Long story short, I have a large gift card for REI that needs spending, so I plan to buy myself a nice knife. I am stuck between these two

580S
Benchmade 580S Barrage Knife - Free Shipping at REI.com

Or the 556 (smaller blade)
Benchmade 556 Mini-Griptilian Serrated Locking Knife - Olive - Free Shipping at REI.com

The 580 is a 3.6" blade vs the 556 is a 2.91" blade...I currently have a CKRT knife with around a 3.6" blade and love it and carry it every where...but the local municipal code here in Santa Barbara (moved for school) has a grey area that puts "daggers" and "knives" in the same category and say the blade cannot be longer than 3"....

What are your opinions on these two knives? Could you recommend another Benchmade knife that is carried by REI?

Benchmade Knives and Tools at REI

Thank you!

 

May I suggest you also look at..

Kershaw Emerson CQC-6K Pocket Knife at REI.com

I have carried the previous version of that for the last 3 years as my day to day knife. I have a few Benchmade too, but I really find the Kershaw to be a great knife. *however its .25 longer than "legal" in SB. Now I grew up down there, never had a problem with pocket knives but...I get what your worried about.

Edit:

This one is also a great knife, I have it too (I am a bit of a knife and flashlight *****, ive got 20-25 knives and 40-50 flashlights)

http://www.rei.com/product/876718/ke...h-pocket-knife

 

They do make a mini barrage as well.. I'd go into a retailer and hold them. I'd take the barrage over the griptillian any day. It just feel so much more solid. People do love the griptiallians though. It's definitely the most sold benchmade at the place I work mainly because its a $105-$135 benchmade depending on the size and type of blade. The Kershaw designed by Emerson is a great knife but it lacks a good blade lock when closed which you'll have with the barrage.

Or you can step up into the Volli. S30V steel and G10 handle. Thats my go-to benchmade. It's very similar to the Barrage but much stronger steel and you can get a sharper edge out of it and the handle is about the same feel but different material.

The Volli runs for $165 MSRP

Edit: The volli doesn't seem to be something normally stocked but I'm sure you can special order it through REI. With that being said, you can go with the serrated option with it as well if thats what you're looking for.

 

I have a mini Barrage for my EDC and i ****ing LOVE it! had it on me for the past 3 years and hasn't ever failed me.

Plus, with the FREE lifetime sharpening/cleaning/lubrication that benchmade provides with all their knives, I wouldn't buy anything else. I have sent mine in probably 4 times to them, and from the moment I send it off, to the moment i get it back is usually about 5 days.. What more could you want?

 

Bench isn't the only ones who do that, most of the high end companies offer that, just a FYI.

 

If you wanna stick with an REI-sold knife, I say just get the 556 Benchmade. Less worries if an LEO might give you ****.


I carry around an Emerson CQC-14 around because of silly laws like the one you stated.

It's under 3", has Emerson's "wave feature" (a quick deploy feature that catches your pocket), though it does cost a bit of money. It's more than double the price of the Benchmade 556, so I doubt you'd get it, but it is an option under 3".

 

I have been carrying my all stainless serrated Spiderco Dragonfly for over 10 years. Love it.

 

I have never liked serrated knives due to them being hard to sharpen. You ether need special hones or have to send them out.

Just my two cents. I carry a tiny little Case $4 flea market special.

 

*LOL*SNODY FTW*

Seriously though, I'm in the same boat, looking at the Volli in SBK. The only thing I don't like about it is honestly, it isn't my SNODY, I like the stainless plate surrounds.

I will ditto the Spyderco's though, nice to have handy, couple of guys i know swear by them.Start off Here for their EDC's.

 

I believe the benchmade are made with a better metal that holds its edge better than the Kershaw Emersons that people are recommending. I have a Kershaw Emerson CQC8k and it definitely needs to be sharpened.

The "WAVE" technology is pretty sweet when you get the technique down though.

 

I'm leaning towards Benchmade...like I said I have a large gift card I need to spend (won it via a contest) so I'd rather get something high end lmao.

I'm going to see if the local REI can special order some benchmades that aren't on their site. Looking for the 580 mini.

Thanks all!

 

Yeah thats solid. If it is a large "large" gift card you might want to think about selling it and getting a fixed blade knife from some of the knife makers I've found through Instagram like Hatcher Knives. Hatcher Knives
Which are extremely beautiful and well made.

 

i have a ZT 0350 that i've EDC'd for the last 3 years, flawless knife. Beefy as hell though, not sure if its too heavy for EDC. I would go with a barrage i find mini grip's too small.

 

Do we have an official pocket knife thread? Search is not turning anything up. If there is not a previous one I motion this becomes the official pocket knife thread.

I will post up some pictures of my current EDC knife collection when I can find what box they are in.

 

Nope, we talked about it a few times, even at the Meets but never made a thread.

I'll second the motion. Knife thread on!