Benchmade Bushcrafter vs. Spyder Co Bushcraft

A

Aj35

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Nov 2, 2015
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I am looking for a quality bushcrafting knife with a blade length between 4-5 inches. I have looked at many offerings from lots of different brands but the 2 that have stood out to me are the Spyder co bushcraft and the benchmade 162 bushcrafter. Usually after narrowing down my choices through Internet research I would see the knives in person but I have bean unable to find a store in my area that stocks the Spyder co. I have had the opertunity to handle the benchmade and like it for the most part. The only things I am worried about with the benchmade is getting hot spots from prolonged use and difficulty sharpening it. On the other hand I am worried that the Spyder Co may have to smooth a finish on the handle that would lead to sliping which could be dangerous and also I would prefer the longer edge retention of s30v. I posted this hoping to find someone who owns both knives and could tell me which they prefer and why and also to here from people who may own one of these knives tell me if it was worth the money and if they would recommend it. Also I would appreciate any informations on the pros and cons of these 2 types of steel and also pros and cons of these paticular knives. Lastly I am open to other suggestions for a good bushcrafting knife but I have looked at most of the knives made for this purpose and am drawn to the benchmade and the Spyder co.
Thank you guys in advance for the responses,
Aj35
 
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LT Wright Bushcrafter HC.. And have a few bucks left over for beer!!! John:thumbup:
 
I've owned about a half dozen Spyderco Bushcraft knives. I've since sold everyone off, but it still remains the most comfortable handled of any knife that I have or still own!

I've never tried the Benchmade-it looks like hot spot city to me
 
Mr.tettnanger was there any problem with the knife that prompted you to sell yours? Would you recommend the Spyder co bushcraft? Also did you find it easy to sharpen and how was the edge retention?
 
AJ,

I loved the Spyderco and highly recommend it! I have moved on to customs and away from Scandinavian grinds. I use to buy one, see something else and sell to raise money, on and on.

I've actually been thinking about getting another one!
 
Thanks for clearing that up for me. After hearing how comfortable the handle is I'm starting to lean towards the Spyderco.
 
I own the Benchmade Bushcrafter and it's probably the most comfortable extended use knife I own.. It may feel odd when fondling at first, just bc it's not your typical design, but once you start working with it, the design makes complete sense.
Out of the box its edge leaves allot to be desired but with a polished 30° inclusive bevel with "toothy" 36° inclusive micro bevel it carves like a dream...it bites like a scandi when I want it to but will also makes really fine shavings with ease.

It holds an edge forever as well when working with wood. The really fine razor sharpness will drop off after a bit but it holds a working edge forever it seems. Even after a good bit of use I've sharpened mine once since I got it several months ago and it'll still shave hair .

I handled the spyderco Bushcrafter on several occasions and used it once. It's a good knife, but I personally didn't care for it. I felt it to be a downgrade to the Benchmade Bushcrafter, so I never bought it. (I only buy similar sized knives to what I already have if I feel it's an upgrade to what I'm currently using)

I'd recommend the Benchmade hands down.
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Just throwing this out there, but if you are willing to drop $200 and want a scandi grind and tool steel, check out some of the offerings from Bark River, such as the Bushcrafter, the Mini Bushcrafter, the Ultra Light Bushcrafter and the Scandi.
Many more handle options and many of them come in CPM-3V steel, which I would take over O1 any day.
 
162 is my favorite fixed blade ,Period. My first one is going on 3 years. Been used hard, no edge issues. 15 dps makes it cut wicked, especially with a toothy finished edge. Rear of handle need a light sanding to round the corners a bit, but no hot spots or carving fatigue.

Blade length is perfect , handle has stayed tight , steel has never failed me. No problems on sharpening speed if you use diamonds to cut the carbides in S30V. Sharpmaker does a great job also. Spec-ops extra small sheath ( for 4 1/2" blades fits it perfectly if you don't like the factory one, but my original is still holding up. Just needed a little wet forming.

I have 2 G-10 Spydercos also , and it's a great knife , but Imo somewhat over-priced. Handle is ergonomically perfect pretty much , but on the heavy side. All things considered , I prefer the 162 more and it fits in better for my uses.
 
