Review of Benchmade Snipe

Q

qboy

Joined
Nov 16, 2005
Messages
62
Greetings and happy holidays. I am just posting a brief review of a new folder that I picked up---kind of on a whim--but that is very impressive in first examination. I have run across a range of the cheap benchmade knife line and overall they are not impressive. I noticed the Benchmade Snipe, a member of their low-cost line in my local Army-Navy while Christmas shopping and bought one. For a $40 knife, this is a truly outstanding EDC. Granted, I just bought it today, but the fit and finish is worthy of Benchmade. The button lock on the handle is neat--I can use it like my SOG PE. You press the button and flip it shut. I have no idea how dependable this lock will be in practice or under stress, but at first examination, it looks solid. What really strikes me about this knife is the good ergonomics, nicely ground AUS8 blade, and smooth and decisive action. It compares favorably to my much more expensive Elishewitz Benchmade folder---not as good and materials are mower cost, but a very solid knife. This is a far better knife than I have seen for anything close to this price.
 
I found this review when I did a search. It's about a year old- anyone have more experience with one of these by now?

I saw one in a shop the other day, and I'm seriously considering it for kit bag/hard use/don't worry too much about knife. Seems like a lot of knife for the price.
 
This is a short review: Blade is weak and fragile. The knife is way to heavy.

Snipe is an entry level knife and should be replaced asap!

Spend your money on something else. I wish I never bought it.
 
SpearZ said:
This is a short review: Blade is weak and fragile. The knife is way to heavy.

Snipe is an entry level knife and should be replaced asap!

Spend your money on something else. I wish I never bought it.
Click to expand...

I"m afraid I have to agree with most of what SpearZ said, except I haven't broken the blade on mine yet.

However my knife out of the box had an off-centered blade and would rub one side of the liner. This annoys me more than any other defect in a knife. I was able to adjust it somewhat by following some tips I got here ... but the pivot can never be too loose or it will still rub the liner.

And yes it is heavier than it should be, I think the full sized Pika is a better deal on an entry level BM or better yet the aluminum handled Ambush.
 
I'd like to get one. The concerns over the blade don't matter to me, I'm grinding some out of .062" M2, and BM advertises the thickness of this knife on their site,.089". That's thicker than the Al Mar Falcon I had, in the same steel, and the same thickness as the 530. I personally think I would like a 4" folder that thin.

What gets me are the weight comments. I see in the specs that it is a little over an ounce heavier than the 730, and I found that knife to be of a decent heft. How difficult would it be to disassemble the Snipe. I would drill some holes in the non locking side liner to lose some weight if it can be done.
 
hardheart said:
I'd like to get one. The concerns over the blade don't matter to me, I'm grinding some out of .062" M2, and BM advertises the thickness of this knife on their site,.089". That's thicker than the Al Mar Falcon I had, in the same steel, and the same thickness as the 530. I personally think I would like a 4" folder that thin.

What gets me are the weight comments. I see in the specs that it is a little over an ounce heavier than the 730, and I found that knife to be of a decent heft. How difficult would it be to disassemble the Snipe. I would drill some holes in the non locking side liner to lose some weight if it can be done.
Click to expand...

I'm not home so excuse me if this isn't accurate, but I think the frame is already drilled out to reduce the weight. The problem is instead of using spacers, the frame has an extra "chunk" of steel built into the back of the frame. You can see it in pictures.

It is assembled with torx screws and is easy to disassemble.

It's not a terrible knife , but one that I wouldn't buy again

http://www.gpknives.com/item/benchmade-snipe.html
 
Ah, thanks, hadn't really paid much attention to that. I don't use lanyards on my folders, so that would get cut off flush with the scales. that should drop the weight plenty right there.
 
IMO, I would still buy anything else, the Bird Cara Cara is a great knife for around $20. Or as mentioned above the BM Pika or Ambush is much better. BM is supposed to be releasing a tanto Pika that looks interesting.
 
I have a G10 Cara Cara, had an Eclipse, which was essentially a Pika in ATS-34 with the round hole, and had a mini-Ambush. The tanto Pika has been out for a while.
 
Thanks all. Guess the Snipe is a pass- I'm surprised I didn't notice how thin the blade is. I'll have to wait til the next time I get out that way to handle a Pika or an Ambush. The Cara Cara is a definite- too good a rep not to pick up for that price!
 
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