Just got in an order of Benchmades and Kershaws for various Christmas presents for friends/family. I ended up liking the 530 Perdue Axis so much I decided to keep it (and order a composite Leek instead for my Dad). This thing is incredibly light and thin for producing a blade as long as it does out of the tiny scales. I'm really digging it.
I will say that there are a few different Benchmade knives that I used to hate dearly that I'm coming around to - I miss my large H2O Griptilian for sure).
I'm using 5.0/3.5 strops but I'm on the old-school U-joints (let me know how the ball-joints work out - I'm very curious). Damascus (when done right - Alabama Damascus and Devon Thomas are two examples of very good and Top-Notch Damascus) is actually quite functional. I use all my knives, so I know that going in - I don't know that I could shell out close to $1k for a tool that will wear out and provide minimal functionality over something else, but a few hundred every so often is in the budget, so I definitely understand
The Millie is a pocket-sword. It's possibly one of the few folding-knives that I consider too long (even though I'm more and more into longer folders these days). If you have big hands, then it's probably great. I have average-sized hands, so there are some knives that I just feel funny carrying around. I do love the ergos of the Millie - it's very similar to the Para-2 in that regard. Spyderco's Liner-locks are good to go - no worries there.
Out of curiosity, how did your Manix-2 fail? I've only read detailed accounts on two different (legit) Manix-2 failures where enough evidence was provided to show the issue.
I haven't owned a Southard, but when I handled one, I felt like it was too long - and since then, my tastes have changed towards slightly longer folders so I too may own one some day.
Good luck - Spyderco is suffering from growing pains in Golden, CO right now - any knife made there is not being produced at the rate that consumers are buying them (thank a few different reviewers like NutnFancy, etc. for their recent popularization beyond typical Knife-Nuts). They're ramping up production, but that is not an easy thing to do for a company as small as Spyderco - they're not nearly as large as say Benchmade or the giant that is KAI (Kershaw/ZT/Shun).
They're currently out of stock at all the places I know to shop (at least at places where I trust their inventory status). Keep an eye out at knifeworks.com bladehq.com howesknifeshop.com GPknives.com and CutleryShoppe.com (I'd get on their email lists or facebook/Twitter pages).
I will say that there are a few different Benchmade knives that I used to hate dearly that I'm coming around to - I miss my large H2O Griptilian for sure).
I'm using 5.0/3.5 strops but I'm on the old-school U-joints (let me know how the ball-joints work out - I'm very curious). Damascus (when done right - Alabama Damascus and Devon Thomas are two examples of very good and Top-Notch Damascus) is actually quite functional. I use all my knives, so I know that going in - I don't know that I could shell out close to $1k for a tool that will wear out and provide minimal functionality over something else, but a few hundred every so often is in the budget, so I definitely understand
The Millie is a pocket-sword. It's possibly one of the few folding-knives that I consider too long (even though I'm more and more into longer folders these days). If you have big hands, then it's probably great. I have average-sized hands, so there are some knives that I just feel funny carrying around. I do love the ergos of the Millie - it's very similar to the Para-2 in that regard. Spyderco's Liner-locks are good to go - no worries there.
Out of curiosity, how did your Manix-2 fail? I've only read detailed accounts on two different (legit) Manix-2 failures where enough evidence was provided to show the issue.
I haven't owned a Southard, but when I handled one, I felt like it was too long - and since then, my tastes have changed towards slightly longer folders so I too may own one some day.
Good luck - Spyderco is suffering from growing pains in Golden, CO right now - any knife made there is not being produced at the rate that consumers are buying them (thank a few different reviewers like NutnFancy, etc. for their recent popularization beyond typical Knife-Nuts). They're ramping up production, but that is not an easy thing to do for a company as small as Spyderco - they're not nearly as large as say Benchmade or the giant that is KAI (Kershaw/ZT/Shun).
They're currently out of stock at all the places I know to shop (at least at places where I trust their inventory status). Keep an eye out at knifeworks.com bladehq.com howesknifeshop.com GPknives.com and CutleryShoppe.com (I'd get on their email lists or facebook/Twitter pages).
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