Benchmade Osborne 943 vs Barrage m390 black?

L

lonestar1979

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Mar 2, 2014
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These 2 knives my local dealer has for sale, and would love to hear pros and cons of each,theyre priced same! I am looking for edc ,light medium utility knife, nothing too hard, just love quality knives.(Other option that might sound crazy is another 710 , which is my favorite knife,as I have one already!)Thanx.
 
Either one would make a heck of a nice knife. I have a question for you about the sale you are talking about and may be able to save you some money. Shoot me an email or PM if you don't mind.
 
The 943 is great for in pocket comfort and quick, in and out of the pocket cutting jobs where you'll use the knife repeatedly but briefly. It's light and slim and packs a fantastic amount of blade into said slim and trim handle, but I find it uncomfortable for any extended use.

The Barrage nets you better steel and, for me, is more comfortable in extended use, but the assist makes it more annoying to open and close repeatedly and it's honestly a bit heavy for that size blade.

So, for me, it would depend on what kind of cutting you generally do. Extended tasks I would favor the barrage, popping the knife in and out of the pocket throughout the day and I'd go with the 943.
 
I have the 943 and a mini barrage while I do like the length and weight of the 943 it is a narrow knife. The mini barrage is much more fulfilling in your hand so I imagine the full size barrage to be even more so. The assist is very reliable and has a safety so it doesn't miss fire in your pocket. If your not a big fan of assisted knives it is fairly easy to de-assist, I did mine and it is my smoothest Benchmade by far, it falls closet with a nice tight pivot with zero blade play. I usually switch between my barrage and 707 for EDC whereas my 943 usually sits in my knife drawer. I some customers scales might make the 943 more filling in the hand but it's just a bit thin for my liking. I vote for the m390 barrage, you get an awesome steel and a very solid, reliable knife, you definitely won't regret it.
 
I don't have a barrage but I do have a 477 and I can say for sure the 943 is far preferred for daily edc tasks with the one handed operation and the assisted can freak some people out. Also s30v is a great steel and is easier to maintain imo
 
My Barrage models haven't failed in years of use yet. But the 943 earns higher marks for it's slim size and light weight. The blade's surprisingly long for a little knife. Both Osborne (RIP) designs, it's just a matter of preference.
 
I know it's a cliche, but you can't go wrong with either.....really.
I have a 581 and a 943......both with custom scales.....and both are excellent knives. The assist on the 581 is very tough and reliable. The 943 is slimmer and lighter. Both are as smooth as can be and extremely fun to fondle.
I would go with the one that catches your eye more.
Good luck
Joe
 
I have a 940 and I just ordered a 943. I very much like the size of these knives but I prefer knives with narrow profiles that carry comfortably. The Barrage is an appealing knife even with the assisted opening feature that I normally don't like. But another negative about the Barrage, IMO, is the way the grip panels cover the pivot adjustment. I own several Axis model Benchmades and every single one of them has required pivot adjustment at some point. Usually I just Loctite the pivot screw in place after setting it to my preferred tension. But this simple pivot adjustment procedure will require removal of the grip panels on the Barrage.

I'm not familiar with M390 although I know it's one of the trendy supersteels but I don't know how hard it is to maintain sharpness and resharpen when dull. S30V is acceptable to me in this respect and it performs really well for my purposes.

Less is more in some cases. The 940/943 win for simplicity. Again: in my opinion.
 
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