Passaround Benchmade BM 480 Shoki

[Ginunting]

First of all I want to say thank you to Benchmade for supporting this passaround and giving us the chance to test this knife in practical use.

First impression:
The first impression was only - wow!! What a beautiful knife! The design is something special. A very nice combination of different materials - wood (handle), leather (sheath), titanium (liners) and of course steel (blade) . I was really curious regarding the clip solution with the sheath and it's definitely cool! Carry the knife within the sheath in your pocket and the knife will get scratches at all! It is also a very elegant solution if you want to carry your knife with your suit.
The only negative point in this category from my side is the size. The 480 is definitely a gentleman knife, and so for my EDC use a little bit to small. Also my hands are not to big this size of knife is the limit. People with bigger hand might have some problems.
Points: 8 of 10

Blade:
The blade is made of S30V. The blade was absolutely sharp out of box, so no minus here. The shape is nice and fits to the total impression of the knife - elegant. Cutting was not a problem at all. The minus for the size we had above, so here full points.
Points: 10 of 10

Lock:
The Nak-Lok. What should I say? In theory a very nice mechanism, and the first day I was very satisfied. As I told you, I used the knife (because of size) only as gentleman folder, so no very hard use. Cutting of paper, opening of parcels, cutting of some flowers. Afterwards closing the knife using the lock - fine. But then I left the knife opened on the table and my girlfriend closed it and by watching her I was very surprised. I tried a spinehack test or lets better al it a spinepress test and the lock released!! So you can close the knife without pressing the button!! That’s a big minus :-( May be it's because of the prototype version of the knife - I hope so! This must get better!
Points: 3 of 10

Handle:
Regarding the handle I can tell you nothing negative. Everything is very sophisticated but it's a gentleman folder Let's see how the wood will behave with time and sweat. So far no problems here. While cutting I found the Lanyard Hole a little bit disturbing. This knife does not need a Layard Hole
Points: 9 of 10


Summary:
Overall we have 30 of 40 points for the 480 Shoki. It's a pity that the knife lost so many points on the lock!! Otherwise the result would be much better. If we exclude the lock problems I know why BM got an award for this knife - It's really a beauty! But beauty is not all. If you searching for a knife that is appropriate to harder use the Shoki is not your knife. If you are looking for a gentleman folder take it - you won't find anything better.


Greetings from Munich
Tobby

 

[teachdair]

hi, here a few impressions of the shoki:

a gentlemans knife, mot only in size but also in its apparition. it has nice looks and the combination wood/CF result in an either classical appereance or a nice modern look.

the blade came quite sharp an performed well (i just had easy tasks like opening boxes, cutting apple or a sausage for a snack and also some cardboard cutting). it held the edge really good.
as im lefthanded the lock and its handling is very important to me.
i could easily have unlocked the blade but it was not necessary, i have slipjoints that require more force to close the blademad:mad:
the knife needs a bit work here.

 

[ex Vento]

Why do you speak english?

 

[pocke210]

Why do you speak english?

weil das eine voraussetzung fürs mitmachen war.
('cause it was condition for participation...)

 

[Kay]

Auch ich muss sagen, dass das Shoki ein schönes Messer ist was mir vom desing und den Materialien wirklich gut gefällt.

Auch die Schneideigenschaften sind gut, die ganz harte luftgetrocknete Salami in Hauchdünne Scheiben schneiden kein Problem

Dann beim Reinigen, auf mal löste sich die Aritierung und ich hatte die Spitze im Handballen.

Ich verlange ja nicht, das ein Klingenverschluss bei einem Messer mit dieser Zielgruppe, ein ich hau mit voller Kraft den Messerrücken auf die Tischkannte unbeschadet übersteht! Aber sollte es gerne das Abwischen in einem Handtuch Standhalten!
Schärfbarkeit war gut, wobei ich es nur 5-10 Striche/Seite auf dem Leder hatte mit Schwarzer Paste...

Ich hoffe das Benchmade in den Serienmessern ein besseren/überarbeiteten lock einbauen.

Danke an Benchmade und den Organisator

MfG

Kay



nun in English

Also I must say that the Shoki is a beautiful knife which me of desing and the materials really pleases.

Also the cutting characteristics are good, the completely hard air-dried sausage in breath thinness disks cut not a problem: super:

Then with cleaning, on times the Aritierung and I separated had the point in the hand.

I do not require, a blade catch with a measurer with this target group, I strike with full power the measurer backs on the table-known without prejudice to project! But it should gladly wiping off in a towel withstanding!
Sharping was good, whereby I had it only 5-10 lines/side on the leather with black paste…

I hope thats Benchmade in the series measurers a better/revised LOCK insert.

Thanks to Benchmade and the supervisor

Friendly Greatings

Kay

 

[neweinstein]

At first: Thank you very much for letting me try this knive. It the first experience with Benchmade knives outside of forum member meetings.

I will keep this text quite short and only want to mention some important issues:

1.) It's a very nice knive with materials I really like. The size, even if smaller than I thought, fit's most situations you will experience in everyday usage. But it's still small enough to be carried as an EDC with no big problems.

