Benchmade emissary??

dustd3 · Sep 30, 2015

Hey guys. The fiance bought me an emissary for our anniversary. It's neat. It says assisted but it seems like a real fine line to me to an auto, with the lock and all. I live in NY state and am not sure if it's legal.

Also it seems pretty dainty. It's marked by benchmade as edc and outdoor use. I'm a little skeptical. I'm not shy with my knives. Right now I have a benchmade adamas that needs to be sent in because the spring mechanism is already broken after about 7 months, so I'm kinda meh with benchmade at the moment. So I guess my questions are 1: overall thoughts on the emissary. 2: some alternatives in the same price range.

Thanks- Dustin

sldk · Sep 30, 2015

My girlfriend has the 3" Emissary, and uses it pretty heavily for her job. She's not what I would call particularly diligent about care/maintenance, and it's held up well for her. I've considered getting the 3.5" model for myself (and often carry hers when she forgets it). I wouldn't do any batoning or anything ridiculous with it, but for general EDC it holds up quite well IMO. YMMV.

I can't lend any advice as to the legality of the knife in your area unfortunately.

dustd3 · Sep 30, 2015

Yeah this is the 3.5. Sorry didn't clarify. I know the laws but this says "assisted" and it seems more than that to me. Thanks for the insight though, appreciate it!!

TheMadIndian · Sep 30, 2015

I have the 3.5" and I love it, to me I differentiate between hard use and edc, the 477-1 is an edc knife. I also live in NY and its not an auto so you're ok as long as you're not in nyc. The challenges I have with it, is it's a little scary for non knife people when it opens that said the same people like that it takes two hands to close. Use it benchmade has great customer service and warranty. I carry my 943 most of the time due to blade operation and it doesn't seem to freak non knife people out.

dustd3 · Sep 30, 2015

TheMadIndian said:
I have the 3.5" and I love it, to me I differentiate between hard use and edc, the 477-1 is an edc knife. I also live in NY and its not an auto so you're ok as long as you're not in nyc. The challenges I have with it, is it's a little scary for non knife people when it opens that said the same people like that it takes two hands to close. Use it benchmade has great customer service and warranty. I carry my 943 most of the time due to blade operation and it doesn't seem to freak non knife people out.

Ok cool, that clears up the legality.

I need to play with it a bit more. I'm not a huge fan of assisted, so I don't have any. I think maybe it's just way different than what I have.

palonej · Sep 30, 2015

I have a 477-1 for a few months and love it!! That blade will take a retarded edge and slice like a monster!
I like the assist, I see lots de assisting, mainly Rory e cool factor.
Great EDC.

dustd3 · Sep 30, 2015

palonej said:
I have a 477-1 for a few months and love it!! That blade will take a retarded edge and slice like a monster!
I like the assist, I see lots de assisting, mainly Rory e cool factor.
Great EDC.

Thanks for the input!

VermontEdge · Sep 30, 2015

Might I add...your wife sounds super cool! I'm still waiting for my wife to give me a knife...

dustd3 · Sep 30, 2015

VermontEdge said:
Might I add...your wife sounds super cool! I'm still waiting for my wife to give me a knife...

Thanks! She's the best. We mutually agreed on not spending money on stuff for this occasion bit she didn't listen. She hands me a wrapped box and as I'm opening she says "I hope you like it. I looked at your instagram and through your box of knives. If it's the wrong kind or sh***y, I'll get you a different one."

I honestly never dreamed she would get me a knife. Good luck to you, leave more hints!!

OsborneFan · Oct 21, 2015

I have both the 3" and the 3.5". I personally think the 3" is the best EDC knife available. At least for what I run into in a day. Light weight, slim in the pocket, great steel, great slicer, good grip. I've always felt the 3.5" has more of a tactical feel, at least in the blade. So slim (I get the dainty comment) and pointy. It reminds me of the old Benchmade spike, a pure stabbing blade. I prefer the belly on the 940 for real world cutting tasks. I also feel like the 3.5" is way too bulky and heavy in the pocket. It's girth and weight pay off in the hand, but not a worthwhile tradeoff IMO. Still, I love them both. All that being said, can't go wrong with a 940 or a 943.

dustd3 · Oct 21, 2015

OsborneFan said:
I have both the 3" and the 3.5". I personally think the 3" is the best EDC knife available. At least for what I run into in a day. Light weight, slim in the pocket, great steel, great slicer, good grip. I've always felt the 3.5" has more of a tactical feel, at least in the blade. So slim (I get the dainty comment) and pointy. It reminds me of the old Benchmade spike, a pure stabbing blade. I prefer the belly on the 940 for real world cutting tasks. I also feel like the 3.5" is way too bulky and heavy in the pocket. It's girth and weight pay off in the hand, but not a worthwhile tradeoff IMO. Still, I love them both. All that being said, can't go wrong with a 940 or a 943.

Thanks for the input!

For me the size doesn't matter. I carry a benchmade adamas a lot which is much larger and heavier. I would say I do a lot more cutting than the average person on a daily basis, I spend a good portion of my day in a warehouse and cut a lot of packing material. So most of it is tape, cardboard and whatever other mystery material the shippers decide to use.

I work with wood furniture and also find myself, probably shouldn't, using my blades to aid in repairs. Pry inside a crack to get the wood apart so I can glue it up.

I just think the 3.5 is too much of a lightweight slicer for my uses.

K.O.D. · Oct 21, 2015

1. Congrats on your wife giving you a knife

2. Benchmade's assisted openers fire very, very hard. Though assisted openers are legal here in Illinois, the speed in which these open could catch the attention of an officer, and possibly their interpretation of it being a switchblade. That's why I sold my A/Os.

3. As you can see from your Adamas' lock springs breaking, BM's quality control is not nearly what it once was. They have excellent customer service, but should you really have to use it that soon?

4. I personally would recommend the Spyderco Gayle Bradley for a heavy duty but not brick heavy knife.

dustd3 · Oct 21, 2015

K.O.D. said:
1. Congrats on your wife giving you a knife

2. Benchmade's assisted openers fire very, very hard. Though assisted openers are legal here in Illinois, the speed in which these open could catch the attention of an officer, and possibly their interpretation of it being a switchblade. That's why I sold my A/Os.

3. As you can see from your Adamas' lock springs breaking, BM's quality control is not nearly what it once was. They have excellent customer service, but should you really have to use it that soon?

4. I personally would recommend the Spyderco Gayle Bradley for a heavy duty but not brick heavy knife.

Thanks!

Yeah, I was saddened and shocked when the Adamas failed so quickly. They are taking care of it, though.

I have never considered the Gayle Bradley , though I am going to look into it now. I have a manix2 from spyderco and I love it, even though it's the old 154cm version without the FFG [emoji53]

Again, thanks for the input and I'll keep gawking at $500 knives while only willing to spend $250 right now!!

Benchmade emissary??

Sell your cloak buy a sword