mark totally took care of me, took mine back and sent me a new/different one with a (to me) much more reasonable/comfortable detent. He was great to deal with all the way thought the process, and an extremely nice guy. But, and here's my relevant point...I did mention to him a bunch of times how I wished they, Begg/Reate had put some jimping on the Kwaiken's flipper tab. I've had quite a few misfires too, as the tab is so smooth. With the replacement Kwaiken and it's lighter detent, the problem definitely isn't as bad...but... I'm still doing now what I did with the first, hard detent Kwaiken..and that is I put a tiny slice of grip-tape on the flipper tab, right where my finger makes contact with the tab. Having that extra grip right there makes a HUGE difference. No slips, no misfires, MUCH more of a guaranteed (100%) snappy opening every time. And it really is amazingly smooth...like "a custom" smooth. LOVE this knife.:thumbup:
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My Steelcraft Kwaiken was super smooth from day one and gotten super buttery smooth now! :) It's an incredibly slim and lightweight (5 oz.) flipper with a near 4" blade. Never had issues with misfires on the Kwaiken because the flipper action and detent are perfect.

Scrim said:
**Blues Bender, & josephrogers, thanks for the in depth, video review. It makes me wonder though. I just got a Kizer Gemini but have been thinking about still getting a Mini Bodega. Aside for the obvious esthetic differences between it & the Mini Bodega, looks like they are almost identical in size, shape, thickness(?) and I assume very close in weight. Both are great but they both, for me, seem right on the edge of being a little small, totally subjective, I know. Both have ceramic IKBS & detent. Don't know if you own a Gemini but I'm now wondering if they would serve the same roll & feel almost like a duplication, if they were both going to be edc users, not just collection pieces. And they both also lack jimping on their tabs I wish was there. If you own or have handled both, or just have an opinion, I'd like to know.:)
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Kizer Gemini is an excellent value at $170. Gemini has a 3.125" blade which makes it a no go for places with 3" blade restrictions. The Steelcraft Mini Bodega costs a lot more due to a lot more machining on the titanium and blade. Sometimes solely comparing specs misses the boat!
 
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Scrim said:
**Blues Bender, & josephrogers, thanks for the in depth, video review. It makes me wonder though. I just got a Kizer Gemini but have been thinking about still getting a Mini Bodega. Aside for the obvious esthetic differences between it & the Mini Bodega, looks like they are almost identical in size, shape, thickness(?) and I assume very close in weight. Both are great but they both, for me, seem right on the edge of being a little small, totally subjective, I know. Both have ceramic IKBS & detent. Don't know if you own a Gemini but I'm now wondering if they would serve the same roll & feel almost like a duplication, if they were both going to be edc users, not just collection pieces. And they both also lack jimping on their tabs I wish was there. If you own or have handled both, or just have an opinion, I'd like to know.:)
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Scrim,

Nice idea with the grip tape method, I may try that myself.

As for the Gemini and the Bodega, I think in essence they will be almost like duplicates. However, in reality, they are completely different knives. In essence, I have quite a few 3.5" blades and I guess they could all be considered "duplicates" because they all serve the same role; essentially.

In reality, all my knives of the same size are completely different in aesthetics, value, functionality, personality, etc... Personally, I think you would fancy the Bodega over the Gemini if you had both in front of you. However, you will find that the Gemini will have its own unique personality and find a reason to still carry both knives from time to time.

That's just my take. So take it with a grain of salt, a slice of lime, and a shot of tequila:D
 
I think its a nice knife, and the Bodega is one of my grails. The only thing I don't like is the "snail eyes".

A quick search of Google images confirmed my recolection that the American made Bodega uses stand offs on the clip. I wonder why the Steelcraft version does not.
 
Blues Bender said:
In reality, all my knives of the same size are completely different in aesthetics, value, functionality, personality, etc...
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Well said! Sometimes subjectivity, details and intangibles are where it's at. Simply comparing specs misses the point entirely...
 
I just wanted to post up some comparison photos. I thought some people may like to see how it stacks up to a couple folders I have on hand. Hinderer are all 3 inch versions, purple delica, bm 940, Cally 3.5.

My impressions of the Mini Bodega are nothing but perfect, the f&f is as good as any other knives I have, flips like a 12 yr old Olympian and the factory grind is great. Love it!!!

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I just got mine today. Overall, it's a fantastic knife, and absolutely the best 3" I've ever held.

Edit: If I had to make some sort of critique, I would have to say that I wish they would have flattened the detent like the classic Bodegas.

Other than that, the smoothness is there, with obvious room for improvement with age (and thousands of flips).

Obligatory picture below (with something that also came in the mail today... sorta stealing the mini's thunder)

kkZGjBr.jpg
 
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Does the mini have the same issue of not being able to sharpen the entire edge like the original?

Like this (not my photo)
20140418_204347_zpsg93dgqdd.jpg
 
RamZar said:
Perhaps best to post your Rike question in the Rike thread: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1346237-New-Rike-Knife-Models
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Ahh, thanks Ram!

Thanks too for the opinion on the T.R.E.
I have one of those coming now, as well as a Spartan Metis.

Great videos everybody. I 'm glad someone did a compare with the grey and black version.

I took a chance getting a black one, sometimes I end up not liking black blades. In this case, I like the choice I made.

I'm glad some smaller folders are coming out now.
 
bearcut said:
Ahh, thanks Ram!

Thanks too for the opinion on the T.R.E.
I have one of those coming now, as well as a Spartan Metis.

Great videos everybody. I 'm glad someone did a compare with the grey and black version.

I took a chance getting a black one, sometimes I end up not liking black blades. In this case, I like the choice I made.

I'm glad some smaller folders are coming out now.
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It's really good to see more small flippers with blades of 3 inches or less showing up. Still not enough out there but the past year we've seen Todd Begg Steelcraft Mini Bodega, LionSteel TRE, Ferrum Forge N-TAC, Spartan Metis, Boker Mini Kwaiken, Spyderco Positron, etc. Hope to see more. The Mini Bodega is the pinnacle.
 
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