Benchmade 940 vs 940-1: The Best Blade For You 

I have the 940-1 and carry it more than any other knife in my collection. I have dropped it a couple times on multiple surfaces (lots of gravity in my area apparently) and the CF has a small dent but no fibers sticking out that splinter into your skin. So no worries there. Also, I've carried mine so much (and flicked it habitually) that the Omega springs failed. That said, when I sent it into BM, they not only replaced the Omega spring, they also shaved off the screws stinking out into the blade cavity and resharpened it without me even requested. Great knife and great knife company!

Great video comparison, like the presentation of your experience and opinion. Really helped my off the fence of which to buy. Went with the original 940... thanks man!

Hey nice vid! On the subject of damage to the carbon scales: firstly, you can never polish a fibre. There will always be exposed fibres unless there is a lacquer or paint applied. In this case, I'd be happier if I dropped my 940-1 than the ally version. Why? CF won't leave an obvious bright scratch! What ever happens to it you can remove it with fine wet'n dry paper to an almost new condition. Can't do that with an anodised/painted ally handle ;0) I wager the CF scales will look newer for longer. Also, you have the option of brining it back to new in 10-20 years time. (To qualify that: I used to be a composite tech in F1 and a WRC Rally team. I've worked with glass, carbon and aramid composites for many years) This is a great knife and just took delivery of one yesterday! Used your review to decide. Cheers!

Still a great, informative video after nearly 3 years. Thanks mate

Don't know if anyone else has mentioned it but the 940-1 will be easier to keep clean with it's open construction. My standard green 940 accumulates pocket lint quite a lot.

Great video. After years of wear. Make a follow up video on the condition of the fiber.

Just picked up the 940 they had the 940-1 that I checked out and just plain liked the 940 better, enjoyed the comparison Al

Got my first 940 last week. The 2001 20th anniversary titanium. Now I want the original.

Great comparison and excellent steel explanation--has greatly enhanced my understanding.

Great video! I posted my previous comments before watching lol. I would deffinately agree with you on the s90v. From factory, the edge is visibly a little but toothy like you said. Mine is, however, hair shaving sharp, but I hope stroping it will make the edge nice and pretty and even sharper. I too fear the day that I just use it too much and find that its too dull for me to sharpen. I hope stroping after each use will keep it nice and sharp for a very long time, especially since its just a light duty knife for me. Also, I am quite curious about how the carbon fiber will hold up over the years, that also scares me with how long it will last because I got it with the intention of carrying it (paired with another knife) for a very long time, especially for the money thats put into it. I mean, my dad has been carrying his same little Kershaw 3115 (now made in China called the Coral Creek) with him for 30+ years and its been purely a good user knife, been through hell and back and held up. I just hope my 940-1 holds up at least as good as that (im sure i will treat it much better) and I can carry it for that long. I posted a comment on your instagram picture about the clip retention, although I see you have switched to a split arrow, when you had the original clip on, did the knofe ever slip almost out of your pocket? Happpened to me a couple times now and today it almost fell out. Scary.

I bought the original 940. Hopefully I won’t regret it. Could have. Gotten the 940-1 for an extra $80

Those screws sticking out in the handle are a show stopper for me.

Just bought a 940-1,what a beauty!!!

If you haven't already , you should def check out the 940-1501 , it's a KnifeWorks exclusive and has CPM-20CV steel , black and blue g10 and open construction with blue standoffs for $199.95 (used to be $179.95) ... I have that and the two here , can't live without them !!! lol

Good video! I agree the carbon does look nice on this and I really like the blue standoffs and flow through design on the 940-1. But like you I am also concerned about the durability of the handle (since I plan to use whichever one I get a lot and not just collect it) And I also agree some of the grinds I've seen on the 940-1 have been pretty bad for a $300 (CAD) knife. I also agree that the screws showing is pretty terrible for such an expensive knife. One guy i talked to was able to find screws with the same heads that were slightly shorter so they did not show through, but you should not have to do that. Overall I think the 940 likely be more durable and I still think it looks good with the green and purple back spacer.

Great video dude!! I am 16 years old and have been looking at both of these knives for a long time now. I couldn't agree with u more regarding the S90V compared to the S30V. Being 16 i am not a very good sharpener and i feel like the S90V would be very hard to sharpen all tho the 940-1 is bad ass!! But i feel like im not going to need to sharpen my knife that often so when i get enough money I am totally getting the 940-1! thanks for the video!!

