Hello all, I was able to land both a Jan 2010 755 Proto and a Feb 2010 Proto. The Feb 2010 Proto is the Prototype to the knife Benchmade produced to sell. The Jan proto is the rough design. There are some things different between the two, and I take it that it is the reason for such a long delay in production. I will explain the differences that I noticed with words and pics below to help for those who care to know. First of all the thumbstub has been moved up towards the pivot screw a tad bit. Also the Feb thumbstud is more refined at the tip, not as sharp as the Jan proto one is. Next is the CLIP, The clip has ben changed in position and angle. The tip of the clip on the Feb 755 is rounded off underneath, while the Jan knife has a front lip. The ANGLE of the Feb knife is tilted back towards the spine of the knife, while the Jan knife goes straight down. The G10 on the front of the knives is the same, while the back of the Feb knife has smaller steps cut into it compard to the larger ones on the Jan proto. The G10 on the Feb knife also has a cut out on the big slab of g10 to get your thumb down there easier. The Titanium on the knives is also different. The Feb knife has a bead blasted finish, while the Jan knife has more on a smooth stonewash finish ( I know its not stonwas, just saying that is what it feels like). There is also a change to the tang of the frame lock. The Jan knife is straight across at the point of lock up with the knife, While the Feb knife has a 90 degree angle cut out of it for lock up. Between the two, there is no side to side blade play in the Feb knife, where the Jan knife has side to side play. Both knives have vertical play, As Shane said his knife is made for applying pressure down, not to be played with to find vertical play. This is my own opinnion of what Shane said to me. Also the (I cant think of its name right now) but the small half circle that make the frame lock work has to modified on the Feb knife. It was made wider than the Jan knifes. I think this is everything, Please see pics below to see what I am talking about in the above.

Thumbstud:



Clip:





G10:


Titanium:


Tang:




Detent " Relief" (Cut out in the tang):


Overall pics of each:

This message has been edited. Last edited by: RUKUS6150maniac,

Wow, Ruckus this is a great write up of comparisons! You got a good eye and I appreciate the pics to show the differences. I like what they did with the frame lock with that 90 degree cutout. It makes accepting the delay a lot more easier now. Thank you so much for doing this.

really interesting ...
thanks for the pics and the comparaison

Your very welcome.

Yeah, I agree this is a wicked post! Thanks for the comparison, real interesting!

quote:

the small half circle that make the frame lock

It's called "relief".

Thanks for the write up and pictures!

Great comparisons, thanks! The Feb model looks like it's a better carry, glad they took the time to do the re-working of the clip, especially.

Okay so you guys tell me how this works. So the Jan proto is the original proto. The Feb proto is the one they actually modeled the released ones after. Does this make the Jan one more desired (or worthy), even though the Feb one has the improvements?

Not sure Siu, But I have BOTH haha. Yes the Jan proto is the Proto to the Feb proto which is the Proto to the production 755. Does that make sense hahah

quote:

Originally posted by Siu Blue Wind:
Okay so you guys tell me how this works. So the Jan proto is the original proto. The Feb proto is the one they actually modeled the released ones after. Does this make the Jan one more desired (or worthy), even though the Feb one has the improvements?

In a way it is more desirable from a collector's point of view, but the differences are so minor that it won't really matter too much.
630 Skirmish proto with 3 holes in the blade is a better example of a collector's piece.