My old Spyderco

M

mtngunr

Joined
Apr 10, 2005
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I bought this AFCK when they first came out, all the rage in print and the first factory competition to folk like Emerson...i believe he gave his blessings on his finger cutout while Spyderco was paid a royalty, and then THEY came out with the Military and Emerson had a knife marked Benchmade and the knife world exploded..

There were no discounts on such an hot item and i paid $125 and only thing i do not remember was exactly when?....was it '91?....and that is a serious question if anyone knows for sure when they did the huge intro and knife magazines went ballistic with praise...

You would not believe the deployments and aircraft this knife has seen since then....and still opens weightlessly rather than ball bearinged, survived several drops while open with tip striking concrete, and almost never needed sharpening in all that time...sad to say last move or two i lost the box...

Still a world class 4ozs of titanium, G10, and ATS34 serious knifeness...







 
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I am surprised to see the two emblems still in the handle. That seems to be on thing about those that likes to fall out. I have seen quite a few missing that on the handles.
 
Truth be told, so am i....not exactly the best idea in the world, to build a world class knife and then slap aluminum stickers on it...am also suprised still legible.
 
How is liner lock work in that knife? Is there blade play? Titanium liner lock isn't too soft?
 
Here's mine. Like yours has seen multiple deployments and literally been around the world and back. I've tried to dial in exactly when I got mine and it had to have been around 96ish give or take but as to when they first came out I don't remember. I'm sure a call to BM could answer that though.

The AFCK was my first "quality " knife and remains one of my all time favorites to this day. It's also still one of the smoothest knives I own.

A great knife on every level and a true classic.

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I believe this is the first time it appeared in the BM catalog 95-96 but as to it's actual release date I don't know. Might have to make that call to BM and find out.

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This is my 812 with the last set of replacement scales Benchmade had, and still one of my favorite knives.

 
Nice write up & story mtngunr. I would also luv to see a pic of the lock-up.
 
Still tight and wobble free as Dick's hatband, and zero play even with pivot tension only just enough to hold tip inside handle when held horizontal/inverted and no fair shaking....if lightning can float, this blade floats open to degree you would swear a spring had taken over....smoothest knife ever, for me....just nothing there....something perfectly smooth sliding over perfect ice surface comes to mind...no gummy greased any-thing....

As for getting the knife, circa '91 sticks in my mind....

Sorry for reversed Delica Salt in closed shot...did not catch until i opened them, concentrated on the old knife for some reason...




 
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I thought a nice precision micro touch at that time was the staking of a freely turning miniature ball bearing into a little cup recess on the inboard side of the lockbar right at the very front where steel blade rotating would not rub against titanium lockbar under tension and trying to press against the blade until open...and the ball bearing resting in a detent on side of blade only when fully closed, giving it a little "stick" before it literally glides open.

As for wear, it obviously seats deeper than new and will seat deeper later but every surface is cam cut....and i never have let any dirt or grit stay there for any longer than neccessary...it was obvious from day 1 that if i wanted it to hold up, this would be A numbah 1 joe to do....

One real weak spot on earliest....the rear plastic spacer between liners....hard and brittle....cracked within first year and forward piece retained by only one screw at furtherest end from crack pivoted open....for that money you bet i called....they were aware and had the new part but i had to send it in....i (stupidly perhaps) declined as did not want knife out of my sight and we were hopping back then and no telling.....superglue has worked fine ever since....and in looking it over just now have noted another crack 3/4 way down towards rear at last screw hole....glued back together, all you see is a line which appears cast...am not worried at all and actually an easy fab for most anybody with hand tools (check), eggbeater drill (check)....and patience/time (double check).
 
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pbcg said:
I believe this is the first time it appeared in the BM catalog 95-96 but as to it's actual release date I don't know. Might have to make that call to BM and find out.
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Click to expand...

