Benchmade 556 Mini Griptilian

11/06/2010 by Jefe

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

This is good knife to buy for someone who has never had a Benchnade.

Handles are available in a few colors for people who are "knife shy". I still prefer black and OD green. Handles sound hollow when you tap on them. Axis lock is a favorite for many.

The blade is 2.91", 154CM, Mod-Drop Point.

If you want a similar-sized knife, but prefer the thumb opener hole, consider the 555. I have both in PE.

Benchmade 707 Sequel

11/05/2010 by Jefe

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Less than 1 Month

Comments:

This is my favorite small knife.

2.95", mod-clip-point, 154CM.

Very smooth to open, a lot like my 943.

The reason for the "7" on ergonomics is that

smaller knifes don't feel as good to me.

I don't rate any knife with a 10 overall, so

this small knife is tops.

Good smaller EDC.

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Spyderco Native

11/05/2010 by Jefe

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Light Duty/General
-Owned for 3 months

Comments:

Many people either really like or dislike the Native. I like it but I think there are many Spyderco knives that I would pick over this one.

With finger on the choil, the grip is very good even though the choil has a flat back edge.

No adjustment screw for tension. I would prefer a flat grind like the Native 4.

Though CF has many fans, I am not one.

This knife is like a terrier, a lot there

in a small package.

Benchmade 943 Osborne

11/05/2010 by Jefe

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 3 months

Comments:

One of my top 5 folding knives made by anyone. I like the 943 better than the 941, but I am a fan of clip point knives.

3.4" S30V blade. A very sleek knife that disappears in the pocket.

Many think this is a perfect EDC knife. Addictive to those who are into constantly do a flick/close routine.

Benchmade 520 Presidio

11/05/2010 by Jefe

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Self Defense
-Owned for Less than 1 Month

Comments:

You might want to disregard this review because I bought the 15020 "Bone Collector" first and gave it to my son last week. I liked the BC better.

The 520 has an excellent all black, 154CM 3.42" drop point blade but a handle that tends to be a little aggressive on the aluminum handle ridges. The 520 Presido is one of my least favorite Benchmades, but many like the Mini-Presidio (525) over its bigger brother.

My least favorite Benchmade is still better to me than most other brands. This time next year, it will loosen up and probably win a "knife of the year" award.

Benchmade 741 Onslaught

11/05/2010 by Jefe

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Self Defense
-Owned for Less than 1 Month

Comments:

You want a big folding knife? Here it is. This is one of my top 4 Benchmades and it is as smooth to open as the small 707 "Sequel". If this knife is anywhere near me, I am constantly doing the open/close routine.

Bob Lum (RIP) designed a great knife, his first AXIS lock. It has a 4.48" MCP, 154CM blade. My only weakness that I see is a smaller/thinner tip when compared with other knives this large.

I'm not going to be stabbing a bowling ball with it anyway.

The tip up pocket clip is larger and well positioned which makes it easier to carry than you would think for a knife just under 7oz's.

Spyderco Para Military

11/05/2010 by Jefe

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Outdoor/Survival
-Owned for Less than 1 Month

Comments:

I am not a fan of tip down carry, but I can understand why on this style compression lock.

This knife is about 2/3's the size of the Military and a favorite for most Spyderholics. It has an S30V, FG, 3 3/32" blade.

My handles are G-10 and has the "Digital Camo" which fit my hand perfectly. The detent is a little weak and needs tightened but I carry it in a unique location in my truck.

This could be a "harms way" knife, but realistically, it is a working knife for the majority of its owners.

Benchmade 147 Nim Cub 2

11/05/2010 by Jefe

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Outdoor/Survival
-Owned for Less than 1 Month

Comments:

This knife has a 3.5", 154CM fixed drop point blade and black Noryl GTX handle. I would gladly take this knife camping even though I am more into being outdoors and spending nights in a cabin.

It has a molded nylon sheath with a snap button closure that is MOLLE compatible. It is a better choice than velcro. I'll save leather sheaths for my fancy knives.

As somebody once said, "Everything you need, nothing you don't".

Excellent grip for Med/Lg hands. This is a knife to use and not hide it in a closet.

Spyderco Caly 3

11/05/2010 by Jefe

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Less than 1 Month

Comments:

The Caly 3 is my favorite of the 8 Spyderco knives that I own.

It is a 3", ffg, VG-10 blade with G-10 handles. The wire clip is my preference. It rides/hangs low in the jeans pocket

If I hold the knife by the jimping, the ergonomics is a 10 for my hand (Med/Lrg).

If I hold it further back on the handle, the rating would be a 9.

The choil is excellent and round, unlike the "native" which has a flat back edge.

