Anyone had a Benchmade 880 Darkstar?

[Sledgehammer]

I was looking around the web and saw the 880 by Benchmade. It looks kind of like an Ares without an Axis lock. It looks like a very nice knife.

Is it rare or something? I did a search here and found almost nothing on this knife. I know it is not made anymore but I thought there would be something out there on it.

I've read on these forums that people have different issues with liner locks.

Does Benchmade make good liner locks? I would really consider this knife even without the Axis lock.

 

[Knifeclerk]

Darkstar... was that the Elishewitz design? If it is, I remember having one of those in my store when I just started working. Apparently it sat for a very long time. I remember some very notable traits though. The action was smoothe as butter. I can only recall holding two knives that were smoother than this one (two production knives.) The liner always engaged well into the blade. The lockup was great. It was also a very thin knife. Similar in shape to the Ares, but this was much much thinner (and lighter.) ATS 34 blade. Comfortable thumbstuds. Very nice texture on the G10. Slightly more coarse than the 710, but very very comfortable.

 

[j.h]

Nice review there - I concur. Smooth like butter. Light. Good lock.
Discontinued and don't know why.

 

[Gryffin]

Funny you should ask, I yanked mine outta storage and EDCed it a few days this week, just for the heck of it.

I don't think they're particularly rare; I still see 'em (and the smaller 885) on fleaBay all the time. I got mine about a year ago, and even though it's a First Production Run specimen, I grabbed it for about $70. Lotta knife for that price. And I gotta admit, the black G10 over gold titanium liners makes it one of the most eye-catching Benchmades ever.

The 880 Dark Star is the predecessor to the 73x Ares, and an improvement over the previous Elishewitz, the 875 Sentinel (split smooth G10 scales over blue anodized liners, otherwise similar). Like the Sentinel, the 880's blade is a bit longer than the Ares, but narrower, withh a full symmetrical stiletto grind; the Ares blade has a high primary grind, and a bit left flat, for a more sturdy blade.

The Dark Star's grip is thinner, as KnifeClerk points out, although the liners are about as thick; the Ares' scales are thicker due to the "3D sculpting", which makes it fit the hand a bit better than the 880. Like the blade, the Dark Star's handle is a bit longer than the Ares, too, but since it's thinner and flatter, it carries just about as easily.

I have several liner-lock Benchmades, and they're all flawless. No worries there.