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- Nov 26, 2010
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- 7,567
Benchmade Naraga 13740
Originally the 10700, the Nagara was moved over into the Harley Davidson group of Knives, perhaps because of the impending closure of the red class knives.
I looked at it when it was still the 10700 and can't remember why I didn't go for it unless its for the simple reason that I wanted the Benchmade mini-grip more, (still have it, great EDC knife.) It was up against some stuff, and cheaper/value competition at the time and since then it has fallen a little in obscurity although it did win the Blade Magazine 2009 Imported Knife Of The Year award.
I ended up looking for it again, lusting after it might be a better word, I was looking for a fine tip EDC, I've had the Kershaw Leek for years and love the thing, and I liked the straighter lines of the Nagara.
Searching around I quickly realized that (despite my recent interest in spyderco) I couldn't find one in my price range, Steortz here on BF tried to help me out, he knew a great deal about B< and where to find knives and had one of the original 10700's. In the and, on the very day I posted in the Wanted forum it seemed, the prices dropped across the board and I was able to find it for around $60 as long as I could put up with the second gen with Harley Davidson printed on the blade. turns out I can.
It feels "lush" is the only word, the titanium provides weight but makes it feel solid and somehow polished in a way that makes me feel a little dirty. true the blade steel sucks, well compared to a mini grip, a tenacious or most other high quality knives (it's 8Cr13) but I had my new criteria and overall function and quality as well as the right "feel" seemed worth a gamble.
I can't remember anything ever coming this sharp, I'm no where near as experienced as most people on here but I was impressed by the edge on this one, my mini grip was sharp when it arrived, and I had an Endura 4 with VG10 for about a day before I decided it was too big fr me, both cut as well. I guess it's just that I was not expecting anything from the steal from what I could read about it (it's 9cr13.)
The first thing i tried was the hair on my forearm, as you do, and my right arm is now bare. A little shocked I turned to paper and have yet to swipe the thing without producing a thin line of neatly cut white. Evey time I swish it, hell every time I show it to a piece of A4, it just falls to pieces. Thin fat, quick cuts it doesn't seem to matter.
There is a lot more paper around here somewhere but I don't want to admit how much i ruined with this test
True eventually that edge will dim and we'll have to see how well it can take another one, but I'm still impressed.
Nak-loc is like a reverse liner lock, the arm has a hook on it and locks behind instead of in front of the
blade
Some cons:
There is slight side to side blade play, but no front to back. When I find a head to fit the benchmade pivot screw I think I'll be able to eliminate it, but I don't know yet.
It has Harley Davidson written down the blade (it doesn't trouble me so much but it might, if you could find a 10700 this wouldn't be a problem)
nak-loc, still not sold on this so I'll put it as a con, so far it seems as good as any benchmade liner lock which is saying something, but you never know
is this thing a wanna be CRK sebenza, maybe, hand't though of that till now...ummm...no still like it.
Pros:
There is a nice "thwak" a lot of Kershaw users might find familiar when the blade is opened.
The pivot must be well balanced because it opens fast and smooth
Pretty (Karshaws are hansom, Benchmades pretty, thats what I think)
Feel: it feels solid, no surprise here about benchmade quality, although for an old red class knife it's impressive maybe
Overall, yes, the Nagara may be a bit more form the function, I doubt as an EDC it's going to encounter anything it won't handle but ti also won't outperform many either. Still if your looking for a 7inch-ish (it's 7.5) narrow slicer as an EDC and that looks good in a bikini then theres not much to compete with the Nagara. True something like a Delica 4 might be better (I don't own one) but it's wider blade, which is good for a lot of things, but not if your looking for a narrow blade.
Originally the 10700, the Nagara was moved over into the Harley Davidson group of Knives, perhaps because of the impending closure of the red class knives.
I looked at it when it was still the 10700 and can't remember why I didn't go for it unless its for the simple reason that I wanted the Benchmade mini-grip more, (still have it, great EDC knife.) It was up against some stuff, and cheaper/value competition at the time and since then it has fallen a little in obscurity although it did win the Blade Magazine 2009 Imported Knife Of The Year award.
I ended up looking for it again, lusting after it might be a better word, I was looking for a fine tip EDC, I've had the Kershaw Leek for years and love the thing, and I liked the straighter lines of the Nagara.
Searching around I quickly realized that (despite my recent interest in spyderco) I couldn't find one in my price range, Steortz here on BF tried to help me out, he knew a great deal about B< and where to find knives and had one of the original 10700's. In the and, on the very day I posted in the Wanted forum it seemed, the prices dropped across the board and I was able to find it for around $60 as long as I could put up with the second gen with Harley Davidson printed on the blade. turns out I can.
It feels "lush" is the only word, the titanium provides weight but makes it feel solid and somehow polished in a way that makes me feel a little dirty. true the blade steel sucks, well compared to a mini grip, a tenacious or most other high quality knives (it's 8Cr13) but I had my new criteria and overall function and quality as well as the right "feel" seemed worth a gamble.
I can't remember anything ever coming this sharp, I'm no where near as experienced as most people on here but I was impressed by the edge on this one, my mini grip was sharp when it arrived, and I had an Endura 4 with VG10 for about a day before I decided it was too big fr me, both cut as well. I guess it's just that I was not expecting anything from the steal from what I could read about it (it's 9cr13.)
The first thing i tried was the hair on my forearm, as you do, and my right arm is now bare. A little shocked I turned to paper and have yet to swipe the thing without producing a thin line of neatly cut white. Evey time I swish it, hell every time I show it to a piece of A4, it just falls to pieces. Thin fat, quick cuts it doesn't seem to matter.
There is a lot more paper around here somewhere but I don't want to admit how much i ruined with this test
True eventually that edge will dim and we'll have to see how well it can take another one, but I'm still impressed.
Nak-loc is like a reverse liner lock, the arm has a hook on it and locks behind instead of in front of the
blade
Some cons:
There is slight side to side blade play, but no front to back. When I find a head to fit the benchmade pivot screw I think I'll be able to eliminate it, but I don't know yet.
It has Harley Davidson written down the blade (it doesn't trouble me so much but it might, if you could find a 10700 this wouldn't be a problem)
nak-loc, still not sold on this so I'll put it as a con, so far it seems as good as any benchmade liner lock which is saying something, but you never know
is this thing a wanna be CRK sebenza, maybe, hand't though of that till now...ummm...no still like it.
Pros:
There is a nice "thwak" a lot of Kershaw users might find familiar when the blade is opened.
The pivot must be well balanced because it opens fast and smooth
Pretty (Karshaws are hansom, Benchmades pretty, thats what I think)
Feel: it feels solid, no surprise here about benchmade quality, although for an old red class knife it's impressive maybe
Overall, yes, the Nagara may be a bit more form the function, I doubt as an EDC it's going to encounter anything it won't handle but ti also won't outperform many either. Still if your looking for a 7inch-ish (it's 7.5) narrow slicer as an EDC and that looks good in a bikini then theres not much to compete with the Nagara. True something like a Delica 4 might be better (I don't own one) but it's wider blade, which is good for a lot of things, but not if your looking for a narrow blade.
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Still super-duper-sharp though...
