AFCK=A Frickin' Cool Knife!

[Sir Galahad]

Just got a new Benchmade AFCK plainedge. Great knife!!! High quality, smooth, solid, sturdy, and fast. Using the thumb hole is fast. Holding back the axis lock button and flicking is faster. Doing the Brownie pop is warp speed! Sharp? This thing is like a straight razor. It shaves you arm with the very slightest tough, smooth as a babys skin. The whole length of the blade is this sharp. I mean, it shaves like a fine straight razor, no irritation or pulling. Feels great in the hand. It fits mine perfectly. LOTS of quality for the money. It's worth every penny.

 

[Jim March]

Yes, the M2 Axis AFCK is in my opinion, the finest 4" production fighting folder made. It has beat out the REKAT Carnivore D2 by a small but significant nose.

 

[Kevlarman]

I have a Benchmade Ascent (formerly Eclipse). It's basically the same blade as the AFCK, except with a cheaper Zytel handle instead of G10 laminate. And it's a lockback. Otherwise, it's still an exceptional knife and I just love the blade!

Next up on my list an an M2 AFCK with the Axis lock. I've seen them go for around $100 on eBay.

 

[ACP]

Welcome to the sunny side of the street. great knives. My wife and I have been carrying AFCKs for several years now. I'm in the market now for an Axis lock D2 model...

 

[dav]

I've heard lots of good things about the AFCK. But how do you decide where to get them? There is an 806D2 on eBay at the moment... at $130. On the 'net I've found them as low as $118. But I have no way of knowing if these outfits are for real.

Jim, you mention the M2 beating out the REKAT. The AFCK now has stainless steel liner (stiffer) and D2 blade. I assume these changes can only be for the better?

 

[tiberius]

I have the mini combo edge. Get this, I bought a it few years ago because I used fly a lot and it was small enough to carry per FAA regulations, my Spyderco Police was not. Needless to say, that plan went up in smoke...so to speak.


It is now my everyday knife that is always clipped inside my waistband (appendix) no matter what I'm wearing. Light, strong, practical, quick...I just wish those friggen butterfly badges were a little more durable....They get scratchet when you look at them too hard.

 

[Sven]

Wow. I'm interested. Anyone know a reputable dealer stocking these with an online storefront?

My mini-griptillan is SWEET... love the axis lock.

Best,

-s

 

[Jim March]

Dav: correct, D2 is also an excellent steel. An AFCK with an Axis lock and either M2 or D2 steel is going to be a *superb* knife. Hell, it'd be pretty good in ATS34; my only concern there would be that BM's heat-treat on ATS34 isn't optimal (in my opinion).

Here's why I like the Axis and M2/D2 combo:

The grip ergonomics, combined with a truly reliable lock and good blade.

The grip allows you to use the "slack forefinger/thumb" grips (Asian influenced) where the strength comes out of the back three fingers. It "bulges at the pommel" nicely, a feature we're seeing more of as people study Asian knife combatives, but comes to a WIDE flare right at the pivot to prevent "slip-up accidents" (hand slides down the blade on a hard-target stab, cutting the inside finger tendons).

The lock is first rate, the blade shape is plenty good enough (I'd prefer fatter, like an enlarged Ryan 7, but it's no biggie). And the clip is flippable for off-hand setups. If I had a CCW permit, I'd set up for gun at the right, knife as the primary off-hand weapon...there's a lot of utility in a knife that's southpaw compatible even for righties.

The Carnivore comes up a bit short on the blade length and lock reliability. A Rolling Lock works GREAT when it works right, but...they are a bit finicky and failures are really what drove REKAT under. I believe the Axis is a better design, the best lockwork available.

I just wish Benchmade had the guts to build megafolders. An AFCK "supersized" to a 6" blade would be just killer but...they're just not creative enough.

The other option: take the existing AFCK, and turn it into a Muscrat. A double-ended folder, two blades that open in opposite directions, with a 5" grip in the middle.

