I'm looking for a new edc.

At the $200 mark, you've got soooo many options. From my experience, yes, you can take the tux off the deer, as pops called it, with the 940. But I would certainly lean towards a bigger knife, with a bigger handle specifically. The 551 is pretty bullet proof, and relatively cheap. The Rift (950) is also not bad in terms of price, size, and carrying. I seriously doubt any Benchmade you buy won't last for a very long time. Same with Zero Tolerance, although I think you'll find most of their stuff is a bit more cumbersome to carry, especially in a back pocket. Haven't used my grip to dress a deer, but I can say for sure, the Para 2 makes a deer jump outta it's skin, although like everyone else has said, it's not a space-saver in the pocket.

Overall, I think any Benchmade you choose will serve you well, but the 551 and the 950 would be my top choices.
G'luck.
 
I had a 940-1 and it was literally a perfect EDC. it completely disappears into the pocket and the blade shape and size is near perfect for anything... except dressing a dear I would guess. I.wouldn't want to do that with slick carbon fiber (as mine was) or aluminium handles and the blade and handle are very petite. I actually sold mine because I prefer to carry two knives. With the 940-1 there is no need. I don't own a PM2 yet... but I am going to purchase one solely for the abundance of aftermarket scales for them. I don't keep perfect knives.... I've sold an Umnumzaan, large Sebenza, and the 940-1 specially because they were too perfect...
To give you and idea of what I prefer, my normal carry this week is either a Yojimbo 2 and a Delica or a SpyderHawk and a Serrated Endura.
For what you are looking for I don't think you could find something better than an Endura. Highly under rated knife
 
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evilgreg said:
The purple actually goes well with the green, I think, but in your case the black will look nice with the green as well, I'm sure. ;)

I dug around through my piles of knife photos and found one with my 940 and 530 together, in case that helps give you a better idea of their relative sizes:

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That 940 looks beautiful. Would it be a terrible idea to use it as a woods knife or should I go play with the 940 and 950 both in a store? The rift is about 3 times heavier than what I'm currently carrying so I don't know if the transition would be necessarily easy.
 
Fireform said:
Dad, what's that noise?

That's the sound of thousands of Spyderco fanboys rushing to their keyboards to defend the best edc blade ever!

Lol. the little blade of the PM2 bugs me too. I have to say, though, that the Contego and Rift are also pretty big. I would take a close look at the 940 and the Spyderco Caly 3.5, which has a much better blade/handle ratio than the PM2 and is still pocket friendly.
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I recommended the pm2, but I'm far from a spyderco fanboy. I actually just bought my first one a month ago. However I handled just about every benchmade and spyderco in stock at Smokey mountain knife works and the one that just felt right the most was the pm2. Light weight, comfortable handle that allows a full grip, and rides well in my pocket. I did however miss the part about field dressing, the pm2 wouldn't make for a good field dressing knife.
Cursum Perficio said:
I have Para2s, 940-1 (had a 940), admire both, but if I was dressing out an animal I'd be reaching for the Para2 for sure because of the handles ergonomics. More secure grip especially when things get wet and slippery.
However I hear you not liking the hole, so... I will reinforce two of the above suggestions which are larger/heavier than a 940, but are 2 robust folders I like a lot:
ZT 0562
BM 950 Rift
The Rift in particular carries very well for it's size.

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I take it you haven't dressed many animals...The pm2 would make a horrible field dressing knife...It's way to pointy and not enough belly to it.
 
For dressing a deer, I would reach for the griptilian first. I have a Ritter grip that is just excellent. That said, the 940 is certainly up to the task and carries better.
 
The 940 is a great knife but I sure wouldn't pay anywhere near retail for it. Benchmade's pricing has gone berserk lately.

It's a lot of cutting edge for the overall size, very narrow and easy to carry in the pocket and the AXIS-Lock is my favorite lock mechanism.

I like Benchmade's S30V a lot, it's very stain resistant, easy to sharpen and holds a usable edge forever between sharpenings.