As it can be seen we got a prototype for this passaround. This may also explain some of its problems.

2.) Problems....yeah.... The biggest one was already mentioned. THE LOCK that doesnt lock! Some slipjoint knives are "locked" better than this one. Please Benchmade, spend some more work on this issue. The principle itself is good and easy to use

3.) concerning the optics. I like it. Materials, form, surfaces. No point to really complain about. The only thing. The backspacer with it's structuring doesn't match the simple and clear lines of the knive itself.

4.) the handling is quite good for a small and thin knive like this. For users with bigger hands than mine the handle would be to small. For me the size is perfect. Only the small loop at the end of the handle seems to be missplaced and (for me) of no use. I would prefer the knive without.

5.) As said before the cutting properties are very good for an everyday knive. I only used it for light "work" and it mastered every challenge. I really like the rounded back of the blade. It makes usage really comfortable.

6.) I only found very slight misstakes in alingment of the handle parts and in surface grinding. But I think they are related to the (maybe) handworked prototype.

Over all:

A very nice knife for EDC/EDU. A size that fits nearly all possible types of usage. Nice materials and well crafted. I hope the small cons will be gone in production

 

[schwartzbunt]

Here are my impressions of the BM Shoki:

My first thoughts have been: hope it don't get lost...the shoki is a cute, lightweight knife.
The handle with the wood/cf-scales on blue ti-liner looks realy good.
The fileworks on the backspacer is wellmade, but it is a little bit design-overload.
What I didn't liked was the external lanyardhole.
S30V is a very good choice for the blade, which was realy sharp. The thumbstud could be a little bit smaler.

The handling was good even for such a small knife. But with the lock I couldn't get familiar. Not only that is doesn't realy works on this proto, but mostly I use linerlocks or backlocks, perhaps it needs some more time for experience with the kind of lock...

Carrying a folder in a sheath cliped in my pocket was new to me. The sheath takes too much space for that little cutie, here I would prefer the knife with a clip or put the shoki directly in the pocket.

The Shoki is a cute knife with some minor (design-)issuses (for me).
I hope, the badly-working lock is a problem only on this proto....


Thanx to Benchmade and Toby.

 

[immernochsauer]

Hi there,

although the 480 is nicely designed and with a new locking mechanism (i´ve never seen it before) I sent it to virus3 after just 2 days. As a 710 carrier, this 480 Shoki is too fragile and there is no way this knife will make it in my EDC rotation.
But however, my pros and cons:

pro:

very nice details, like the spacer
benchmade quality
very nice material and colour mix.
very nice blade movement

con:

too fragile
thin blade
the extra steath (actually a good idea if you put the 480 in a bag or bigger purse but in jeans.. it´s not gonna fly)
overall just a little too small (maybe times 1,5)

Thanks for participation.

Axel

 

[virus3]

Hallo,
hier mein Testbericht zum Benchmade 480 Shoki.

Es war kleiner als gedacht, aber wunderbar anzuschauen. Der Materialmix aus schwarzem G10, schön gefärbtem Winewood und blau anodisiertem
Titan, gepaart mit der schlanken, eleganten Form ist ein echter Hingucker. Das ganze wird noch ergänzt mit netten Details wie Schmuckschrauben, gerundetem Klingenrücken und "Fileworks".

Die Verarbeitung war gut, aber nicht makellos. Der Übergang von den Backen zu den Griffschalen ist deutlich zu sehen und zu fühlen. Auf der Schmuckseite der Klingenachse war ein deutlich spürbarer Grat (siehe Bild).

Das Messer war sehr scharf und hat alle Schneidaufgaben, die für ein Messer mit diesen Dimensionen anfallen, zu meiner vollsten Zufriedenheit erfüllt.

Der Griff hat gut in meine Hand gepasst, er war allerdings etwas zu kurz wenn man den Zeigefinger nicht in Gefahr bringen wollte (siehe Bild).

Das Messer lies sich gut mit dem Daumenknopf öffnen und der Nak Lock ist deutlich hörbar eingerastet. Wie die Vortester schon angesprochen
hatten, wurde die Klinge allerdings nicht zuverlässig gehalten. Der geringste Druck lies die Klinge einklappen... Dies ist das größte Manko
des Messers.
Die Klinge trägt den Schriftzug "Prototype January 2008". Im Test des Messer Magazins 5/2008 wurde immer noch der fehlerhafte Lock bemängelt. Hoffentlich bessert Benchmade hier nach.

In der mitgelieferten Scheide mit Clip, lies sich das Messer gut in der vorderen Hosentasche tragen. Leider wies die Scheide schon sehr deutliche Tragespuren auf (siehe Bild). Auch hier müsste nachgebessert werden.

Fazit: Ein sehr schönes, elegantes Messer. Wenn der grobe Mangel beim Lock behoben wird, ist es nur zu empfehlen.

Danke für die Möglichkeit zum Testen.

Gruß Th.

___________

Hello,
here my report about the Benchmade 480 Shoki.

