Update: Love at First Thwack (Bedlam)

EurAzn12

EurAzn12

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Oct 9, 2016
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Added to the fold today. Benchmade 8600 Bedlam! I handled one 2 years ago so when I could get it for sub $200 BNIB i had to jump on the deal. Fit and finish is a 10/10 on this one! Absolutely zero blade play and lockup is SOLID. Grind is even and sharp as expected, I'll touch it up with my edge pro and strops to make it screaming sharp. Blade deploys very fast and with authority (similar to my adamas). Overall I'm very happy with it. I love large overbuilt knives and will rotate this in to my EDC selection. Anyone else have one?
 
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Definitely a cool knife, I own 2, the manual and the auto. Both are equally impressive, but the auto is better since it has no thumbstuds to snag on anything you are cutting.
 
RevDevil said:
Definitely a cool knife, I own 2, the manual and the auto. Both are equally impressive, but the auto is better since it has no thumbstuds to snag on anything you are cutting.
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Agreed. I was on the fence for both but 1- I like autos (Adamas, Infidel, Godfather) and 2-the coating on this with my job made it much more appealing.
 
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Cleaned up the edge to a perfect 23 degrees, stropped down to .5 micron paste and it is STICKY sharp. Even more in love now.
 
I finally saw one of these in person at my local Sportsman's W-store. Definitely not as large as the pictures make them out to be. Looks like it'd be an absolute demon in the kitchen, but I'd be worried about that tip for anything more severe than light edc.
 
Cypress said:
I finally saw one of these in person at my local Sportsman's W-store. Definitely not as large as the pictures make them out to be. Looks like it'd be an absolute demon in the kitchen, but I'd be worried about that tip for anything more severe than light edc.
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I've got other knives and tools for EDC tasks. I agree with the thin tip comment, it's definitely designed for a specific purpose, similar to the Spyderco Civilian :p and to just look awesome
 
I had the dilema between the Bedlam and a Spyderco Mamba. But sinse i wanted the Bedlam for so long I went for it. Still shipping , hope its worth it.
 
Censorblur said:
I had the dilema between the Bedlam and a Spyderco Mamba. But sinse i wanted the Bedlam for so long I went for it. Still shipping , hope its worth it.
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My understanding is the Mamba is significantly more expensive and has a somewhat shorter blade length. That being said, I recently had the opportunity to handle a Mamba and it is a spectacular folder, though at the lofty price for which it is being offered, one would expect or at least hope for an ultra premium alloy, instead of that of yesteryear.
 
Charles_Martel said:
My understanding is the Mamba is significantly more expensive and has a somewhat shorter blade length. That being said, I recently had the opportunity to handle a Mamba and it is a spectacular folder, though at the lofty price for which it is being offered, one would expect or at least hope for an ultra premium alloy, instead of that of yesteryear.
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I have gleefully EDC'd my manual Bedlam with the plain edge, satin finish blade for approximately two extremely satisfying years, regularly and virtually uninterrupted. Still waiting for something to come along to supplant it, but it is a high standard to surpass, for me, personally. Pocket time is occasionally shared with my auto Adamas and Cold Steel Large Espada with the polished aluminim bolsters and CTS-XHP blade. However, the Bedlam receives the largest amount of carry time, by far.
 
Charles_Martel said:
I have gleefully EDC'd my manual Bedlam with the plain edge, satin finish blade for approximately two extremely satisfying years, regularly and virtually uninterrupted. Still waiting for something to come along to supplant it, but it is a high standard to surpass, for me, personally. Pocket time is occasionally shared with my auto Adamas and Cold Steel Large Espada with the polished aluminim bolsters and CTS-XHP blade. However, the Bedlam receives the largest amount of carry time, by far.
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8600SBK was the first BM I ever purchased. Love the look and feel of that baby!
 
Benchmade said:
8600SBK was the first BM I ever purchased. Love the look and feel of that baby!
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Is there any difference in blade shape, size or profile other than the absence of thumb studs on the 8600 when compared to the 860? I would ordinarily think not, but I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed the more aggressive and sleek blade shape on my auto Adamas than the more blocky blade version on my manual Adamas.
 
