quote:

Originally posted by piedrarc:
My wife is a Warden for CDFW, it's called Fish and Wildlife now. I'm gonna have to ask her about this knife.

Yes please! I would love any information that she or her colleagues could provide. I'd be very appreciative.

I picked up something of a rarity a few weeks ago.
This is an Ares 730BT that has been used and, frankly, abused/loved/neglected. What makes it unique is that the blade is completely sterile, no Benchmade logo, steel type, or Elishewitz's markings anywhere. I've only seen one sterile-bladed Ares in the past, and that was an uncoated blade that was meant as a pre-production evaluation knife that Elishewitz himself owned.

The seller's pics:

Look at these washers! lol


Look at the built-up pocket lint!
Also interesting is that he frame has three different AXIS lock spring holes drilled instead of one...most likely to see what spring weight/position would work the best.


Also unique is that the backspacer was made out of G10 rather than the plastic seen on a production model. The only other G10 spacer I've seen is on the 58 prototypes. The G10 is the lower one, above it is a standard production. Also missing is the tabs to sit the spacer easily between the frame.

Fascinating. And, good lord those washers...

quote:

Originally posted by Kravashera:
Fascinating. And, good lord those washers...

Yeah, pretty ridiculous.
I replaced them with phosphor bronze washers.

Well this absolutely minty-fresh new-in-box Ares 732SBT fell into my lap today. It's difficult to find this or the non-serrated edged versions of the most ubiquitous Ares in such fine shape.

You're making me want to put my Spydies away and carry the Ares for a while.

quote:

Originally posted by usp_fan:
You're making me want to put my Spydies away and carry the Ares for a while.

Go for it!

I rarely carry a spyderco anymore. My first real knife decades ago was a Delica. I used to carry either a Matriarch or some type of hawkbill as they are very proficent fighters, but now that balisong are legal to carry here, even those have been sitting in the safe. Even lugging a balisong around I still carry an Ares always.

The Ares is a rather specialized design compare to most folders out there. It's not utilitarian at all, slippery unless you've practiced with it regularly-- it's like driving a bike or cage with a shitload of horsepower without knowing how to harness it all efficiently and safely.

I picked up this well-loved and broken-tipped Ares 735SBT on the cheap, mostly because I wanted it for spare parts.



Then I got an itch I had to scratch.
So I reground the tip into a sort of Americanized tanto. Then etched and stripped the blade, gave it a slight patina and voila! The only Ares Tanto that I've ever seen.

Great job on the reprofile. Looks good as a tanto too