George, how did a rancher's knife become such an icon of the EDC world?
Let's talk knives.
Hey, everybody.
It is I, Spencer and Papa George.
Daddy. George, please.
My apologies today at Blade HQ
We wanted to discuss one of the most legendary knives around today.
It's been around for well over 20 years. Where did it come from?
Why is it here and where is it going?
It's the bench made 940 from Warren Osborne.
Now, unlike almost any other knife out there,
the 940 has remained incredibly popular for over two decades
At this point.
And it's got a really cool story behind it. And that's what we're telling today.
And we also asked you guys out in social media land
to share us your stories and photos of the 940.
We're going to be sharing those later on in the show.
So stick around.
Well, it was designed
by Warren Osborne, and it was based off of his ranch knife.
He made a knife that was for his time with the cows and
and he had a knife that he built specifically for the job.
And it was really awesome. And Benchmade wanted to turn it into a folder.
So, in fact,
the other knife that I think of when I think of a ranch knife is a spey blade.
And I mean, I have one right here.
If you just compare those two tips, there's some reminiscence there.
Yeah, it's a ranch knife.
It is hard to not see that and think like,
yeah, that was- they had that in mind for sure.
This knife has, for the last 20 years been incredibly popular,
one of the best selling knives we've ever had at Blade HQ.
So when the knife was first released, it was a little bit
different than it is today, although it did look the same.
Just some quick specs for those that are unaware.
The blade is about three and a half inches, just a little bit lower
and the entire length of the knife is comes in at just under eight inches.
It's about 2.9 ounces.
So originally the blades steal was 154CM when it first came out
and it came with a plain edge as well as serrated.
So one of
the most noticeable things on this knife when it debuted was the access lock.
Now, the lock originally came out a couple of years
prior on the Benchmade 710, which is the McHenry and Williams.
And that knife last quite a while until it was just discontinued.
And so it also found its way onto the Benchmade 940.
Where it is today.
Some of the key things about the axis lock number one
is it allows for ambidextrous use.
So it doesn't matter what hand you are you to be able to use this knife.
So lefties get a little love as well.
It's easy to operate with one hand gives you a couple of options
for opening life using the thumb stud or simply just grabbing the access lock and
gravity.
And that's a lot of fun.
It kind of annoys your coworker when a bonks against the pin though.
I can't carry my Griptillian and for that reason.
I don't tend to use it that way very much, but I do pull it close so it drops shut.
What I thought was super interesting about this is
when it came out, it was super different from any other knife out there.
First of all, it was green and it had this purple backspacer.
And I mean, it's more like it should be Norman Osborn's knife, like.
Exactly. It would be his knife.
That's some neat trick.
Yeah. And in recent years, like, this is the Benchmade Freak.
One of my favorites.
And this one has the pop of red.
But that was new.
This pioneered pops of color in the back spacer.
Which I think is is kind of odd for what was made as a work knife.
I think what I think work knife kind of a traditional sense,
I'll think, Buck 110 or something where it's a little more rustic,
it has the brass in it, but this- Warren wasn't going for that at all
with this knife.
It was almost leaning into the gentleman's carry as well as it being a work knife.
Yeah, that's what my favorite things about this knife is.
If you put it in your hand, it feels like a hard work knife.
But also I can carry that in a pair of slacks and it would fit right in.
And what a great knife.
Let's talk about the blade a little bit.
Yeah, that reverse Tonto.
Now, the slim blade has a nice thickness to it.
And the swedge over here on the reverse Tonto, allows for the tip
to be super strong as well.
So the blade itself is strong.
It's great
for those tasks when you need to get out and really put some weight into it.
You don't have to worry about something like a full, tall, flat grind
giving to the weight that you're putting on it.
So it's really able to do most of the tasks that you would any given day.
But it's so slim.
It doesn't look like it should, but it can.
And I think it's one of reasons everybody loves it.
And it's been around so long.
