The Best Benchmade Pocket Knives for EDC

Over the last approximately four and a half decades, Benchmade has slowly carved out a reputation as one of the most eminent knife-makers in the country — if not the world. And while there’s no denying that the Oregon City outfit has since established a devoted cult following, it can still be tricky for outsiders to fully wrap their head around the company and understand just what it is that makes the company and its knives so special, what sets them apart from other brands and blades on the market, and why they come at such a premium price — all questions that we’ll be delving into today, alongside a brief history of the firm and our top picks for the best Benchmade pocket knives for everyday carry. 

Though it’s widely recognized as an undisputed world leader in the knife space, Benchmade’s history is completely inauspicious. It began in 1979 with Les de Asis trying to make a cheaper but better butterfly knife, known to many as Bali-Songs. He designed and created the first of his blades in his garage, and it was soon a hit among the local population of flippers. Thus he created Bali-Song, the company that would one day become Pacific Cultery Corp. Fast forward several years, and PCC would later fail due to issues of quality, delivery, and price, but from those ashes, however, would rise Benchmade. This monicker is derived from the manner in which these knives were created: with precision machining, meticulous assembly, and hand grinding, sharpening, and finishing — all crafted in-house by experts atop individual workbenches rather than on a traditional mass-production assembly line. 

Once Les and his team expanded from their Bali-Song roots and began making traditional knives of all kinds, they exploded into the knife world. Able to create precision parts mechanically that were then assembled and inspected by hand, Benchmade created a whole new way of manufacturing knives that offered the absolute best of both worlds. Blazing trails as the first company to use a laser cutter and employ steels too hard to stamp, Benchmade would legitimately revolutionize contemporary knifemaking, with a spirit of innovation that still lives on today — despite Les passing away in early 2020. 

Benchmade objectively produces premium knives, though it’s far more than just the brand’s high-end nature that makes its knives so special and so sought-after. On top of pretty much exclusively utilizing premium materials, Benchmade’s knives boast a level of build quality and fit and finish that’s very seldom seen outside of small, boutique knife-makers. It doesn’t end there, however, as another factor that sets Benchmade’s blades apart from its competitors is its absolutely stellar designs, with highly-calculated shapes, angles, ergonomics, and profiles, all meticulously brought to life using high-end constructions and super exacting quality control. 

Additionally, Benchmade also sets itself apart from the crowd via its proclivity for and history of innovation. From envelop-pushing manufacturing techniques to game-changing locking mechanism designs, the immense thought that goes into every aspect of every one of its knives has played a major role in Benchmade earning its eminent reputation in the knife space. What’s more, the Oregon-based bladesmith also routinely partners with some of the world’s most revered knife designers to produce an ever-growing catalog of legendary fixed blades and folders for everything from outdoor to tactical to EDC use. Lastly, every year, Benchmade takes in some 337,000lbs of various blade steels and transforms the material into 1,070,000 blades — all of which are machined, assembled, finished, and sharpened entirely by hand. The fact the company is able to operate at this scale while maintaining such exacting quality control standards is truly phenomenal — and is yet another reason why Benchmade is so revered. 

There isn’t one single reason that makes Benchmade’s knives so expensive, but rather an amalgamation or factors that collectively result in the brand’s more exorbitant pricing. One of the first and most obvious of which is the company’s use of premium materials, which unsurprisingly come at premium prices (which are passed on to the customer). What’s more, these materials include blade steel constructions that boast incredible levels of hardness — blade steels that are not only very costly, but are also extremely difficult to work with due to how high up they sit on the Rockwell scale. The next major factor is undoubtedly Benchmade’s top-notch in-house manufacturing. Made in America, these knives are crafted and finished by hand by a team of specialists, ensuring ultra-high standards for fit and finish and overall quality control. 

