- Joined
- Jan 25, 2000
- Messages
- 4,492
I just received one of the limited production 730 Ares with carbon fiber scales and M2 steel. After having such good luck with it's brother, the 710HS, I figured I would give the 730 a shot and see if the great traits of the 710 carried over into this model as well.
The first thing that strikes you about this 730 is the handle. That carbon fiber sure looks nice! It is beautifully milled and finished exactly flush with the liners. By far the best I have seen in a Benchmade in regards to this. You can just barely catch your thumbnail in a spot or two. Benchmade chose not to polish the carbon fiber and as a result it has very good grip characteristics and is not slippery at all. The pattern of the carbon fiber is still quite strong however and gives that "3D" look that is a trademark of this material. While polished cf would certainly be more striking, it would not be nearly as well suited or secure for utility use. One downside is that the edges of the milled areas remain very sharp. Particularly offensive is the tail of the raised area just in front of the rear mounted pocket clip. I have more than once stuck my thumb on this while reaching into draw the knife from my pocket. A little smoothing from a micro-file or 400 grit sandpaper should take care of this minor oversight. Even so, the handle gets great marks for comfort during use as none of these areas "bite" the user, just add to grip security.
The real surprise with this knife was the blade. I have read numerous reports of how poorly the 730 cut. I did not find this to be the case at all. This knife possessed probably the best out of box edge geometry of any Benchmade I have handled. In other words, it was ground thin and even. I almost wonder if this was intentional on BM's part due to the greater resistance to chipping of the M2 compared to ATS-34/154Cm? Anyway, it works. While the edge was definitely sharp, it still needed a little work to pop free standing hair. A quick touch-up on the fine stone of my Sharpmaker had the edge I wanted in just a few passes. The great part is that the stones just hit the very edge of the bevel! While I didn't measure the angle of the bevel, I would guess it to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 degrees, included. Way to go BM! No reprofiling needed on this blade. The 3 1/2" spearpoint blade proved useful in a variety of utility oriented tasks. All performed admirably. The nice false edge proved effective in helping tip penetration without sacrificing tip strength.
The lock is typical Axis perfection. It has what I like to call the three "F's", in other words it is firm, fluid and faultless. The blade was perfectly centered in the handle when closed and there was zero play in any direction when opened. While a little stiff initially, a couple drops of Tuff-Glide and some play, had everything in order after an evening.
No knives are perect however, and this knife is not the exception. The previously mentioned sharp edges on the milled handle are one area that needs improving. I also wish that BM would scrap their cheap, ugly composite backspacer in favor of either carbon fiber or Ti. Also, boron carbide would be a much better blade coating than the BT2. At nearly $200 retail, it deserves better even at a slight price increase.
All in all it is a super knife. While I don't see it as a replacement for the 710 (currently my favorite production folder), it is definitely a worthy competitor. It is nicer looking, better finished, has a more comfortable handle, is not quite as physically imposing while offering nearly equal cutting power.
The sad part is that Benchmade chose to offer only 500 of these rather than make it a regular production model. That is too bad as it is the cream of the 730 crop and well worth the additional money spent over the regular model. Benchmade chose to inlude a gift/storage box which literally screams "COLLECTIBLE". That is a shame, as this means that probably very few of these will ever see use. I will never undestand the reasoning behind a limited edition, collectible knife when one the main changes is to a higher performance blade steel. Just don't look for #428 in pristine condition 10 years down the road
I will end this long winded review with some advise; find one, buy one, use one. You won't be sorry that you did.
The first thing that strikes you about this 730 is the handle. That carbon fiber sure looks nice! It is beautifully milled and finished exactly flush with the liners. By far the best I have seen in a Benchmade in regards to this. You can just barely catch your thumbnail in a spot or two. Benchmade chose not to polish the carbon fiber and as a result it has very good grip characteristics and is not slippery at all. The pattern of the carbon fiber is still quite strong however and gives that "3D" look that is a trademark of this material. While polished cf would certainly be more striking, it would not be nearly as well suited or secure for utility use. One downside is that the edges of the milled areas remain very sharp. Particularly offensive is the tail of the raised area just in front of the rear mounted pocket clip. I have more than once stuck my thumb on this while reaching into draw the knife from my pocket. A little smoothing from a micro-file or 400 grit sandpaper should take care of this minor oversight. Even so, the handle gets great marks for comfort during use as none of these areas "bite" the user, just add to grip security.
The real surprise with this knife was the blade. I have read numerous reports of how poorly the 730 cut. I did not find this to be the case at all. This knife possessed probably the best out of box edge geometry of any Benchmade I have handled. In other words, it was ground thin and even. I almost wonder if this was intentional on BM's part due to the greater resistance to chipping of the M2 compared to ATS-34/154Cm? Anyway, it works. While the edge was definitely sharp, it still needed a little work to pop free standing hair. A quick touch-up on the fine stone of my Sharpmaker had the edge I wanted in just a few passes. The great part is that the stones just hit the very edge of the bevel! While I didn't measure the angle of the bevel, I would guess it to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 degrees, included. Way to go BM! No reprofiling needed on this blade. The 3 1/2" spearpoint blade proved useful in a variety of utility oriented tasks. All performed admirably. The nice false edge proved effective in helping tip penetration without sacrificing tip strength.
The lock is typical Axis perfection. It has what I like to call the three "F's", in other words it is firm, fluid and faultless. The blade was perfectly centered in the handle when closed and there was zero play in any direction when opened. While a little stiff initially, a couple drops of Tuff-Glide and some play, had everything in order after an evening.
No knives are perect however, and this knife is not the exception. The previously mentioned sharp edges on the milled handle are one area that needs improving. I also wish that BM would scrap their cheap, ugly composite backspacer in favor of either carbon fiber or Ti. Also, boron carbide would be a much better blade coating than the BT2. At nearly $200 retail, it deserves better even at a slight price increase.
All in all it is a super knife. While I don't see it as a replacement for the 710 (currently my favorite production folder), it is definitely a worthy competitor. It is nicer looking, better finished, has a more comfortable handle, is not quite as physically imposing while offering nearly equal cutting power.
The sad part is that Benchmade chose to offer only 500 of these rather than make it a regular production model. That is too bad as it is the cream of the 730 crop and well worth the additional money spent over the regular model. Benchmade chose to inlude a gift/storage box which literally screams "COLLECTIBLE". That is a shame, as this means that probably very few of these will ever see use. I will never undestand the reasoning behind a limited edition, collectible knife when one the main changes is to a higher performance blade steel. Just don't look for #428 in pristine condition 10 years down the road
I will end this long winded review with some advise; find one, buy one, use one. You won't be sorry that you did.
