Back in 1988, I had just returned from overseas and was fortunate to be assigned to Ft. Lewis, Washington. This posting allowed me to visit with my old Special Forces buddy and fellow TK writer, Chuck Karwan. Chuck then introduced me to the Oregon Knife Collectors (OKC) Show held in Eugene, Oregon, and many of the highly talented knife makers who live in the Pacific Northwest. One of those makers was the late Bob Lum. Bob’s knives had always impressed me; his attention to detail, fit and finish was among the best. Bob Lum’s knives performed and yet they always had a touch of elegance to their design. One of Bob Lum’s last collaboration projects was with another Pacific NW icon, Benchmade Knives. I always enjoy testing knives, but like everything in life, some things stand out, and the Benchmade/Lum Dèjávoo folders are two knives that proved to be absolute joys to work with.
Describing Two Dèjávoos
There are two models, the 740 Dèjávoo, and the 745 Mini-Dèjávoo. Both models have blades of S30V stainless steel, HRC 58-60, which is described as a “High Ground Utility” blade. The Mini-Dèjávoo blade is about 3-1/4 inches long, 0.114 inches thick, and just over 1 inch wide. The handle scales are contoured G-10, with a length of about 4-1/2 inches, and the Mini weighs in at 3.5 ounces. The 740 Dèjávoo’s blade is just under 4 inches long, is .125 inches thick and about 1-1/8 inches wide. The Mini Dèjávoo’s blade is slightly wider in proportion to its length than the Dèjávoo is. The G-10 handle of the Dèjávoo is about 5-1/4 inches long, and the Dèjávoo weighs in at 4.1 ounces. On the left side of the blade is the Benchmade Butterfly logo; on the right is Bob Lum’s “Chop.” Both models have a pocket clip on the right side and are tip-down carry.
One word about the pocket clip: I am not exactly sure why, but I found it was much easier than normal to clip the knives into my pocket. Retention was fine; I never had a problem with either knife model climbing out of my pocket, perhaps because they ride so low. They also did not seem to tear up the edge of my pocket, as I have found with some other pocket clips.
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