?Elishewitz??/?Benchmade??

fisherk

fisherk

Joined
Jul 6, 2000
Messages
1,194
I bought this knife on e-Bay. It is supposed to be a Custom Elishewitz. In fact here is the descroption directly from the auction:

" Description


THIS IS A FLAWLWESS CUSTOM BUILT KNIFE. I DEALT WITH ELISHEWITZ PERSONALLY ON SPECS AND PRODUCTION OF THIS PIECE. TOTAL PRODUCTION TIME WAS ABOUT 1 YEAR. IT HAS A DOUBLE EDGED BLADE WITH A DEEP BLOOD GROOVE. ALSO A TITANIUM INSERT AND LOCK.FLAWLESS CONDITION. COMES WITH NYLON CASE. BLADE- 3 3/4" OPEN- 8 3/4" CLOSED- 4 7/8"."

Here are the photos that accompanied the posting. What you can't see in the photos is that the clip is clearly marked: BENCHMADE U.S.A.

The knife certainly looks like a handmade Custom. The anodized liners a beautiful shades of Gold, Purple and Blue. The blade also has the official Elishewitz marking. In fact there is no other mention of Benchmade anywhere else on the knife.

I should mention I won the auction with a bid of $335. I thought that was a great deal on a Custom Elishewitz. I don't mean to offend any Benchmade collectors, as I own several myself, but $335 is a LOT to pay for a factory knife.

OK Now my question: Can anyone confirm that Benchmade collaborated with Elishewitz to make a knife of this caliber? If it wasn't for the clip, I never would have even suspected it - it looks THAT GOOD!! Also, if this is not the proper Forum, I trust one of the Mods will place it where it belongs. I certainly didn't think that the GB&U Forum was prpoer. Thanks for any help, anyone can provide. BTW I questioned the Seller about the clip, but he has not responded yet.

Thanks again,
Ken
 
He designed several Benchmade folders, and that one sure shares some common lines with the 730 ARES series he designed.
 
I'm not knowledgable enough about Benchmades to say, I own a 732 ARES and your knife looks very similiar, except yours has no lanyard hole.

To me that doesn't look like Benchmade "factory", more like a custom.
 
Looks like a custom to me too, although the handle shape is reminiscent of the Ares.
The blade design leads me to think that it's not a production piece, as do the materials and finish.
Contact Allen and he'll tell you.
Peace.
 
It seems to be a custom by Allen, but it looks to me like the clip was added by the owner later. I don't think the maker or the factory would put the clip below the pivot like that.
 
I have a similar version of that knife except all black. It's an older Elishewitz Phantom, and was licensed to Benchmade as the 875. I was advised by Allen that he used BM clips very early on prior to designing and making his own. I also have a hawk-bill folder from him that sports a silver BM clip. $335 was a good deal IMO as I paid $475 for mine well over 8yrs ago.
 
Maybe it's just the way the light reflects in the photos but it looks like the blade has a different grind on each side of the blade. Pic 1 side looks different than pic 2 & 3. Is it just the reflection?
 
First of all, thanks for all the info. I was suspecting that the original owner screwed up the clip. and just put the Benchmade clip on because it fit.

Digger the two sides have totally different grinds and finishes. The blade is a chisel grind, with the clip side being flat. Actually it is not flat, but rather hollowed out. I think this is what the seller was referring to as the "deep blood groove".

I will take other's advice and write to Allen to get it "straight from the horse's mouth" (so to speak). It just looks too nice to be a factory made blade. It's also double edged. Not many factories would make a knife like that because of the legal inplications. When I get an answer from Allen, I will post it.

Thanks again for all your comments and ideas, I do appreciate them.

Ken
 
I'm sure that's a custom, (like the others said) and the chisel ground blades were at one time an Elishewitz Trademark. (so to speak)
 
Thanks to everyone for their input. As suggested I wrote to Allen and he very prompltly wrote back. As promised, here's what he had to say:

Dear Ken:

I read your post on BladeForums and looked at the pictures. I did indeed make that knife. It goes back about 10 years and back then I was not making my own clips like I have been doing for the past 8 years. I bought generic clips which were basically copies of Spyderco which was basically what everybody was doing back then. That is why a benchmade clip fits.

This knife is a Phantom with a tri-ground blade. The reason the blade does not sit in the center is because both sides are not ground equally.

I hope this helps and let me know if you have any other questions.

Best regards,

Allen Elishewitz

That end the mystery for me.

Ken
 
Ah, I was going to say Spectre myself. Close enough to Phantom. Looks like you got quite a deal there.
 
Thanks, I consider it to be a GREAT deal - a 10 year old Custom Elishewitz in Mint condition for $350 (adding in shipping, which came by UPS Overnight & 3% PayPal fee.)

Today, it looks like his prices for a basic model start at $475.

Ken
 
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