Charles_Martel said:
Is there any difference in blade shape, size or profile other than the absence of thumb studs on the 8600 when compared to the 860? I would ordinarily think not, but I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed the more aggressive and sleek blade shape on my auto Adamas than the more blocky blade version on my manual Adamas.
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No, the blade and handle profiles are the same on the 8600 vs 860.
 
Benchmade said:
8600SBK was the first BM I ever purchased. Love the look and feel of that baby!
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I've bought many Bedlam 8600's for my EDC and gifts. All have straight-edge blades. Now that the Bedlam is discontinued, I just bought an Adamas 2750SFE-2 out of curiosity. I found the Adamas blade partial serrations very useful for cutting rope, limbs, belts, thick cardboard, etc. Then I thought how that partially serrated blade combined with the Bedlam's glass-breaker might be if I came across people stuck in a burning house or car.

I regretted not getting at least one Bedlam 8600SBK when they were available. They are hard to find. So I called Benchmade and they still had some Bedlam blades in stock! So I sent one of my straight-edged blade Bedlam's to Benchmade to replace its blade with a partially serrated blade. If there's any down-side to this blade change, I think it will be miniscule compared to the additional EDC functionally. I'll find out :)
 
OldMarineVet said:
I've bought many Bedlam 8600's for my EDC and gifts. All have straight-edge blades. Now that the Bedlam is discontinued, I just bought an Adamas 2750SFE-2 out of curiosity. I found the Adamas blade partial serrations very useful for cutting rope, limbs, belts, thick cardboard, etc. Then I thought how that partially serrated blade combined with the Bedlam's glass-breaker might be if I came across people stuck in a burning house or car.

I regretted not getting at least one Bedlam 8600SBK when they were available. They are hard to find. So I called Benchmade and they still had some Bedlam blades in stock! So I sent one of my straight-edged blade Bedlam's to Benchmade to replace its blade with a partially serrated blade. If there's any down-side to this blade change, I think it will be miniscule compared to the additional EDC functionally. I'll find out :)
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Absolutely no downside to this blade change. In fact it is a big plus!

Benchmade did an outstanding job turning my Bedlam 8600 (straight edge blade) into an 8600SBK (partially serrated blade) for a good price. It was an older Bedlam knife and, wow, did they tune it up! Opens fast and smooth. Excellent customer service! Thank you, Benchmade.
 
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OldMarineVet said:
Absolutely no downside to this blade change. In fact it is a big plus!

Benchmade did an outstanding job turning my Bedlam 8600 (straight edge blade) into an 8600SBK (partially serrated blade) for a good price. It was an older Bedlam knife and, wow, did they tune it up! Opens fast and smooth. Excellent customer service! Thank you, Benchmade.
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I recently traded into one with a part serrated blade. Gets stuff done just fine so far.šŸ¤œšŸ¤›

 
AntDog said:
I recently traded into one with a part serrated blade. Gets stuff done just fine so far.šŸ¤œšŸ¤›

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Great to hear! Thanks for letting me know. I cut through some thicker rope and tubing yesterday. Easy peasy. I'm going to go to a junk yard tomorrow and try some seatbelts.

I'm finding myself now looking at this Bedlam 8600SBK more as a multipurpose knife! Sharp partially-serrated blade, sharp tip, teamed up with glass-breaker and large handle for stronger grip, coincidently makes the Bedlam 8600SBK a great rescue knife! I'm guessing people who bought these 8600SBK Bedlams over the years probably realized that. But if Benchmade didn't, maybe they'd consider bringing the Bedlam 8600SBK out of discontinuance. :)
 
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Man I wish they would bring the Bedlam back. Had a chance to buy one on Knives Ship Free a year or two ago and I was like "yeah next paycheck." Next paycheck came and the Bedlam was gone. Haven't been able to find one since. So now when I find something I really want, there is no more waiting until the "next paycheck". :D
 
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