What would you consider Benchmades flagship knife?

The Grip/Mini are everyman knives

The flagship is something special --I vote Presidio and. own multiple 520's--525's and a 5000
 
The Benchmade 710 was the first Benchmade with Axis lock. Enough said. My first Benchmade was the mini-710 AKA 707 Sequel.

The October 2013 issue of Blade Magazine in the article entitled "THE TOP FACTORY KNIVES FROM 1989-2000 SET THE STAGE FOR TODAY’S PRODUCTION ELITE":

5. Benchmade McHenry-Williams 710 AXIS Lock

Huegel: “The first supremely successful locking system after the LinerLockTM, with its ambidextrous ease of use and inherent strength, the AXISTM Lock design by Bill McHenry and Jason Williams is the symbol of Benchmade’s pursuit of high quality and hi-tech that made tolerances of 0.0005 inch an industry standard.” Fennell: “The 710 popularized the wave of ‘new locking mechanisms.’”​

The AFCK is also on that list:

13. Benchmade AFCK
The AFCK (Advanced Folding Combat Knife) combined many of the great features of contemporary knives and Benchmade’s design and manufacturing genius in a lightweight, relatively inexpensive, utilitarian folder. The AFCK’s combination of curves and straight lines provided a symmetry seen in few knives, before or since. The fact it was designed in conjunction with a former SEAL no doubt helped immensely in the success of its assorted versions.
​
 
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The Griptilian would be the overall Flagship knife to me. It's the first Benchmade I ever purchased and was gifted a 551 by my father on a family road trip to Bass Pro Shop in San Antonio, TX several years back. Like others said the 710 was the first to introduce the Axis lock, but nowadays the Griptilian is the first to come to mind to me when thinking about Benchmade.

 
I agree with 710 being first AXIS lock. Griptilian is very popular so tie on Blue Class. and let's not forget Osborne. Perhaps 940 (Blue), or 950 (Black)?

Thanks,
MFL
 
Maybe a 42, but for current production the 51. Because didn't benchmade start out just making high quality bail songs?
 
jkarp_53 said:
Griptilian appears to be the overall winner. This latest issue of BladeMag gives them #2 ranking among the top 10 production knives in the current market.
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What were the rest in that list?

I def vote for the 710 for the BM flagship.
 
garryale said:
I would say one of them is 710 with M390 steel.
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Sounds delicious, but they don't mass produce them and the only source is sold out...

Can't really be a flagship if it isn't available as a standard production model. Just like Gold Class are special editions of standard production models.
 
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