WTB my first real knife. Benchmade, SOG, Gerber?

Well, I thought I would give you guys and update.

I got my new knife. The winner is:
Benchmade Mel350, partial serration. $65

I went to a knife store I happened to see by chance the other day. To think that this store is only 1 mile away from campus the whole time and I never knew it! Anyway, their selection was excellent, a true knife shop. Well, it was my first knife shop - what do I know?

Anyway, after handling many blades, I kept coming back to the Gerber Covert and the BM 350. I don't know why. Unfortunately, the Covert was only available in black coating for $100, and I wanted a stainless. So then I had to choose between the BM 350, in black, stainless, serrated or smooth. Eventually I went smooth and then once I got out to the car I changed my mind again and went back in and finally left with partial serrated.

I'm fairly happy with this knife and it's reasonable price. It feels like it will last a long while. My only complaints are that it is not ambi, and I think the clip should be at the other end of the blade, and the thin blade seems somewhat weak.
I know that many of you reccommended the 705 and the Axis lock, but that lock seems weak to me... is this a big misjudgement on my part? I'm new to knives, and that Axis lock seems like a gimmick to me. How dependable is it?
Anyway, now that I've had a day or two to play with my BM 350, I'm starting to realize what Sergiusz Mitin meant when he said the dagger style blade is not best for general utility purposes. I am beginning to wonder how this knife would hold up on a camping trip or similar activity. Perhaps I have errored? Nevertheless, this knife just feels right clipped in my pocket - this is the knife I want to use everyday.
Uh-oh. Is this "the bug" as everyone around here hints at ... am I beginning to become addicted? Now I feel like I need to search for a camping folding knife, perhaps the BM 705, or something heavier. Yes, I certainly am starting to feel an itch that I didn't have a week ago.

(I don't think I can afford this habit along with my new gun collection ... )

Will this 350 hold up and be sufficient for my needs and manage to suffer occaisional hard use?
 
I don't actually own one, but from the standpoint of a mechanical engineer, I can say that the Axis lock should be quite a bit stronger than a liner lock, and from what I hear, testing agrees.

--JB

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