I handled some PE and CE Ascenders and Mini Ascenders yesterday and I can't say I liked them. I didn't spend a lot of time with them (it was Valentine's Day and shortly before they closed for the day) but the time I did spend was by feel. They just didn't feel like the (admittedly few) solid Benchmades I have, or the ones I handled in the store. They don't even come close to measuring up to the Bradley Alias.

Oh, they operated okay, and everything was as it should be, but they just felt...well, cheap, for lack of a better word. The sales guy kept saying they were entry-level, but somehow, I expected something better.

All of the constituent pieces fit together well. The blades were well-centered. They opened and closed properly, etc., etc.

But when I held the knife and touched the blades, they felt somehow insubstantial. And yes, they weighed less than other Benchmades of similar size, but that wasn't what I felt. It was almost like I could feel that the H&Ks had a frailness to them that typical Benchmades don't have.

Maybe it's my inexperience, but I just can't spell it out in technical terms. I'll have to pass on them for now.

That's the joy of knives, you don't have to like them all, I haven't held one, so I can't comment.

Better to get a knife you like, you'll be much happier that way, academics only go so far.

The HK series of knives really grows on you after a while actually... I used to hate the looks of all the HK's until I got one and started carrying it. IMO, Benchmade cuts some corners with the HK's; my Hk Blitz for example when I first got it I thought the G10 scales were awful, but the more I carried it the more I liked how handy the knife was. HK's are built pretty well and I don't feel bad about using them. Actually the more you use them, the cooler they get.

+1 on that. Blitz is a good knife and very smooth. No comments to make on the Ascender series, not really interested in them.

Thanks, guys. The Blitz is a nice-looking knife, alright...kind of "Osbourne-ish." I'd have to handle one first,though.