Benchmade Gold Class 707-161 Sequel Knife — Quick Review

There are a nearly infinite number of amazing knives on the market.  Every week, I find at least one or two more knives that I think would be nice to add to my collection.  Just last week the most recent Benchmade Gold Class hit the shelves and this special knife is impressive.

Like each Gold Class, the knife is based on an existing knife being produced by Benchmade but then tricked out with all the bells and whistles you can imagine.  As Benchmade says on their website,

Benchmade builds knives for the most demanding customers, from special operations forces to elite backcountry hunters, and building for the best requires the best raw materials. We select premium blade steels and pair them with aerospace-grade handle materials to create premium-grade knives and tools that provide great value for our customer.

Add to the unique design elements the fact that a very limited number of these are produced and suddenly you have an instant collectible classic every time.  The 707-161 is based on the Benchmade Sequel knife.  This spectacular Gold Class edition boasts a 3-D machined titanium handle, a custom titanium pocket clip, and heat colored hardware.   The blade is super premium CPM-S90V stainless steel with a two tone finish–mostly dark acid washed with bright polish flats.  The most eye catching feature is the copper niobium inlays.  These inlays are taken from large copper cables that were built interspersed with NbTi (Niobium Titanium) filaments which were used in massive particle accelerators such as the Tevatron accelerator used at the Fermi National Accelerator Lab which resides just east of Batavia, Illinois.  Cut, insert and then polished to a beautiful shine, this inlay adds just the right amount of amazing to an already incredible knife.

The 707 Sequel AXIS folder is a McHenry & Williams design.  Built based on the earlier 705 model, the 707 is just slightly wider and significantly thinner than the 705.  This makes, at least in my estimation, for a better grip on the handle.  The blade is also slightly wider, which I prefer, and boasts more belly than the 7o5.  A larger belly improves the blade’s ability to slice because the larger curve continually changes the angle of the blade to the material being cut as you pull the blade through the material.  This increases the efficiency of your cut because the blade stays in contact with the material being cut for more of the cutting stroke.

Additionally, the 707 Sequel AXIS folder boasts the incredible Benchmade AXIS system.  If you have never used a knife with the AXIS system, you will quickly come to love it.  Benchmade describes the AXIS system as,

A patented Benchmade exclusive, AXIS® has been turning heads and winning fans ever since its introduction. A 100 percent ambidextrous design, AXIS® gets its function from a small, hardened steel bar that rides forward and back in a slot machined into both steel liners. The bar extends to both sides of the knife, spans the liners and is positioned over the rear of the blade. It engages a ramped tang portion of the knife blade when it is opened. Two omega-style springs, one on each liner, give the locking bar its inertia to engage the knife tang. As a result, the tang is wedged solidly between a sizable stop pin and the AXIS® bar itself. Available in manual, AXIS® Assist or Auto AXIS® configurations.

To me, the biggest draws of the AXIS system are first, that it is truly ambidextrous which not only makes it nice for our lefty friends but also makes it nice for rightys that find themselves suddenly needing their right hand to hold something in place while their left hand does the work, and second, that the AXIS is one of the most secure systems on the market to keep the blade locked open when using it increasing your safety and security.

The new Gold Class 707-161 is definitely a centerpiece addition to any fine collection.  Check it out here on our website, you will be glad you did.
SPECIFICATIONS:

• Blade Length: 2.95″
• Overall Length: 6.75″
• Blade Material: CPM-S90V
• Blade Finish: Dark Acid Wash / Bright Polish
• Handle Length: 3.8″
• Handle Material: 6AL-4V Titanium / Copper Niobium
• Weight: 2.6 oz.