Review Benchmade 200 Puukko

Jhansenak47 said:
So you have nothing. The VW engine emission specs were fraudulent. What motivation would they have to list the specs as 57-59 when they were running 60. I trust their published data to reflect the bulk of their production accurately because heat treatment is a critical production process. I think your conjecture is interesting, but what do you have supporting it?
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VW is a reputable company but some employees acted otherwise. Years ago, two Ford engineers made a judgment call on eliminating rust-proofing. When it massively went wrong, they hid the data from upper management as long as they could - Maverick.

And people, being imperfect beings, can make mistakes.

You have nothing you have cited, beyond faith in Benchmade's accuracy. Maybe, or maybe 55-56 RHC.

But we have room for all faiths here.
 
JBoone said:
This one has piqued my interest. Looks like a good price for a capable knife. Can’t remember seeing 3V in a production knife at this price regardless of handle material. G-10 and micarta can’t be that much cheaper?
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Cold steel master Hunter at around $119, which has also tempted me, I got my Cold Steel AK-47 fixed blade for around $125 but that was with one of the ebay coupons
 
The Hardness is 57-59 HRC.

Whenever a company gives you a single HRC value they are giving you the average.
Benchmade is giving you the range, not just the average.

You can send samples to a local metallurgy lab in your area for hardness testing, for example, its about $50 per sample test in my area.

Thomas Linton said:
VW is a reputable company but some employees acted otherwise. Years ago, two Ford engineers made a judgment call on eliminating rust-proofing. When it massively went wrong, they hid the data from upper management as long as they could - Maverick.

And people, being imperfect beings, can make mistakes.

You have nothing you have cited, beyond faith in Benchmade's accuracy. Maybe, or maybe 55-56 RHC.

But we have room for all faiths here.
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Anyone know when these will be coming out again?
G2
 
Thomas Linton said:
VW is a reputable company but some employees acted otherwise. Years ago, two Ford engineers made a judgment call on eliminating rust-proofing. When it massively went wrong, they hid the data from upper management as long as they could - Maverick.

And people, being imperfect beings, can make mistakes.

You have nothing you have cited, beyond faith in Benchmade's accuracy. Maybe, or maybe 55-56 RHC.

But we have room for all faiths here.
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What are you actually arguing about in this thread? Perhaps you should hold your breath until a third party provides data on the Benchmade Puuko steel qualities in a peer-reviewed publication in a reputable journal...
 
DeadboxHero said:
Winning Combo.


ppQ1jiE.jpg
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Tell me about the polish job??

Absolutely stunning
 
Jhansenak47 said:
No. The spine feels like a 90 degree corner that was put in a stonewash.
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This is correct. We needed to put a bright 'polish' finish after the blade is milled so the spine has a little bit of a radius from vibratory finishing. The polished finish helps with preventing corrosion on the 3V blade.
 
Benchmade said:
the spine has a little bit of a radius from vibratory finishing.
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So the new bushcraft knife can't throw spark from a firesteel? Seems like a massive oversight for the intended purpose.

I had to dremel/sand the spine flat on my 162-1501 because of the finish you guys put on it. It was odd to have a knife named "BUSHCRAFTER" that couldn't be used to perform its namesake.

Benchmade said:
We needed to put a bright 'polish' finish after the blade is milled...The polished finish helps with preventing corrosion on the 3V blade.
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Literally nobody else has a problem with this.

The DBK guys modified the model 200 to make it work for them (different edge, and probably sharpened the spine). I don't mean to come across as brash, but did you guys look into why the Puukko is a useful tool at any point in the creation of the model 200?
 
Cypress said:
So the new bushcraft knife can't throw spark from a firesteel? Seems like a massive oversight for the intended purpose.

I had to dremel/sand the spine flat on my 162-1501 because of the finish you guys put on it. It was odd to have a knife named "BUSHCRAFTER" that couldn't be used to perform its namesake.



Literally nobody else has a problem with this.

The DBK guys modified the model 200 to make it work for them (different edge, and probably sharpened the spine). I don't mean to come across as brash, but did you guys look into why the Puukko is a useful tool at any point in the creation of the model 200?
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I can throw a spark off a Ferro rod using my Puukko. I prefer to use a saw blade or the little scraper that comes with the Ferro rod though. I hate to say it, but if you can't put a 90 on a knife then you are a terrible bushcrafter. The whole point of bushcrafting is being able to do stuff on your own. Adapting an object to purpose is at the heart of the bushcrafting philosophy.
 
