- Joined
- Jul 31, 2014
- Messages
- 5
After several years with my first quality knife, I'm in need of a replacement. Long story short, I was late to the airport so the TSA now owns my Benchmade 930S Kulgera since it was stowed in a bag that was too late to check. As much as I loved it, it was worth less than a $600 plane ticket, so here I am.
First, my primary use is general utility EDC. I thought I needed the serrated edge and honestly I did use it sometimes, but I'm looking for plain edge now for ease of sharpening, given the workhorse nature of my EDC. Most of my cutting tasks are cardboard (tape really; breaking down Amazon boxes, etc), and cutting plastic strapping and wrapping. Full disclosure, I could do this with my old Gerber Harsey Air Ranger no problem. I'm not a 1337 operator by any means, but I still appreciate nice stuff and can spend a few bucks to get there.
The Benchmade 930 was pretty damn near perfect for me. It was made in Oregon (my home state), was a tidy size at under 8" total with a 3.6" blade, had a smooth action, a stunning blade profile IMO, attractive, comfortable, and light G10 scales, and some honest to goodness quality S30V steel. Coming from $40 Gerbers and $25 Smith & Wessons, the Benchmade was a welcome upgrade.
Its replacement will need to be of similar size, quality, and price. I believe the 930 was around $140 when purchased, but up to or a little beyond $200 would be acceptable so long as I can avoid padding the pockets of the TSA staff another time.
For steel choice, I'd prefer sticking to S30V, VG10, or 154CM or "better." Why? Because these are the steels that I'm most familiar with and I'm plain ignorant on the rest. Anything in the S30V ballpark is perfectly acceptable, since it has served me so well. Within about 6 years, my 930 only needed to be reground once by Benchmade (small nick in the blade) and touched up 2-3 times. I'm open to suggestion on this front. While corrosion is not a big concern in my climate, I'll still be carrying this tool everyday and want something easy to maintain.
Size wise, the 930 was great, if a little small. The blade wasn't especially broad, however, so other 3.6" blades may very well appear much larger. I'd lean towards a larger, thicker blade versus anything smaller than the Benchmade. I'd rather have an EDC that could double as a fighter versus one that could double as a toothpick, FWIW.
For blade profiles, I am drawn to modified drop points, or even mild clip points. Tanto is a no-go for sure.
In overall design, I prefer contemporary designs, stopping short of full tactical pageantry, ala some of Benchmade's HK line.
Locking mechanisms: I love the axis-lock. This is a hard one for me to let go of, but I'm willing to go with another lockup since I'm a little underwhelmed, stylistically, by Benchmade's current line-up.
Some of my tentative considerations are as follows: the simple Benchmade 580 or 581, Benchmade 484 (probably too small), Benchmade 477 (classy but would prefer G10 to aluminum), perhaps the Benchmade 940 (less elegant than the 930 IMO), Benchmade 890 (also very classy and understated) ZT 0560BW, ZT 0350, Combative Edge M1 (probably too big but nice to look at). Not big on the Spyderco line. Open to any and all suggestions here.
Thank you!
First, my primary use is general utility EDC. I thought I needed the serrated edge and honestly I did use it sometimes, but I'm looking for plain edge now for ease of sharpening, given the workhorse nature of my EDC. Most of my cutting tasks are cardboard (tape really; breaking down Amazon boxes, etc), and cutting plastic strapping and wrapping. Full disclosure, I could do this with my old Gerber Harsey Air Ranger no problem. I'm not a 1337 operator by any means, but I still appreciate nice stuff and can spend a few bucks to get there.
The Benchmade 930 was pretty damn near perfect for me. It was made in Oregon (my home state), was a tidy size at under 8" total with a 3.6" blade, had a smooth action, a stunning blade profile IMO, attractive, comfortable, and light G10 scales, and some honest to goodness quality S30V steel. Coming from $40 Gerbers and $25 Smith & Wessons, the Benchmade was a welcome upgrade.
Its replacement will need to be of similar size, quality, and price. I believe the 930 was around $140 when purchased, but up to or a little beyond $200 would be acceptable so long as I can avoid padding the pockets of the TSA staff another time.
For steel choice, I'd prefer sticking to S30V, VG10, or 154CM or "better." Why? Because these are the steels that I'm most familiar with and I'm plain ignorant on the rest. Anything in the S30V ballpark is perfectly acceptable, since it has served me so well. Within about 6 years, my 930 only needed to be reground once by Benchmade (small nick in the blade) and touched up 2-3 times. I'm open to suggestion on this front. While corrosion is not a big concern in my climate, I'll still be carrying this tool everyday and want something easy to maintain.
Size wise, the 930 was great, if a little small. The blade wasn't especially broad, however, so other 3.6" blades may very well appear much larger. I'd lean towards a larger, thicker blade versus anything smaller than the Benchmade. I'd rather have an EDC that could double as a fighter versus one that could double as a toothpick, FWIW.
For blade profiles, I am drawn to modified drop points, or even mild clip points. Tanto is a no-go for sure.
In overall design, I prefer contemporary designs, stopping short of full tactical pageantry, ala some of Benchmade's HK line.
Locking mechanisms: I love the axis-lock. This is a hard one for me to let go of, but I'm willing to go with another lockup since I'm a little underwhelmed, stylistically, by Benchmade's current line-up.
Some of my tentative considerations are as follows: the simple Benchmade 580 or 581, Benchmade 484 (probably too small), Benchmade 477 (classy but would prefer G10 to aluminum), perhaps the Benchmade 940 (less elegant than the 930 IMO), Benchmade 890 (also very classy and understated) ZT 0560BW, ZT 0350, Combative Edge M1 (probably too big but nice to look at). Not big on the Spyderco line. Open to any and all suggestions here.
Thank you!
