why aren't there more knives like this...

[trinydex]

The main blade is "N680 highly corrosion resistant blade steel (57-59HRC)"(though I am not familiar with it, it is not 440)
The hook blade is 440

i think i read this from the benchmade site and just concluded it was a slightly altered stainless that was similar enough to 440c to exempt it.

N680: A chromium-molybdenum conventionally produced stainless steel with the addition of vanadium and nitrogen. Excellent corrosion resistance properties, especially in salt water. Good hardenability and high obtainable hardness. High wear resistance and ability to preserve keenness.

N690: An Austrian made stainless steel, which is comparable to 440C in performance and value. Keen edge qualities with great corrosion resistance.



these are benchmade's exotic steels.

154CM: An American made premium grade stainless steel originally developed for tough industrial applications. Known for its best all-around qualities, it offers great corrosion resistance with good toughness and edge quality.

S30V: An American made and developed premium grade stainless steel created especially for knives. It is a powder made steel with a uniform carbide distribution and clean steel properties. As a blade material it offers excellent corrosion resistance and superb edge qualities.

CPM-M4: Special purpose, high-speed steel with a combination of high Carbon, Moly, Vanadium and Tungsten for excellent wear resistance and toughness; A powder-metal, non stainless steel.

[Vash1023]

i still have my CQD mk1 and love it. your right thats its a great all in one knife.

[Trajan]

440c isn't a bad steel though, especially with BM's heat treat. Heat treat is key to get performance out of a steel.

My thought's on the Contego from carrying one around a little:
Pros:
- Nice blade shape. Reverse Tanto similar to the 940 Osborne.
- Excellent steel. Will rust, but the cerakote solves that problem. The edge will still rust, but a few passes over a fine stone takes care of that.
- Nicely sized. Normally I hate the super big HD knives like Striders or the ZT blades because for me as they lack a raison d'etre (IMO of course, normally I'd use a fixed blade for those purposes), but the 810 is big enough to handle most jobs without being too thick. Length is perfect IMO. I like my blades to be in the 3.4-4" size.
-G10 handle is super grippy
- For the price it can't be beat if you envision needing a knife for outdoor work without wanting to carry a dedicated fixed blade.

Cons:
- Low profile pocket clip catches and then bends out. Doesn't have the support as a "normal" pocket clip.
- Blade is so heavy that the axis flip open method doesn't always work
- G10 handles can be uncomfortable on impacts without gloves, corners aren't radiused enough for medium tasks without gloves
- Heavy. Almost 6oz.

If you're honest about your needs, and the Contego meets those needs, it's quite the nice blade. If I wanted one knife to do it all, this would be my pick if the weight isn't an issue.

Spyderco's lock backs are quite nice though. Just sayin'.

[trinydex]

i still have my CQD mk1 and love it. your right thats its a great all in one knife.

if I had my way... Blackhawk would relinquish its huge corporate death grip on the cqd mark 1 license and subcontract Spartan blades to at least make a special edition that used the original 154cm or something even more uber.

[trinydex]

My thought's on the Contego from carrying one around a little:
Pros:
- Nice blade shape. Reverse Tanto similar to the 940 Osborne.
- Excellent steel. Will rust, but the cerakote solves that problem. The edge will still rust, but a few passes over a fine stone takes care of that.
- Nicely sized. Normally I hate the super big HD knives like Striders or the ZT blades because for me as they lack a raison d'etre (IMO of course, normally I'd use a fixed blade for those purposes), but the 810 is big enough to handle most jobs without being too thick. Length is perfect IMO. I like my blades to be in the 3.4-4" size.
-G10 handle is super grippy
- For the price it can't be beat if you envision needing a knife for outdoor work without wanting to carry a dedicated fixed blade.

these are all the same things that I appreciate about the contego. overall size is tolerable for daily carry, especially if you would someday need it for spine tickling. I would be proud of the rust issue, it means my knife is made of a high carbon steel. benchmade coated it so I wouldn't have to be overly worried about it, and they have an awesome life sharp warranty that will offer to replace the whole blade for 30 dollars.

I love that the g10 handles are scalloped and truly grippy by material and by geometry. many of the knives from the 90s lacked the geometric grippyness that today's designs have just by smart design.

Cons:
- Low profile pocket clip catches and then bends out. Doesn't have the support as a "normal" pocket clip.
- Blade is so heavy that the axis flip open method doesn't always work
- G10 handles can be uncomfortable on impacts without gloves, corners aren't radiused enough for medium tasks without gloves
- Heavy. Almost 6oz.

