Going Gear.com recognizes me as an expert in the Benchmade 940 series of pocket knives.
Ok no they dont, I made that up.
But they did send me an exclusive 940 made for them by the real 940 experts Benchmade,
called the 940-1701.
Which is basically a handle and steel variant of the perfect every day carry knife.
But you knew I was going to do this review because you saw a preview of it on my Instagram
where you follow me.
But lets do the dimensions, in case you dont believe me.
Like the overall length and weight.
Gotta love that weight right?
The blade size and cutting edge.
The handle and grip area.
The spine thickness and handle thickness.
And the tallness of it closed, thanks one more time to Joe Bob for the suggestion.
The 940-1701 like the 940-1 or 940, has a reverse tanto blade style with a nice long
cutting edge with a flat grind, which a lot of Benchmade folders have.
The flat grind I mean.
The 940 comes in several steel styles my 940-1 is s90v but the Going Gear 940-1701 uses CPM-20CV,
which is the US made equivalent to Bohler M390 which is made in Austria also additionally
the 20CV blade of this one is a little less dark in color than the S90v of the 940-1.
Both have a light stone washed finish.
The cool thing about the 940 blade is it's small seeming foot print, but it's multi-beveled
blade with a very nice sized cutting edge... one of the better weight to cutting edge ratios
on the market- which I think is something I just made up.
It's very very light with a nice long usable cutting edge.
It carries in the pocket like a smaller knife, but it ain't.
Deployment is handled by thumbstuds or alternatively the axis lock...
Out of the box it's just a tad stiff, but after a day or two of flipping and using it
break into the nice axis lock you're familiar with.
The red thumbstuds set this 940 apart from the others, and a light flick easily deploys
the blade.
Pretty much like my 940-1.
You can also do the axis lock deployment, by holding the lock back and flipping....
the Benchmade 940 series is probably my 2nd favorite deploying knife after the Spyderco
Para Military 2.
There are phosphor bronze washer on either side of the pivot, so you nylon washer haters
can sleep easy tonight.
Lockup is nice and strong, and it seems solid even with hard whacks on the spine, like this.
Blade retention when closed is fine and the axis lock causes the blade to snap into place...
but you can fling the blade downward pretty hard and get the blade to open- this is common
on my Benchmade axis locks.
The handle is an open back design held together with two red standoffs on the back... remember
they're blue on the 940-1... because plain steel ones are for poor people.
The handle is the same basic shape as my 940-1 with a few key differences.
First the materials...
the 940-1 is carbon fiber with partial liners... the Going Gear 940-1701 is a G10 C-Tek combo
handle material.
It's just a tad heavier than the 940-1 but it's really not too noticeable even when you
hold one in each hand- it wouldn't be noticeable if you just had one or the other.
The C-Tek is the red and silver honey comb material... which is translucent and has an
interesting effect when the light hits it just right.
The rest of the handle is made from semi polished G10... not quite as slick as fully polished
G10It has a similar feel and smoothness to the carbon fiber-ed 940-1... and if you are
holding both and have your eyes closed you might find it hard to tell the difference.
The liner on the 940-1 is silver and the one here is murdered out.
There are some grooves on the 940-1 that aren't on the 940-1701.
Also there's some big jimping up top on the tail of the 1701, the 940-1 doesn't have.
You probably won't even notice it unless your knife is held upside down and your thumb is
resting on it in the tactical position.
Ok I said tactical once.
But the handle is a nice size and it fits all of my fingers well without crowding.
The clip.
The clips on both are functionally the same... neither are deep... the 940-1 has a more traditional
shape, and the 1701, has a slightly different almost familiar shape...
it has a split in the middle, and a tapered point sort of like a... mushroom?
The finish on the 1701 is more like a fine matte powder coat.
Both are about the same springiness.
The clips are position-able to the right or left side in a tip up configuration only.
Ok let's break down a box... while I some it up.
The Going Gear 940-1701 is a nice knife, and for most purposed it's pretty similar to the
popular 940-1.
It should come down to aesthetics, or if you think red is the color of adultery... or if
you prefer the 20CV steel versus the s90v.
I have yet to sharpen either knife but word on the street is that the S90V in the 940-1
is a bit harder to sharpen and might hold an edge a tad longer- you see how those two
are correlated?
Both are very nice looking knives- both have similar premium materials and price points...
and if you've never owned a 940 series knife it's time to see what the hype is about...
it's my co-favorite knife between the Para Military 2.
And if you can't decide on which one, you can buy both at Going Gear.com If you like
this video, subscribe to my channel, comment, give it a thumbs up, and maybe in a year when
I've finally had to sharpen both, ask me how I like them a bit better.
Check out some of my other videos here, like the review of the 940-1.
Thanks for watching.