And I think it's like it's like the biggest knife you can get
while still focusing on weight and the slim feel to it.
Because when you do carry this in your pocket, it really does disappear.
You don't really feel it in there until you need to use it.
Some people still think it's too big, but Benchmade has you covered.
We'll talk about that in a few minutes.
So the 940 has been around for just over 20 years.
And so we went through and tried to round up
as much as we could from the different iterations of them.
So when it was first released, this is what it looked like
and a few models came out when it was first released.
What do those look like?
So the first was the 940 and the 942.
So the 940 was this one of the 942 was black and it had a serrated blade.
And then in 2000, four of the 941 and three came out
and we actually have one of those here. This one. Showed off.
Comes from our owner. Jim, I want this knife so bad.
I asked, Hey, can I have this? And he says, No, I love that knife.
It's my favorite one. Like, Yeah, it would be my favorite too.
This one's had these nice clip point blades, super good looking, and this one
a limited edition with this orange peel titanium and this 30 V.
What a flex. I wonder why that one didn't stick. Yeah.
I wonder too.
It's a really great knife though. If you can find one, grab one.
They're really awesome.
Anyway, so in the late 2000, they upgraded all the models to S30V standard.
This one's a 154CM, that one's Jim's.
And that's a big upgrade.
And then in 2014, the 940-1 came out
and this thing took it to a completely new premium level with this S90V
blade and these carbon fiber scales and this one was flow through.
So no back spacer, these lovely blue barrel spacers.
I think it just came with a coated blade. This would be my jam.
Yeah. Yeah.
I kind of like the contrast.
I like the stone wash against the carbon fiber.
It's a good match. Looks classy.
Now, couple of years later, in 2016, we saw the 940-2
and this one goes back to the S30V blade, but you get G-10 handles
and then you have the green standoffs again, the flow through design.
So if you get any dust, anything in there, just blow right out.
You're good to go. No disassembly required.
And these are currently on BladeHQ.com and you can get these for $189.
The price is a little bit better because of the G-10 scales
as well as the S30V blade.
Should we talk about the automatic real fast?
Yeah. People wanted a tactical option.
Let them know.
So this one was the automatic, the 9400.
That's the trick on Benchmade.
If it has four numbers,
it's an auto, three, it's a folder two, it's a fixed blade or a butterfly.
This one only came out maybe two years ago.
I want to say I was here when it came out.
Y'all bought it fast, but luckily we have them in stock now.
Yeah, these things are great.
They- instead of the axis lock, you get this button lock and a very chalky
aluminum that's nice and grippy, but still has the contours you want.
It's not going to chew up your hand at all and it snaps real fast.
I think, when it first came out too it,
I think there was a coated blade option as well. Yeah, I think there is.
We just brought this one on.
I think it matches the original quite nicely.
Brothers, well you can't tell the difference at all until.
You super great secondary lock on the back and that purple backspace
that we all know and love. Yeah.
9400 is a great choice, especially if you wanted
to put this into more of a tactical role.
If I was going out to the sandbox or something, I would grab me that 9400
real quick.
So it was around this time also that people started asking for a mini
version of the 940 and Benchmade delivered with the 945.
This thing,
like when I first saw it, I was privy to the release when it came out.
I'm like, That thing's going to be too small
because this thing just fits the hands so good, but randomly it fits
and it does the the old Ben finger test really nice.
It just
they just took that blade and shrunk it down and everything's still there.
It's just a hair smaller.
Which was why it's mini.
Yeah, but they maintained the thickness of the lock, which I really appreciate.
I don't have to think it's weaker now.
It's still just as strong as the original.
So was around this time, people saw Benchmade upgrading their 940.
Maybe we can get in on this game too.
And that's when it became a modding platform
and you find people with new scales, with new standoffs, re-anodizing
their back spacers, even some people grinding new blades for the thing.
That was just a lot of fun and we have a lot of cool stuff
from you guys on those pictures of the ways you've modified your 940.
