Benchmade 910 Stryker history?

[Doc1984]

New member here looking for history on the BM 910 Stryker. From what I've gathered looking around the forums, the earliest were produced around September 1998.

However, I have one, NIB, from the original owner (boyhood buddy) with the A.G. Russell invoice from November 1997. It has the Bali-Song logo, but no "Elishewitz" on the plain (non-serrated) blade. I can post pictures, but it looks otherwise like every other 910 that I see on the forum.

It's about to go to my grandson for his birthday, so I was looking for a little background to share with him. Seeing all the "September 1998" info and "Elishewitz" examples, I wondering what we have here.

 

[dano]

That's odd. The pre-productions were stamped Sept. '98. They first appeared in the 1998 catalog. I'd like to see pics of the knife and box. Since you have the original receipt, I'd rule out a counterfeit, but the Strykers were never heavily copied. The Elishewitz stamp was dropped starting in 2003, and somewhat corresponds to steel changes in the model (from ATS34 to 154CM to D2), but doesnt make sense if, in fact, it was bought in 1997.

 

[Mikke]

My fairly early (bought before the spring of -99) 910 doesn't have Elishewitz on it, plane blade in ATS34.

 

[Gizler00]

I have an early liner lock model as well. I will dig it out and take pictures