After starting with a Benchmade 855S Mini-Dark Star I was quite pleased with Benchmade and that knife was it for me for years. Fast forward a few years and I branch out and enjoy ZT, Spyderco, a few customs and then a few newer Benchmades. On the whole it seemed that Benchmade was the bottom of the barrel in fit and finish and overall bang for the buck.
So, I had just about sworn off the the brand but the Contego intrigued me to no end, so I bit. I went for the satin plain edge model which is listed as coated with clear Cerakote but it is a light grey rather than clear. This is the only issue I can find with the sample I recieved and it's only an issue because I want to see the steel and grinds. The 3.9" CPM-M4 blade is the sharpest I have ever recieved on a production knife. I found this shocking as Benchmade hasn't exactly built their rep on out of the box sharpness. The blade could be easily gravity deployed with the Axis lock or smoothly deployed using the ambi-studs. Lock up is solid with no verticle or lateral play. This knife is known for its jimping and aggressive milling on the G10 scales and this is a fact. But I don't find it to be the meat grinder some claim it to be.
So kudos to Benchmade, keep it up. This beast of a knife has brought me back and helped me give the brand a second chance. Now I can't wait for the 710-3 in M4 to get here, fingers crossed
So, I had just about sworn off the the brand but the Contego intrigued me to no end, so I bit. I went for the satin plain edge model which is listed as coated with clear Cerakote but it is a light grey rather than clear. This is the only issue I can find with the sample I recieved and it's only an issue because I want to see the steel and grinds. The 3.9" CPM-M4 blade is the sharpest I have ever recieved on a production knife. I found this shocking as Benchmade hasn't exactly built their rep on out of the box sharpness. The blade could be easily gravity deployed with the Axis lock or smoothly deployed using the ambi-studs. Lock up is solid with no verticle or lateral play. This knife is known for its jimping and aggressive milling on the G10 scales and this is a fact. But I don't find it to be the meat grinder some claim it to be.
So kudos to Benchmade, keep it up. This beast of a knife has brought me back and helped me give the brand a second chance. Now I can't wait for the 710-3 in M4 to get here, fingers crossed