Benchmade's New Offerings

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Jun 29, 2002
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Today, our Benchmade representative came by my work (R&J Cutlery) to show off their new stuff. First of all, I'd like to give a big thumbs up to Benchmade. Dispite my low expectations of their new stuff, I am absolutely blown away! Here are my comments on the specific knives:

Ambush/Mini-Ambush: Really cool little (and BIG!) knives. Rolling lock, AUS-8, low price, great overall package and certainly a must for old REKAT fans.

Monochrome: Nice strong framelock with a smooth action. N690 steel (same as Extrema Ratio, only with batch heat-treating) looks to be very good stuff. Killer deal at $50!

Pika/Mini-Pika: The replacement of the Ascent line with a 440A steel. Absolute rock bottom price makes it a better deal than the old Ascents.

Rant Bowie/Drop Point: Cool little fixed blades with a wicked hollow grind. Lightweight and stout. The handle is very hard without much give, but certainly a very useable knife.

Gamer: Thin boot-knife type design. Lightweight, very fast, and great handle design.

Auto-Benchmite: Same little knife with an auto opening mechanism. Super little knife. The action is going to be stronger than what I saw, but certainly nothing that will blow your socks off. It also has a special blade shape unlike the other two models of Benchmite. High polish steel frame won't be able to be anodized like its titanium counterparts, but was needed to make the button more stiff to prevent accidental deployment.

Ares: Now with all black G10 handles. Very slick look. However, my personal favorite is the model with carbon fiber bolsters, rosewood scales, and an S30V blade!

Presidio: Probably my absolute favorite of them all. I know it has been out for a while now, but this was the first time I've seen it in person. Big, beefy feel, and great action!

Finally, there is a mystery knife coming out soon that should blow your socks off! However, I don't think anything has gone public on it yet, so I better keep my lips zipped. Lets just say I want one for each hand! :D
 
a black g10 ares? Finally, thats what they should have been offering all along
 
Yup. The 732 model. They released one quite a ways back, but never as a standard production model. They also released a 732HS that was supposedly a dealer/distributor special order that was backed out of. They ended up selling what was already made. Here are pictures of those two. I assume the new 732 should look the same, just with the new BM logo, and possibly without the Elishewitz name on the back.
The 732 in my pics does not have the model number listed on the blade, but the 732HS does. Not sure how the new ones will be.

17832902.jpg

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Looks very close to that Patryn. I don't remember what they changed, but the printing on the blade was simplified.
 
I'm suprised that there haven't been more replies to this thread. Are people really put off by Benchmade's new stuff?
 
I like the looks of their new stuff, really looking forward to handling both the new Osbournes. The Ambushes also catch my eye. And the Monochrome looks like it could compete with the Kershaw Vapor depending on how they price it.

Already had a chance to handle the new 520, its nice, but they only had a part serrated where I handled it, so no go on that for me. And I just picked up a 732 at my local shop, was 30% off, but its the purple one.:eek: ;)

And I think I know what your mystery knife is, but I am not going to say a word.
 
Originally posted by mschwoeb
I like the looks of their new stuff, really looking forward to handling both the new Osbournes. The Ambushes also catch my eye. And the Monochrome looks like it could compete with the Kershaw Vapor depending on how they price it.

Already had a chance to handle the new 520, its nice, but they only had a part serrated where I handled it, so no go on that for me. And I just picked up a 732 at my local shop, was 30% off, but its the purple one.:eek: ;)

And I think I know what your mystery knife is, but I am not going to say a word.

The Monochrome is $50. It is competetive, but I think the N690 should be a better steel.

As far as the mystery knife goes, I'm sure the information is out there, especially in certain circles. All I know is that I'm not going to be the one to break the news! My question is, will you be buying one?
 
From the top of the mountains to the deep blue sea, hear my voice, read my words:

An AFCK with S30V blade!!!!! What else!?:D
 
How about an AFCK with out the Black-T coating? Maybe a Mini-AFCK with an axis lock and OPTIONAL Black-T coating?

I love the look of the 732 though.
 
I do not mind the new stuff for the red line but I am very curious to see what else they will come out with in the Blue, Black and Gold lines. Those are the lines I want.
 
Originally posted by Nimravus
I do not mind the new stuff for the red line but I am very curious to see what else they will come out with in the Blue, Black and Gold lines. Those are the lines I want.

Aside from the "mystery knife" and the few new realease, there isn't much new in the Blue and Black lines at the moment. The Gold line only has the kitchen knives right now, but supposedly there are new items in the works.

The only problem with the Gold line is determining who gets stock on the extremely limited pieces? How do you make all the dealers happy when there are only 25 pieces?
 
The 73x is probably my favorite BM, is the new one going to be black coated too? If so thats horrible.... What I really want to see and i'm sure a lot of people will agree with me on this one. Mini AFCK with axis lock with s30v/D2 UNCOATED!
 
Originally posted by Michael_Aos
I'm liking this one!

10500.jpg

It's a fine little knife that will go head to head with anything Buck offers. Similar design with better materials IMHO.
 
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