Hi All,
Long time lurker, first time poster on this forum... Often times I hang out here to see what's available for sale and read about real people's experiences with knives that I'm interested in. So here's my two cents on the Benchmade Contego and the custom scale work done by a fellow forum member here (beimerja).
I've been eyeing the Benchmade Osborne knives for quite some time, from the time I first saw the 940. It was a cool knife, with a very functional reverse tanto blade, but it was a little too slim... Other Benchmade Osborne knives came out, but there was always something that didn't fit most of the criteria I was looking for. My criteria, if you're curious, included the following:
functional blade shape
high quality blade steel
over 3.5" blade
tip up carry
full length liners
ambidextrous setup (spydie hole or thumbstuds & pocket clip)
handle ergonomics
Probably in that order, too... ;-) Anyway, I couldn't really settle on one specific knife that fit all the criteria I was looking for... Until my friend showed me a knife that he had just bought. When he showed it to me, I knew that this was one special knife. I knew that he had similar criteria in knives and he would not spend money on a knife unless it was a useful tool. Within the next couple days of seeing the knife, I ended up buying it from him. That knife was the Benchmade 810BK Contego. It was perfect... Well, sort of, and hence the title of my topic.
The stock contego handles did not fit my ergonomic needs at all. In fact, I would say that I didn't want to EDC it because of all the ridiculous jimping all over the knife handle. The stock g10 scales were more than grippy enough, and adding the jimping just made it uncomfortable for me to use. I suppose if I had to wear gloves, the jimping would be perfect, for the added traction. Then I started to search the forums on modified Contegos... Found a couple people who had custom scales made, and then I tried locating someone who would make me some custom scales. Before doing so though, I definitely wanted to get rid of the jimping -- so, out came Mr. Dremel. In addition to removing the jimping, I modified the shape a little to better fit my hand. I then shipped out the knife to beimerja (Jake).
I have to say, I was very happy with Jake's professional attitude and quality of product. During the time I first contacted him until I got the knife back, he provided me with frequent updates. If there were any issues that came up, he alerted me to those immediately. I'd definitely go through him to customize another knife, without hesitation. BTW, one of the main reasons I went with him was because I saw a video of his, where he showcased an Anso pattern on a knife handle. This was exactly the pattern I wanted on my knife scales.
Bottom line... With some modification and some help from Jake; now, this knife will be my primary EDC.
My apologies for the crappy pics, but they're better than nothing. ;-)
Long time lurker, first time poster on this forum... Often times I hang out here to see what's available for sale and read about real people's experiences with knives that I'm interested in. So here's my two cents on the Benchmade Contego and the custom scale work done by a fellow forum member here (beimerja).
I've been eyeing the Benchmade Osborne knives for quite some time, from the time I first saw the 940. It was a cool knife, with a very functional reverse tanto blade, but it was a little too slim... Other Benchmade Osborne knives came out, but there was always something that didn't fit most of the criteria I was looking for. My criteria, if you're curious, included the following:
functional blade shape
high quality blade steel
over 3.5" blade
tip up carry
full length liners
ambidextrous setup (spydie hole or thumbstuds & pocket clip)
handle ergonomics
Probably in that order, too... ;-) Anyway, I couldn't really settle on one specific knife that fit all the criteria I was looking for... Until my friend showed me a knife that he had just bought. When he showed it to me, I knew that this was one special knife. I knew that he had similar criteria in knives and he would not spend money on a knife unless it was a useful tool. Within the next couple days of seeing the knife, I ended up buying it from him. That knife was the Benchmade 810BK Contego. It was perfect... Well, sort of, and hence the title of my topic.
The stock contego handles did not fit my ergonomic needs at all. In fact, I would say that I didn't want to EDC it because of all the ridiculous jimping all over the knife handle. The stock g10 scales were more than grippy enough, and adding the jimping just made it uncomfortable for me to use. I suppose if I had to wear gloves, the jimping would be perfect, for the added traction. Then I started to search the forums on modified Contegos... Found a couple people who had custom scales made, and then I tried locating someone who would make me some custom scales. Before doing so though, I definitely wanted to get rid of the jimping -- so, out came Mr. Dremel. In addition to removing the jimping, I modified the shape a little to better fit my hand. I then shipped out the knife to beimerja (Jake).
I have to say, I was very happy with Jake's professional attitude and quality of product. During the time I first contacted him until I got the knife back, he provided me with frequent updates. If there were any issues that came up, he alerted me to those immediately. I'd definitely go through him to customize another knife, without hesitation. BTW, one of the main reasons I went with him was because I saw a video of his, where he showcased an Anso pattern on a knife handle. This was exactly the pattern I wanted on my knife scales.
Bottom line... With some modification and some help from Jake; now, this knife will be my primary EDC.
My apologies for the crappy pics, but they're better than nothing. ;-)
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