Superfreek or Ace Grand

Which knife to buy

  • BM Superfreek m4

    Votes: 13 68.4%

  • Giantmouse Ace Grand

    Votes: 6 31.6%
  • Total voters
    19
N

New Guy

Joined
Sep 16, 2020
Messages
16
Hi Guys,

I'm pretty new here, so please be gentle while giving me advice on a possible purchase. Also this purchase is limited in time, so I hope Ill get answers in time ;)


I am at the point where I think about slimming the collection down actually, but that's not the point here ( tough advice on the subject is surely helpful and appreciated).
I don't want to get new knives carelessly nowadays and I want to use all of them once in a while at least.

I have 2 different almost unused knives I can buy and cannot decide. They are both price similar (living in Central Europe) at 220 to 240 euros regularly and both would cost me 180/190 with shipping.

The first is the Giantmouse Ace Grand in Green Micarta, the other the Benchmade Superfreek in M4.

I feel weird, since I wanted both for a couple of years and never found a good deal of either and can't decide now.

On the one hand I own way more American Knives and the Giantmouse is made in Italy (with the anmerican market in Anso/Voxs minds eyes) and it has Elmax (I dont own any knives in this steel, except for fixed blade Brisa Trappers which are tough as nails), a somewhat familiar Spydieflickable Hole, an ergonomic Micarta handle and great bowie blade shape (harpoon whatever.....), plus a titanium Backspacer I could anodize. Its also the more beautiful and maybe better fit and finished knife.

On the other Hand, the Benchmade is unique and functional, looks cooler to me, has a harder and imo better steel (I only got the bailout in M4, don't have too many problems with humidity, but in the rain the Grand would fare better for sure), the Axis Lock is more fidget friendly ( I dont have bad experiences with them, but got some spares in a drawer just in case), the blade shape is actually also bowie like and the ergos seem great as well.


Which one should I pick? Why? Or should I just save the cash and be happy?

Thanks for reading thanks in advance for your replies and have a great weekend. ( plus impeccable Health of course!)
 
I’m going to tread lightly and I want to remind everyone that this is just my opinion.
I see zero point in a Super Freek at this moment. I love M4, but I’d go with a Gayle Bradley 1/2 before I got the Freek. The reason I see the Freek as essentially pointless is because of the Hogue RSK. They have similar ergos, both have high end steels, but the RSK is way more affordable and it’s built like a tank. I think Hogue does the axis lock better than BM by far. For that reason, and the fact that I’ve coveted a GM Ace Grand for a while, I’d say go with the Giant Mouse.
 
Murdamook said:
I’m going to tread lightly and I want to remind everyone that this is just my opinion.
I see zero point in a Super Freek at this moment. I love M4, but I’d go with a Gayle Bradley 1/2 before I got the Freek. The reason I see the Freek as essentially pointless is because of the Hogue RSK. They have similar ergos, both have high end steels, but the RSK is way more affordable and it’s built like a tank. I think Hogue does the axis lock better than BM by far. For that reason, and the fact that I’ve coveted a GM Ace Grand for a while, I’d say go with the Giant Mouse.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your input, the thing is, hogues aren't really cheaper or available at all where I live, though.
 
I don't know the Ace Grand, but the Super Freek is an awesome knife. It has a longer (3.6 inch) and thinner (.11 inch) blade, which I like better than the short (3.3 inch) and thick (0.16 inch) Ace.

Benchmade runs this M4 steel hard (62-64 Rc). Elmax is one of my favorite steels, but I don't see what hardness is given to it by Giant Mouse. M4 will be tougher than Elmax, and have a small advantage in edge wear.

When I got the Super Freek, I was super impressed with the quality and design.
 
I voted Ace even though I don’t have one. I had a super freek and sold it, it just wasn’t amazing to me. Also I found it a little slippery.
 
I have both. I would go with the Super Freek. First; just personal preference on the steel. M4 just checks the right boxes for me compared to Elmax and I dont live in a climate where rust is that much of a concern for me. Second; I tend to prefer an axis style lock to a liner lock and this is made even more acute by my one singular gripe with the ACE Grand...the access to the lockbar is pretty scant. You really have to dig your thumb in there if you have thick fingers to get to that lock bar to disengage. Third; looks. Simple preference but I do really like the way the marbled G-10, red standoffs and blacked out look that the freek sports. Really attractive to my eye.
 
