Benchmade

Benchmade bought Lone Wolf Knives late last year and has assimilated some of the Lone Wolf product into the Benchmade line. Benchmade is calling the Paul Knives their "AXIAL Series," which I won't cover since nothing is new except the butterfly on the blade and new names and model numbers.



The Double Action Harsey T2 Auto, one of the sweetest autos out there, has been renamed the model 3800 NTK and is available only with a Cerakote Gen II coated D2 blade in plain or combo edge. MSRP is $200.



Lone Wolf's Diablo double action auto and manual opener have been reincarnated into the HK line as the Scorch and Fugitive, respectively, with some new blade shapes in N680 high corrosion resistant steel. The Scorch adds a reverse tanto blade to the existing spear point and the Fugitive has a recurved drop point. MSRP is $160 and $130, respectively.





Benchmade is now turning Lone Wolf into an "outdoor" brand with some of the old folders and some new product.

Many of Benchmade's new knives of interest have already been announced over the past few months, though many have not yet made it into production.

From my perspective, the biggest news from Benchmade was the Model 915 Triage which Alan has covered in detail above. This was a knife that was long overdue.


Model 53 Mangus

The Model 53 Mangus is a Charles Marlowe design. Unlike most balis, the G10 handles of the 53 are fairly ergonomic, with a gentle curve that fits the hand far better than typical bali straight handles. The 3.1 inch drop point flat ground blade is D2 steel at 60-62 HRc. The blade is satin finished, uncoated. Recall that D2 is not quite stainless, but nearly so. There's a modest thumb ramp on the blade and an even more modest half guard of sorts.

The backspacer, latch and catch are CNC machined aluminum. Weight is just 3.5 oz. The tip-up pocket clip is reversible. All in all, this is one of the most practical of bali designs and would seem to make a better wilderness survival blade than most balis. MSRP is $180.




Model 581 Barrage

The AXIS assisted-opening Barrage got a nice upgrade to M390 steel and G10 handles with aluminum bolster. MSRP starts at $220. A tanto blade was added to the original Barrage, creating the model 583 with a MSRP of $140.




Model 147/148 Nim Cub II

The Nim Cub is reintroduced with Noryl GTX molded handles and 154CM blade in either a drop point or tanto point, plain or conbo edge. The sheath is molded FRN and is molle compatible.




Harley Davidson

The T-Rod is something of a novelty knife, a half-tang fixed blade that becomes a push dagger with a flick of the wrist. The 3.33 in. modified clip point blade is 440C with a full swedge on the spine. The CNC machined handle is black anodized aluminum with a lanyard hole. A button lock is recessed into the handle. Press the button and with a flick the blade swivels down to the dagger position. A nice leather belt sheath is included. MSRP is $135.




Benchmade is a Knife Rights Sharper Future Legal Fund Platinum Donor

Support companies that support Knife Rights.