THAT would rock.

 

[JShirley]

George Hill was kind enough to send me a Mini-AFCK over a year ago. It's a good knife, but I don't really fully trust any liner-lock.

Kinda like my M4.

John
(Who has a Griptillian in his pocket as he writes this.)

 

[tex_n_cal]

The AFCK handle shape doesn't do it for me, but I did recently buy the M2 blade McHenry & Williams AXIS, and it is a hell of a knife, wicked sharp and very handy

 

[Sir Galahad]

Best place to get the AFCK is New Graham Knives. Price is $107 plus $7 or so shipping. No kidding---I ordered this knife on a Tuesday and had it in my hand on Thursday. Three days only!! You just can't beat that. Outstanding service and friendly folks. Plus, you get a free band-aid dispenser with each order. You may need them with knives this sharp.

 

[ACP]

I'll just chime in here and say I believe the AFCK grip is the best I've ever felt on a folding knife. I had purchased a (Benchmade) Emerson CQC7 and returned it because the squareness of the grip dug into my palm. I returned for...what? An AFCK. Designed by former SEAL Chris Caraci, I believe. I like my ATS 34 models. The grip curves naturally in the palm of your hand; it makes indexing the thumb hole easy (for me), and switching to reverse grip is not difficult. And that tiny bit of grip that extends beyond my palm makes for a nice skull cracker.

I have also done the 'spine whack" test, and practiced on rolls of corrugated carboard wrapped/taped around a steel support pole in my basement. No problems, but the Axis lock would make me feel better.

Re: a larger blade, yes, that would be nice, but 4" in the maximum in my state and, I believe, many others.

 

[Boats]

I am getting a D2 Axis lock full size AFCK next week. I handled a lot of knives before replacing my old liner-lock lefty AFCK. Nothing else comes close IMO. Good steel, a spydie hole for opening, tip up or tip down carry for either hand, and now the AXIS lock, there is nothing out there that I could find that I'd rather have more in a factory folder.

 

[ninjalawyer]

AFCK

I've owned three of them since 1996-- The first was a normal liner lock comboedge that I carried for about five years until it stopped holding an edge and the lock became too loose to depend upon. The second is the same type, but a custom job by Drew with gorgeous Micarta scales and an aluminum spacer. My fiancee laughs at me when I call that my "dress knife." She bought me one of the new axis lock models about 6 months ago and it's the finest pocket knife I've owned. The D2 steel holds a fierce edge, the grip is perfect (for me), the lock mechanism is handy, and all the tricks I used to practice with my old AFCK work just as well with the new one. Great knife, couldn't recommend it more strongly.

 

[atek3]

D2 AFCK axis, my primary folder. (kershaw is my utility folder)

atek3

 

[Sir Galahad]

This knife became Every Day Carry at first touch!

 

[hso]

The original AFCK is a partial Spyderco design and came out at the same time that Spyderco began to share designs with other manufacturers as the patent clock began to run out on their hole in the blade concept. It has proven to be one of the best knives produced by anyone and the improvements in lock and materials have only made it better.

Jim's saying that Benchmade doesn't have the "guts to build megafolders" and "just not creative enough" isn't correct. Benchmade is a commercial manufacturer of knives that has considerable money invested in each model they produce. Most states don't offer everyone the freedom to carry a megafolder and most folks wouldn't carry a knife over 4 to 5 inches in blade length if they did. It's not lack of courage or creativity, but simple business economics to not waste capital on tooling up to make a knife that you already know won't return the investment at the same profit level. There are enough models produced with "reasonable" expectations of return that don't perform in the market as expected. A smart manufacturer doesn't start out knowing that they have a very limited market unless they charge so much that they get the "boutique" profit level. BM's already decided they'll invest in butterflys, a knife type with limited sales potential, they've just decided to let someone else "specialize" in megafolders.

