Location
Oregon, USA
Company Overview
Benchmade Knife Company was founded by Les de Asis in 1979. His interest in knifemaking started with his custom renditions of the Bali-song, a type of butterfly knife which came from the Philippines. From Bali-songs, the company expanded its portfolio to accommodate all types of portable knives - from folding to tactical and hunting knives. Later on, the company created chef’s knives for the kitchen as well.
Benchmade aims to capture the strengths of US-made knives - combining machine-like precision with hand-assembled elements. Using laser cutters and automatic knife manufacturing lines, the company supplies sturdy knives to military units and international organizations.
Knife Types
Benchmade is focused on custom kitchen cutlery and outdoor knives.
Best known for
Benchmade is best known for its outdoor knives such as tactical and hunting knives.
Steel Used
Benchmade blades are made out of tough stainless steel such as Crucible’s CPM-S30V and CPM-3V. These contain high amounts of Chromium and Vanadium which are known for hardness and edge resistance. These are perfect for small fixed blades. Kitchen blades also use Crucible’s CPM-154 - a high-chromium variant perfect for cutlery.
Handles Used
Benchmade uses glass-based resin G-10 and 6061-T6 aluminum handles to withstand the elements.
Sharpening & Maintenance
The best way to maintain a knife is determined by the steel hardness grade and the angle of the knife edge.
COMPANY knives have a high hardness grade of 60-65 HRC. The knife edge varies between 30-35 degrees for outdoor knives, and 14 degrees for its proprietary SelectEdge angle for kitchen knives. As such, hone the knife at its original angle using the Japanese Approach.
Regular honing removes the need for sharpening, which must only be done occasionally. A whetstone is the most recommended material for this purpose.
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