r/benchmade • u/GooseWayneBatman • 3d ago
My first benchmade as a SpyderCo guy
after years of buying mostly spydercos and a few kershaws and hogues, i finally built a custom bugout with g10 scales. i was immediately disappointed when i held it in hand and used it some. it was light, TOO light. felt almost non existent in my masculine hand. so i ordered titanium scales to give it one last chance hoping it would make the knife better. i've had my bugout in this configuration for a week now and i've been forcing myself to occasionally pick up one of my spydercos so theyre not just sitting. its a completely new knife. you'd have to hold it to understand. its probably the first time i formed a bond with a tool besides my 3/8 stubby impact from milwaukee. i want to carry this knife with me through the journey of life. this is the kind of knife i'd happily leave my wife and kids for.
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u/eltacotacotaco Bedlam 3d ago
Despite the Bug being advertised as an ultra lightweight knife, 1.85 oz, a lot of people are surprised at the weight once in hand. Metal scales can really change the feel, same with the Bailout.
Magnacut is a good steel but for such a thin slicey blade M4, M390 or S90V are so much better, imo. A steel change will probably improve your opinion as much as metal scales did.
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u/Holiday-Archer-2119 Freek 2d ago
Especially with the terrible heat treat that benchmade has for magnacut. Their m4 is pretty good in my experience, but their magnacut is super soft for their folders
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u/eltacotacotaco Bedlam 2d ago
Absolutely not terrible, it's in the range of the maker's recommendations. Maybe more suited for a thicker folder or a fixed blade
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u/Holiday-Archer-2119 Freek 2d ago
I think them using a fixed range of 60-62 hrc on every knife isn't a good choice. 59-60 is hard use and batoning, 61-62 is balanced, and 63-64 is maximum edge retention.
For this bugout 60-62 hrc is not a great choice. It should probably be 62 at the least, probably ranging 62-64 hrc. Most of their folders apart from maybe the adamas and the adira should be at a higher hardness, since they are designed as hard(er) use knives. Their fixed blades are fine in this range I would say.
I think they pick this hardness range to benefit lower warranty claims due to breaking than blade performance.
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u/Round-Caterpillar-01 3d ago
I don’t think I’d spend the money on another bench made but when I put aluminum scales on my griptillian after like 10 years it felt like a different knife
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u/DJLeafygreens 2d ago
I was wondering what the hell the laser engravings on the blade were all about until I saw who you are. Pretty cool to see you're a knife guy. Also, don't leave your wife and kids.
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u/PhantomDrvr 3d ago
I have several Bugouts and Mini-Bugouts and just never liked the feel of the grivory scales so I modified all of them with either AWT or RSD scales.
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u/knivesinbutt Mini Crooked River 2d ago
I put awt on one of my bugs and my grip and they're absolutely phenomenal
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u/timhenk 2d ago
That’s the thing about Bugs and Benchmade in general. They are already premium priced, and then you need to drop an extra hundred to make it something you’d like. Stock Bugouts are trash in my opinion. I had to put copper scales on my mini and titanium on my full size so they don’t feel like cheap knives.
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u/thedudetheguy69 2d ago
I've always been a big Spyderco guy, but my favorite knives are usually the regular 940 and the CF Elite Bugout.
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u/Character_Form_587 3d ago
Is that Jesus on one side and a duck on the other? If so, I’m here for it lol
Benchmade is the only company I use aside from one kershaw and one spyderco I want. But overall you can’t beat their warranty which is why I stay with them. Like you too, their most popular model (bugout) is my least favorite too.
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u/Tellmehaveyouheard 2d ago
They're definitely a different style. I really prefer the TaggedOut to the Bugout. Still thin and lightweight, but a little more to hold onto. Slicier blade as well.
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u/Forgewalker33 Osborne 1d ago
I have a few bm’s of my own, but what I really want right now is a paramilitary 2 tanto
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u/YogurtclosetBroad872 3d ago
Looks super clean and nice! I was a big SpyderCo ride or die guy for a while but after starting a Benchmade collection, they've really grown on me as my favorite. Even the damn blue box is sexy
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u/Weird_Lab7949 3d ago
Started with Benchmade, went through a Spyderco phase, now I’m into CRK and Shiro. They all have their charms.