 

[Sir Galahad]

That's very true. BM is already selling a "niche market" item with butterfly knives. There are a number of states where those are not legal. Thankfully, Arizona is not one of them. But as far as I'm concerned, the AFCK with Axis lock and D2 is an instant classic. You just cannot get over how much you get with this knife for the price. This knife shaves clean with less push behind it than a straight razor. Never seen the like!

 

[Ed]

Ok gotta chime in here, I bought mine in 98. Have carried it every day since. Took it on 2 deployments in the military. Wore it with my tux when I got married. Only time I let it go was at my brothers wedding when I let him wear it , New Tradition and then I wore my Elishewitz. I fly with it still. In my suitcase of course. And when I bought it they were going for $80. I love that knife....

 

[sch40]

I bought a Benchmade 940 a couple years back. It's a great knife with very smooth action/great balance. But after a few years of light usage, the edge of the blade is not nearly as sharp as it used to be. I know that the instuctions say that if the blade loses its sharpness you should send it back for (I'm assuming) somewhat expensive resharpening. Since my blade is combo serraded-flat, it makes it even harder to sharpen myself.

Does anyone have some helpful tips about where to send it/what to do?
thanks in advance,
sch40

 

[Boats]

Benchmade's literature says just send it back to the factory along with five dollars to cover return shipping costs and they'll sharpen it up and give you a "tune-up." It doesn't get much simpler or low cost than that.

 

[Griff]

A definite keeper.

Some folks love the Axis, (got one, BM 720) but I've never had any trouble with mine in liner lock flavour. (in all fairness, I have to say that I don't go around beating my blades with bricks, either) Smart move on the part of the manufacturer to have both versions available in some shape or form, IMO.

try here: http://www.knifeworks.com/manufacturer.asp?2=1076&6=4
(VERY good service)

 

[Jim March]

Linerlocks can fail. Sorry, but it's true. The Axis is so much better it's not funny, and probably the best lock out there today.

There's a couple of near-clones of the Axis out, from SOG and Cold Steel. They're not bad either. The Axis is itself clearly related to the old Blackie Collins "Bolt Action" from the Gerber Parabellum and such, which in it's first-generation flavor was one HELL of a knife. The newer ones suck by comparison (sigh) - thinner blade of junk steel.

 

[Sven]

I started with the Axis lock... I understand in theory why people imagine potential problems with the axis lock (during a fight, it might get pressed), but when I handle liner locks I see other issues...

...for example, I must put my fingers into the path of the closing blade to unlock the liner lock. Seems less elegant than the axis lock, to me. But you guys are the knife experts.

Looks likk $110 at the link above - very tempting.

 

[Harold Mayo]

Love this thread...the AFCK has been my EDC for several years, now.

The one that I have HAS a liner lock. It's an older one with a plain-edged ATS-34 blade covered with black teflon.

I thought that I had lost it in a movie theater yesterday and had given it up for good when I realized where it was...only the third time in the last six years that I have left home without a knife.

Anyway...

The axis lock IS better in almost every way but I am hesitant to get one with it. My liner lock has never failed and hasn't even loosened up. It is subjected almost daily to quite a bit of use and has even had a lot of abuse piled on it. It has resisted corrosion when used to cut open bags of ANFO, has stayed relatively sharp even when cutting a lot of cardboard and blasting wire, has resisted corrosion again when diving in salt and fresh water, has been used extensively in practice against various targets (dead deer, dead hogs, cardboard boxes, an old water-logged heavy bag), has cut meat at meals (yeah, yeah...I clean it with anti-bacterial soap after some of the above things...it's not as sick as you might think)...the worst is that I constantly open and close it by flipping it when grasping either the blade or the handle. It's a nervous habit that I have that some people who aren't used to me find a little frightening when they see the size of the blade and all. The knife has DEFINITELY been worth the money. It is VERY worn and the medallions are long gone but it's always been there for me.

I was very sad when I thought that I had lost it.

Just my $0.02 on the AFCK...