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- Jun 22, 2009
- Messages
- 1,735
I have been waiting for my local-ish knife company to release something desirable, and on paper, this knife seemed fit the bill.
I've been carrying a 710-2 in M390 for a little while now, and have slowly accepted that a ~9" folder just takes up too much room for my EDC needs. I wanted to stay with so called "Super Steels", as I've become accustomed to the edge retention they offer.
Onto the 484! When the press release came out, the first thing I noticed was the handle shape. There's no getting around it, this knife will either fit your hand, or it won't. The second thing I noticed was how tall the thumb studs were, as is typical with the 48X series of knives.
When the knife arrived, I eagerly pulled the blue box open and snatched the black bag. I was taken aback by the lack of size! The Benchmade photos make this knife to be of medium to large size... That's the last time I ever ignore the tech specs!
Overall Length: 7.03"
Closed Length: 3.95"
Blade Length: 3.08"
Blade Thickness: 0.114"
Handle Thickness: 0.570"
Blade Material: M390 Super Premium Stainless Steel
Weight: 3.52oz.
From the numbers, you can see this thing is SMALL. Like, Mini-Grip small. I took a few comparison photos of well-known knives for reference. These are arranged from smallest to largest:
3550
943
Paramilitary 2
710-2
And laughably, an 810
After carrying it for a few days, I can say the size doesn't bother me. It has almost the same length of cutting edge that the PM2 has, but with a MUCH smaller handle. Speaking of the handle, it is exquisitely comfortable to my medium hands. The thumb-ramp jimping is perfect, and well-placed.
But, like I said, SMALL.
The liners aren't drilled, so if someone wanted to make the 484 lighter, there is wiggle room
Split-Arrow clip. Some people say this knife rides high, but I like it like that. I've seen the 810 clip put on the 484, but it sticks off the end of the handle, ruining the ergos and asthetics.
The fit and finish was what we've come to expect from Benchmade over the last few years: Not all that great. The blade was not centered, and the edge was work-sharp, but very wavy. The main bevel was about 1.5 mm shorter on one side, meaning I needed to grind into the plunge line in order to sharpen the full edge. On a positive note, the pivot is perfect. Very little play, and the blade will fall open under it's own weight and swing a few times when the Axis Lock is pulled. The edge was standard Benchmade nonsense at 45º-50º inclusive, but this one came in pretty crappy. My 1/2" stones wouldn't hit parts of the blade until a lot of material had been removed. I now run it at 34º inclusive, and stropped to a hazy mirror finish. The blade shape lends itself to be a slicer, and it doesn't disappoint! It will push cut printer paper almost silently.
Aesthetically, this knife is very pleasing to look at. The blade is almost just a small version of the Spyderco Gayle Bradley. The handle looks terrible in the stock photos, but it actually matte in nature. The pivot screws are black with a silver metal band sticking out from under them... As a BMW owner, this closely matches my Angel Eyes. Just like Angel Eyes, some will love it, some will hate it.
Glamor shots:
Unfortunately, a rather large issue arose when I began carrying the knife. The very exposed and long thumbstuds can grab the inside of a jeans pocket and near-Emerson Wave the knife about 1/4 open before releasing the blade, slamming it shut. I actually ended up with a nice notch in my pointer finger nail from this madness before I even realized what was going on. I tried to fit a set of studs off of one of my other Benchmades, but the hole in the blade is significantly smaller than those of the rest of the knives I own. To give you an idea of the problem, I took this picture mid-pull:
In all, the knife is growing on me a LOT. I've had to change the way I grab it from my pocket so my finger doesn't get Bobbittized, but I find it to be a very capable, comfortable, and attractive knife once the factory kinks are worked out.
Benchmade 484:
Pros:
Delicious M390 with slicer geometry
Most ergonomic knife I've ever handled
Very pleasing to the eye
Pivot feels like it rolls on Swiss bearings instead of bushings
Axis Lock is always good thing
Small size makes it non-existent in my pocket
Cons:
Benchmade's quality control department still hasn't come back from vacationing at the Beijing Olympics
Much smaller than it appears... Try before you buy if you have big hands
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Clip holds knife up high (most people prefer low)
High-profile thumbstuds can cause the knife to open part way while pulling it out of pocket
I've been carrying a 710-2 in M390 for a little while now, and have slowly accepted that a ~9" folder just takes up too much room for my EDC needs. I wanted to stay with so called "Super Steels", as I've become accustomed to the edge retention they offer.
