Beware of new BM's!

B

bill_G

Joined
Jun 7, 2004
Messages
694
Benchmade is advertising the outbound 190 and gamer 10510 knives as having N690 steel.

Went to my local BM authorized store and found out that they're made from 440C...not a bad steel but not as good as N690 according to this forum

Also, the sheath for the gamer is useless....you need a belt that is no more than an inch wide or you cant carry it.....the clip on the back moves around so much as to make it useless!
 
bill_G said:
Benchmade is advertising the outbound 190 and gamer 10510 knives as having N690 steel.

Went to my local BM authorized store and found out that they're made from 440C...not a bad steel but not as good as N690 according to this forum

Also, the sheath for the gamer is useless....you need a belt that is no more than an inch wide or you cant carry it.....the clip on the back moves around so much as to make it useless!
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MOST of BM's sheaths are useless for horizontal carry if your belt is more then 1 inch wide... I find them useful, my belt isnt that wide :D
 
When you went to the store was the blade stamped 440C or was 440C printed on the material enclosed in the package? I wouldn't trust information from a store employee. For a lot of people N690 would be 440C-like. For years Browning would refer to their blades as being made from a 440C-type of steel when they were actually made from AUS-8.
 
My Fecas designed gamer is stamped n690 on the blade as well as in the box. The sheath works great as anecknife or hooked to the webbing on a backpack...might want to find a more informed dealer...
 
I wouldn't worry too much about Benchmade. And especially 440C. That stuff is GREAT, and the workmanship of the 440C knives vs. the same knife with N690 is identical.

However, if one is actually wanting N690 steel, and got 440C instead, then I would understand a bit of frustration. I believe the first production run of a number of their RED line was 440C instead of N690. Additionally, their first run of Snody 210's was S30V instead of the advertised D2. I got one of those. Boy, was I disappointed! ;) Bummer. :yawn: Not.

Sorry, just can't get bent about this warning.
 
Many of the pre-production Red class models were made with 440C. Why? Who knows. The regular production runs should be in N690 as mentioned though.

Directly from the Benchmade site:

190 Drop-point hunter
Blade Length: 3.90"
Blade Thickness: 0.125"
Blade Material: 440C Stainless Steel
Blade Hardness: 58-60
Blade Style: Drop-Point
Weight: 4.50oz.

http://www.benchmade.com/products/product_detail.asp?model=190

Benchmades 440C is nothing to turn your nose at anyway. It's quite a good steel, especially for the price they're getting on the red class.
 
Spyder, from what I understand, none of the Activators are going to be D2. It was a mistake in the catalog that showed them as D2.
 
rockspyder said:
Additionally, their first run of Snody 210's was S30V instead of the advertised D2. I got one of those. Boy, was I disappointed! ;) Bummer. :yawn: Not.
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Benchmade has openly admitted that this was a printing error that was not caught in time. ALL 210's are S30V.
 
There was a lot of brooh haha over the ER line using the n690 and many posted at the time that it was a gimmick and not as advertised.

How come I don't see anyone badmouthing BM for using this steel in their products in this thread or seperate post similiar to ER's bashing people were giving them?

Just an observation, ER was the first I know of to use it in the US on a production model. Now BM, and who knows in the future who will use it on production models.

The point is some have a good time at one companies expense and won't make a comment about a another company then using the same steel. Seems a little biased against ER and not the steel as it turns out apparently.

Having seen the steel perform on an ER MPC under extreme abuse with nary a sign of a problem in the heat treat, edge retention or chipping out areas, I like it myself.

It's not 440c.

Brownie
 
FoxholeAtheist said:
Spyder, from what I understand, none of the Activators are going to be D2. It was a mistake in the catalog that showed them as D2.
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I could believe that. No worries, in particular. I wanted S30V, knew that I was getting it. Just making a point.

Not concerned about 440C vs. N690 at all. For practical purposes, they are interchangeable for my uses.
 
It is nothin gnew, that the first runs are different in steel grade. I can´t understand that someone rates 440C lower than N690 or something.

Exept if i were curious about N690, but in that case ER is a way to go since years.

As long as nobody can really tell us something about the way N690 or VG10 is produced, its quality standards etc. we all rely on personal opinions, preferences and expectations.

I am new to BMs 440C and as far as i know it i am very pleased with it.
 
I have a butt-load of Benchmade's made with the (excellent 440C steel), and I DON'T have a problem with any of them...In-fact, if I were to order a knife that was listed as 440C steel, and it showed up at my door as made with N690 steel, I would be disappointed. I like 440C THAT much.:).
 
As far as sheathes go - wasn't there a company somehow associated with James Keating or something that made shoulder rigs and horizontal carry sheaths for the Benchmade Nimravus and Cub among others? Does anyone remember if they had a webpage?

The sheath and belt loop for my Nimravus is one of those large ugly rubber thingys, which I'd be more than happy to replace with some sort of custom sheath. I'd prefer kydex over leather, though.
 
There are many forum members who are professionals at sheath making. All will do a great job. Robert Hummelbaug features a lot of nice rigs with his sheaths. James Piorek also does a great rig. Robert might even have access to the production knife you need a sheath for, so you won't have to send your knife in.
 
Just one more good word here for BM's 440C. I have two balis with it and they take and hold great edges. Plus they're WAY easier to sharpen than something like D2, even with an Edge Pro.
 
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