Benchmade Barrage 581

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Mailed out the Shoki today
G2
 
Stacked a few up, guess I am a bit of a steel junky eh?
S30v
ZDP-189
SG2
M390
and an El Max enroute

steels.jpg


I have to head back to Germany for about 4 weeks of work there again, and I don't
dare bring along the Barrage, if I lost that there or enroute, it'd be terrible,
So, I have a Kershaw Speedform II with El Max to bide me over during that time,
a little smaller knife and not as expensive, plus a chance to give the El Max steel a try ;)
G2
 
Very fitting to test a European steel in Europe :-) Looking forward to your review.

Have a good trip!

JD
 
Thanks JD, well the Speedform ii arrived today, I won't do a review on it, but short answer,
I'm not sure where Kershaw was heading with this one, if I had the opportunity to handle
this at a store, I'd not have walked out with it, due to how thick a blade this is. For such
a small knife it's pretty thick behind the edge. On arrival, it felt sharp, meaning it would cut you,
not the sparkling edge I normally associate with Kershaw knives out of the box. And being
so thick, it would barely make it through the cardboard box it was shipped in.

Lockup is solid
grip is comfortable
blade is really pointy, very similar to the old Kershaw Splinter design, except those were hollow ground.
The thumbstud's are agressive but small, haven't got the flicking thing down yet ;)
clip is moveable to the butt of the handle and I put a small braided leather fob on there with a bead
the clip does keep the knife's tail fairly high out of the pocket though when shifted to that end
the G10 scales are smooth but not polished and provide a nice texture, nicely done, kinda like a roof angles

BUT the blade, 3mm thick and about 85mm long but the hurt comes in how wide the blade is
only about 20mm wide near the pivot, but the grind doesn't start at the spine, so you have the
grind starting about 13mm from the edge, so you're looking at a fairly thick bladed knife.

NOW, I immediately threw the knife onto my Edge Pro and sharpened her up, and she'd easily slice
through that cardboard now, as well as shave hair. But when you're cutting you can feel how thick
a blade it is, might help with some cutting jobs, I'll see how well the El Max holds up while I'm away in Germany.

G2
 
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Well, here are a few images of the knife, first one compared to the Kershaw Splinter, Model 1460

IMG_0537.jpg


the bevel was sharpened on my Edge Pro, only slightly steeper than the original bevel

IMG_0539.jpg


Just took it up to the 1000 grit stone, makes a nice polished edge;

IMG_0540.jpg


G2
 
You did a nice job with the edge! I agree, the blade is and remains too thick towards the edge.

I am getting more and more picky about thinness just behind the edge. I have a nice little folder made by Jérôme Hovaere that is just 0.2mm behind the edge. That cuts just effortlessly, and less work when sharpening (review).

Gary, do you know that that knife is not legal to edc in Germany? For Germany the rule is, if it locks then it is not allowed to be one hand opening, and if it is one hand opening then it should not lock. You are not likely to run in to trouble but it is better to be forewarned. Slipjoints, Spyderco Slippits and two hand locking folders are all fine, as are small fixed blades. Have a good stay with the neighbours! (I live in the Netherlands)

JD
 
The blade’s thickness is really THICK, but, with the new edge, it’s also now, REALLY sharp,
surprisingly so, I didn’t have that much hope for it, was on the edge…pun intended ;),
of sending it back, but really want to try the El Max stuff out.

And thanks for the info on Germany, not very knife friendly eh? While I was there the last time,
in the factory I had the Kershaw Junkyard Dog 2, big blade that flips open quickly,
made a few eyebrows rise when I did that as I needed to cut some things on the machine.
But they liked the knife but were surprised to see such a knife.

When I was out in public, I would slip the knife fully into my pocket so there wasn’t
a tell tale clip showing, didn’t want to draw unwanted attention.
And where we’re at, doesn’t seem too much in the way of trouble,
and I keep to myself at the hotel mostly anyways.

I called Benchmade and my Shoki shows arriving but they couldn’t give me an estimate on it’s return,
I had expected an email from them, but not getting one I went and called to make sure it really was received.
I had shipped it with Signature Confirmation so I had a name at least.
Like to have that to take along with me as well as this Speedform.
Having a thicker blade may be handier for some chores, we shall see how it goes.

G2
 
I do not know much about Elmax. Perhaps it is one of the very fine grained steels? Like 13C26 that take very fine edges without a big struggle.

And, after all is said and and done, the proof of the knife is in the cutting. :-)

Hope they will send you the Shoki in time. A nice, discrete, pocked razor :-)

JD
 
I cut a lot of stuff last night with the ElMax, pretty nice so far!!

Flash, at first I thought the bolster was captured, but it's just slid underneath the G10 scale, so you just need to loosen it a little bit is all.
G2
 
You're welcome flash

Called Benchmade again, no news on the Shoki, and my leave date is moved up to Friday,
so it's highly doubtful I'll have it along for the trip :(
G2

edited Oct 18, got an email from UPS, sending the knife out today, scheduled to arrive
on Oct 25th, guess they weren't able to help get it to me sooner, the guy said he'd
try but must be that wasn't an option they could afford, oh well, she'll be waiting for
me when I return home, just hope they were able to fix the lockup and that it doesn't
require a second trip back, I've read another post that said they had to send theirs in
twice before it was made right :rolleyes:
 
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The Barrage is a good knife and a helluva good buy too. Along with the Spyderco Stretch CF, one of the great bargains of the knife world. The blade shape is ideal for cutting. That sounds silly, surely any knife should have a blade shape that's ideal for cutting? Actually, many dont. The steel is fantastic. Sharpen once a year! The only downside for me is the scales are a little slick. Also, its quite heavy in the pocket due to the stainless liners, but otherwise its a great knife.
 
Got back from my trip and the Shoki was waiting, all fixed up, opens smoothly but not fast, but locks up solid, no blade play in either direction, nice :)
G2
 
I liked my 581 from the day it came home late last spring. It joined a well entrenched EDC - my 755 MPR. My last birthday, at the end of July, added a 480-1 Shoki to my collection - a great dress-up knife. As it came from a local store, my wife picked a good one. The M390 is great - keeps an edge quite well and, if my 755 MPR is an indicator, can be touched up with a Sharpmaker. I really like the 581 - handy size, great handfit. My least favorite attribute - which I knew about ahead of time - is it's assisted feature.

IMG_4667.jpg


I remove a new knife's clip upon arrival home - the 480-1 Shoki was no exception - except that it's clip was on it's sheath. Still - off it came - and I feel it 'carries' - in a watch pocket or a front pocket - better that way. Neat knives!

Stainz
 
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