Benchmade 484 Nakamura AXIS Folding Knife

After I lost my m390 Griptilian I was hesitant to replace it with Nakomura. What a mistake - this knife is perfection.

More comfortable than Ritter + feels even tougher for hard use. QC is amazing, no play horizontal or vertical. Centered blade.

M390 is the toughest and hardest steel ever created (BTW originally for aggressive chemical equipment) that Does Not Rust At All.

There is no competition. 20CV S90V XHP etc -- all of these rust when used with food.
M390 never does. I am happy I went with Nakomura M390!!

Benchmade's 484 is a very high quality, hard use gentlemen's knife and one of the most beautiful Benchmade's I own.

Pros: It has one of the fastest and smoothest Axis lock functions of any I've tried. I think the thumb studs on the little thumb ramp give you more oomph to open if faster than other Axis designs. All Axis designs open great but some are better than others. This difference probably has to do with the distance between the thumb studs and the pivot point, the weight of the blade and the blade's balance. Whatever the reason, the 484 opens superbly.

The thumb ramp with the aggressive (for this brand) jimping on it give excellent grip. I can lock this knife in my size 10.5 hand better than nearly anything.

M930 Steel is reported to be one of the very best. I'm no blade steel expert but I find if the steel snobs like it, I'll also have good experience with it.

Cons: Weight - it's a 3 inch blade and the knife weights over 3.5 ounces. The stainless steel liners could have been milled out to reduce some weight, or maybe they could have used a lighter material. The tactile feel of the knife is great and I'm sure that's what they were going for in making it so heavy for a small knife.

Price - I almost didn't purchase this knife because of the price. I think the value proposition isn't quite there which is why I give it four stars. If it were $40-50 cheaper, I'd have given it five stars. Your perception of value may be different than mine but this is on the upper end of what I typically buy.

Conclusion: If you want an extremely versatile & solid gentlemen's folder that will give years of good service and still be aesthetically pleasing this might be it. If you want something similar yet with rougher texture to the G-10 handle and about 2/3 Oz lighter, check out the Benchmade 903S. The 903S doesn't have quite as good of steel and is a little rougher around the edges but I think it's a better buy and is usually about $40 less than the 484.