Benchmade 810 Contego

I recently picked up the exact same knife and love it. My only gripe is it is listed as a clear coat, not grey. Mine came incredibly sharp, especially for a Benchmade. The AXIS broke in quickly and it deploys fast and smooth with no play in any direction.

As for the M4 Benchmade must really be concerned about rust as I don't think they offer a bare blade. But with a little care it should stay razor sharp and be a nice aggressive cutter. For now it has kicked my 0551 out for duty carry.
 
It's very sharp, and I don't mind a bit of rust here and there as I have a lot of 1095 blades. This thing is built like a freight train.
 
The Contego is a very nice knife.One of the better knives from Benchmade.
" Powernoodle", has done a very nice review on the Contego in the knife review and testing forum.You will enjoy reading his writeup.
 
knifehunt said:
Just picked up a 810 Contego, and wondered who else owns one and your thoughts? What are your thoughts on the M4 steel? I will use this as my everyday do-it-all knife, so it's not going sit in a drawer.
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M4 is hardened to 62-64Rc, so it will stay nice and sharp. I had a chance to carry one for a week, and I will definitely own one.

ceptor781 said:
I recently picked up the exact same knife and love it. My only gripe is it is listed as a clear coat, not grey. Mine came incredibly sharp, especially for a Benchmade. The AXIS broke in quickly and it deploys fast and smooth with no play in any direction.
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The clear Cerakote is over a bead blasted finish, so it ends up looking gray. Benchmade addressed their sharpness issues several months ago, and now everything coming out of Oregon is razor sharp.
 
The 810 seems to be real popular and seems to me to be a good hard use knife, but the blade shape doesn't look like what I like.

M4 is also very popular and is used in various Benchmade and various Spyderco models. I finally got a Spyderco Gayle Bradley with M4 but I haven't gotten any M4 Benchmades yet. People talk about M4 and rust but under normal use it is supposed to not be a problem. Well as long as you don't work on a boat in the ocean.
 
loonybin said:
M4 is hardened to 62-64Rc, so it will stay nice and sharp. I had a chance to carry one for a week, and I will definitely own one.


The clear Cerakote is over a bead blasted finish, so it ends up looking gray. Benchmade addressed their sharpness issues several months ago, and now everything coming out of Oregon is razor sharp.
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If that's the case, not doubting you, then BM should just put a proper finish on the blades. No finish is more rust inviting than a bead blast finish. So now once the coating wears there will be a real concern about rust. Seems like BM, while getting better, is on the two steps forward, one step back train.

OT, I tried the KW 710 in M4 and didn't care for it at all. The blade shape was nice with a rounded spine but the handle scales seemed cheap and the overall shape wasn't comfy.. Also the sharpness was very toothy. It more grabbed and tore than cut cleanly like the 810.
 
The 810 carries extremely well for such a large knife and has action with speed comparable to autos (wrist flick opens easily due to weight of the blade). The steel on the 810 is top of the line. One of my favorite larger EDC knives, and if I was a dummy and had to use a knife in a self defense situation (last resort), I hope the 810 was on me that day, ha!
 
I love mine, although I haven't given it much pocket time.
The only problem i had was the jimping EVERYWHERE. I put the Dremel to work and smoothed much of it down, so it's not bad anymore.
Other than that, the Contego is comfortable and very smooth with superb M4 steel and great f+f.
 
Bingo, I hate deep carry clips.

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ceptor781 said:
If that's the case, not doubting you, then BM should just put a proper finish on the blades. No finish is more rust inviting than a bead blast finish. So now once the coating wears there will be a real concern about rust. Seems like BM, while getting better, is on the two steps forward, one step back train.
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Cerakote needs a rough surface to adhere to, hence the bead blasting. The same thing is done with firearms before Cerakote is applied, for best adhesion.

OT, I tried the KW 710 in M4 and didn't care for it at all. The blade shape was nice with a rounded spine but the handle scales seemed cheap and the overall shape wasn't comfy.. Also the sharpness was very toothy. It more grabbed and tore than cut cleanly like the 810.
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Yeah, I had one of the first 710 knives back in 1999, and the handle shape didn't appeal to me. The blade cut like no other, but the handle just didn't do it for me. They don't use the peel-ply G10, which is grippier, so it often feels slick to those who aren't accustomed to it. If you don't like the toothy edge they put on it, you can always put a polished edge on. That's the awesome thing about M4. It can handle polished or toothy. Personally, I prefer the toothy edge, and once I've sharpened an edge to 1000grit on my EP, I go back at a slightly higher angle and hit it with the 400 for a toothier microbevel with a polished primary bevel.

HuntBomb said:
I love mine, although I haven't given it much pocket time.
The only problem i had was the jimping EVERYWHERE. I put the Dremel to work and smoothed much of it down, so it's not bad anymore.
Other than that, the Contego is comfortable and very smooth with superb M4 steel and great f+f.
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Benchmade addressed the overly aggressive jimping in subsequent runs and toned it down, which is a good thing.
 
kreole said:
You should be able to put a regular BM clip on it (though only with two screws in)
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NeverMore1701 said:
Bingo, I hate deep carry clips.
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Yep, I'm putting a black split arrow clip in it. I don't get the idea with deep carry clips on "tactical" knives, ie. knives meant for police/military/firefighters. The Triage and second gen 0550 has it too. Imo it should be directly opposite.
 
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