I would just about bet the silver emblems were already going or gone by time that catalog made it in from printers....my recollection is after the company got past the shock of avalanche of orders, changes started happening real fast....i recall particularly the disappointment of steel liners making it in my mind a Spyderco Military....black....and steel changes and etc etc and next thing i knew, mine was gone without a trace.....until a reintro or two where closeouts were half what i paid for mine and in later dollars....i did not know whether to be elated or po'd, whether it meant retreads were boring because people now wanted originals, or if they found them ALL boring....seem to recall they found them VERY interesting at one point, but today i do not have even a clue as to collector interest in a used/now-no-box knife....probably could get what i paid for it and only half in today's buying power...

But it is my shabby Rolls Royce for now.

Danke for the catalog shot....GREATLY appreciated
 
pbcg said:
Here's mine. Like yours has seen multiple deployments and literally been around the world and back. I've tried to dial in exactly when I got mine and it had to have been around 96ish give or take but as to when they first came out I don't remember. I'm sure a call to BM could answer that though.

The AFCK was my first "quality " knife and remains one of my all time favorites to this day. It's also still one of the smoothest knives I own.

A great knife on every level and a true classic.
Click to expand...

It is the totem of the entire "factory custom tactical" wave which followed and even now still spreading into fixed blades and beer huggers....
 
mtngunr said:
Titanium can Rockwell at same range as many lockback bars...
Click to expand...

I'm asking because of BM Pinnacle titanium frame lock fails in the past.

I'm curious how durable are old titanium liner locks in vintage Benchmade knives which were seriously used and carried many years as edc.
 
Well this one meets the criteria...it has been retired to sock drawer for last 5 yrs....lock bar when new engaged blade for 3/4s of its thickness and been seating a little deeper every day since then....

No idea of your "fail" such as bar snapping from work hardening or somehow forced closed?....anyhow, they all are set up for wear or work harden or collapse if forced as nothing holding blade but a pre-bent piece of metal and any engineer will tell you it will just keep bending and collapse if enough force applied...

I use one for knife chores and would work for me for most stuff truthfully with no lock at all....it was bought because shockingly cool....because nothing better out there at time and quite affordable for that distinction....and more than anything it was bought for blade steel and impervious to elements stainless, G10 and titanium construction for about zero maint. in combat zone..
But it was NOT bought because i thought the locking mechanism superior...i knew it would fail one day...and in my possession if used constantly...as inevitable as gravity and why retired of late....want to show some of that coolness off 20yrs from now if i should live so long, and gift to someone younger to enjoy while it lasts...which will not be long...

As for EDC, it has been a hard use knife for entire career...military ground forces (why i am dating circa '91 as was just going back ground component and never jumped with it) and military aircraft heavy maint....it has cut, pried, shaved and scraped near about everything...aside from more normal boxes, crates, straps, tapes, and.food use, also sealant from panels, spinning stripped screws, fiberglass wall panels and insulation...wire, rope,.zip ties, telephone cable and anything else....but never whittled nails in half.....the stains on handle are remnants of green epoxy primer and fuel tank sealant never able to remove competely...every scratch on clip from worming under wire or worming under floors on all metal structures...edc?....yeah....a little...
 
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Thanks. I've BM 913 but it's model from 2008, 10 years after Pinnacle and few other BM with titanium lock. Titanium liner lock is still solid and very durable - liner don't rub from normal use/hundreds of openings and is still in the same place as was when new from box. But even if, here is angular stop pin allowing some lock depth regulation.
 
I father still EDC's one of these and I'm profoundly jealous. Still has the emblems, but you can barely make them out. Still by far my favorite Benchmade ever produced. If they bring it back, I'll buy 5 of them.
 
Mystery solved....i was wrong....late summer Sept gunshow i remember well, but it was '94 and Emerson already signed on but knife came out a bit later....not sure if his actually made by '94 or not.....and given my memory, could be wrong about all of it, but here is insert stuck in '93 catalog reissued for '94 and probably written late '93....

 
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