Benchmade Knives

Benchmade Knives is a cutlery company based out of Oregon City, Oregon specializing in high grade production knives. Benchmade is one of the most widely recognized knife manufactures and is known for making high quality knives and tools proudly made in the USA.

Benchmade breaks their knives up into 3 general classes: Gold, Blue, and Black. All 3 of these classes are made in America. For a while Benchmade also offered a “Red Class” of knife that was made overseas however Benchmade discontinued these knives in 2010. The Gold class of course refers to their highest quality knives. These blades use exotic materials and super expensive steels. The Blue Class is their more standard class. This is where you will find their standard high quality knives. The Black Class is reserved for their extreme duty knives designed mainly for law enforcement, military and public safety groups although some models are available to civilians.

I recommend purchasing Benchmade Knives at Amazon and BladeHQ. They both have an excellent selection, very competitive prices, free shipping, and great customer service.

Benchmade Knife Reviews:

What follows are all my reviews of Benchmade knives. This includes reviews ofsome of the best Benchmade knives on the market. Enjoy!

Benchmade History

Have you ever walked into a gun shop and noticed a small metal and glass case of knives somewhere in the corner? If so, you will likely be familiar with the Benchmade Knife Company. They have become a standard fixture in places like sporting good stores, hardware stores, and local gun shops.

The company that became Benchmade was founded in California in the late 70’s by Les De Asis. When founded, the company was called “Balisong.” This was largely due to founder Les’ desire to create higher quality Bali-Song knives that he had owned and used in his youth. His aim was to use modern materials and manufacturing methods to improve upon the historical design.

After it’s inception, Bali-Song was manufacturing handmade knives out of a small shop in California. Les utilized basic techniques and technologies to manufacture custom knives side by side with associate Jody Sampson who ground the blades. It was largely due to the success of these custom knives that led to the creation of the Model 68.

Over the next several years Bali-Song diversified their offerings into other folding knives and fixed blades and ultimately changed their name to Pacific Cutlery Corp. Unfortunately, for Les and his partners they were unable to control quality and ultimately Pacific Cutlery went under. In 1988 the company was reincorporated as Benchmade Knife Company, and Les brought it to market with a new version of the Model 68.

In 1990 Les relocated his newly re-structured company to Clackamas, Oregon. It was here, among many other production knife companies that they were able to take advantage of all that modern technology had to offer. Benchmade was the first production knife company to employ laser cutters. This allowed them to work with harder and more durable steels, something that would be essential to their success.

As Benchmade grew, they were able to begin producing knives to fulfill government contracts. They moved their facility to Oregon City to accommodate their growing production needs. Benchmade is, to this day, one of the most recognizable companies whose name is synonymous with American-Made quality.

Best Benchmade Knives and Popular Models:

Griptillian – The Griptillian is many people’s first introduction to a higher end knife. Comes in two sizes the Mini Griptilian at 2.91 blade, and the large at 3.45”. They come in variety of steels, most notably 154CM and S30V with some special editions having M4, M390, and a variety of other steels.

Barrage – The Barrage is one of Benchmade’s AXIS Assist knives. While not technically an automatic these are assisted opening knives. These also come in full size with a 3.6” blade, and a mini that rings in at the same size as a mini Griptillian (2.91”). These are also offered in an array of steels, the base models are S30V.

Pardue 530/531 – Mel Pardue designed a lot of notable knives from Benchmade, but one bears some special consideration. The 530/531 is a slim profiled folding knife with either FRN or G10 handles and nested partial liners.

Monolock – In my opinion, the Monolock is Benchmade’s answer to the Sebenza. Although some may say they modernized the design. The monolock incorporates bearing pivots and milled Ti pocket clips as the most noticeable improvements.They come in two sizes, which seems to be a trend with Benchmade, large with a 3.73” M390 blade, and small clocks in at 3.24”

Valet – The Valet is one of the author’s personal favorites in the Benchmade lineup. Small, thin, with a deep carry clip, and beautiful grey G10 handles. The Valet is a classy folding knife suitable for an office environment or a dress occasional without sacrificing capability or strength. The blade measure in at 2.96” of M390 steel.

Osbourne 940/941 – The Osbourne 940 is likely one of the best received knives that Benchmade has ever put out. Then they REALLY knocked out out of the part when they released the 941 with linerless carbon fiber handles and an S90V blade. The 940/1 has a 3.4” blade, and are available with anodized aluminum handles, or as I mentioned before, linerless carbon fiber.

Model 62/63/67 – The Modern Benchmade Balisong, and the grandchildren to the historical model 68. It comes with a 4.25” blade and stainless steel handles. Typically featuring D2 tool steel for the blade, and is available in three different blade styles. The WeeHawk, Bowie, or Tanto.

Influence:

Axis Lock – Bill McHenry and Jason Williams are the responsible parties for bringing the Axis lock technology to Benchmade Knives. They are also the designers behind the Infidel OTF family, and the 710 Series. Doug Ritter explains the axis lock’s function like this, “Boiled down to its basics, the lock is comprised of a spring-loaded bar which rides in a fore and aft slot cut out of both liners/side plates, traversing completely across the slot the blade folds in to and out of. It engages a ramped notch cut into the tang portion of the knife blade when it is opened. The knife tang is thus wedged solidly between a stop bar and this AXIS Lock bar.” It is ambidextrous, strong, and simple to operate. It is also a locking mechanism that is exclusive to Benchmade.

Collaborations – Benchmade has worked with many notable knife designers to create models in their lineup. Some of my favorites are the Shane Sibert designed 755 Mini Pocket Rocket, and Adamas, or the Butch Ball flipper. These partnerships have done a lot for Benchmade in terms of diversifying their offerings and also helped the knife makers by popularizing their names.

Steel Use – Another important thing that Benchmade has done since it’s inception was use a diverse array of steels in their work. During a season when other companies were using Chinese steels in their knives, or when every high end knife only had S30V in it Benchmade was pumping out knives with CPM154, S30V, M390, and many other steels. To this day their flagship knife model the Griptillian is offered in several standard super steels.

Benchmade Knives – Final Thoughts

Sometimes thought of as “the gunshop brand,” Benchmade Knives has made a name for themselves through military contracts and a consistent drive to make better knives out of better materials. They are often someone’s first “nice knife,” and really, there couldn’t be a better company to fill that need.