Dating back to 1979, Benchmade has a long and illustrious history that’s included a huge array of iconic knives. In more recent years, the Oregon City outfit has been digging deep into its historical archives in order to deliver updated reissues of fan favorites from yesteryear. And after recently unveiling a Model 42-inspired balisong and a modern interpretation of its legendary 710 folder, the American blade-maker has now revived and modernized another discontinued knife from its past with the Benchmade Mini Bedlam.
Retracing The Bedlam
The original Bedlam 8600 first broke cover in early 2010. Spanning nearly 10”, the knife featured a roughly 4-inch-long, Scimitar-shaped blade, an Auto AXIS mechanism, and a sweeping ergonomic handle design that afforded a tremendous amount of grip whether clutched normally or reverse-gripped. Around a decade later, Benchmade released the Bedlam 860 — a more civilian-friendly, non-automatic variant. It’s rumored that the 860 was originally commissioned by the Prince of Jordan for their Royal Guard.
With its super unique and distinctive blade shape and tactical and self-defense capabilities, the Bedlam models quickly gained a bit of a cult following, though the plug was eventually pulled on production for both the 8600 and 860. Fast forward to today, however, and Benchmade has now revived a modernized take on the knife that gains some key material upgrades and more EDC-able dimensions, all while retaining the original Bedlams’ Scimitar silhouette, ergonomic handle design, and overall character and charm.
Getting A Handle On It
Spanning 8.63” — making it a full-size knife despite being a “mini-spec” — the Mini Bedlam is constructed around a set of steel liners. Separated by a knurled, aftermarket-inspired back-spacer, the handle features a sweeping shape with a pronounced trigger finger groove, a generously sized middle-finger notch, and a third curving depression for the handler’s ring and pinky. The trio of notches coupled with the sweeping blade shape and large front finger guard collectively afford incredible levels of grip — allowing it to lend itself to both hard workhorse use, and CQC applications. The steel liners come cloaked in either textured G10 or textured marbled carbon fiber scales.
Jambiya-Inspired EDC
The Mini Bedlam’s handle comes paired with a 3.45” blade sporting a Persian-style Scimitar-s blade shape — also known as a “Jambiya,” This sweeping blade profile consists of a long trailing point design featuring a knurled thumb ramp and partial serrations. Secured using Benchmade’s signature AXIS locking mechanism, the blade is constructed from Crucible Industries’ super premium CPM S90V super steel — with a stonewashed finish on the marbled carbon model and a black Cerakote finish on the G10 versions. Deployed via a thumb-stud setup, its blade is also slightly thicker than Benchmade’s usual stock, with the Mini Bedlam’s blade clocking in at 0.114” thick.
Meet The Mini Bedlam Family
Benchmade has initially debuted the Mini Bedlam in a trio of different variants. Weighing 4.91oz, there’s the fully-blacked-out, G10-handled 865SBK and the black and coyote G10 865BK-01. Tipping the scales at a tad less at 4.67oz, the top-of-the-line variant is the marbled carbon 865-02 model, which also gains dark copper PVD coated accents throughout, including its clip, pivot collar, and back-spacer. All three versions are made by hand in America to Benchmade’s rigorous standards.
Benchmade’s Included Extras
Like all Benchmade knives, the price of the new Mini Bedlam includes a lifetime warranty, as well as the company’s LifeSharp services, which will clean, tune, and factory-sharpen the knife for free, for life — you just pay for shipping.
Why We Love It
The Mini Bedlam is objectively a super unique knife, yet it’s surprisingly utilitarian. Its Scimitar blade profile makes it excellent for slashing and piercing — making it excel at tactical and self-defense applications while still lending itself to EDC use far better than hawkbill blades and karambits. We also love how the release of the Mini Bedlam directly stems from Benchmade keeping its finger on the pulse of the knife and EDC communities. With the 8600 and 860’s cult following, people were clamoring for a new iteration of the knife, so it’s awesome to see Benchmade take this into account and ultimately answer the call. We also love Benchmade’s use of an aftermarket-inspired backspacer, as it’s another example of them looking to their community for inspiration and direction.
Spec Sheet
Brand: Benchmade
Model: Mini Bedlam
SKUs: 865-02, 865BK-01, 865SBK
Overall Length: 8.63”
Blade Length: 3.45”
Blade Thickness: 0.114”
Blade Steel: CPM S90V
Handle Material: G10 or Marbled Carbon Fiber
Locking Mechanism: AXIS Lock
Weight: 4.91 (G10) or 4.67 (CF)
Manufacturing Origin: USA
MSRP: $350 (G10) or $450 (CF)
Pricing & Availability
The Benchmade Mini Bedlam is available for order now with pricing set at $350 for the G10 handle (865SBK and 865BK-01) models and $450 for the marbled carbon (865-02) variant.
Recap
Benchmade Mini Bedlam
Benchmade revives its Scimitar-shaped Bedlam knife for the modern era, bestowing the new Mini Bedlam with key material upgrades and more EDC-friendly dimensions.