If I had to find one flaw, it would be the handle design where it meets the ricasso when open. I feel like it keeps my hand further away from the edge than I prefer, but it's easy to choke up with my index finger on top of the blade.

I really like the Griptilians as well for a lot of the same reasons as the 940, though they are not as slim.

Some people fault the Noryl GTX (like Zytel, but harder) scales but I like them and think they work great. I had one Mini Griptilian I used for 6 or 8 years and other than some smoothing and normal wear and tear, they held up just fine.

Another really nice option in a more "robust" Benchmade (H&K) folder with the AXIS-Lock is the H&K 14715. It can be found for less than $100 and is a whole lot of knife for that price. I used an Adamas folder as my heavy use folder and replaced it with this knife. It's just as solid but much smaller and easier to carry. It isn't quite as strong but it's strong enough for me.
 
VERY few knives that have a blade 3 1/2" or more carry as well as a 940. One of the best overall production knives available IMO.

That being said, one of it's biggest assets is a bit of a deterrent. Especially when comparison shopping.
Because it is so pocket friendly, it doesn't fill the hand as much as the other knives mentioned here. Not saying it isn't comfortable (it is very comfy in hand). It's just sometimes, especially after handling a larger knife, it almost feels like a delicate toy when you hold it. When I was shopping for my first "real" knife, I originally thought in the store, "This was way too narrow a profile and it would snap with any stress."
I was, of course completely wrong about that.

Even now though, after handling one of my more stout knives, like for instance the Brous Reloader. The 940 really feels like a child's plaything. I actually have to remind myself how good, and durable the damn thing is.

Also, if you decide on the Griptillian. I would strongly suggest checking out the Ritter Griptillians over at KW. Amazing blade on those.
 
Manix 2 LW in S110v and never look back... Best cutting performance I've EVAR experienced. Superior to the 940!
 
I forgot to mention, like others did, check for the Ritter Grip on KW. Good deal. Also, the 940 really does disappear in pocket, and IS usuable as a backup for dressing.
 
940 is excellent but the 908/909 Axis Stryker is something you may want to consider. Great blade:handle ratio, full grip, not too wide in pocket. Possibly my favorite current production Benchmade.
 
Sulaco said:
The 940 is a great knife but I sure wouldn't pay anywhere near retail for it. Benchmade's pricing has gone berserk lately.

It's a lot of cutting edge for the overall size, very narrow and easy to carry in the pocket and the AXIS-Lock is my favorite lock mechanism.

I like Benchmade's S30V a lot, it's very stain resistant, easy to sharpen and holds a usable edge forever between sharpenings.

If I had to find one flaw, it would be the handle design where it meets the ricasso when open. I feel like it keeps my hand further away from the edge than I prefer, but it's easy to choke up with my index finger on top of the blade.

I really like the Griptilians as well for a lot of the same reasons as the 940, though they are not as slim.

Some people fault the Noryl GTX (like Zytel, but harder) scales but I like them and think they work great. I had one Mini Griptilian I used for 6 or 8 years and other than some smoothing and normal wear and tear, they held up just fine.

Another really nice option in a more "robust" Benchmade (H&K) folder with the AXIS-Lock is the H&K 14715. It can be found for less than $100 and is a whole lot of knife for that price. I used an Adamas folder as my heavy use folder and replaced it with this knife. It's just as solid but much smaller and easier to carry. It isn't quite as strong but it's strong enough for me.
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I don't pay retail for any of my guns, ammo, or knives. I have a friend that owns a gun store/range so I get everything I can get my paws on for dealer cost. On this case, the 940 will run me $133 out the door.
 