Shotgun to answer your question honestly it's primarily due to the aesthetics and the number of reviews that draw me towards these 2 knives. The problem with many of the knives that I have looked into is the lack of a good review or anyway for me to test the knife myself. This makes me hesitant to order as I am scared that I might spend hundreds only to get a product that is inferior or simply not my taste something that can often be hard to tell just from a picture. As for the Benchmade and Spyderco I enjoy the way these blades look and the majority of reviews say these knives are well suited to many bushcraft chores. The quality steels used draw me to these knives as well. I also like the way the handles look and the fact that they both come from main stream well known companies with good customer service is also a plus. Another reason that the benchmade is in my top choices is because unlike most of the knives I have looked at online I have the ability to feel it before I buy it. Also I know that the fact that my top 2 choices are both from mainstream brands makes it look like I haven't put a lot of thought into this but spending several hundred dollars on a knife isn't something I do lightly and I want a knife that will be my primary user for bushcraft for probably the next 5 years minimum. I have done extensive research on bush craft blades and read many threads on multiple forums of different peoples recommendations. I made a list of all the production offerings that I liked before I narrowed it down to the benchmade and the Spyderco which included: the Helle temagami, Battle Horse knives Bushcrafter, Battle Horse Knives Woodsman Pro, Survive GSO 4.5, Survive GSO 4.1, Bark River Aurora, Bark river Bravo 1 Rampless, Bark river Northstar, Adventure Sworn Bushcraft Field Grade Explorer, Adventure Sworn Bushcraft Field Grade Mountaineer, Koster Knives Bushcraft, Koster Knives Bushmaster, and the Enzo trapper 95. As I have already said the spyderco and benchmade were my favorites but the Bark River Bravo 1 Rampless is a very close third but as I haven't found an in depth review I don't feel comfortable purchasing it. If anyone has an opinion on any of these other options I have listed or feels that I am missing a good quality knife on this list your input would be greatly appreciated. Shotgun, I hope this answered your question and I am sorry for the rant. I really hope this didn't come off as hostile I just felt like I needed to explain where I'm coming from and why my situation lends it's self to the more well known brands i.e. benchmade and spyderco.
 
Aj35 said:
Shotgun to answer your question honestly it's primarily due to the aesthetics and the number of reviews that draw me towards these 2 knives. The problem with many of the knives that I have looked into is the lack of a good review or anyway for me to test the knife myself. This makes me hesitant to order as I am scared that I might spend hundreds only to get a product that is inferior or simply not my taste something that can often be hard to tell just from a picture. As for the Benchmade and Spyderco I enjoy the way these blades look and the majority of reviews say these knives are well suited to many bushcraft chores. The quality steels used draw me to these knives as well. I also like the way the handles look and the fact that they both come from main stream well known companies with good customer service is also a plus. Another reason that the benchmade is in my top choices is because unlike most of the knives I have looked at online I have the ability to feel it before I buy it. Also I know that the fact that my top 2 choices are both from mainstream brands makes it look like I haven't put a lot of thought into this but spending several hundred dollars on a knife isn't something I do lightly and I want a knife that will be my primary user for bushcraft for probably the next 5 years minimum. I have done extensive research on bush craft blades and read many threads on multiple forums of different peoples recommendations. I made a list of all the production offerings that I liked before I narrowed it down to the benchmade and the Spyderco which included: the Helle temagami, Battle Horse knives Bushcrafter, Battle Horse Knives Woodsman Pro, Survive GSO 4.5, Survive GSO 4.1, Bark River Aurora, Bark river Bravo 1 Rampless, Bark river Northstar, Adventure Sworn Bushcraft Field Grade Explorer, Adventure Sworn Bushcraft Field Grade Mountaineer, Koster Knives Bushcraft, Koster Knives Bushmaster, and the Enzo trapper 95. As I have already said the spyderco and benchmade were my favorites but the Bark River Bravo 1 Rampless is a very close third but as I haven't found an in depth review I don't feel comfortable purchasing it. If anyone has an opinion on any of these other options I have listed or feels that I am missing a good quality knife on this list your input would be greatly appreciated. Shotgun, I hope this answered your question and I am sorry for the rant. I really hope this didn't come off as hostile I just felt like I needed to explain where I'm coming from and why my situation lends it's self to the more well known brands i.e. benchmade and spyderco.
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I'd put the bravo 1lt hunter closer in comparison to these knives..the bravo 1 is a thick piece of steel lol...

I will say while I love my Benchmade Bushcrafter, and have no desire to own the spyderco, the next knife on my list is the bravo 1lt hunter in 3v...when they become available that is....

Get the Benchmade Bushcrafter I don't think you'll regret it.
 
I had the Benchmade, sold it due to the pommel. I don't understand having a pointed pommel on any knife handle. It doesn't make palm strikes easy, tho that might not be a method everyone uses. I seem to use it a fair amount when splitting, gouging, etc. I do own the Spyderco Bushcraft, it's an early model that was a factory second due to handle scale cracks. It's very comfortable in extended use, probably one of the best I've seen for handle shape. The Spyderco does everything I could ask of a bushcraft knife, as far as carving/crafting goes. I've moved away from Scandi grinds almost entirely now, they excel at carving, but limit performance otherwise.

My main factory bushcraft knives now are: Survive GSO 3.5, 4.1, and 5 all in 3V. Just my opinion, but they set the benchmark as far as factory knives go. Not to mention I find them easier to field sharpen than Scandi's. If you like convex grinds a number of the Bark River designs are pretty good, I've owned several. I do take issue with the pommel on several of their knives for my uses. Me personally, I'm not a fan of convex grinds on small(less than 5") knives.
 
