- Joined
- Jan 14, 2007
- Messages
- 268
I recently purchased a 781 out of curiosity. From what I could see it looked like a good fit for me. When I opened it my first impressions where good with a couple major drawbacks. Well get to the second part later. I love the ergos, size, blade geometry and 20cv is never a bad thing. I like the thin profile of the handle a lot and I have large hands. So within about 5 seconds I made the decision to put it in my edc rotation. The new spring on the axis lock looks like a more robust set up than the omega. Finish is perhaps a bit sub par for that price point. Anodizing is even and uniform. My clip is not a different color as I've seen on a review.
Now for the issues that I really believe with 10 mins on a production floor should've been addressed by hand. It felt extremely gritty. Both the axis lock actuation and the pivot. Also the clip does come almost 1/8 inch from the handle. It's very thick and stiff so I get it. However I don't believe the solution is to bend it out. Lastly there should've been a more aggressive tumbling of the handle post cnc or perhaps two stages as in the Chevron pattern there are slight mill marks. Not bad but they are there.
Being I will use this knife hard I decided to tear things apart and see what I could do. The pivot screws are locktited like crazy but aside from that it comes apart easily. The recess for the bearings is cut fully into the tang of the blade, none in the handle obviously as it's integral. So once the pivot is out it pulls right out. Both surfaces should've been a bit more refined for a smoother pivot. Actually the TI was smoother than the tang. I polished in the recesses a bit and did nothing with the TI. I also hand sanded and polished to a mirror the bottom edge of the tang where it rides against the axis lock bar. It was quite rough and unfinished. Now for the axis lock. I did not remove it from the knife, I didn't feel the need. The roughness came from the anodizing at the bottom of the recessed channel where it rides. Really small flathead screwdriver and a tiny piece of 800 and some patients. I then took a dremel with a 1/4" stone and ground the clip at the back where it takes the bend to go to the screws. I removed a groove about 1/3 of the way through. Then bent it against the handle with tape coated pliers.
Next reassembley. Locktited and put together carefully. Went back together easily. The bearings and blade are easy to slide in as one unit. I overtightebed the pivot and did 100 open closes to wear things in a bit then backed it off until no play but very smooth. It's now an amazing functioning knife and I'm glad I did it. Lock and action are smooth. Still get a tiny bit of feedback on just the bearings. Such a small surface contact area, if it's not perfect it'll happen and I'm sure what's left is on the titanium. It's been a week and it's getting a bit smoother. I'd still like to find some roller bearings or multi row the same size and swap them out. I am very picky. The least amount of stripped screw, blade play, stickyness, off centering etc ruins a knife for me, especially in that price range.
I am very happy now with the knife but to Benchmade, you are attempting to target a part of the market that from my years and years of doing this has eluded you. The overall on this piece is very good and in most respects it hits the mark for me at least. This was sort of a groundbreaking piece for you and as soon as it was announced I was reading the high end guys saying "that msrp for a BM, yeah right". It's up to you to prove us wrong. We are a tight community with no BS assessments of knives. If a corner is cut it's realized and word spreads immediately. I suggest with these higher offerings you take the time to do the hand work at the end. At this price it's really finishing the knife. For me, at 450$ that knife wasn't finished yet. I do love it and will carry it but people's expectations on something like that need to be met. Someone who simply collects or carries them once in a great while will not tear them down and take power tools to them. But, that being said, great knife and I'm impressed with the intricacies of the design. I look forward to having it in my rotation for a long time to come.
Thanks for reading.
Now for the issues that I really believe with 10 mins on a production floor should've been addressed by hand. It felt extremely gritty. Both the axis lock actuation and the pivot. Also the clip does come almost 1/8 inch from the handle. It's very thick and stiff so I get it. However I don't believe the solution is to bend it out. Lastly there should've been a more aggressive tumbling of the handle post cnc or perhaps two stages as in the Chevron pattern there are slight mill marks. Not bad but they are there.
Being I will use this knife hard I decided to tear things apart and see what I could do. The pivot screws are locktited like crazy but aside from that it comes apart easily. The recess for the bearings is cut fully into the tang of the blade, none in the handle obviously as it's integral. So once the pivot is out it pulls right out. Both surfaces should've been a bit more refined for a smoother pivot. Actually the TI was smoother than the tang. I polished in the recesses a bit and did nothing with the TI. I also hand sanded and polished to a mirror the bottom edge of the tang where it rides against the axis lock bar. It was quite rough and unfinished. Now for the axis lock. I did not remove it from the knife, I didn't feel the need. The roughness came from the anodizing at the bottom of the recessed channel where it rides. Really small flathead screwdriver and a tiny piece of 800 and some patients. I then took a dremel with a 1/4" stone and ground the clip at the back where it takes the bend to go to the screws. I removed a groove about 1/3 of the way through. Then bent it against the handle with tape coated pliers.
Next reassembley. Locktited and put together carefully. Went back together easily. The bearings and blade are easy to slide in as one unit. I overtightebed the pivot and did 100 open closes to wear things in a bit then backed it off until no play but very smooth. It's now an amazing functioning knife and I'm glad I did it. Lock and action are smooth. Still get a tiny bit of feedback on just the bearings. Such a small surface contact area, if it's not perfect it'll happen and I'm sure what's left is on the titanium. It's been a week and it's getting a bit smoother. I'd still like to find some roller bearings or multi row the same size and swap them out. I am very picky. The least amount of stripped screw, blade play, stickyness, off centering etc ruins a knife for me, especially in that price range.
I am very happy now with the knife but to Benchmade, you are attempting to target a part of the market that from my years and years of doing this has eluded you. The overall on this piece is very good and in most respects it hits the mark for me at least. This was sort of a groundbreaking piece for you and as soon as it was announced I was reading the high end guys saying "that msrp for a BM, yeah right". It's up to you to prove us wrong. We are a tight community with no BS assessments of knives. If a corner is cut it's realized and word spreads immediately. I suggest with these higher offerings you take the time to do the hand work at the end. At this price it's really finishing the knife. For me, at 450$ that knife wasn't finished yet. I do love it and will carry it but people's expectations on something like that need to be met. Someone who simply collects or carries them once in a great while will not tear them down and take power tools to them. But, that being said, great knife and I'm impressed with the intricacies of the design. I look forward to having it in my rotation for a long time to come.
Thanks for reading.
