Confusion about benchmade classes. Blue, black, red...

F

flameboy

Joined
Jul 14, 2006
Messages
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I am a new knife enthusiest and I just ordered a BM 525 after falling in love handling it at a knife store. Im spending a good chunk of money and I was hoping to get a solid knife, but it confuses me to find the knife listed under the Black class instead of Blue...?

I was under the impression that Gold > Blue > Black > Red. However the knife is costing more than some other blue knives. Then I thought it was because the blade is 154CM instead of S30V or D2, but there are plenty of blue blades that use 154cm. Does anyone know the criteria?

I love my mini presidio either way, but I'm really just curious how this color system works.
 
Gold
Black and Blue are basically equal, but Black includes automatics
also some other knives that BM considers "miltary/LEO"
Red (Asian manufacture; BM design)
 
Wow thanks for the quick replies.
I read the link posted by Confederate, but it served to confuse me even more more.
Red clearly is the lower end, and Gold is the highest end, but blue and black were confusing :-(

If blue and black are equal then thats good, I dont feel as bad for spending that much on a lower class knife. (i couldnt discern what would cause the mini presidio to be lower than the griptillian or sequel, ya know?)
 
The blue class encompasses a large range of knives from Benchmade. Kind of like whatever is neither at the lower end of the scale (red) or the top end (gold) goes into blue. To me, the black class is a subset of blue, which BM themselves note with the mentions of LEO use and the inclusion of autos. There's less variation in the black class. You won't find much flash or embellishment through the range, almost exclusively black handles with either satin or black blades, which makes sense if you're aiming for the LEO/professional market.

The 525, or any of the 52x series are not low class knives by any means. I think they have a great design and they're one of the most solidly built knives from BM. I had a 520 and ended up switching it out for a 525 because I liked the smaller size a bit better. It's an excellent knife.
 
Benchmade ruined their lineup when they made 4 classes. I was happy with what they had before they changed it in 2005.
 
Blue class is just BM knives, made in the US. Black ones are BM tacticals. Red are Taiwan made BM knives. Gold class knives are ltd. editions and stuff with high dollar materials and finishes.
 
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