My First Benchmade – Foray 698/Questions for Those in the Know

I'm carrying one today. As others have said, it's a great knife. I love the deep carry clip and the attention to detail. The machining BM does is always top notch. I love the contouring of the scales that they've done. I also love the size of this knife. Well done BM.
 
I absolutely love this knife. I've carried it everyday for over a year, it's my favorite EDC knife and I'm surprised it's not more popular.
 
Just got mine today and I'm very impressed. I've read many threads saying benchmade quality is hit or miss, it's going downhill, etc but this is excellent. It had some lock stick at first but after a little benchmade blue lube and some flipping open and closed it's butter smooth now. Great size, small but not too small. Much better IMO than a mini grip but of course it's nearly twice the expense so I don't know if it's a "good deal" but it's a really nice knife. I don't know much at all about cpm20, I haven't read much about it so I don't know how it compares to anything else. Blade is pretty thick, thicker than my "new to me" Ares which is another sleeper Benchmade. I found mine used for $175, still a little steep but I'm happy with my purchase.

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CPM-20CV is very close to M390, so it's considered a premium blade steel. 20CV is made in the US (in Syracuse, NY, I think). M390 is a Bohler-Uddeholm steel from Europe (Austria or Sweden). And I agree that the 698 is a great example of a smaller daily carry knife from BM. I was torn between that and a mini-Crooked River. I went with the mini-CR because it reminds me of the Bucks I used to carry but the 698 was a very close second choice. I would have gotten it if I hadn't just fallen for the mini-CR.
 
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I have a Valet and a Mini Grip and really like the looks of the Foray other than that slight recurve.
To me that is just something that would make sharpening more difficult and also something that would keep me from buying that knife.
 
So I got one. It is such a natural daily carry and a perfect size for all the packing tape slicing and zip tie cutting I do everyday, and the occasional box that needs shrinking. Nice difference from the Barrage, don't get me wrong, I got the 580 because it is such a beast of a folder, and it suits me fine out of doors. The Foray has just enough in the classy looks department to be non-intimidating indoors at a customer site but you it's a tough guy in an Armani suit. Kicks ass when asked to.

So happy with it.
 
So I got one. It is such a natural daily carry and a perfect size for all the packing tape slicing and zip tie cutting I do everyday, and the occasional box that needs shrinking. Nice difference from the Barrage, don't get me wrong, I got the 580 because it is such a beast of a folder, and it suits me fine out of doors. The Foray has just enough in the classy looks department to be non-intimidating indoors at a customer site but you it's a tough guy in an Armani suit. Kicks ass when asked to.

So happy with it.
I think 10% of my posts on Bladeforums are praising the Foray, it's what made me a Benchmade fan and is still my top EDC knife.

I saw it on sale this week and considering buying a second one (until I came to my senses).

But I am now waiting on a 765!
 
I think 10% of my posts on Bladeforums are praising the Foray, it's what made me a Benchmade fan and is still my top EDC knife.

I saw it on sale this week and considering buying a second one (until I came to my senses).

But I am now waiting on a 765!

Have you ever held/used a 484 Nakamura? Similarly sized to the Foray. I like the blade of the 484 and the handle/clip of the 698. Both are two of my favorites and two of my most carried knives.

I wished that I would have waited for the 765. I bought the larger brother, the 761, on impulse at a local shop. I just don't carry it all that much. It's a little too big for my taste, and I don't like the clip.
 
Have you ever held/used a 484 Nakamura? Similarly sized to the Foray. I like the blade of the 484 and the handle/clip of the 698. Both are two of my favorites and two of my most carried knives.

I wished that I would have waited for the 765. I bought the larger brother, the 761, on impulse at a local shop. I just don't carry it all that much. It's a little too big for my taste, and I don't like the clip.
I've never held or seen a 484 Nakamura, but the blade looks a bit odd for my tastes... I'd like to see it in person. The Valet looks similar to the Foray and I like the blade geometry.

