Your first benchmade?

Just ordered my first, a 710 in D2!

I thought for sure the Rift or maybe the 940 would be first, but the 710 had the right number attached to it.
 
it was a mini ambush combe edge, but something w/ the rolling lock broke so when it was open it would lock, but when closed it had no detent or anything. 2nd was a mini dejavoo. looking back i really liked that knife. i wish the scales were a bit grippier but other than that i miss it.
 
Bm705 was my first. Lost it when i forgot it in my pocket at the airport. Just recently found one in the exchange and replaced it.
 
I'm still fairly new to knife collecting and the addiction grows daily. My first BM was a Griptillian. I'm really interested in the contego which might be the next. I do have on order my first fixed blade in the Bushcrafter. should be here in a week. Can't wait.
 
My first.......and last....was a AFO (i think....anyway, it was huge) drop point (non serrated) I bought for $155.00 (actually, I bought it with money given to me by coworkers as a deployment gift) at a gun store in January 09 for my deployment to AssKrackastan. It served me real well and I used it for everything. I loved it.

It was confiscated by US Navy Customs on the way out of Kuwait in May 2010, and was not replaced due to cost. I'm still pissed about it. Those a-holes probably kept it.

Anyway...it was a truly awesome blade.
 
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My first one was a 970 PE purchased in 1996 that was my primary knife until 2003 when I bought an AFCK D2. I still have both.
 
Combo edge AFCK back in the early 90s:

WP_BM_AFCK.jpg


Still one of my first go-to's as a workhorse.
 
SoulPyre how do you like the Shoki? I plan on giving my ladyfriend one of the Nak-Lok equipped Benchmades (Originally wanted to give her the Megumi, but the 480-1 Shoki is just larger enough and they both scream "buy me!!!" when I see detailed photos, plus, it'll be a different type of steel for me to learn!) for her birthday or our anniversary this year, but if she ever carries it, it'll be displacing a functional and painlessly replaceable CRKT Folts S.P.E.W. that she's super happy with.

I just got my first Benchmade in the mail today! It turns out a Harley-Davidson marked Nagara I found for a good price shipped first, and wow am I pleased with it! The weight is very nice, not too heavy to carry most days, substantial, and I've still got the lighter CRKT M16 it'll be standing in for. I am positive it is my first flat-ground folder, and the differences in blade feel versus the hollow ground folders I've previously owned is more significant than I expected. Love the perfectly balanced detent built into the lock tab, the action of opening the knife one handed is giving my more tactile enjoyment than any other knife I've owned. Not many to compare to over the last few years, but when I was a kid I kind of swept up cheap, shitty knives whenever I spotted them.

The one and only thing giving me pause, is that I can't tell if the blade is just slightly bent to the left, when viewed open, from the spine. If it is it isn't bad and I'm sure Benchmade will sort it out as a manufacturing defect, but it's most likely just the lighting. I'll take the best photos of it I can if that was an actual problem of the Nagara 10700/Harley 13740, but I think it was an optical illusion.

Anyway, because of cost and the level of satisfaction this Nagara is giving me so far, what's everyone think? Save about a hundred bucks off a Shoki and get a second Nagara for her? May be better suited for her, it'll be a harder loss than the CRKT, but harder to lose as well.
 
My 1st Benchmade will be here tomorrow. I've always liked them but it seems I always end up finding another knife I like a little more. I was thinking the other night that I needed (OK wanted) a new blade and decided to order a 556. Look forward to it showing up.
 
NG VI said:
SoulPyre how do you like the Shoki? I plan on giving my ladyfriend one of the Nak-Lok equipped Benchmades (Originally wanted to give her the Megumi, but the 480-1 Shoki is just larger enough and they both scream "buy me!!!" when I see detailed photos, plus, it'll be a different type of steel for me to learn!) for her birthday or our anniversary this year, but if she ever carries it, it'll be displacing a functional and painlessly replaceable CRKT Folts S.P.E.W. that she's super happy with.
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I really like the Shoki, I bought it as a gentleman carry since it's not very intimidating around the people and places I frequent. The steel is amazing, the edge keeps for a long time and just recently a friend of mine put a mirror edge to it. As mentioned in another thread about the Shoki in the BM forum, there's no ball detent that I can detect, so the only thing keeping the blade in the closed position is how tight you make the pivot screw. Personally I've never had the blade open in my pocket or in the pouch it comes with, but when I carry it it's normally in the coin/5th pocket in my pants which doesn't really let it open to begin with. My regular EDC is a HTM gunhammer though. Hope I was able to help you decide, Cheers!
 
You did actually, you confirmed what I sort of suspected. It's more of a gentleman's carry, to the point that it's missing a seriously desirable feature for a carry knife. The Harley Nagara I just received has a very nicely balanced detent, and it is honestly the nicest knife I've ever owned. I haven't been able to shake the feeling that it's the first 'real' folding knife I've owned. Anyway I'm impressed with it and I do think that of the four Nak-loks I know about, it's probably the best for a regular pocket knife as well as being cheapest by a large margin. She really liked it too.

Can't wait to get my hands on an Axis!
 
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