Once in a while Benchmade likes to come up with some nice surprise. This time it was the special edition of their 730 Ares. Special features include: M2 steel blade instead of standard 154CM, yes it happened! Carbon Fiber handle slabs and a gift box (click here to see the pic). As you probably aready know Ares is a collaboration between custom knifemaker Allen Elishewitz and Benchmade. Unfortunately in 2001 Allen left Benchmde custom makers team.
General
- Since it's first public introduction back in 2000 Ares has been produced in several variations. Original model featured duo tone G10 handle slabs, purple/black. Later I guess by popular demand 732 was produced, with black G10 slabs. All this time, every once in a while someone(myself included) was asking Benchmade for Ares with M2 blade. I guess finally they've decided to try it out :) And here it is.As of this moment I don't have much to say about CF HS. It's the same knife as 730 Ares with a better blade steel, that is IMHO. M2 does perform better than the 154CM used by BM. So I wouldn't expect anything different in this aspect. As of CF handles, I am not sure which one do I prefer, CF or G10. CF looks better though :). Ideally I'd rather have aluminum or titanium scales on 730. Since that's not an option from BM, apparently I'll have to look somewhere else. I'm currently working on that project. Let's see what the result will be. The plan is to make custom aluminum scales and replace G10 spacer with metal one.
Specifications:
- Model: Benchmade 730 Allen Elishewitz Ares CF HS
- Steel: M2 Steel 60-62 HRC;
- Blade: 91mm (3.60");
- Thickness: 2.9mm (.114");
- OAL: 208.3mm (8.20") Closed: 119.4mm (4.70");
- Weight: 124.74g (4.4oz);
- Handle: Carbon Fiber scales, 410 stainless steel liners;
- Lock Mechanism: Axis lock (U.S. Patent #5737841);
- Warranty: Limited Lifetime;
- Acquired - 02/2001 Price - 140.00$
Last updated - 05/19/19