Another BM 630 Skirmish...

S

Stainz

Joined
Jun 24, 2007
Messages
3,760
It started nearly two years ago, when I decided I had to have a then recently discontinued Benchmade 630 Skirmish. I had my eyes on a new-old-stock 635BK 'mini', but I wanted the big'un - .160" of S30V - yeah! I finally found one - no box/funky edge - at a Ma/Pa knife seller at a local gun show - way too dear, but at least I got to fondle one. My search on evil-bay that afternoon landed me a new one, box and all, from a dealer for half his price - great deal! Sadly, it was just too pretty to get carried - much!

Skip ahead - wish I could find a slightly poorer quality Skirmish - for an 'EDC' knife. I found myself at that same local gunshow yesterday - with money for some bang-bang accessories - but none on my list were to be seen. I perused the same Ma/Pa seller's knives - that Skirmish was there - same spot - same funky edge - looked like someone wasn't versed in the nuances of sharpening a recurve. His price was still a tad high - but I stopped by on my way out and relieved him of it for less than I had paid for the earlier one, which was a deal. I now have an EDC Skirmish... life is good.

I may have to finally try BM's 'LifeSharp' service on this Skirmish, too. It really is a great knife - in an admittedly rather large size. One has to wonder why they canned it. Handfit - try it, if you get the opportunity. The same with the 610 Rukus. They are my #1 & #2 favorite BM's - their mini's both make great EDC's, too - but fall down my list well below some others. The 630 is #1 - and I finally could afford a spare!

Stainz
 
Stainz,

Based on my experiences with Benchmade's "Lifesharp" and customer service, there's NO WAY I'd send that Skirmish to them. No way in hell.

Because you'll probably get it back sharpened, in tip-top condition, start maybe thinking it too, is too nice for EDC duty, and then be forced to find a third Skirmish to handle that job.

It's a slippery slope, friend.:thumbup:

Congrats on bringing a great Benchmade from out in the wild back to captivity!

Best,

Heekma
 
Gads, heekma, I didn't consider that! Gosh, sitting the bar that high afterwards may be difficult, indeed! I guess the message here is simple - I'll be needing more bubblewrap, padded envelopes, and checks!

Stainz
 
I went through a similar thing.

I ordered a 630BK the second I heard it was discontinued. When I got it I was awe struck, the thing is the beauty and beast all rolled into one. A week later, I was goofing around on ebay and placed a bid on an uncoated 630. I had never bid on anything before and I just wanted try it out. I didn't really want another skirmish so I tried to revoke my bid, that's when I found you couldn't. I sat around for a week hoping someone else would bid and win the auction, because I couldn't afford another big knife purchase at the time. Well, no one else bid, I won the 630 and now I'm happy I did.
 
I just found out about these knives... They were "before my time" so to speak... I need one.

-Jack
 
Well, I got bored last night while my wife and I watched another 'hoarding' show. I got out the Bon Amis and my Spyderco Sharpmaker and cleaned the white files. I sharpened the new-to-me Skirmish ten times per file edge, then rotated, with the files at 40 degrees. Thirty swipes - and I had a razor - denuded my arm of hair quickly - fine strips of printer paper were easily produced - I was happy. The polished, if uneven, back edge of the bevel was more shallow, thus the 40 degree edge bevel 'took' quickly. I recleaned the files - and went after my older Skirmish. I am not coordinated enough to finish sharpening a recurve on those flat edges - the white file's apex leave a great working edge.

The original Skirmish has a small but consistent - and steep - bevel. Using an 8X loupe, I could see that the 40 degree setting was hitting the back bevel - the somewhat dull edge was not being touched. It would take a lot of work to get that profiled at 30 degrees with the grey files - then do the micro bevel at 40 degrees. I think it will take the first ride back home for LifeSharp! Saturday's purchase will be in my pocket today...

Stainz
 
Hey Stainz, I just bought some of the Spyderco diamond rods for my Sharpmaker and they really cut the edge pretty fast. You might want to look into them.:)
 
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