It is a lot of fun.
And then we over here at Blade HQ, saw a lot of people
playing around with the models and we thought, you know, we want our dream.
940 too. But the fact that we are BladeHQ
means that we can arrange some things.
So we made this exclusive and my goodness, do I love it.
Yeah, it really this one takes it from I want to say gentleman,
but it's really more aggressive.
I think that coated blade and the hardware it really takes it to a different place.
Yeah.
And I think this is the first one that had CPM M4 as well, which is a carbon
steel, a little bit tougher and better edge attention, but it'll rust on you.
Natural or jade, as we call it, G-10 Scales.
It's hot.
I love it. Yeah, I actually have this one.
Check it out.
I put a
deep-carry pocket clip on it, you can do that.
By the way, we can talk about titanium for a second.
Do it. Yeah.
So we have friends of titanium who make some aftermarket parts for these
and these are a really easy, simple way to add some flair to your knife.
And this one, they got the purple barrel spacers.
This one, I believe, had the green aluminum to start with.
But they put that OD green micarta on.
That micarta,
It's super rustic.
It has a really good feel to it
until it gets a little bit goopy, but they feel great.
And the cost of these are actually- you can fit into your budget
for sure.
But what I think is great here is the story of the 940 is from the ground up.
It was made for users and then it was upgraded over time
and it really hasn't rested on its laurels.
It's always been with it.
So I kind of wonder what's going happen in the next 20 years?
Where do you think it's going?
We thought we had a pretty good collection here,
but Steve McDermott on Facebook, he kind of showed us up.
He's got his collection here and his- it's pretty deep.
Yeah. All new in box too.
I think they've been used.
Yeah. Like that. Damascus with the blue and black.
G10 and the 943. What a great shot.
All blacked out.
Great collection. Steve Jealous
now looking at modifications
that some of the people that submitted photos had theirs decked out.
This one comes from @boomsbladesandbackwoods,
and he's got the brass Flytanium treatment, brass thumb stud.
One of those hands. Those hands have been to work.
That's one of
my favorite things about the 940 you see so many beat up 940s.
and the brass the more and more use it the better it even looks
nice.
So this next one comes from
@tdc_daily_carry over on Instagram.
And he's got these really nice titanium scales with this micarta inlay on it.
Yeah. Can you imagine how a pinch grip on that would be?
These come from it's @Death Grip Scales.
He's on Instagram, I believe he's a one man shop.
He does some phenomenal work for all kinds of models, so it looks great with that.
The brass accents with the lighter I like is a great photo.
Really great photo. Great knife, too. Good job.
Thanks for sending that in. This last one comes from @napsterninja on Instagram
it's. Like a download it all these knives.
Probably for free to this one this is actually pretty cool this is he
calls it the beskar steel scales must have been very expensive.
He also has an acid wash blade. It looks great.
It's pretty awesome.
And he has a stormtrooper theme going and all the knives in the background.
Big love letter to Star Wars.
Well done. Looks great.
And make sure you guys tell us which one is your favorite photo we want to know.
And so down in the description will be a link and you can vote.
So just let us know which one you like the best and the winner will actually win
one of these exclusive Benchmade 940 Osbornes
from Blade HQ only.
And one last thing in case you missed out the last time, this Blade HQ exclusive
940 in the M4 steel and jade G-10 is coming back soon.
So in the description will actually be the drop date.
Make sure you go on Blades Newcomb and sign up for the wish list.
Follow us on Instagram for more announcements
and you can get your very own exclusive 940 from Benchmade.
Yeah, I'm on the wish list for you. I already have one.
You're going to get one?
Yeah. I'd like to see a really cool knife.
Great.
What's the 940 going to do next?
Where is it going in the next 20 years?
Let us know in the comments.
Always make sure you guys like and subscribe
if you own the Osborn, tell us about it.
Tell us your stories we love to hear. The community loves to hear it.