I had a BM 470-1 black grip Emissary arrive yesterday and I love the size and feel of it. But then I really like the BM Axis Assist knives I have. The only negative I noted is that the safety is not the same as on the Barrage series, the ambidexterous spine located safety. I suspect that the all aluminum frameless design precludes the use of the spine mounted safety. Also I have noted posts reporting that the finish on the aluminum is not too durable apparently.
Too bad IMO that the Emissary is a discontinued model per BM's web site. It seems like the lighter, narrower Benchmade knives have short production lives. The knives that fall in the "Gentlemen's Knife" category. Interesting as the Emissary is very close to the same size and thickness as the Kershaw Leek G-10. The Leek is one of Kershaws most popular knife series I believe. The BM Shoki and Megumi have also had very short lives while many of the Griptilians and Barrages go on forever it looks like.
Any way, based on the size and feel of the 470-1 Emissary I did a search and found a shop that still had a 470-131 Emissary Gold Class Damasteel blade knife in stock at a good price and I have ordered it. It will be my first gold class BM knife. Based on the photos a beautiful knife.
Too bad IMO that the Emissary is a discontinued model per BM's web site. It seems like the lighter, narrower Benchmade knives have short production lives. The knives that fall in the "Gentlemen's Knife" category. Interesting as the Emissary is very close to the same size and thickness as the Kershaw Leek G-10. The Leek is one of Kershaws most popular knife series I believe. The BM Shoki and Megumi have also had very short lives while many of the Griptilians and Barrages go on forever it looks like.
Any way, based on the size and feel of the 470-1 Emissary I did a search and found a shop that still had a 470-131 Emissary Gold Class Damasteel blade knife in stock at a good price and I have ordered it. It will be my first gold class BM knife. Based on the photos a beautiful knife.
