Benchmade Barrage 581 vs 580

E

evert67

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Oct 22, 2011
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I own a Benchmade Barrage 580 and I love its construction quality and the assisted opening. However, I dislike the handle material (it has a fancy name, but basically it is hollow plastic). And, quite stupidly, I obtained a partly serrated blade.

Mainly because of the handle material (and in order to get a non-serrated blade), I am considering the 581. It's got a handle of G10 and aluminium. The new steel (M390) is an added bonus, but not a reason for buying it.

My question regards the G10 scales. Is this the extremely grippy variant (as found on, e.g., the Spyderco Paramilitary) or is it a slightly less grippy variant?

And are there any other important differences (except for the 1 oz weight difference) I forget?
 
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It has a sculpted G10 handle, so it isn't the extremely grippy kind (ex: Cold Steel knives) or even the not-so-grippy kind (ex: Spyderco knives); it's more like the "not grippy at all" kind (ex: Buck Vantage Pro).

Also, the blade shape is slightly different from the standard Barrage. It has a less exaggerated swedge and a slightly finer point.

Hope that helps!
 
Greetings:

I agree with Dorito Monk (and am impressed by the lifelong training he must have gone through to become a Dorito Monk--I remain a lowly Dorito Grasshopper despite my best efforts:)), as the 581's G10 scales are sculpted and smooth. The aluminium bolsters are unusual in that they're smooth overall, yet if you run your fingers along their ridges, they are surprisingly though not overly sharp.

I love the thing. It has Benchmade's new-and-improved bevel, and although I had to send it back because the blade was rubbing against the liners (my removing the scales and adjusting the pivot to align it created too much blade play), they promptly replaced and aligned the blade as well as granted my request for a silver arrow clip and silver clip screws instead of the black oxide clip and screws--and sent the original clip and screws back to me as well. So I experienced the same great Benchmade customer service that I'd often heard of before.

My only critique is that they retained the plastic ridged back spacer from the 580 Barrage rather than replacing it with a G10 one (like the terrific ridged G10 back spacers on the Benchmade Bone Collector folders. Not a huge deal, though, of course.

Sorry for rambling!

Cheers,
Isaeus
 
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