It was smaller than expected, but looks very pretty. The material mix between black G10, beautiful colored winewood and blue anodised titan, paired with the slim, elegant form is really a highlight. This all was supplemented by nice details like decorated screws, a rounded blade back and fileworks.

The processing was good, but not without faults. The transition between G10 and winewood was clearly to see and to feel. On the decorated side of the blade axle was a burr (see picture).

The knife was very sharp and did all jobs, for a knife with this dimensions, to my fullest satisfaction.

The handle fits well into my hand, may a little bit to short, if you don't want to have your index finger in danger (see picture).

The knife was good to open using the thump botton. The Nak Lock locked with a audibly noise. Unfortunately the lock didn't work. The easiest pressure and the blade was unlocked... This is the biggest fault of the knife.
On the blade is the signature "Prototye January 2008". In the test of the Messer Magazin 5/2008 the lock was still criticized. Hopefully Benchmade correct this in the future.

The knife was delivered with a sheath including a clip, which allows to carry it comfortable in the front trouser pocket. Unfortunately the sheath shows clearly signs of using (see picture). This should also be corrected.

Conclusion: A very beautiful, elegant Knife. If the rough fault with the Lock is corrected, it is to recommend.

Thanks for the chance to test.

Regards
Th.

 

[shriek]

I had the little, beautiful Knife over the Holidays (Chrismas) and I didn’t went to work at that Time, so no chance to do some harder work with the Shoki (because of the Lock-Failure no bad thing). Here at Home and on the way it peformed very well.
The Bladeshap is very attractive to me, with the Hollow Ground a real good slicer; ok I would convexing the Edge, but I do it on all my Knives!
Like “Neweinstein” I’m not a Fan of the Loop at the End of the Handle, maybe I’d cut it off if the Shoki was mine.

I’d like to see the Knife a little bigger, with a working Lock or as a real Slipjoint and if it have a Lock with a bigger Button to release the Lock. Then I’ll buy one.

Thanks to Benchmade and Tobby for the Passaround.

 

[WISCHI]

Hi,

ich hole den alten Thread mal hoch, weil ich fragen wollte, ob es neue Erfahrungswerte, insbesondere zum Nak-Lock gibt.
Ich finde das Messer wirklich traumhaft schön, aber ein unzuverlässiger Lock ist für mich ein absolutes Ausschlußkriterium.
Wurde hier seitens Benchmade nachgebessert, weiß jemand Bescheid?

Für Antworten wäre ich dankbar.

Greez
Wischi

p.s. ich dachte, hier passt meine Frage am besten rein, ansonsten gerne verschieben

 

[be99y]

ja ein wunderschönes messer, ist in der engeren auswahl ; )
nur macht mir die klingenarretierung sorgen ists wirklich so schlim, kann der geneigte user da was nacharbeiten?

 

[Ginunting]

beim PA hatten wir ein Proto-Messer. Ich hatte mittlerweile auch ein Serien 480 in der Hand. Hier gab es das Problem mit dem Lock nicht mehr.
Trotzdem immer dran denken: das 480 ist ein(es der schönsten) Gentleman knife und nicht für den Wald gemacht. Beim "Bäumefällen" kann der Lock durchaus mal nachgeben

Gruß
Tobias

 

[Njoerch]

beim PA hatten wir ein Proto-Messer. Ich hatte mittlerweile auch ein Serien 480 in der Hand. Hier gab es das Problem mit dem Lock nicht mehr.
Trotzdem immer dran denken: das 480 ist ein(es der schönsten) Gentleman knife und nicht für den Wald gemacht. Beim "Bäumefällen" kann der Lock durchaus mal nachgeben

Gruß
Tobias

Ich möchte diesen Thread ebenfalls noch einmal hochholen, weil mir am Shoki noch eine Sache aufgefallen ist...

Der NAK-Lock hält zwar die Klinge gut, allerdings hat man Konstruktionsbedingt ein vertikales Spiel der Klinge, d.h. sie lässt sich ein Stück abwärts bewegen, obwohl es sich nicht um die Prototypenproduktion handelt.
Die Klinge ist arretiert und der Lock gibt ein wenig nach, so dass ca. 2-3mm Bewegung in der Klinge bei Durck auf den Klingenrücken möglich ist...es bleibt trotzdem nur ein feiner und schöner G-Folder für feine Arbeiten

LG, Jörg

 

[UglyKid]

Die Klinge ist arretiert und der Lock gibt ein wenig nach, so dass ca. 2-3mm Bewegung in der Klinge bei Durck auf den Klingenrücken möglich ist...

Ich habe zwar nicht beim Passaround mitgemacht, will aber auch meine Erfahrung mit dem guten Stück kundtun.
Auch bei meinem Exemplar hält der Lock fest und klappt nicht ein und ich gebe Jörg recht, dass die Klinge ein vertikales Spiel bei entsprechendem Druck aufweist, aber 2-3mm halte ich doch für übertrieben. Man merkt das Spiel zwar aber von diesen Maßen ist meins weit entfernt. Vielleicht sind das aber auch Fertigungstoleranzen
Trotz dieser Sache bleibt es ein schöner Gentleman-Folder.

Beste Grüße,
Andreas