I paid $ 180.00 for a crooked river . I had to check to be sure it wasn't a clone . A$17.00 ganzo has better fit and finish . Now is it to much to ask for a knife that cost so much more be so much better !!?

I respect that you want to care for your knifes, but if its a collectors knife leave it in the box or display case. If its an EDC then don’t be afraid to drop it! It isn’t worth it ruining your day. I have owned a ton of knifes but only 5 high quality ones (excludes my kitchen knives). When I was 11 I saved up all my money and bought a $50 single blade folding knife for Scouts. That was 1994. 10 years later when I bought my AR from Gander Mountain I saw the 530 and said this is the knife I would grow old with. I actually ended up giving it to my mom when the 531 S30V became available and she continues to drop it constantly and uses it daily as a paramedic. I drop mine non stop and I know that G10 is different from CF but the CF should handle drops no problem. The closest knife i have to a collectors knife is a Benchmade Emerson Spec War CQC7 which go up in value every year and even that knife I’m not afraid to pry with or drop it. My honest recommendation to everyone is for an EDC buy something you are not afraid to scratch up and drop. Like the video creator mentioned S90V may be more difficult for some to sharpen so if you are going to get something that is harder than S30V then I would recommend you ensure you always strop it after each use. You could probably go 3-6 months only stropping and some super soft touch up. Then just send it in to be sharpened at Benchmade. That CF Osborne is sexy!

Just ordered a dash one today. Ever try Rob with his ApostleP RU-vid channel for resharpening? Does an excellent job.

asian kyle eats ramen, drinks mountain dew and punches holes in his drywall. has nice knives too!

CF scales---if it has texture then it looks/feels good. But when the furface is smooth and maybe shiny it looks cheap and plasticy. So would it still have been wortht he added cost? Just to have an "exotic" scale material? Might not even be solid CF. And as mentioned their's no weight advantage...or not felt. Blade steels---also "as mentioned" S90V is much harder to sharpen and is brittle. And not needed for "everyday tasks". S30V or even VG10 will do just fine...is much easier to shparen...better for most who have little blade sharpening experince...how often does the "average entusiast" sharpen their knives? HONESTLY. It's not like most sharpen 100 blades a week ...nor have most appreenticed under a "blad sharpening master" for 10 years...shaprening over 5000 blades...it's a skill...not going to develop sharpening 1 blade once a month on a Spyderco Sharpmaker :)

good review of two great blades. :)

I just received my 940-1 and am returning it immediately the knife is unnecessarily light due to the cf scales and way too blade heavy and I dislike the feel and everything about the carbon fiber scales minus the look. I already ordered the original 940, the s90v blade seems awesome though.

Thanks for making this video! I am going to get the 940-1 and add a custom blue pocket clip(: I will probably get the regular version later.

Premium knives shouldn't have any blade play. The 940-1 is sweet, but bad QC is unacceptable.

Should i get the 940 or 300-1?

I've heard otherwise that benchmades have better heat treating compared to Spyderco...

i have a 484-1 far superior knife. as for my carbon fiber handle, it is light as a feather but, hard as a FUCKING ROCK!. Its my edc. i'm an installer and use it on everything 6 days a week. i've dropped it in the street a few times. not a mark on the knife anywhere! CF is set with epoxy or like chemical, way harder than any "normal" material.

How did you get benchmade to send you the pocket clip?

Have you gotten your hands on a 940-2 yet?

If you are worried about sharpening the 940-1 or any other knife with harder to sharpen steel get you some diamond stones like dmt or a sharpening system with diamond stones like kme or lansky. The diamond stones sharpen way easier than Synthetic or natural stones.

Any way you can swap the blades between the two?

I just got mine l

............is come out with another titanium handle version of this but instead of having all your screws in your liners blah blah blah plus a blade in CPM S110V steel.

Just use it, every three or four years spent 90 bucks and buy new handle covers

Its hair splitting ! Not hair popping !

Field test that knife then

Carbon fiber is stronger than steel bud.

Carbon fiber is very hard, so it's super unlikely that u could chip it

M

940-2 in g10 is the best

I have both. Like the original 940 more for EDC so I sold it and bought RBW CF scales for my 535 instead. Anyone that's worried about scratches on their edc knife should pull their balls out of their wife's purse.