Bobby Thanks for the great input this perfectly illustrates why I'm uncomfortable with purchasing knives without some form of informational resource like a good review, I didn't even notice the fact that the Bravo 1 Blade is CRAZY thick at .215 inches. I think that pretty much takes the Bravo 1 out of the game for me as I really don't like the metal bit sticking out of the top and I haven't seen the LT version without the ramp.

Thank you all for the great input but it would be A LOT more helpful if you guys could all agree :D because I just keep on changing my mind. I'm really interested in the spyderco handle because of it's ergonomics and the grind for it's ease of sharpening. But I like the edge retention of the benchmade knife and also the superior corrosion resistance and slightly thicker blade.

Also just something that bothered me the MSRP for the benchmade from their website is 215 where as the Spyderco which unlike the benchmade is made over seas, has a slightly shorter blade, uses a cheaper steel and has the same handle scale material decided there product MSRP should be 350. That seem ridiculous to me. Bear in mind in actuality the benchmade sells for 180 and the spyderco for 210 on amazon so it's only a 30$ difference If I ended up purchasing the spyderco. But it still bothers me that Spyderco has decided that for a knife that was probably cheaper for them to produce than the benchmade deserved an MSRP 135$ dollars higher than that of it's competition. I think to me it seems arrogant. Maybe I'm reading way to far into the price difference and it's just a sales tactic but in the back of my mind it still kinda really annoys me.
 
I forgot to make mention of the price, I bought my Spyderco Bushcraft on eBay for $80, it was unused. I'd honestly have a hard time paying full price for one now.
 
Aj35 said:
Bobby Thanks for the great input this perfectly illustrates why I'm uncomfortable with purchasing knives without some form of informational resource like a good review, I didn't even notice the fact that the Bravo 1 Blade is CRAZY thick at .215 inches. I think that pretty much takes the Bravo 1 out of the game for me as I really don't like the metal bit sticking out of the top and I haven't seen the LT version without the ramp.

Thank you all for the great input but it would be A LOT more helpful if you guys could all agree :D because I just keep on changing my mind. I'm really interested in the spyderco handle because of it's ergonomics and the grind for it's ease of sharpening. But I like the edge retention of the benchmade knife and also the superior corrosion resistance and slightly thicker blade.

Also just something that bothered me the MSRP for the benchmade from their website is 215 where as the Spyderco which unlike the benchmade is made over seas, has a slightly shorter blade, uses a cheaper steel and has the same handle scale material decided there product MSRP should be 350. That seem ridiculous to me. Bear in mind in actuality the benchmade sells for 180 and the spyderco for 210 on amazon so it's only a 30$ difference If I ended up purchasing the spyderco. But it still bothers me that Spyderco has decided that for a knife that was probably cheaper for them to produce than the benchmade deserved an MSRP 135$ dollars higher than that of it's competition. I think to me it seems arrogant. Maybe I'm reading way to far into the price difference and it's just a sales tactic but in the back of my mind it still kinda really annoys me.
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The bravo 1lt hunter is rampless and a slight drop point, but they also offer the regular lt version in rampless as well...dlt trading (bark river retailer) also mentioned that they'd de-ramp a knife if that's what you wanted and they only had ramped models in stock, and at no charge.

Also there's slim pickings at the moment, wait until the nearest productions hit the shelves and you'll have a variety of options on handle scales and such.
 
the spyderco is easily my favorite bushcraft knife and I own more than 2 dozen varients from many makers....everyone from Bark River to Condor.

Nothing else is even close in " feel " ....... its honestly equal to most customs costing several times its price with multi year waits for delivery....

YMMV....
 
Make sure you can hold the benchmade in your hand before you buy it some people like the handle but I find it extremely uncomfortable in the hand. I can't speak for the spyderco though. I also recommend looking on the makers exchange here we are spoiled by having some very talented makers who sell there work for peanuts for the time put into them.
 
I realize u already looked into survive knives but for what it's worth I love mine and they are coming out w a gso 4.7 that would fit ur bill. Also wanted to mention that I recently got a credit card from REI and it came w a $100 gift card. REI sells the beachmade so it might be worth looking into. Good luck w ur decision but I don't think u can go wrong, plus if don't like it u can always sell it to someone on this forum, lol
 
I agree with a few of the guys here on several of Survive!'s knives. If you must buy production, then go that route....they are fantastic knives in every way. And steel snobbery aside, I'd take either CPM 3V or 20CV over S30V any day.

However, especially for a bushcrafting knife, just snag one of the endless full custom examples that stream out of the Fixed Blade Exchange...or find one that's close to what you want & approach the maker about either tweaking it for you or making you exactly what you want....or if you're going for a particular steel, scope out makers using that steel already & approach them, works every time for me & I've yet to be anything but 100% happy. I find that I spend less $ going with customs & I get a one-off that is exactly what I wanted & perfectly unique as well.
 
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