What is this?

N

nitroice0069

Joined
Dec 2, 2004
Messages
27
Hi, my dad has had this knife, a Christmas gift, for ten or fifteen years. Supposedly when the knife was bought for him it was a custom knife from a knife maker in Mexico. He never questioned the story due to never following knives, but recently I have got into the knife scene. Wanting to see all the knives he has this was one of the knives he showed me, but I found it strange. It has no markings/logos on it at all and looks almost exactly like a Benchmade AFO. The only differences I see are: the pivot screw, there is no safety type mechanism, and there is no pocket clip. The serrations appear to be the style/design that Benchmade used to use. If you could help me in anyway identify this knife it would be greatly appreciated. Pictures and dimensions are below. [Click picture (Thumbnails) to view]





Close up of serrations




Close up of "safety area"




Dimensions (Not exact but very close)

Length Closed- 4.858 in. 123.47 mm

Length Open- 8.375 in. 212.73 mm

Blade Length- 3.821 in. 97.06 mm

Blade Thickness- .132 in. 3.36 mm

Handle Thickness- .608 in. 15.45 mm

Thank you for any help. If you need anymore pictures and dimensions please feel free to ask. Again thanks for all of the help.

JamEs
 
I know benchmade a few sterile AFOs for the military. I have one, but I can't verify the authenticy of your knife.
 
The early AFO's did NOT have a safety.

The knife in the pics looks like an early, non-marked ("sterile") AFO.

--dan
 
Here is the box the knife came in (obviously beat up):





Also I was trying to find more information on this knife and it appears that when it was first made, it was in conjunction with Al Mar knives. Is this correct and if so could this be one of those knives. Also the label underneth the American Flag appears to say "Model # 10005" "Made in USA."

Again thank you for your help,

JamEs
 
The knife I have has a solid black back, and no ridges. Otherwise it appears to be the same. Also, it came a plain nylon sheath with a white tag that says "MADE IN U.S.A." with the MADE on the first line and the "IN U.S.A" on the second. All letters are all capitalized and in black. My box has the same "MADE IN U.S.A" sticker as yours, but no other stickers or markings. (some wrote B7 or maybe BS on the side).
 
Military issue AFO's had the NSN engraved on the blade. I know, I own one. I don't know of any knifemakers in Mexico that can produce that even if it's a knockoff. I would like to see what is under the USA sticker. That may hold the key.
 
Pulled out the same box with the sticker, but mine has RF smooth on the side and the blade is black coated. You can hardly se the benchmade butterflyon one side and benchmade on the other. Mine also has the benchmade paper work out of Clackamas Oregon. Still have the green warranty card in the box also.
 
In my opinion it is defiantly not a knock-off, and if it is ,it is the most solid knock-off that I have seen, felt, or heard of. This knife came with no paper work or if it did the person that gave the knife as a gift thought it wasn't necessary. Under the label it appears to say "Model # 10005" then under that "Made in USA". Maybe today or tomorrow I will try and take it apart to see if there is any name inside of it. If you would like any other pictures please feel free to ask. Again any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
JamEs
 
Hmmm, interesting...the AFO was designated model BM9050. All versions I have seen started with that number. None that I recall were ever designated Model #10005. It is possible that the knife was plcaed in another box other than the original.
 
The box that is pictured is what the knife came in when it was given to my dad though it very well could have been thrown in that box instead of its original box when sold etc.

Thanks,
JamEs
 
K.V. Collucci said:
Hmmm, interesting...the AFO was designated model BM9050. All versions I have seen started with that number. None that I recall were ever designated Model #10005. It is possible that the knife was plcaed in another box other than the original.
Click to expand...

The BM designation was 9050, but what about the ones they made for Al Mar? I'm pretty sure a number of those were sterile, and I have no idea what the Al Mar model number was.
 
Nick Hyle said:
The BM designation was 9050, but what about the ones they made for Al Mar? I'm pretty sure a number of those were sterile, and I have no idea what the Al Mar model number was.
Click to expand...

I forgot that BM did a run of those for him. When was that? Early 90's? It is quite possible that it may be a sterile Al Mar AFO. But the whole box thing doesn't add up. Why would the sticker with the model # be covered over with a "Made In The USA' decal? And what does "585A" mean? This leads me to beleive that this is not the original box.
 
If it doesn't have any i.d. on the blade I think it may be an asian knockoff. I've seen knives similar for $5-10.
 
DGG, though I understand what you are saying as others have pointed out BM did make a "sterile" (NO markings) knife, also if this is a $5-10 Chinese knock off I suggest you all get one because compared to my other Benchmades and Spydercos it is just as sturdy and has the same quality.

Thanks for any help,
JamEs
 
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