It just seems a little odd when it is such a successful knife. I don't personally have any Benchmade balis in my collection but it seems like the 51 doesn't stand up to the 42 in a few ways. if I've got anything wrong or if this question has already been answered pleas tell me. thanks!

Who said the 42 was successful? In comparison to what other products?

And how does the 51 not "stand up to the 42"?

Have you actually handled these knives or are you simply listening to the "old times were better" crowd?

pretty much the old times where better crowd. again im sorry if this is a waste of space but im just trying to settle it for my self. i have never seen any complaints for the 42 but a few for the 51 so i was just wondering, if they did, why change if they had it good?

In my personal experience and opinion, the 42 was darn near perfect. I find the 51 just feels a little "off" during some manipulations when compared side by side with a 42. I actually prefer the balance of the old 5-inch blade models overall when it comes down to it. Benchmade was built on Balisongs and I was sad to see the 4x series die off. That being said, Balisongs aren't as practical or popular today as they were in, say, the late 1970's and through the 1980's. Heck I even recall in the mid 90's a couple local dealers here couldn't keep the higher end Bali's in stock. Fast forward to about 2004 or so and those same dealers had 42's just sitting. So BM had to follow the market, and move on to things that are currently popular, much to the chagrin of us die hard old school Bali fans....

ok. thanks for that. it just seemed kind of strange. like i said before I've never handled one of the higher end balis and i wanted to get one of the "best" so i was curious when i started trying to find one and it was so difficult. but now i have an answer. closer is good

I would love to know why they stopped the 42 model production. Its a very basic design that has been around for decades and some people are just used to that. Add the spring latch and your done. I don't get this Morph, with the pocket clip? Look around and you will find a good number of great comments about the 42. I have had the chance over many years to flip many balisong. Have I ever handled either the 42 or the Morph? No? I don't have to. You can see through specs and testament its innovation gone the wrong way. I have just recently revisited my old collection and love for the balisong and wish I could find a 42 at a good price.

By the looks of the design of the 32 and 52, and the upcoming Gold G10 Balisong (?Marlowe),I am guessing that metal is getting too expensive to manufacture efficiently. There were rumors of liability concerns but I don't believe that is the case. I would think that the other reason was the lack of interest for several years prior to its demise was also a contributing factor. With the lack of demand, increased consumer carry of firearms and rising costs, it seems like the 42 will truly be dead.

I have 2 and one on the way. There are excellent alternatives that exist with Bradley and custom knifemakers who still use Titanium.

quote:

Originally posted by CDR_Glock:
By the looks of the design of the 32 and 52, and the upcoming Gold G10 Balisong (?Marlowe),I am guessing that metal is getting too expensive to manufacture efficiently...

I suspect having Ti handles cast/forged is an issue with new designs.

I seem to recall that was an issue with Cold Steel and their balis.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: orthogonal1,

My guess is that they just ran the numbers and found out that they would increase net profit by discontinuing the 42 so they could free up space to manufacture other models that are in more demand. Their space and manpower is scarce. Even if there's still a market for the 42, they have to cancel it if that space and manpower will generate more profits doing something else.

The 4X series handles were milled from solid bars. That's a lot of work and a lot of expensive Ti going to waste.