I vote for SuperFreek too. In fact I even pick it over Ritter Hogue because it is thinner behind the edge. It has the best action among all axis lock folders that I have/had: free dropping with zero blade play in any direction.
 
If it were me I'd get the Benchmade. Seems to be a more work-oriented design and materials. I've actually thought about getting one myself. To me it's about the most appealing of BM's current offerings.
 
I had both and liked the Grand more. Getting your thumb in there to disengage the lock takes a bit to get used to but it's not bad once you do. Coated blades aren't my thing. G10 cheap to me now. Figit friendly gets less and less important as I go. Both have really good ergos with the SF feeling a bit fuller in hand. Grand is less noticable in the pocket.
 
I vote Super Freek. I have one and I love it! It's the best Benchmade I've had. I also have a BM Ritter in M2HS. Super Freek is superior. You just can't go wrong with the Super Freek. M4 with Benchmade's heat treat is superb. Not only great edge retention, but great toughness. Wonderful blade profile for many types of tasks. Just a wonderful edc knife.
Bob
 
Thanks guys, in the end I decided for the Superfreek, since the Ace Grand I can still pick up later for a price, thats not inflated by it not being available on the go.
Also the Guy selling the Freek threw in a pocketclip and went lower on the price, that made it a no brainer.
Thanks for all your input, I don't really have many people in my rl being knife people so it's a weird feeling to find there are more than a couple :)
 
Last edited:
Looks like you made your choice so my vote don't matter but I'd of personally chose the grand. The liner lock access is hardly the issue some make it out to be. Its way easier to disengage than my spyderco Gayle Bradley 2. That thing is hard to get your thumb into. I do own a few benchmades (4) and the axis lock is fun to play with but I actually enjoy fidgeting with the grand more if thats your thing. You can spydie flick it open and its so smooth. Closing it is just glides shut with a little tiny shake. Not to mention my example is rock solid when open. Not a tiny tick of play at all. The only benchmade I have like that is my new mini adamas. I also really like the crowned spine on giant mouse knives. Its just a good, comfortable, elegant touch that not many knife companies do. The micarta on the Grand is awesome also. I haven't really heard much bad about the freak so you'll probably be happy with it. The shape of the knife itself just doesn't do it for me.
 
steelhead seeker said:
Looks like you made your choice so my vote don't matter but I'd of personally chose the grand. The liner lock access is hardly the issue some make it out to be. Its way easier to disengage than my spyderco Gayle Bradley 2. That thing is hard to get your thumb into. I do own a few benchmades (4) and the axis lock is fun to play with but I actually enjoy fidgeting with the grand more if thats your thing. You can spydie flick it open and its so smooth. Closing it is just glides shut with a little tiny shake. Not to mention my example is rock solid when open. Not a tiny tick of play at all. The only benchmade I have like that is my new mini adamas. I also really like the crowned spine on giant mouse knives. Its just a good, comfortable, elegant touch that not many knife companies do. The micarta on the Grand is awesome also. I haven't really heard much bad about the freak so you'll probably be happy with it. The shape of the knife itself just doesn't do it for me.
Click to expand...
Your input sure is appreciated, it wasn't easy, but in the end the price difference was the deciding factor. The Grand would cost me roughly 10 percent more new than the used offer, which with Micarta is only a semi hygenic experience in my mind (maybe it's not bad, but it looked a bit greasy in the pics).
The benchmade would cost me 30-40 percent more new, plus it looks way less used.
The Grand is probably going to be my next knife I buy new, since more people than I thought like it and made me interested in it more.
So it has become a " what to get first" :)
 
New Guy said:
Your input sure is appreciated, it wasn't easy, but in the end the price difference was the deciding factor. The Grand would cost me roughly 10 percent more new than the used offer, which with Micarta is only a semi hygenic experience in my mind (maybe it's not bad, but it looked a bit greasy in the pics).
The benchmade would cost me 30-40 percent more new, plus it looks way less used.
The Grand is probably going to be my next knife I buy new, since more people than I thought like it and made me interested in it more.
So it has become a " what to get first" :)
Click to expand...

If you do decide to get the Grand later you wont be disappointed by that either. Once again, I have both and while I chose the Freek above in this thread the Grand still does get a very good amount of pocket time it is really a superlative knife out of giantmouse and if one isnt squeamish about some light sanding of the micarta by the lock bar (wear a mask and do this outdoors) than it gets even better.
 
I love my Ace Grand. I've sold a few knifes this year that are 2-3 times as much and have no intention of selling that one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top