- Joined
- May 7, 2004
- Messages
- 33
Just received this bad boy today, marked "First Production 0831/1000" (although was not advertised as a first production on the web site). This thing is big! The handle is substantially thicker than the Skirmish, but still fits the hand well as it is not as wide. The clip is a big improvement over the Skirmish, the only drawback for me is that it is painted black, and could easily get scuffed/chipped (I wear a wallet chain on the same side as the knife). There was a thread either here or the other board about whether Blackwood or another guy was the designer, but Blackwood's stamp is on the blade. The black G10 has a "smoothed" (for lack of a better word) finish on it, very unlike the G10 on either the Spyderco Civilian or older Nimravus. The green canvas Micarta has a much more textured finish, feeling almost like the "papery" (again, for lack of a better word) texture of the G10 Spydie Military, but smoother. I don't own any other Micarta-handled knives to compare it to.
The drop-point S30V blade has a satin finish (billed as "pewter") that is very fine and smooth to the touch, contrasting nicely with the rest of the knife. I would like to see the semi-stonewashed (lines from the machinery still slightly visible) finish from the Ti Skirmish on future releases of the Rukus, although the pewter does fit very well with the "earthy" (for lack of a better word) overall feel of this knife. That is was scary sharp right out of the box should go without saying for a Benchmade. The blade is very thick and the spaces between the handle liners is correspondingly wide, the gap looks wider than it is (to me) due to the locking mechanism being entirely contained in the pivot (Axis lock). The liners themselves are very substantial, adding to the "big knife" feel of the piece.
Fit and finish are superb, the only potential (cosmetic) drawback being the black paint which seems like it will be easily chipped on the liners, screws, and clip. The lockup is very solid- evoking images of bank-vaults and missile silo blast-doors.
In all, this is a great knife, especially if you have big hands or want a big Benchmade folder, this is about as big as it gets for BM, in a way it feels bigger in the hand than even the Skirmish due to the thicker handles.
Two big thumbs up for this big-dog Benchmade!!
The drop-point S30V blade has a satin finish (billed as "pewter") that is very fine and smooth to the touch, contrasting nicely with the rest of the knife. I would like to see the semi-stonewashed (lines from the machinery still slightly visible) finish from the Ti Skirmish on future releases of the Rukus, although the pewter does fit very well with the "earthy" (for lack of a better word) overall feel of this knife. That is was scary sharp right out of the box should go without saying for a Benchmade. The blade is very thick and the spaces between the handle liners is correspondingly wide, the gap looks wider than it is (to me) due to the locking mechanism being entirely contained in the pivot (Axis lock). The liners themselves are very substantial, adding to the "big knife" feel of the piece.
Fit and finish are superb, the only potential (cosmetic) drawback being the black paint which seems like it will be easily chipped on the liners, screws, and clip. The lockup is very solid- evoking images of bank-vaults and missile silo blast-doors.
In all, this is a great knife, especially if you have big hands or want a big Benchmade folder, this is about as big as it gets for BM, in a way it feels bigger in the hand than even the Skirmish due to the thicker handles.
Two big thumbs up for this big-dog Benchmade!!
