Knife Talk

Dezert4Runner

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That Benchmade is such a good knife. I don’t own one but I’ve considered it many times. What made you go with D2 steel over the S30v option?
The Mini Grip only comes in S30V for the flat ground blade and 154cm for the hollow ground blade (as far as I can tell). I wanted the flat ground blade so S30V it is.

The Rat 2 has either Aus 8 or D2, and D2 is supposed to hold an edge better.
 

AssBurns

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The Mini Grip only comes in S30V for the flat ground blade and 154cm for the hollow ground blade (as far as I can tell). I wanted the flat ground blade so S30V it is.

The Rat 2 has either Aus 8 or D2, and D2 is supposed to hold an edge better.
Oh I was confused. You definitely made the right choice. I thought you got a D2 for the Mini Grip. S30v is an amazing steel, and sharpens really well. Definitely an upgrade over 154cm. D2 is MUCH better than AUS-8. It's harder to sharpen but the edge retention is FAR superior.
 

Dezert4Runner

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I just got in the Rat 2. Still waiting on my Benchmade to show up. Also got in the leather Beavercraft strop. I’ll use my old knife to practice on since it was basically going into the trash until I realized I’d rather use it as the guinea pig to learn to strop with.

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Hows the quality on that knife?

I use a 4 sided strop with different grits on 3 and noting on the 4th. Prob not really needed.
 

AssBurns

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Hows the quality on that knife?
I have one of the RAT II's in D2. I haven't really used it all that much since I keep it in my Tundra's center console, but I feel like there is a lot of bang for the buck considering the price. Smooth action, centered blade with no slop, lightweight, and a quality D2 blade that comes razor sharp out of the box.
Now it's no Benchmade, but for a $40 knife, the quality is surprisingly good. I highly recommend.
 

Dezert4Runner

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First impressions are how smooth the action is and how sharp it was out of the box. Like said above, no blade play and the quality of the materials for around $40 makes this knife a winner for what it is. I’m not going to be particularly kind to it since it’s a work knife so we’ll see how it holds up.
 

AssBurns

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First impressions are how smooth the action is and how sharp it was out of the box. Like said above, no blade play and the quality of the materials for around $40 makes this knife a winner for what it is. I’m not going to be particularly kind to it since it’s a work knife so we’ll see how it holds up.
Definitely report back after some abuse. I've only used mine for light stuff like opening boxed, letters, and cutting some zip-ties. It'll likely never get any hard abuse since it will sit in the center console most of it's life.
 

4runner DOA

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Definitely report back after some abuse. I've only used mine for light stuff like opening boxed, letters, and cutting some zip-ties. It'll likely never get any hard abuse since it will sit in the center console most of it's life.

I haven't abused mine too much yet, but I did use it on that 80% project I showed you. Carved it out like nothing and stayed sharp in the process.
 

Dezert4Runner

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Just got the Mini Griptilian in today. The blade was slightly off center and the grind is uneven as well. I’ve heard about QC issues with Benchmade lately, and this knife definitely has room for improvement. Neither issue is enough to make me return for a replacement, just things I noticed. It’ll get sharpened and that grind will even itself out eventually. The blade centering isn’t really that bad, just nit picking it.

On the positive side, the axis lock and ergos of this knife are pretty nice. The action is a hair smoother on the Rat II when I’m using the thumb hole to open. I think once it’s broken in it’ll be there. Pretty smooth and fun to flip open and shut with the axis lock. I’ll probably get a deep carry clip for it too.


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Dezert4Runner

Pineapples belong on pizza
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For you Rat II owners, the generic 3 hole deep carry titanium clips you can find on Amazon and eBay work with this knife. Just search C81 deep carry clip or Spyderco C81 deep carry clip and they are basically all the same. I wasn’t paying $25 for a titanium deep carry clip like most sellers had available for the Spyderco knives, so this was the only other option I found.

I spent like $10 after shipping. I doubted they were titanium at that price but magnets don’t stick to them so maybe they are :noidea:. They’re definitely not steel. Chinesium pot metal? Possibly aluminum? I’m not trying to bend it to find out :laugh:

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Dezert4Runner

Pineapples belong on pizza
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I also contacted Benchmade and asked for a Contego 810 clip and they sent it free of charge. It’s a deep carry clip that comes standard on that knife and happens to fit the Mini Grip. Their customer service is legendary and even though their QC needs work, at least they stand behind their products!

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AssBurns

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AssBurns

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@AssBurns Not the same steel but this is on sale. I ordered the PM3 version. This is the PM2:
https://www.bladehq.com/item--Spyderco-Paramilitary-2-Knife-Brown--92723
Not a huge fan of coated blades, and the one I've been waiting to come back hasn't come back for a couple years now. I missed the last sprint run by a few hours, and I don't want it bad enough to pay the marked up prices. Idk why, but I've always liked the natural G10 scales and pair that with the CPM M4 blade it seems like the perfect sprint run knife for me. I just hope I don't miss this next sprint run.

https://www.bladehq.com/item--Spyderco-M4-Paramilitary-2-Knife--29810
 
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