Benchmade 484 Nakamura

H

Hypermole

Joined
Aug 23, 2012
Messages
662
Hi Everyone,

What are the owners of this knife opinions and how is the blade to handle ratio feel in your experience with the Plain edge G10 Handle, M390 been? Does the blade have any recurve to it?
I've been leaning toward Benchmade D2 and M390 blades as I find them to have a more solid and stronger feel to them than lighter and cheaper feeling 154CM does too me.

Thank You

BM484a.jpg
 
I had the 484-1, and the handle to blade ratio was great for a small knife. The one "meh" feeling I had with the design was the long thumbstuds it come with from the factory. The length of the studs combined with the distance they are positioned from the handle lends them to get caught on your pocket, opening the knife. This resulted in a few VERY close calls with an extremely sharp blade.
 
Grab a T6 and order a pair of standard studs which won't catch the edge of the pocket. That should help.
 
Good knife but I'll echo the thumb stud gripe. Standard BM studs wont work as the hole in the blade is just big enough to accommodate a 2-56 screw. You can, however, use a 2-56 screw and the female half of the stud to give you a single stud rather than the standard two sided one. Helps a lot with the unintentional opening. Large hands may feel crowded or uncomfortable on the finger grooves. Suited more for small to medium hands I'd say.
 
Now that's a drag. I have a similar problem with my 531-1501 REI knife. None of my spare (stock) studs will fit the blade. Love the knife anyway.
 
I recently purchased the 484s-1 from Benchmade and requested that they send a set of lower profile thumb studs with it; they agreed readily. I've found that Benchmade's customer service is phenomenal. They will send you clips, hardware, and even springs, and they pay for shipping as well. If I was you, I would email them and ask for some new thumb studs.
 
EliHolter22 said:
I recently purchased the 484s-1 from Benchmade and requested that they send a set of lower profile thumb studs with it; they agreed readily. I've found that Benchmade's customer service is phenomenal. They will send you clips, hardware, and even springs, and they pay for shipping as well. If I was you, I would email them and ask for some new thumb studs.
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Long time 484-1 fan here, I didn't know they had shorter thumb studs... About a year ago, I asked them if they could accommodate, but they told me that 484-1 used unique screw-ons.

Care to share any pictures?
 
SavageSick said:
Long time 484-1 fan here, I didn't know they had shorter thumb studs... About a year ago, I asked them if they could accommodate, but they told me that 484-1 used unique screw-ons.

Care to share any pictures?
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I haven't received the knife yet, but I should have it within the next two weeks. The customer service rep over the phone said that there is a lower profile thumb stud from one of their other knives that works great. I guess we will find out if that is true or not. I'll post pictures as soon as I can; the turn-around on the purchase is taking longer due to a custom design on the blade. I'm not sure if I'll like it or not, but I hadn't seen any pictures of one customized, so I gave it a shot.
 
For small hands. Mine came with many qc issues. Re sharpening was a pain in m390. Took forever. Thumb studs too long.

I like it but hate to use it due to poor ergos for my medium/small hands.

Action is nice but lots of blade play.
 
I've always admired this model and it feels great in my smaller hands, but the thumbstud issue is going to turn me away. I'm interested in the stud swap. Maybe this goes back on my want list.
 
EliHolter22 said:
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Right-click the pics and hit "Open in a new tab" to view.

Here are a couple of pictures of my Nakamura 484-1S. I recently installed the blue hardware. The lower profile thumb studs are being shipped soon; Benchmade had a bit of a mix-up with that so it is taking longer. I should have more pics uploaded soon! Feel free to comment your thoughts.

Also, I've been having a lot of trouble with the pivot screw. If I loosen it to make the action smooth, blade play is caused. If I tighten it down to reduce the blade play, the action becomes so tight that I can't use the axis lock to open it. I realize that I just have to find the perfect spot and use blue locktite or teflon tape, but I was hoping someone would know a better solution to the problem.
 
blades&wrenches said:
Good knife but I'll echo the thumb stud gripe. Standard BM studs wont work as the hole in the blade is just big enough to accommodate a 2-56 screw. You can, however, use a 2-56 screw and the female half of the stud to give you a single stud rather than the standard two sided one. Helps a lot with the unintentional opening. Large hands may feel crowded or uncomfortable on the finger grooves. Suited more for small to medium hands I'd say.
Click to expand...
And I'll echo everything he says. The overall size of the knife and the finger grooves put a limit on whose hands will fit this knife. And I did the thumb stud modification he mentions, using one of the clip screws, and it works a charm. I'm still looking for a lower profile stud, although the standard one really allows for a solid launching point for flicking the blade.

Mine does have a minor off-center issue with the blade and the axis lock isn't as butter smooth as some of my others. Interestingly for me though, these so-called "flaws" just add to the appeal of the knife. After all, how boring is it if your knife works perfectly right out of the box:D!
 
This is the one knife that I've regretted selling. I like everything about it, including the thumb stud length and placement. They're sized and located so that they're very easy to find and use when I'm focused on other things. I've never had any issue with them causing an AD with the blade. I don't care for the CF/S90V version, but I really like the G10/M390 and I'll pick up another one when it comes along on the exchange.
 
I didn't think I would like this knife and would never have bought one if I hadn't handled one in a store. The store had a great selection of Benchmade knives and while I was looking at them, the owner took out a Nakamura and started playing with it. I told him I was kind of put off by the finger grooves and he handed it to me -- perfect fit! The blade was centered, the grind was really good, the action was sweet and I bought it on the spot.

I like it a lot, but it's proved to be finicky. The pivot loosened up after a short while and I went through adjustment hell after I put a dab of blue locktite on the threads. I didn't get it quite right because now it has a bit of blade play. Some cold winter day I'll sit down and give it another try. I did catch the tall thumbstuds on my pocket and had a close call, so I'm very interested to see what they send EliHolter22. All in all I really like the knife despite it's quirks.
 
Knife was one my all time favorites. Sanded those studs with 400, 600, 1500 & 2000 grit sandpaper & studs were no problem. Only thing I didn't like was the Axis lock didn't put enough pressure on the tang to keep the blade closed. Similar to light detent ball pressure on liner/frame lock knives.
 
dalefuller said:
I don't care for the CF/S90V version, but I really like the G10/M390 and I'll pick up another one when it comes along on the exchange.
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I got the G10/M390 version as well, and like it a lot. No way I could justify the price difference between the two models. Besides, carbon fibre knife handles have kinda lost their appeal, for me anyway, and I think the blue hardware just looks gawdy. Furthermore, a number of people have expressed the opinion that M390 is just as good, if not better, than S90V, at least from a practical standpoint (cost, ease of sharpening, etc.).

I get a kick out of how some reviewers refer to the G10/M390 model as the "plain vanilla" of the two. Have we come that far that these two materials are now considered plain?
 
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