Need help identifying Benchmade knife

[Bartholomew Roberts]

Had a knife disappear on me. It was a gift from a friend and while I know it was a nice knife, I don't know the specific model it was. I was hoping some of the more knowledgable types here might be able to help me identify the model.

It was an older (1999 or so) model Benchmade Elisewitz folder. It was a liner lock with a blue titanium liner and split metal scales. Both the scales and blade were black. It had a partially serrated 3.25-3.5"" blade with a bayonet style point and a false edge on the top.

I don't think it is made anymore; but I am trying to identify what model it was so I can try to find a replacement as I liked that model a lot.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

 

[AndyC]

http://www.elishewitzknives.com/

My wife used to babysit Allen when he was a kid in Indonesia, apparently.

 

[Matt-man]

Did it look like this one? It's a Model 690.

 

[Valkman]

You should use this as an excuse to call Allen - the guy is a amazing talant and does things most of us could never figure out. He buys old machines no one even knows what they were designed for, figures them out and gets tham working again. He makes watches! He was wearing one of his own watches when I met him during the Vegas knife show - unbelieveable.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

No, it wasn't a 690... I believe it was an earlier model.

 

[Matt-man]

Here we go. The 875 Sentinel.

Edit: The model with the black coated blade is the 875BT, and serrated/coated is the 875SBT. There's an 875BT on Ebay, but the guy wants $180 for it.

 

[pwrtool45]

I agree, it sounds like an 875. The 875 Sentinel was later reintroduced as the (IIRC) 880 Darkstar. I think the reason for discontinuing the 875 was a problem with the blue anodizing wearing prematurely. That's what the Benchmade rep told me some years ago (I think).

When reintroduced as the Darkstar, the 6Al4V Ti liners were anodized with a gold color instead of blue. The scales were also slightly reshaped (now one piece on each side, completely covering the liners) wtih a star cutout. They were also made out of G10 isntead of aluminum. Other than this, the knife was identical to this predecessor. So, if you can't find a Sentinel try looking for a Darkstar.

IMO, it was a nice looking knife but the Darkstar had more sharp edges on and around the scales and liner than it did on the blade. I don't recall the Sentinel being much better in that regard, though I only handled a Sentinel briefly. On both, the thumbstud and the opening arc were both way too small for my taste. I owned and carried a pre-production Darkstar. When I lost it, I replaced it with a just-introduced pre-production maroon/black Ares (also an Elishewitz design) that I still use as an EDC.

In fact, the only two Benchmades I haven't sold off over the years are that pre-production Ares and a pre-production Nimravus (which is yet another an Elishewitz collaboration-- the man has some solid designs).

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

Thank you gentlemen. It appears the knife I lost was a Benchmade 875SBT. Although the one I had was missing the pocket clip (tore it off going through a door) and had most of the black finish wore off on the blade and scales.

 

[Wasz]

I had the 2000 (i think) knife of the month august edition of that folder. Very nice, light and thin and rode well in my pocket. Love that knife.