If you're honest about your needs, and the Contego meets those needs, it's quite the nice blade. If I wanted one knife to do it all, this would be my pick if the weight isn't an issue.

here I agree again. the pocket clip is what it is. I purchased the knife knowing that it would go back to benchmade periodically to be serviced, they replace the pocket clip if that's required. this is sort of the reason i'm lamenting my decision not to have purchased two, because for the time being, i'm knifeless. only takes one time for me to seriously regret that kind of lack of foresight.

I have gotten the axis bounce due to the blade's size and its balance in relation to the handle size, both on opening and closing. this is annoying. to be honest, when the knife got a little linty, it slowed down the bearing surfaces enough that this became LEss of an issue. now i'm not sure if I will have to relint it when it gets back from benchmade.

it's weird that there is a such thing as a grail knife. for now benchmade has the market locked with the contego. i'm hoping desperately it doesn't go extinct.

[JackFanToM]

I would add zdp, s90v, D2, sleipner, niolox to the list of super steels. This will increase your options without losing the quality of steel.

[ra2bach]

this is probably something that i'm overly particular about, but here it goes.

usually when i'm using a knife i'm trying to access something in hand, this means it will still be in hand after the knife has gained me access. in times past, if it was the case that i do have two hands i would try to carefully close the knife. however, since the advent of axis lock and my introduction to auto knifes, i've found that there's no reason my equipment should require me to use two hands to close or put my hand in the blade path while closing.

again, i would readily admit this is probably something i am overly particular about.

i realize that a liner lock or frame lock does not preclude a one handed closing, it's very possible, but it's the fact that it puts my hands in the blade path that bothers me. there actually is a negligable chance that anything bad would ever happen, but now that i know better options exist i don't feel there's any reason i should have to settle for less.

I get it. you buy a tool to do a certain thing you want it to do. if it doesn't do that, don't buy it. I agree with you and to use it as you describe makes perfect sense. but I have been known to do some non-sensical things from time to time...

[Socom Elite]

Why would you buy a ZT auto but not the liner lock? If you don't trust yourself with a liner lock you shouldn't carry a knife at all.

I really doubt you would be able to tell the difference between 440c and 154cm or even s30v. 440c is a great steel.

With your criteria if say get a microtech Ultratech or troodon. You can even find different aftermarket carbide tips. Also Microtechs are not hard to find. Plenty of sites sell them. Also the newer socom hasn't "been watered down" to a liner lock. The new Socom Deltas are sub frame locks and the original ones were all liner locks. But I think you should drop the glass breaker part then you would have hundreds of great knife options

Straw away from gerber or SOG for any decent use. They are overpriced junk.

[trinydex]

Why would you buy a ZT auto but not the liner lock? If you don't trust yourself with a liner lock you shouldn't carry a knife at all.

there's no trust issue with myself, i don't trust the world at large around me for being responsible for my personal safety. also, as previously mentioned, it is a matter of principle at this point.

I really doubt you would be able to tell the difference between 440c and 154cm or even s30v. 440c is a great steel.

you are free to doubt, however i've carried 154cm and 440c. i am speaking from actual experience and there is a difference between the two blade steels. you don't have to acknowledge that difference, there are many knife forums speaking to that exact topic with plenty who will argue for and against on both sides.

With your criteria if say get a microtech Ultratech or troodon. You can even find different aftermarket carbide tips. Also Microtechs are not hard to find. Plenty of sites sell them.

links to aftermarket carbide tips?

Also the newer socom hasn't "been watered down" to a liner lock. The new Socom Deltas are sub frame locks and the original ones were all liner locks.

i believe the original was an automatic. what is on the market now is not an automatic. the more desireable (to me) automatics are extinct and relegated to overly expensive collector's items, which is hardly what the knife was intended for.

But I think you should drop the glass breaker part then you would have hundreds of great knife options

i don't want to drop the glass breaker. i don't feel i should have to. many of the best most desireable knives have had all the qualifications i've named. those same knives have all since become extinct; in addition to being extinct, the blades that were sold and are in existence have become overpriced collector's items which is not what they were originally designed for. it's a shame. i don't need hundreds of "great" options that don't have the feature set i demand. the options aren't great if they don't match my mission requirement.

[TheJawn]

is what i'm asking for such a niche?

Yes.

You could always choose the contego to be the model you start a knife stable around. Losing your knife is a possibility after all.