I think that those who believe that Benchmade should have adhered to their personal idea of what criteria a knife has to meet to be called a puukko will rant and rave and not buy the knife, while those who are interested in how it functions will buy it because it is an outstanding all-around performer. I own one and have used it enough to know that it is an excellent design. Congratulations to Benchmade on a very well thought out knife.
 
Here are some of my specific thoughts on the knife:
1. The sheath: I think it is a good sheath. You can use the drop loop or not, your choice, and it works well both ways. I had not realized that there was a plastic liner until someone else mentioned it. The sheath already has a welt, which protects the stitching from the blade edge, and has three rivets along the stitching that will keep the blade edge away from the stitching. The plastic liner provides a third line of protection for the stitching. That is a lot of protection and shows that a lot of thought went into the sheath. I would have preferred that the handle sit just slightly deeper in the sheath, but it couldn't go much deeper without making it difficult to get a decent grip on the handle when withdrawing the knife. It appears to me that the shape of the mouth of the sheath provides a very good balance between retention and being able to easily withdraw and resheath the knife. When I first glanced at the sheath I thought it was a good design, but now that I have taken a very close look at it, I am quite impressed.

Other thoughts to follow . . .
 
The handle: In short, it is comfortable and affords excellent control of the knife for all uses. One of the claimed advantages of a traditional puukko handle is that there is no exposed metal on the handle, which is really nice when temperatures get cold. The Benchmade handle has the same advantage. The shape of the handle, which has both a vertical swell and a horizontal swell, reduces the possibility of the knife slipping in your hand. The texturing is an extra touch that provides some additional grip without being so aggressive as to be uncomfortable. I think the benefit of the texturing is minimal when the handle is greasy or wet, but the handle shape compensates for that. It is worth noting that the texturing is a nice extra touch that is not available on many other knives, which again shows that Benchmade put a lot of thought into the details.

As I have gotten older and have developed some arthritis in my hands, handle comfort has become an important factor. This handle is sufficiently hand filling without being overly bulky and the more I use the knife the more I appreciate the handle. My primary wood carving knives are the Mora carvers, partly because of their comfortable handles. The Benchmade is the only knife I have used that has a handle that is more comfortable than the Moras for wood carving uses. In addition to the standard outdoors woodworking tasks, I have used the Benchmade for processing deer and for food prep both outdoors and at home in the kitchen. The Benchmade handle is hands down the most comfortable and versatile handle I have used.

One additional advantage of the handle material is that it compresses very slightly when the knife is inserted in the sheath, which improves the retention.

More thoughts to follow . . .
 
The blade itself: One of the biggest criticisms had been that it doesn't have a Scandi grind. My response to that is "Thank goodness." I like a Scandi grind for woodworking, but am not as fond of it for other uses, especially for food prep, specifically for cutting up vegetables. Although there are Scandi-ground knives that work well on vegetables, most of the ones I have used feel like they are splitting the vegetables, not slicing them. The Benchmade works well in this capacity. It also does an excellent job of processing deer, at wood carving, and at other tasks.
I hate to sound like a fanboy, but it seems to be a very versatile blade design.

One feature that I really appreciate is the slightly softened corners on the blade spine. I have not tried to use it to strike a ferro rod because of this feature. This is a non-issue for me because for every other use I find a hard edge to be uncomfortable and because I don't spend much time striking a fire steel. I am willing to carry a separate fire steel striker in exchange for having a knife that is comfortable to use the rest of the time.

Summary: In my opinion this is a very versatile knife. The designers paid a lot of attention to details that are not apparent unless you examine the knife closely. The value for the money is very high. No, it is not a standard puukko, but I think Benchmade has done a great job of providing a knife that will do a very good job on a wide range of tasks.
 
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Jhansenak47 said:
I hate to say it, but if you can't put a 90 on a knife then you are a terrible bushcrafter.
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Can’t put a 90 on a knife that should already have a 90? In the bush? I’m not really sure what you’re saying.
 
Cypress said:
Can’t put a 90 on a knife that should already have a 90? In the bush? I’m not really sure what you’re saying.
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I am guessing you weren't a very good boy scout. If it was important enough I would find a suitable rock and stone it to a 90 in the field, otherwise you should probably do it before you head into the field. On the other hand it is a squared off spine with a slight radius from stonewashing, it is more than sharp enough for my purposes already. The terrible bushcrafter comment was a jab, which you seem to be taking literally.
 
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