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Benchmade
- Thread starter Patriot04
- Start date
They are telling me it was the last knife designed by Emerson for Benchmade before he went out on his own.I have a 975S (larger of the two I think)...partially serrated, bead blasted ATS-34 blade. 1996 was the last year Emerson designed for Benchmade, I think. If I remember correctly, I paid $120 mas o menos for it new in 1996. I'd love to get my hands on another one, sans serrations.
- Joined
- Oct 29, 2005
- Messages
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the black finished blades are not as common, there may be a slight premium attached, perhaps $5-10.
what is the blade length? the 970 is about a 3", the 975 about 3.75".
the 975 is the larger version.
im not sure if ernie designed these "for" benchmade. iirc bm bought the rights to produce the knife. but i am a little fuzzy in this area. i have heard it both ways.
I own a few of these. Both pe and pse. Emerson designed them, the CQC 7 series he now produces are a tad different in specific areas such as the scales being more rounded, 154cm vs ats34, a spear point version vs none for BM. BM initially made them and sold them with I assume some profit going to Emerson.
He started his own manufacturing of the knife shortly after BM started selling them something like 2 years or so if I remember correctly. The black T coated knives are a bit more rare than just the plain ats34 versions as stated previously. There are good points to both of the manufactured knives. On ebay you see them commonly going upwards of 200 bucks which personally I think is a bit much but then again a person will pay what a person will pay. keepem sharp
He started his own manufacturing of the knife shortly after BM started selling them something like 2 years or so if I remember correctly. The black T coated knives are a bit more rare than just the plain ats34 versions as stated previously. There are good points to both of the manufactured knives. On ebay you see them commonly going upwards of 200 bucks which personally I think is a bit much but then again a person will pay what a person will pay. keepem sharp
Mine has the 3.25 blade pse. I purchased mine in the late '90's and was told then the design was going back to Emerson, ran me $95. The black coating didn't survive sawing through 1/2" thick wall shipping tube, it was teflon or something else. I don't believe black Ti nitride was yet available.
The knife as made by Benchmade was supposed to be identical, it was something less than user friendly - the edges, corners, and thumb ramps are harder on my hands than a Strider SnG. The Emerson upgrade was to do a melt job for comfort and slot drivers on the screws for better field maintenance.
It's a great liner lock, was the first I had with ATS34 and G10, and totally ruined me for conventional folders. I'm now mainlining S30V and Ti with no cure in sight. At least it's just a yearly fix.
The knife as made by Benchmade was supposed to be identical, it was something less than user friendly - the edges, corners, and thumb ramps are harder on my hands than a Strider SnG. The Emerson upgrade was to do a melt job for comfort and slot drivers on the screws for better field maintenance.
It's a great liner lock, was the first I had with ATS34 and G10, and totally ruined me for conventional folders. I'm now mainlining S30V and Ti with no cure in sight. At least it's just a yearly fix.