Why was the 710 discontinued?

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Zenturio

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Hi all,

I just wanted to ask why the 710 was discontinued? IMO it was (aside from the 551 and 550 Griptilian) Benchmade`s Flagship Model, also through and through their best knife ever made.

I am happy that the Griptilian Family has not been discontinued yet, despite steel switched from 154cm to S30V.

Is it really a must to change everything? Why certain things can't stay the same, such as flagship models. There are a lot of other models you can uprgrade, experiment with, do sprints and so on.

Spyderco does that and it works too. F.e. look at the delica/endura/military, no changes and still going strong.

I just bought a 551 Griptilian and searched a month for a new 154cm version and I am so happy that I finally got one. But I will never be able to find a 710D2 regular model.

Now, as all Griptilians have been "upgraded" to S30V, that is the next step I can not understand. IMO, there is a big trend to release stylish knives with fancy materials, but good working knives, with clean lines and no nonsense... I miss these. Where are the new Strykers, 710s, 707s..?

Please bring back the 710, with no changes.

Finally I want to thank Benchmade, for still producing the 550 and 551. The 551 is my favorite knife ever made.

BR Oliver
 
Agree 100% but do not forget 940 is also still here and is a legend as well.I would love to see 710 back with different scales and steels.
 
It is an excellent model. I'm glad I got the knife works exclusive in M390 (to match my 810 & 940 from them as well). A classic design that can appeal to many tastes.
 
My second favorite model behind the 940, but I have to say it felt old compared to more modern models. The amount of slide of the axis bar was lower, recurves are out, and the lack of gripiness of the G10 texture doesn't match up with other knives designed today.

I think a refresh would have gone a long way, rather than fully discontinuing it. I'm still hoping for that.
 
The 710 was a great knife, but it was time for them to move on from it. Benchmade doesn't just discontinue models for no reason, they discontinue them when they aren't selling as well as they used to. I think they still have great working knives that are just as good as, if not better than the 710. I would say the Crooked River is a great replacement as a large working knife.

I'm glad they release new models, not just hold on to the old ones. A "Classic series" would be nice, maybe release limited runs of older models, but I'm glad they keep coming out with new ones
 
BM discontinued many great knives and designs over the years. I honestly think if they have a great knife design that is popular they discontinue it.

I agree a 'classic series' would be really nice if they could do that, have limited runs just like Silent H mentioned.
 
I think you're mistaken... Spyderco constantly updates and improves their knives. They may look the same, but the delica/endura, and military may not look like it, but they are much different than they were when launched. That's one thing I like about spyderco... Constant quality improvement. I don't think any other company does it.

Benchmade discontinues knives that aren't selling anymore. It's a smart business move, so they can focus on products that are selling and making money. I don't see a problem with upgrading the steel either, although I don't have a problem with 154cm. 440c with added moly... I've got it on my 950. No problems here! Maybe they changed because people aren't buying 154cm? But with how so many people complain about S30v maybe they should have just went to 20cv...?

Either way, they make tons of great knives. Super Freek, Crooked River, Contego, the Grip and 940. It would be cool to see a classic series though!
 
The only Benchmade I still have remaining is the early production 710 M2... great knife, the steel I love because its easy to sharpen and has a very wicked edge. A true classic that I will never sell.
 
benchmade is in the industry to make profits and so is Spyderco. Everything else is secondary. Couple of posters already said it. 710 was discontinued become it no longer sold well. Spyderco does not discontinue Delica or Endura because they are among the best selling ones.
 
I think the 710 was discontinued because of lower sales. It was around a long time and had a good run, but I remember a few dealer exclusives would come out in steels like m390 at a good price and it took forever to sell out. The demand just wasn't there.

Also I've owned 3 of them and they all had vertical bladeplay. So I wasn't going to buy any more either.
 
710 was just too good for this world? That would be my guess. By far my favorite Benchmade ever made.

I’ve owned a bunch of Benchmades. The Skirmish was another standout, and I like my Presidio quite a bit, but the 710 was pretty perfect IMO.
 
Discontinuance of the 710 was probably some kind of strange marketing strategery. Benchmade is telling the customer base to buy your favorite Benchmade now, or regret it later. There is some deep, psychological voodoo going on there.

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Presumably sales IMO. Several dealers I've spoken to said that they have a strong following among a smaller group, but they did not sell extremely well overall compared to other models. Same situation with the 707/705. I think another thing that impacted it was we never saw a major aftermarket for these knives, where as some other models (such as the Grip or Para 2 or XM-18) have massive aftermarket following, and this likely further drives interest in the product line not just through customization but through media buzz generated by individuals other than the respective maker. All that said, I feel the 710/705/707 are great knives and am sad the M390, CPM-M4, M2HS, and Damasteel variants were only produced in such limited quantity.
 
Like the Buck 110 for Benchmade... think "the lock." Love the D2 n m390 versions.
 
The 710 was a pure classic. The blade was large and the knife was convenient to carry. I wish I still had a couple because for me the 710 defined benchmade for a long time.
 
Hey folks,

nice to hear some opinions about that.

You can still get a Buck 110, a Spyderco Military, a Cold Steel Recon 1, a Kershaw Blur... but no 710.

I still just can not get over that the 710 has been discontinued.

Today I reground my 551 with 154cm blade, came out quite perfect. I love it, I really do. But it is not a 710. I search for it quite often to get one albeit I know that I won`t.

Please, Benchmade, bring it back. Black G10 and D2 steel. It was the best production folder ever made.
 
I really regret I didn't go through the trouble of buying one of the Knife Works specials when they where available (couldn't just order one to Sweden and pay with cc back then). I really like the shape of my standard 710, but I find the blade steel so-so, have had problems with chipping in the D2 blade, something that I almost never run into in any of my other knives, so a new one in M390 or M4, or simply S30V would be really nice.
 
Ive had a ton of Benchmades over the years, but the 710 is my all time favorite. I had two of them and wish I never got rid of them.
 
Mine in 154cm is still one of my all time favorites and still gets plenty of pocket time. I would love to have one of the KW M390 models, but I fear that ship has likely sailed based on my own personal cost/benefit analysis, as in, I just don’t wanna pay what people want for them :)

Same goes for the 908 Stryker. I’d love to have one in the collection, but those seem to have dried up, too, other than those marked significantly up due to their discontinuation.
 
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