| Benchmade Mel Pardue 721 |
I was visiting a local survival shop, in Athens, the other day, to buy a birthday gift for a good friend of mine, who is an ex-Ranger. What I had in mind, was to offer him a good folding knife, since I know he appreciates those things. While I was browsing through the shop's inventory, I noticed a nice-looking folder. It was a Benchmade, model 721, designed by the well-known custom knife maker Mel Pardue.
Well, I couldn't resist trying it out. The knife had a clip-point 3.25" blade, made of 154CM stainless steel. I have to admit that the blade was a bit small for my likings, but the knife looked so well balanced, dimension-wise, that I (kind-of) overlooked its small size. The handles are G-10, while it uses Benchmade's pattended Axis-Lock mechanism and twin steel liners, which are well hidden in the handles material. The screws are torx, while an ambi thumb stud is used to facilitate opening. A tip-up carrying clip, secured by three torx screws, is installed on the right side of the knife, which can be relocated to the left side for southpaws.
I tried opening and closing the knife a few times, and the movement of the blade was very smooth and quick, while the locking was impecable. No movement was detected in any direction. The blade snaps back to its closed position with authority during the last few degrees of its closing travel (something I appreciate) and it was perfectly centered between the liners/handles. On the back of the handles, as well as the rear-most part of the blade, there are serrations, to make positioning one's thumb intuitive. The lower front part of the bolsters area (even though there are no separate bolsters), is also serrated (for the same reasons) and it features a protective edge, which does not allow one's index to slip towards the blade. That edge is a bit too big for my likings (see picture above), and it cannot be reduced, as I did with my S&W folders, since it is used to cover the blade's end, when the blade is in its closed position. Oh well, I could live with that.
The knife was well sharpened and fitted my hand quite nicely. The contours of the knife are well "melted", so there are no sharp edges to scratch your hand or abuse your clothes. Overall, quality-wise this knife is much better than my 575 US$ Lightfoot custom!
You guessed it! I bought this little knife, right there. The owner of the shop knew me well, so he offered me a good discount. Another fighting folder was added to my collection, another toy to play with.
Purchased from : ENEDRA (Ambush, in Greek) (their site is not yet ready)
First Overall impression : Very Good at about 180 US$
I'll be adding more information about this knife, as I use it.