Onto the 484! When the press release came out, the first thing I noticed was the handle shape. There's no getting around it, this knife will either fit your hand, or it won't. The second thing I noticed was how tall the thumb studs were, as is typical with the 48X series of knives.
When the knife arrived, I eagerly pulled the blue box open and snatched the black bag. I was taken aback by the lack of size! The Benchmade photos make this knife to be of medium to large size... That's the last time I ever ignore the tech specs!
Overall Length: 7.03"
Closed Length: 3.95"
Blade Length: 3.08"
Blade Thickness: 0.114"
Handle Thickness: 0.570"
Blade Material: M390 Super Premium Stainless Steel
Weight: 3.52oz.
From the numbers, you can see this thing is SMALL. Like, Mini-Grip small. I took a few comparison photos of well-known knives for reference. These are arranged from smallest to largest:
3550
943
Paramilitary 2
710-2
And laughably, an 810
After carrying it for a few days, I can say the size doesn't bother me. It has almost the same length of cutting edge that the PM2 has, but with a MUCH smaller handle. Speaking of the handle, it is exquisitely comfortable to my medium hands. The thumb-ramp jimping is perfect, and well-placed.
But, like I said, SMALL.
The liners aren't drilled, so if someone wanted to make the 484 lighter, there is wiggle room
Split-Arrow clip. Some people say this knife rides high, but I like it like that. I've seen the 810 clip put on the 484, but it sticks off the end of the handle, ruining the ergos and asthetics.
The fit and finish was what we've come to expect from Benchmade over the last few years: Not all that great. The blade was not centered, and the edge was work-sharp, but very wavy. The main bevel was about 1.5 mm shorter on one side, meaning I needed to grind into the plunge line in order to sharpen the full edge. On a positive note, the pivot is perfect. Very little play, and the blade will fall open under it's own weight and swing a few times when the Axis Lock is pulled. The edge was standard Benchmade nonsense at 45º-50º inclusive, but this one came in pretty crappy. My 1/2" stones wouldn't hit parts of the blade until a lot of material had been removed. I now run it at 34º inclusive, and stropped to a hazy mirror finish. The blade shape lends itself to be a slicer, and it doesn't disappoint! It will push cut printer paper almost silently.
Aesthetically, this knife is very pleasing to look at. The blade is almost just a small version of the Spyderco Gayle Bradley. The handle looks terrible in the stock photos, but it actually matte in nature. The pivot screws are black with a silver metal band sticking out from under them... As a BMW owner, this closely matches my Angel Eyes. Just like Angel Eyes, some will love it, some will hate it.
Glamor shots:
Unfortunately, a rather large issue arose when I began carrying the knife. The very exposed and long thumbstuds can grab the inside of a jeans pocket and near-Emerson Wave the knife about 1/4 open before releasing the blade, slamming it shut. I actually ended up with a nice notch in my pointer finger nail from this madness before I even realized what was going on. I tried to fit a set of studs off of one of my other Benchmades, but the hole in the blade is significantly smaller than those of the rest of the knives I own. To give you an idea of the problem, I took this picture mid-pull:
In all, the knife is growing on me a LOT. I've had to change the way I grab it from my pocket so my finger doesn't get Bobbittized, but I find it to be a very capable, comfortable, and attractive knife once the factory kinks are worked out.
Benchmade 484:
Pros:
Delicious M390 with slicer geometry
Most ergonomic knife I've ever handled
Very pleasing to the eye
Pivot feels like it rolls on Swiss bearings instead of bushings
Axis Lock is always good thing
Small size makes it non-existent in my pocket
Cons:
Benchmade's quality control department still hasn't come back from vacationing at the Beijing Olympics
Much smaller than it appears... Try before you buy if you have big hands
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Clip holds knife up high (most people prefer low)
High-profile thumbstuds can cause the knife to open part way while pulling it out of pocket
