What's up with this??

knives_in_nature · Jan 7, 2015

Anyone seen the new Benchmades? These look interesting! link- http://www.bladehq.com/cat--Coming-Soon--298

Lost Cosmonaut · Jan 7, 2015

The Vicar is a must, been following that one for awhile. The 808 Loco sure looks interesting, and I'm waiting to see what the 485 Valet looks like.

kniferbro · Jan 7, 2015

Great to see BM bringing back their liner locks. The Loco looks ZT/Microtech-esque

jac_solar · Jan 7, 2015

Did they change the design or something? When I click the tanto recurve Vicar picture on BladeHQ through Google Image Search, it takes me to the regular one:

Other sites still have the tanto recurve listing;

Will there be 2 versions of this? Tanto Recurve and regular/drop point.

craytab · Jan 7, 2015

The Vicar looks okay but the handle looks uncomfortable. Kind of heavy for its size. They need to do something more exciting than S30v. And the price? There are a lot of other companies that are doing more exciting stuff for less money.

d0nut · Jan 7, 2015

The 665 looks pretty nice, I'll keep my eye open.

nick21 · Jan 7, 2015

I spy a Benchmade bolo fixed blade...that's interesting. No pics though

DAVE_M · Jan 7, 2015

What is this? Did they collab with Microtech or something?!?! Depending on price, I'd like to get one!

Czechmate · Jan 7, 2015

craytab said:
The Vicar looks okay but the handle looks uncomfortable. Kind of heavy for its size. They need to do something more exciting than S30v. And the price? There are a lot of other companies that are doing more exciting stuff for less money.

^^^ This. I see a bunch of nice enough knives that for the most part look like re-releases of knives they've built before... Slight tweaks here and there but nothing too eye catching.

grownstar · Jan 7, 2015

Those Vicar handles remind me of an Emerson Roadhouse.

Lost Cosmonaut · Jan 7, 2015

jac_solar said:
Did they change the design or something? When I click the tanto recurve Vicar picture on BladeHQ through Google Image Search, it takes me to the regular one:

Other sites still have the tanto recurve listing;

Will there be 2 versions of this? Tanto Recurve and regular/drop point.

It's been discussed in the Benchmade forums. The Tanto Recurve was the originally planned blade for it to have but it was determined by the higher-ups that it was too difficult to do for the projected price (required too much hand finishing), so they went back to Shane Sibert and had him design a new more conventional blade. As far as I know there's no plans to release the Tanto Recurve, but considering that hand finishing was the problem, it may show up as a Gold Class but that's purely my speculation.

The main issue on the consumer side with the Tanto Recurve was that the Recurve section was going to be considered a "serration" under BM's LifeSharp program, meaning it would be up to the consumer to try to figure out how to sharpen it.

Personally, I think the new blade style is better.

grownstar · Jan 7, 2015

I like the original blade more. Kinda funky, very aggressive looking.

Nothing wrong with the other one, just looks like the Adamas.

@LeathermanGX · Jan 7, 2015

DAVE_M said:
What is this? Did they collab with Microtech or something?!?! Depending on price, I'd like to get one!

Looks good, but there are no specs. I'm suspicious that it's going to be a 2.75" blade. To small for my hands.

craytab · Jan 7, 2015

Lost Cosmonaut said:
It's been discussed in the Benchmade forums. The Tanto Recurve was the originally planned blade for it to have but it was determined by the higher-ups that it was too difficult to do for the projected price (required too much hand finishing), so they went back to Shane Sibert and had him design a new more conventional blade. As far as I know there's no plans to release the Tanto Recurve, but considering that hand finishing was the problem, it may show up as a Gold Class but that's purely my speculation.

The main issue on the consumer side with the Tanto Recurve was that the Recurve section was going to be considered a "serration" under BM's LifeSharp program, meaning it would be up to the consumer to try to figure out how to sharpen it.

Personally, I think the new blade style is better.

But again, If they think they will sell a bunch of these with cpm-s30v for $255 a pop they are out of their minds. Hopefully the price at bladeHQ is off by $75-$100.

DAVE_M · Jan 7, 2015

craytab said:
But again, If they think they will sell a bunch of these with cpm-s30v for $255 a pop they are out of their minds. Hopefully the price at bladeHQ is off by $75-$100.

For $255, there isn't a whole lot of bang for the buck going on. Without the recurve, it's just a plain liner lock. For $255, I would at least expect bearings and a titanium framelock.

craytab · Jan 7, 2015

DAVE_M said:
For $255, there isn't a whole lot of bang for the buck going on. Without the recurve, it's just a plain liner lock. For $255, I would at least expect bearings and a titanium framelock.

I would also require an upgraded steel.

DAVE_M · Jan 7, 2015

craytab said:
I would also require an upgraded steel.

I agree, although it's questionable. For $255, I expect M390, but I've seen plenty of folks pay hundreds for S30V and D2.

kniferbro · Jan 7, 2015

I've always felt like Benchmade's primary market are non-knife enthusiasts. Dudes that use knives yeah, but just know that "Benchmade" is a house hold name. They could careless that for $200+ it's "only s30v". More like "man the dude at the counter told me it's made from s30v steel, specifically designed for knives!" Just my 2cents. I agree with yall, for the money it's nothing special.

egally08 · Jan 7, 2015

DAVE_M said:
I agree, although it's questionable. For $255, I expect M390, but I've seen plenty of folks pay hundreds for S30V and D2.

Usually if the design is unique enough, people don't mind paying top dollar for a good steel(s30v , D2) - Like the 0454.

Even though the BM300 was such a flop, they need to get back in the flipper game. That knife was wrong from the get go, but they have made quality framelocks in the past. If their creativity is stunted that bad, they need to collaborate with a maker that's known for their exceptional flippers. Hoback, Turpin, Mosier, Ochs all come to mind. Personally, I'd love to see a high quality Rassenti Snafu done by a production company - Most likely not an integral.

I haven't been into productions in quite a while, but there's no reason for ZT to be dominating the market like they are. BM has the facilities to produce midtech quality knives similar to that of ZT's Limited editions, and I'd love to see them try it.

RobertA.R · Jan 7, 2015

Jason Brous only uses D2 and his knives go for a bit of cash. I can't speak to value but I have heard good things about Brous Blades and have my eye on a few.