Benchmade Osborne 771, with a little fixin'

Gary W. Graley

Gary W. Graley

“Imagination is more important than knowledge"
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Mar 2, 1999
Messages
27,427
I've had this knife for a short while and can recommend it to anyone! Excellent lockup, though she is a bit tight at first, should work in after a while, blade size is great, 2 3/4" and with Benchmades new way of putting an edge on...it really cuts well!

BUT, this particular knife model had an annoying spot on the handle that I just could no longer stand and so out to my shed to grind down a little bit of the handle, right where the thumbstud seats when the blade is in the handle, there was a small nitch there that no finger would ever fit in and it had sharp/tight corners that wasn't comfortable when using if gripped tightly...so I radiused that area down and then polished the open aluminum to a nice smooth shine, you can just see the polished area in this scan, now the knife feels good in the hand, maybe Benchmade could re-think this handle a little? Otherwise an outstanding folder...;)

G2
 
Closed scan...
G2
 
Gary,

I too have modified several of the 770 series. I modified the carbon scaled models. Changed the feel of the knife. The little pointed bump you removed seemed in the way all of the time. On one of the knives I created a huge gap for my three fingers to grip. I use this one with a chain as a neck knife. The second 770 I took the edge off like you did. I also smoothed the exterior of the CF Scales to remove the glossy look. Were the metal grips difficult to grind?

(For others out there....remember to sand or grind with a good mask/resp on. Wet sanding works great on CF scales too.)

Wade
 
The aluminum handles were not too bad to grind down and of course I wasn't wise enough to make a scan of the BEFORE image! duh...;)

I can get two fingers grip in the front and feels comfy now, exceptional edge that came with this knife and touch up is easy to maintain as well...

G2
 
I snagged an image...thanks and credit to Alligator on Benchmade forum for his wonderful pics!
Go here to see some Great shots of the 77x series of knives! as
well as some shots of the BM710...

Alligator on Benchmade forum

But this snippet is just to show the difference from the mod I made on this knife...

G2
 
here is a rough comparison...
 
Gary can you get a pic lokking down on what you did? Id like to see it from that angle. Alot of knives have that thumb indent, but most are larger then the one on that knife is, so your idea maybe a good one
 
I don't have a decent digital camera but here is a scan of the knife on my flat bed scanner, top down look at the ground down site...
G2
 
though the side view shows it best...
G2
 
Got another 771 today so here is a direct side by side comparison...
on a side note...also have the carbon fiber version, 770 and that has a thicker blade!

Blade on the 770 = .11
Blade on the 771 = .09
edited to fixe the dimensions...thanks Starfish!
Now why is that?
G2
 
Ah, that last shot is perfect! Now I see what you did, and that does indeed seem to be much more comfy :)

Originally posted by Gary W. Graley
on a side note...also have the carbon fiber version, 770 and that has a thicker blade!

Blade on the 770 = .09
Blade on the 771 = .11

Now why is that?
G2
Click to expand...

Hmm, that's very interesting, as the Benchmade web site shows the 770 having a blade thickness of 0.11 and the 771/773 at 0.09. Were the numbers you posted measured off of your knives, or pulled from the BM web site and transposed?

I'd be interested to know the answer to this one as well!

Good score - all you need now is a 773-01 ;)

Matthew
 
Spoke with Angie about this one, it's weird as they should have the same blade dimensionally, so I sent it back to them for a looksee...

The 773, maybe, but I have enough for now to tide me over a long time! The 771 along with my 941, a great combination! These knives have a nice moran type edge on them as well, boy do they push cut nicely!

G2
 
Originally posted by richardallen
are the handles white or slightly grey ?
can't figure it out...

cheez
Click to expand...

More Grey than white and these have a gritty feel to them...which I think adds to the overall performance if the knife becomes wet during use...
G2
 
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