UPDATE:I feel its about time to type out my thoughts on the Contego now that I have carried and used it for sometime and lets be honest, those pictures suck and who doesn't like staring at pictures of knives and guns and naked chicks.
There are some people that believe it takes 10,000 repetitions for something to become muscle memory or instinctual within a person's ability. I don't know how many times I've used my right index finger to pull on the AutoLawks lever and then slide the liner lock but I certainly didn't spend nearly as much time getting used to the Axis lock. I think what Benchmade developed was pure perfection from the gate. The Axis system is quiet, strong and super intuitive. Even my girl friend mastered its use in short order and she is not really interested in knifes at all. To this day she struggles with the liner lock on her Mantis Isosceles. The need to be able to close a blade one handed may be overrated and unneeded but I find myself taking full advantage of the convenience of it. But wait! The Axis doesn't just close the knife, with a little practice you can deploy the knife with the flick of your wrist and little release of the mechanism she'll fly open, just be warned that you must ensure the blade is locked open if you do this.
Enough praise of that, lets get into the meat of the knife. As stated CPM M4 is a magnificent steel! I have cut boxes, pine branches, jeans, wires, vinyl flooring, and steaks since I purchased it and I can still take the hair off my arm with ease. The steel is completely unyielding, meaning it doesn't flex at all and Benchmade did a great job mating it to a super sturdy frame. After using it I figured I would get some play side to side but I am being 100% honest, the lock up on this knife is tighter than a submarine. If there was one disappointment I had it came during a test just to see if I could baton the knife on some logs. The proper way to do this is to place the blade on the log and let the handle rest against the side. She'll do that with ease, in fact the wider parts of the blade lend themselves to this task, but with the lock engaged the handle in line with the knife the vibrations from hitting the blade seem to release the axis lock enough that it will fail. Lesson learned is don't do something you know you shouldn't and use the right tool for the right job.
I bet you want to hear that the handle, clip and scaling have fault, that they have sanded down a wee bit or that they bite too hard. Well, they don't. When you pony up the money for a Wilson Combat or a Ed Brown you get the top quality 1911 you can purchase. When you put out Benchmade money you get a knife that is made with some of the best materials and with the best engineering behind each design. The G10 handles haven't smoothed out or loss their bite and they don't bite too hard contrary to looks. The gimping is perfect on the 420J stainless liners and if I had one complaint, and it shouldn't be a complaint its a compromise I knew I was taking on, its the glass punch. By putting it on the bottom of the knife it nullifies the ability to drive the knife into object with your weak hand palm. Is that a big thing? No, but if I don't give it some criticism you guys will think I'm a Benchmade fan boy that can't be objective.
Truth is I am a Benchmade fan, I love their knives! I think they have a great warranty, they make everything in house, in AMERICA and they offer a great product. Yes it is super expensive as pocket knives go but short of buying a full house custom from some German or Italian boutique knife maker you are not getting a better one. You pay your money and you take your chances, ladies and gentlemen no chance need be had. The Benchmade 810 Contego is a big, heavy knife that will get the job done.
Now for some porn.
I hope you enjoyed my little review and if you have questions or a specific item that interests you let me know.
Cheers,
JD