Buck Nighthawk 4.88

11/03/2010 by T911

-Price Paid: $36.00
-Used for Light Duty/General
-Owned for 3 months

Comments:

I bought the 650 first and like it, but wanted something a little smaller. So I purchased a 655 plain edge and love it. It's heavier than my SOG Seal Pup Elite, but the 655's full tang is quite thick which adds to the weight as well as thickness of the blade. I'm not the type to stick the tip into concrete and see how much pressure it can take, but this blade has stood up to some yard work, hacking, splitting and more. It still looks brand new.

Besides the awesome blade, the GRIP is the true seller for me. It doesn't mar up easily and provides a great handle to hold on to. My hands are normal sized and the handle of this knife fits very well. Most knives have much smaller handles and the smaller handles look a lot "cooler" but when you start using the knife, you realize the small handle makes it very hard to hold onto.

The sheath does its job, but is in no way tactical. The sheath is the same sheath the 650 uses, so there is about an inch and a half of empty space in it at the bottom. I would like the sheath to by kydex and only as long as needed. I may end up making my own.

The price for this knife is crazy low. When I purchased the knife, I figured it would be a throw away after a while, but was pleasantly surprised to see that this is now one of my favorite knives in my collection.

Zero Tolerance 0200

11/03/2010 by cutter17

-Price Paid: $128.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

I simply had to give the ZT0200 a 10 in all aspects, as anything else just does not fit the bill.

First a little background. When I saw these knives for the first time, in pictures, I was impressed and excited. Then when they became available, something just kept me from pulling the trigger on the 0200. Looking back on it, I really think that the price tag was so much lower than the rest of the lineup, and this meant low quality--evan at $130!

Eventually I decided to go ahead because I was reading so many positive reviews about it. When I arrived I was blown away! EVERYTHING about the knife was PERFECT! Now I'm sure that I sound like a fanboy, but I really believe what I have said to be true. The overall design of the knife has Ken Onion written all over it, with curves aplenty throughout the handle and blade. The build quality leaves very little to desire as everything fits together into a smooth handling package that feels great in my hand. The components are heavy duty all the way through the knife. The hardened steel liners measure ~.080" thick, while the blade is .157" thick and made from 154CM with great grinds and a razor edge from the factory. Lockup is very good, although I have read where the lock has slipped for some people. For me, it never slipped. Course I took it apart and gave my liner a little more bend to insure that the liner would not slide over without me making a conscience decision to do so. I've had it, and a few other 0200's, for 3 years and the lock bar continues to lock up on the blade tang in the original position before I "modified" it. As I stated above, the handle shape, along with the contouring of the G-10, just fits my hand exactly as I want a knife to fit it.

Finally, the cost of this knife is really low for what you get in return. I'm no stranger to high end production knives, nor custom knives (in the ~$500 range), and the 0200 built with the same materials in the same design, would easily bring a much higher price from a custom maker!

So this is my take on the ZT0200, a very fine, well built, well designed knife that is available to all for a lower price than you might think!!

Chris Reeve Small Sebenza

10/30/2010 by Arjun

-Price Paid: $330.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 3 months

Comments:

From my scoring, it would seem odd that I rate this a 10 overall. That's because there are certain things about this blade that make it my favorite EDC knife.

To go over the benefits, build quality is by far the best I have ever seen on a production knife. The tolerances and fit and finish on this knife are at very high levels. The detent is very strong, and the pressure is strong that you know it is there without hindering smoothness.

The utility of design is paramount.Ergonomics are very good. It goes for a more general shape (unlike a spyderco) but I found no hotspots during use. The subtleties of the handle are quite interesting. Approximately a 3 finger grip for large handed folk to a 3.5 finger grip for medium hand sized folk.

The titanium is sand blasted for texture. It does wear but the wear gives it character. Lockup is solid and always maintains just that perfect amount of 'stickiness'. Titanium frame instills confidence.

Blade to handle ratio is about as near to 1:1 that you can get on a folder. This gives you a lot of cutting edge for a smaller package.

The blade is stonewashed,hollow ground S30V at 2.94 inches. Chris Reeve treats his S30V a little softer than other makers. It is a good heat treat that had good edge retention. However to be honest I feel Paul Bos has a better heat treat which is not only tougher, but also harder with better edge retention. Chris reeve S30V runs about 58-59 on the Rockwell index. The blade shape is very utilitarian and works great for light to medium cutting tasks. Don't pry with this tip!

Value is debatable. I have a hard time giving any $330 knife 10/10. It's a $330 knife. However I feel for the price I paid, I got a fantastic knife built to luxury standards. This knife is a high end knife, but don't expect the unreasonable from it. It's not magical or the world's greatest cutter, and is not for anyone. It is a purpose built tool built to exacting standards for knife-folk who appreciate a fantastic tool, but also the amount of care and detail that went into making it.