Gorgeous Gold Class Benchmade 690

The original Allen Elishewitz designed Benchmade 690:

I was lucky enough to be co-managing a knife shop when the original Benchmade 690 came out. Mine is a numbered first production run, and I got the employee discount back so many years ago. This was around the time (2000-2003?) when Benchmade really stepped up their game as far as designs and looks. It was unlike anything we'd seen before from a factory knife company. Stabilized rosewood and carbon fiber on the handles, beautiful blue titanium liners, and a really nice looking blade as well. Mine is in great condition, but needs a bit of sharpening, and it's so beautiful that I rarely carry it, as they've long been out of production.



Enter this summer 2010 Gold Class limited edition of the venerable 690. Benchmade says:

*Mike Norris Hornets Nest Damascus
*Hand finished and blended light mammoth ivory
and mokume bolster
*Anodized and polished gold titanium liners
*Red topaz thumb-stud
*Limited run of 100 pieces

And what a beauty! I love damascus on Benchmade knives. Mammoth Ivory is both tough and beautiful, not to mention that it's a trip to have a knife handle made with an extinct animal's tusk!

The basic specs are the same as the original 690, in regards to size etc:

Blade Length: 3.26" (8.29 cm)
Blade Thickness: 0.137" (3.48 mm)
Open: 7.34" (18.77 cm)
Closed: 4.08" (10.36 mm)
Weight: 4.20 oz. (119.06 g)
Handle Thickness: 0.56" (15.09 mm)

And of course, it's made in the USA. 100 pieces is extremely limited, so if you have the cash, you should hop on this while you can! Knifecenter.com is selling them for $1400 USD even, and they're the only place online I've seen these so far.

Pretty sweet. Things like this (quality and limited editions) are the reason Benchmade knives are so popular (I'm definitely a fan, with @ least 30 BM knives in my collection).
This baby is way, way far out of my price range, but I know that despite the shitty economy, there are still folks who can spend over a grand on a semi-custom beauty like this. Oh, if anybody loves reading this blog so much that they want to thank me, I wouldn't turn one of these down! ;)
-A