The 765 is a Christmas gift to myself (ostensibly from my wife). There wasn't a knife that I wanted badly on my radar so I went searching and the 765 caught my attention when I saw it on sale for ~$240. I really like CPM-20CV and it seems the M390 is essentially the same. The 765 reminds me of a Sebenza but a heck of a lot nicer looking to me; I don't care how great the tolerances are, the Sebenza just looks too outdated (early-90s?) and plain for me. I bought a custom deep carry clip for the 765, in case the clip is as bad as people say.
 
JMO, the 484 has to much of a Grip hump on the blade, not my style. I don't mind the looks of the Emissary, but I am not a fan of its lock placement and Aluminum scales. The Valet looks and feels sweet but is just a tad thin (I know, desirable in a suit. Don't wear suits!) for my comfort tastes. I would likely choose the Valet, though after a mini Barrage, unless the price was MUCH more attractive than a mini.

At the moment I am very satisfied with my Barrage for working outdoors around the house, and the Foray for EDC work carry and use (the Barrage or Nimravus also goes with me everyday, just stays in the car).
 
I technically wasn't supposed to open the box until Christmas, but my 765 arrived today and I couldn't resist.

Wow what a gorgeous knife! Blade centering is 10/10 but there were slight issues with the grind. The grind is slightly asymmetrical toward the tip on one side, very minor, but the knife seemed to have a bit of a burr. I stropped it on a leather strop with some green compound and it quickly turned into shaving sharp, but I've never had to do that with any of my other Benchmade knives right out of the box.

All the reviews were correct about that sharp spot on the frame and the clip being too tight and inflexible. The sharp spot won't likely be an issue, at least the way I hold it in my hand, but when Benchmade found out about this they should have changed the design immediately. Same with the clip, which was a struggle to fit over the pocket fabric of my rather thin dress pants. I anticipated this and ordered a custom clip that hopefully arrives sooner than the estimated wait time, but again this should have been fixed. The detent is very strong; I've only played with this for a short time but it seems I either get a very satisfying and auto-assist like deployment... or I have to try again to get the blade out. Probably will get better with practice and more wear, this is after only 20 flicks or so.

The ornate thumbstud, chamfered lanyard hole, etc. are nice touches. Lefties might not be happy, but I like the non-ambidextrous layout, which keeps the presentation side very clean and minimizes holes. The jimping is a nice touch but if I want to get really nit-picky I'll say that the jimping on the spine isn't as clean as on my CRK Mnandi (i.e. if I look really closely the grooves show signs of machining and are not smooth).

Despite those two glaring issues (sharp spot and clip) I am very happy with my purchase, although maybe I wouldn't be as forgiving if I paid full price. The thing is, it is such a handsome knife with nice blade geometry that I can overlook the flaws, which are far from deal breakers to me, although I read a lot of reviews and knew what I was getting into before I ordered the knife. But again, Benchmade should make small design changes and not continue to make this model with these known issues; a knife shouldn't have a sharp spot like that on the handle and I shouldn't have to buy an aftermarket clip to wear the thing, especially at that MAP.

I see this knife getting a lot of use.
 
“Lefties might not be happy...”

Yup. That’s the only reason I don’t have a 765. Wish they made a mirrored version like CRK does.
 
JMO, the 484 has to much of a Grip hump on the blade, not my style. I don't mind the looks of the Emissary, but I am not a fan of its lock placement and Aluminum scales. The Valet looks and feels sweet but is just a tad thin (I know, desirable in a suit. Don't wear suits!) for my comfort tastes. I would likely choose the Valet, though after a mini Barrage, unless the price was MUCH more attractive than a mini.

At the moment I am very satisfied with my Barrage for working outdoors around the house, and the Foray for EDC work carry and use (the Barrage or Nimravus also goes with me everyday, just stays in the car).

So! I was at the local knife shop - The Knife Room, BTW, and handled the 484. All I can say is I shoulda just kept my mouth shut - it is so much different in person. that Grip hump is not nearly as pronounced as I thought, and the blade profile is wonderful. If I didn't already have the Foray, I might be more than just tempted to acquire the 484.

See what the new year brings. At the moment I have my heart set on a Nimravus Cub.
 
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