Received my 581 on Friday and it is my new favorite Bechmade folder.

I am a big fan of the 585 Mini Barrage and 583 Warn Tanto, but was never as attracted to the 580 Barrage. I don't like the Valox handle scales on the 580, though they seem well suited to the smaller 585 handle. Neither am I a fan of the 580 blade grind, though it is certainly versatile and efficient. The 581, though, fixes all the issues I had with the 580 and then some.

The 581 blade has a high primary grind accented by a small decorative swedge grind in the front half of the spine. In general, it is similar to the grind on the 585, which I think is beautiful. The 581 blade not only cuts well, but has a graceful and classical profile. The added touch of the M390 blade steel gives the knife step up in both performance and exclusivity.

The Aluminum bolsters and G-10 scales of the 581 certainly answer any complaints about the solidity of the 580 handle. The knife feels rigid and muscular in your hand without being rather hefty feeling like the Warn Tanto. The surface of the bolsters gets a thumbs up from me. The bolsters have the signature Barrage rib grooves, and also a shallow horizontal fluted surface. Finally, the entire bolster has a stone washed finish which eliminates some of the brightness of the natural aluminim. In the catalog pictures, the bolsters look very bright, in a somewhat unfinished way. The actual finish on the bolsters is slightly subdued, which I am glad of. One could complain that they aren't Titanium, but that would border on snobbery.

Lastly, a black oxide split arrow clip blends in well with the black G-10 handle scale nicely, making the clip very unobtrusive.

The 581 is a very solid and light weight knife, with a great blade profile and grind, state of the art blade steel, METAL bolsters - how long have we been asking for that? - G-10 scales, and the Assisted Axis. To my perspective, it is the new ultimate Benchmade folder, eclipsing both the AFCK and 710. At this point, I think the 581 will only be surrendering pocket time to my 585s when I'm at work, and my 520/15020 hybrid for weekend work use.

Oh...and the blade is marked Fir[s]t Production, 246 of 1000, is perfectly ground, sharpened and centered.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Po - The Dragon Warrior,

Firt production...?
As in a typo instead of First.

and not to be a stickler..this reads like a product review

Some of us old timers stick product reviews in the general discussion forum. We are cranky that way.

Well thanks Steve, now I will need one of these... sigh.

quote:

Originally posted by Mark G.:
Well thanks Steve, now I will need one of these... sigh.

+1. That's exactly what I was thinking.

Oh yeah, you guys definately do. It is all the good things about the 580 Barrage, and none of the blah things.

quote:

Originally posted by TheBlueram234:
Firt production...?
...

Doh! ...could have been worse.

Po, we have fairly similar tastes in knives, so yeah, that's what I'm thinking. I am, however, still not sold on the bolsters.

How does the blade tip look, strengthwise? I had concerns about the standard Barrage.

I do have a Warn tanto, and while I'm not really a tanto guy, I like the knife alot and carry it often.

Thanks for the review Steve...I have the 580 Proto with the full G-10 scales and wonder if the scales on the 581 have the same screw layout, I'm assuming they do.

I'm thinking of getting one when I can and switching out the scales.

I'm not sold on the shiny bolsters but the rest is cool, I like the modified blade shape over that of the stock 580.

Great review, Po!

ah..
cool
I thought they had actually misprinted (first) on the blade...


Hey, I'm cool with wherever you old timers
want to make postings.
This Grasshopper is willing to learn from the wisdom of the ELDERS.

PS
I like the Ninja avatar Mark