New guy with question about BM Red Class

[azjeff]

Greetings! New to the forum but not new to nice knives. My grandparents lived in Titusville Pa. and my grandpa liked Queen knives, he gave me a few and I have some of his as well as a few older Case. Dressed more than a few deer with a big Queen folder.

Anyway, I've been looking at small EDC knives in particular Benchmade. The other day I was in a local gun shop and in their knife display case were 5 or 6 Red class BMs including an Aphid. The Aphid looks like what I'm looking for and after a bit of searching I understand what BM did with their classes back then. Thing is, these knives have what looks like full MSRP on them, if I understand correctly the Red Class was discontinued in 2010 so these have been around a while. Some googling found Aphids priced at $50 when they were discontinued. I didn't look too hard at the other Red class knives and don't remember the models. My question is (hope not breaking rules?) is that NIB Aphid worth MSRP now or should it be less? It seems like all Aphids were USA made which is important to me. I like this knife better than the blue Bugout. I know some shops will hold onto MSRP until someplace freezes over but it can't hurt to make an offer.

thanks

 

[Tommy-Chi]

It cannot hurt to make an offer. The knife apparently has been sitting the for more than 5yrs.

Nonetheless, everything is worth what people are willing to agree on. You may find someone who will bargain with you. Good luck!

 

[stonproject]

Welcome to the forum. I can't answer your question about the value of the knife, however, consider that the knife is tip down only, 440c steel, and a long discontinued model. Being discontinued so long, If you needed a blade replacement or a pocket clip, those services are probably unavailable for the aphid. I don't know what the msrp is on the aphid, but there may be better valued knives for an equivalent price. I just wanted to point these things out so you can make an informed decision.

Best of luck!

 

[toker]

I owned the Benhmade Aphid at one time and used to carry it at the office since it was small and discreet. Unfortunately, it had an assisted opening and only comes in tip down configuration. I reached into my pocket to grab my keys and got spiked by a partially deployed blade. I'm lucky I was only slowly reaching in and grabbing my keys. I never carried that blade again.

 

[azjeff]

Thanks for the heads up. I actually saw you posted about this quite a few times when I was searching Aphid. Why do you think it opened? Did the keys snag it?

 

[Bob6794]

Since it's been long discontinued just look over it thoughly and make sure everything is good before you buy it. I would try to cherry pick between them if the first example isn't to your liking.

 

[azjeff]

I wasn't clear enough in my first post. There were half a dozen or so Red Class boxes lined up but I inspected the Aphid and didn't really pay attention to what the others were but they were all larger knives, only the 1 Aphid. Is there interest in these knives today? I understand they were considered a lower grade and some were USA made and some were not. thanks

 

[corey.lively]

I owned the Benhmade Aphid at one time and used to carry it at the office since it was small and discreet. Unfortunately, it had an assisted opening and only comes in tip down configuration. I reached into my pocket to grab my keys and got spiked by a partially deployed blade. I'm lucky I was only slowly reaching in and grabbing my keys. I never carried that blade again.

I own one of these as well, and I never really carried it much because of what you were saying. I never cut myself, but that was always my fear that it would accidentally deploy in my pocket. I've owned some assisted opening thru the years, and I just don't care for them. Interestingly, I've given away all the other assisted openers that I've owned but kept this one. The Aphid is a nice blade and size, but it has been relegated to a tool-kit/bag duty.

 

[toker]

Is there interest in these knives today? I understand they were considered a lower grade and some were USA made and some were not. thanks

The Aphid was a decent knife, but it is nowhere near the quality of the other Benchmade knives that I own. The blade wasn't centered and the handle material feels cheap. I certainly wouldn't pay $50 for it when there are so many options for sub 3" blades.