Thoughts Hard Use Folding Knife- Benchmade Adamas

Paratrooper06 said:
So “hard use” to you means “not used as intended”, for me it means “used as intended, but with more force”.
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So ...we can agree to disagree ?

Maybe if we add the qualifier "EXTREME" hard use ? 🤪

Cold Steel Tri-ad lock folders , especially the most sturdy models, are definitely "intended " for harder use than mainstream folders . :cool::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
Consider the XL Espada .


There aren't too many locks , so far as I know , that will actually support this huge a folder for real use .

Butterfly / balisong type will work for this , IMO but not too many others .

Could an Axis type lock work for this ? IDK .

Has anyone tried ? If not ...why not !
 
DocJD said:
IMO , "Hard Use" includes the worst situation in which a knife might be used .

Combat , survival , emergency use .

Panicky , stressful , over-the-top scenarios ...not routine , controlled usage where a slip joint would be fine . :rolleyes:

Twisting/ torquing forces and considerable pressure on the spine , going directly against the lock is exactly what defines " hard use " and distinguishes it from routine / causal use .

The closer a folder can be to a good solid fixed blade, the better for hard use , IMO . YMMV . :cool::thumbsup::thumbsup:
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That’s what defines “hard-use” in my opinion. To further the point, the purpose for hard use is “hard use”- in extreme situations, as you describe.
Yet, I don’t expect to be in those situations in common, on a daily basis. The knife which is a tool, must be hard-use capable, with the ability to be re deployed for the same or similar use when necessary. If that requires some measure of minor repair or adjustment after it served it’s purpose, that’s fine by me. If it saved my life, someone else’s or either from serious injury yet was not repairable, then again, it served it’s purpose
 
waveone said:
That’s what defines “hard-use” in my opinion. To further the point, the purpose for hard use is “hard use”- in extreme situations, as you describe.
Yet, I don’t expect to be in those situations in common, on a daily basis. The knife which is a tool, must be hard-use capable, with the ability to be re deployed for the same or similar use when necessary. If that requires some measure of minor repair or adjustment after it served it’s purpose, that’s fine by me. If it saved my life, someone else’s or either from serious injury yet was not repairable, then again, it served it’s purpose
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Agreed !

The only reason to worry over durability is if the "emergency" situation becomes extended , and you only have the one knife available .

Tools must ultimately be expendable to serve your goal / need .
 
Everyone is mentioning Demko-CS knives. OP, have you looked at the Demko AD 20.5? It’s not super easy to find at the moment, but AUS 10 is gonna be an upgrade to anything in AUS 8.
 
Murdamook said:
Everyone is mentioning Demko-CS knives. OP, have you looked at the Demko AD 20.5? It’s not super easy to find at the moment, but AUS 10 is gonna be an upgrade to anything in AUS 8.
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Yes I have. The AD10 and 4Max Elite are on my list. The 4Max appears to be a bit more expensive but it’s a contender
 
waveone said:
Yes I have. The AD10 and 4Max Elite are on my list. The 4Max appears to be a bit more expensive but it’s a contender
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Rather try the 4Max Scout. For around $100 or less if you look around it is probably the best value hard use folder bar none. The 4Max Elite is way overpriced.
 
OP - if you agree to DocJD DocJD definition of hard use and that's also what you intend to use the folding knife for, Cold Steel should definitely be your top choice IMO. Axis lock folders come the second. I won't put any framelock folders into the category of that kind of extreme hard use (twisting, torquing, batoning, etc.). I am not sure about AD15 as I am concerned with dropping the knife to a hard surface when closed will deform the exposed blade tang and the knife becomes gritty, though I have no doubt the scorpion lock is just as reliable as the tri-ad lock.
 
Knives I currently own and would tag “hard use” include the BM Adamas, the CS AD-10, AD-15, the 4Max Elite (I haven’t had a Scout- can’t speak to it) and the Spartan Harsey Folder.

If pressed to pick one for the tasks described by OP, I’d shelve the Adamas (because omega spring), the AD-15 (I simply haven’t bonded with it), and the 4Max (it’s BIG).

My choice would be the AD-10 or the SHF.
 
I wouldn't shelve the Adamas for the omega springs, not even for a second, in the event of a failure in the field, you can simply engage the lock manually and insert a stick behind it and you have a fully functioning knife again. Maybe I'm just a lucky person, but out of approx. 30 Benchmades, I have yet to have a broken omega spring. AS to using a folder for batoning, there is a video out there of someone using Victorinox Pioneer to baton....anything can be possible if absolutely necessary.
 
I had an Auto Adamas that I sold. I liked it because it was big, kicked like a MF when it opened, and had G10 scales, unlike a lot of BM stuff.

The 2 reasons I got rid of it; I impulse bought it with partially serrated edges, which I really don't like. And that weird release mechanism they use (I forget what it's called).