Bobby3326 said:
I take it you haven't dressed many animals...The pm2 would make a horrible field dressing knife...It's way to pointy and not enough belly to it.
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I was never expert at it but yes quite a few in my younger days, lot of goats for dog tucker, some Red Deer, couple of Chamois, plenty of rabbits and possums.
I used a butcher knife that I carried in a home made sheath most of the time and yes it had a lot of belly to it, so fair enough.
Also used to use a SAK on rabbits, which worked well enough for me at the time, way back when i got my first .22, young and keen and stalking the neighboring farms for small furry pests, tanning some rabbit and possum skins and using them to line a big old leather car coat I had acquired.

What I was saying I would rather dress an animal out with a Para2 than a 940, as per the OP's original post.
 
Glock9x19 said:
I don't pay retail for any of my guns, ammo, or knives. I have a friend that owns a gun store/range so I get everything I can get my paws on for dealer cost. On this case, the 940 will run me $133 out the door.
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I would be all over that. For some reason in the past few years the prices seem to have increased. A lot. You've got a good deal there.
 
Glock9x19 said:
I don't pay retail for any of my guns, ammo, or knives. I have a friend that owns a gun store/range so I get everything I can get my paws on for dealer cost. On this case, the 940 will run me $133 out the door.
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I would get the pm2 from him.
 
For under $200, I'd go for a Benchmade 710 m390 from Knifeworks. I've carried mine in my back pocket with no issues at all, and I'm not even a large guy. The 940 is slightly easier to carry, but I've found that the extra blade length on the 710 is worth the extra pocket space. The PM2 does take up a lot of pocket space for it's blade length, but it also has more usable belly than either of the BMs. So there's some tradeoff there. Good luck, and have fun searching
 
knifedude802 said:
I would be all over that. For some reason in the past few years the prices seem to have increased. A lot. You've got a good deal there.
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Well those savings are across the board on all benchmade products. The dealer typically seems go make out ~30-35% off the knife with bigger retailers like bass pro making closer to 45%. I'm new to all of this high end knife stuff. Growing up my dad had Gerber knives that where basically disposable and after a year it was done. But he always paid like $20 so it wasn't a big deal. I want a knife that will last a decade with moderate use and axis lock. Is the 940 that knife?
 
That 940-1 only has one problem. It's too pretty for me to use. If I beat it up I'd be furious.
 
Here are pictures of two frequent rivals for my pocket time: the Spyderco Caly 3.5 in ZDP-189 and the Benchmade 943. The Caly is a relatively recent addition, while the 943 has seen years of EDC, been reprofiled and then sharpened several times.

The two are generally very comparable. Overall closed length is almost the same (the 943 is slimmer but a bit longer), and blade length is more or less the same.

The Benchmade has a finer tip which is nice for coring apples and such tasks. The S30v steel takes and holds an edge well, and the blade deploys like lightning with a little practice. It is quickly and easily deployed and closed with one hand, and after lots of use and idle flicking it remains rock solid with no play. The axis lock is popular for good reason. This knife has been dropped, scuffed, and has lost its anodizing places--it's not as pristine as it looks because I just put the new deep carry clip on it (free for the asking from Benchmade).

The Caly has G10 scales rather than aluminum and is a little heavier than the 943, though probably not enough to matter in use. It also deploys and closes with one hand, though more slowly, and one hand closing is more of a production. The ZDP-189 blade is a treat to use in day to day tasks because it very rarely needs sharpening, and the FFG profile makes it a very slightly better slicer. It also has nice jumping on the spine and a very useable choil, which the 943 lacks, for those who like to choke up on their blade for fine tasks. The blade/handle ratio and overall pocket ability of this knife are far better in my heretical opinion than the venerated PM2. I would hesitate to use this ZDP-189 blade in woodcarving or other uses that would put a lot of stress on the edge, though, because it's not a very tough steel. There is a VG-10 version available at lower cost if that's a concern. The Caly takes up more room in the pocket due to the Spyder hole, but the wire loop clip is low ride and easy on the pocket. And the Caly has a lanyard hole, which the 943 (like the 940) lacks.

In short, two very different approaches to the challenge of EDC knife tasks that both yield excellent results in their way.

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