While we're talking about crossbar locks. Or DuraLocks, or toggle locks, or Axis Locks, or whatever whoever is calling them.
I'm going to use "Axis Lock," because that was Benchmade's name for it and that'll be important in a moment for reasons we'll soon discover.
Here's the Ganzo G704. The G704-G, to be precise, with the -G specifying green scales. The superior color, obviously.
"Gan-who?"
Ganzo is a Chinese knife maker, and one of the few I can think of off the top of my head who actually have something of a name for themselves, and also manage to market their knives consistently under that name. Stupid as it sounds, that's kind of a breath of fresh air because trying to describe most imports from the Mainland via any particular name, brand, or description is usually like trying to nail jelly to the wall. They have this to say about themselves.
Ganzo is also one of the few natively Chinese brands (as opposed to "actual" brands who happen to just subcontract some/most/all of their manufacturing to China) that I actually recommend to people from time to time.
Alright. Let's not beat around the bush, here. The G704 is a complete clone of the Benchmade/H&K licensed Model 14205. You can check that out in this catalog from 2008, among other H&K branded models from the Big B.
I nicked this picture of the original from an internet search:
So as you can see Ganzo is not exactly subtle about it.
When I say "complete" clone, I do mean complete, down to sub-millimetric precision. But there are two important differences: The genuine Benchmade has a 154CM blade, and the Ganzo (like seemingly every single knife they make) is 440C. Oh, and the Benchmade (now discontinued) retailed for $180. The Ganzo is $33.
The G704, just like the Benchmade it mirrors, is large-ish EDC sized but seems to come with some "fighting knife" pretensions, probably owing to its original H&K sub branding. It's 149.4g / 5.27oz, and is 7-7/8" long open with a 3-3/8" blade. The blade is quite hefty, 0.155" thick at the spine. The whole knife is pretty thick, too, about 9/16" not including the clip.
Beneath the woven textured G10 scales, it's got steel liners all the way down its length, unlike some other Axis lock folders we could mention that manage to cost a lot more.
The blade is a "modified spear point," and probably due to the original design intent of pretending to be a fighting knife, it comes with a rather steep edge angle that should make the edge durable, but only a fair cutter at best.
I fixed this very positively by regrinding the edge to 30 degrees. Which also makes it look pretty mean. Would you do this to a $180 Benchmade? I'll bet you wouldn't.
And yes, it is an honest to goodness Axis lock. It's about as firmly sprung as the other Axis Benchmades I've handled over the years. And the action is actually very good, which is surprising for such a cheap knife.
And the "action" we're alluding to is the unique ability for (most...) Axis/crossbar/DuraLock/whatever folders to be swung open and closed freely when the crossbar is held back, since the bar serves double duty as both the lock and also the detent which the blade must overcome to open. But since you can hold it open, when you do that there's nothing to overcome. So the blade can drop free of the handle for one handed opening, theoretically with just a little flick of the wrist, in a manner that is yet again Very Definitely Legally Not A Switchblade.
Like so.
The mechanism is exposed and visible between the liners on the spine of the knife, so it's easy enough to clean and lubricate as necessary, even without taking the knife apart.
The knife is fully ambidextrous, with a thumb stud and lock controls on both sides, plus the clip is reversible -- for tip up carry only. There's some very sharp and square jimping on the back of the blade where your thumb might rest.
Overall I have to say the fit and finish of the G704 is spectacular, especially once you consider the price. There's very little wiggle in the blade -- an almost unnoticeable amount, in fact -- even while it's able to drop freely from the handle when you hold the lock back. The blade rides on plain nylon washers. Nothing fancy, but they'll do. Everything is machined super nicely and the blade geometry wasn't too out of whack when I took mine out of the box all those years ago. (That's a moot point now, obviously.)
Here's the Comparison That Can Never Be Escaped. Curiously, the G704 has a more rounded, less sharp and grabby texture to its G10 scales compared to most other similarly adorned knives I own or have handled. I have no idea if that's a carryover from the original, or something that's unique to the Ganzo version.
The Inevitable Conclusion
Don't buy an Ozark Trail Axis folder. Buy one of these instead.