If not for the serrations, I would have kept it. It doesn't seem to be a popular or desirable knife, with a low resale value from what I've seen. But that would make it a great user if one was so inclined.
 
hangmanshammer said:
I wouldn't shelve the Adamas for the omega springs, not even for a second, in the event of a failure in the field, you can simply engage the lock manually and insert a stick behind it and you have a fully functioning knife again. Maybe I'm just a lucky person, but out of approx. 30 Benchmades, I have yet to have a broken omega spring. AS to using a folder for batoning, there is a video out there of someone using Victorinox Pioneer to baton....anything can be possible if absolutely necessary.
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The cool thing about the automatic version is that the safety can be used as a secondary lock to lock OPEN the blade. If the omega spring breaks, I can use that to keep the knife functional. It won't pass a spine whack test, but in a pinch it will work and not fold on my fingers.
 
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Steely_Gunz said:
The cool thing about the automatic version is that the safety can be used as a secondary lock to lock OPEN the blade. If the omega spring breaks, I can use that to keep the knife functional. It won't pass a spine whack test, but in a pinch it will work and not fold on my fingers.
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I was curious about the potential for that. Initially the automatic was not part of my consideration but it is now

In any case the knives I’m considering are

BM Adamas
ZT 0308
CS AD10
CS 4Max

In reality now, I’ll most likely buy two…

The the reason for opening this thread was exactly what is happening here. A balanced conversation with diverse opinion and fantastic input. I’m not the only person that has a need on this order, so anyone with a need benefits here

Well done
 
Among these four, 4Max and AD10 are similar, so I'd pick only one of them (and that would be AD10 for me). So this really boils down to whether ZT0308 or BM Adamas if you plan to buy two. Do you really need two extremely hard use folders? I feel an AD10 should be sufficient. For that, I'd pick ZT0308 as the other. It is actually a good slicer for such a large folder, the best slicer among these four folders.
 
hangmanshammer said:
I wouldn't shelve the Adamas for the omega springs, not even for a second, in the event of a failure in the field, you can simply engage the lock manually and insert a stick behind it and you have a fully functioning knife again. Maybe I'm just a lucky person, but out of approx. 30 Benchmades, I have yet to have a broken omega spring.
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I’ve had BM axis locks for years and just as you, I’ve never experienced a failure of an omega spring. Enough folks have however, sufficient to make this worthy of consideration I think. I wouldn’t hesitate to select an Adamas myself (I consider my old D2 manual to be my “hard use” choice), but with the omega spring being a potential fail point, I’d sooner recommend an option that bypasses that possibility altogether. Those Tri-Ad locks are tough.

This was my logic. My dos centavos 😊.
 
I've had an original D2 Adamas and currently own a CruWear Adamas. I've also had an AD-10 and a ZT 0308. My thoughts:

The original D2 Adamas was too blocky in the handle and the steel choice didn't make much sense for its intended use. These issues led to me getting rid of it, but I was hopeful that someday they'd improve upon the design, and the updated CruWear model as a practical tool is a significant improvement. The use of thinner liners and thinner blade stock make it nicer to carry and use. The ergonomic improvements to the handle make a huge difference, and the new model feels good in my hand no matter how much force I apply to the handle. Add in steel that's tougher, harder, and more corrosion resistant and you have a substantially improved knife that I've been enjoying for rough projects around our new house (a lot of shaving and cleaning up cut materials, some light prying, etc). The edge has held up nicely with essentially no damage, and after sharpening it once I've been stropping it back to shaving as needed.

The AD-10 has a great handle design, arguably the best I've felt in a folding knife. I liked my early one with a hollow grind, but they've since changed it to a flat grind which I find to be a downgrade. This is a fantastic knife, but I got rid of mine after getting the CruWear Adamas; in my view the substantial blade and lock strength offered by the AD-10 just don't matter as much as edge stability/toughness, as I'm not using my knives to baton through things. In my view, the CruWear adamas makes more sense as a "rough use tool" than the AD-10.

The ZT 0308 disappointed me. I owned and loved the ZT 0303, but the 0308 wasn't much of an upgrade in my view. The move to bearings was an odd one for a knife that could be reasonably expected to encounter dirt on a regular basis, and after being disappointed by the edge performance on my particular knife I found that it didn't outcut basic 8cr while doing some controlled cut testing. Worse, the handle isn't well designed for hard cuts; the back swept handle design KAI likes to use on their in-house designs looks cool but it puts a ton of pressure on your palm if you're forcing the knife through something. Even if my example just had a lousy heat treatment and the others are better, I still wouldn't recommend it.

Of the knives you listed, the CruWear Adamas is by far the best option. If you're concerned about the edge angle, just reprofile it; it's fairly thin behind the edge so it won't take awfully long.

If you have the budget to buy two knives, then I'd also grab a cheap 4Max Scout. You'll get all the lock and blade strength you could ever ask for and the edge stability won't be appreciably different from the more premium stainless steels on the expensive cold steel offerings.
 
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