Benchmade knives come straight from the factory with stellar build quality, excellent tuning, and razor-sharp edges. And while you’re no doubt paying a premium for getting an amazing blade right out of the box, Benchmade practically guarantees a lifetime of high-performance use thanks to the fact that all of its knives are not only backed by a lifetime warranty against any defects, but they also benefit from the brand’s LifeSharp service, which guarantees that Benchmade will disassemble, clean, re-tune, and resharpen any of its knives at its factory, for free, for life — a service that’s baked into the overall cost of each blade. When you combine its top-shelf materials, stellar craftsmanship, domestic manufacturing, precise tolerances, extreme quality control, lifetime warranty, and LifeSharp service, you should start to get a very clear picture of why Benchmade’s blades come with such steep MSRPs.

Benchmade Griptilian 

Best Affordable Pick: Perhaps one of the most popular Benchmade knives in production, the Griptilian is beloved for its various options as well as the injection-molded handle that is nearly impossible to drop and gives the knife its name. Ambidextrous opening and the ability to swap carry sides without incident gives the Griptilian the ability to work for anyone with hands, and probably those who just use their feet. Ranking a 58-60 on the Rockwell scale, this is plenty tough for all your everyday chores and can hold an edge for ages.

Benchmade Bugout

Best Overall EDC Pick: Penned by Ryan Dickman, the Benchmade Bugout was first released in 2017 and has since developed a much-deserved reputation as one of the best EDC knives of all time. From its use of premium materials, to ultra-low-profile and pocketable form, to its utilitarian design, there’s a laundry list of reasons why the Bugout has become one of Benchmade’s all-time best-selling knives. Mated to a 3.24” drop point blade, the Bugout’s handle features an AXIS lock and an integrated lanyard loop while clocking in at just 0.42” thick. What’s more, on top of a smaller Mini Bugout and a myriad of different full-size model variants offered with a plethora of different high-end blade and handle constructions, the immense popularity of this now-legendary EDC knife has also lead to an enormous wealth of available aftermarket upgrades and mods for the Bugout ranging from custom titanium handle scales to Tritium-equipped thumb-studs and AXIS sliders. 

Benchmade Barrage

Best Assisted Pick: Literally required for many police and military personnel, the Barrage is a true weapon that is geared for fighting rather than standard work, though you’ll find it more than equal to the task of hacking through paracord, slicing wires, or opening your mail. G10 scales on the side sunk into an aluminum bolster make the handle a heavy-duty piece of hardware that is only eclipsed by the M390 super steel blade. That material is made with a huge amount of Chromium, which makes this comparable to a premium socket wrench when it comes to surviving in the elements.

Benchmade 940 Osborne

Best Tactical Pick: Sleek and slender with a blade that is only 0.114 inches thick, this reverse tanto will simply disappear into your pocket. For both holding an edge and simple sharpening on the go, the S30V steel acquits itself gloriously. If that doesn’t tickle you, then you can choose from Benchmade’s plethora of varieties, including one that has a CPM-S30V steel makeup. An anodized aluminum handle gives it a sense of sturdiness while backed by stainless steel liners, but also keeps the weight under 3 ounces, nearly unheard of for a knife of this pedigree. In addition to being produced in more high-end variants, Benchmade has also recently debuted a new automatic version of the Osborne. 

Benchmade Freek

Best Workhorse Pick: With an ultra-grippy textured G-10 handle and a 0.114” thick drop point blade with a razor-sharp edge, the Benchmade Freek is an American-made workhorse of a folder that’s as rugged as it is utilitarian. Deployed via a dual thumb-stud setup and secured via a super-sturdy AXIS lock, the Freek’s blade is comprised of a 3.60” CPM M4 steel blade that’s been fortified via a black oxide finish. On top of its grippy, ergonomic scales, the Freek also sports heavy jimping at the base of its blade’s spine, affording excellent grip even under hard use. Accented via a red base layer and a split-arrow pocket clip, the Benchmade Freek is also offered in a smaller but markedly more premium carbon-scaled, S90V-steeled Mini-spec spanning just a tad over 7.00” overall. 

Benchmade Adamas

Best Outdoor Pick: Looking at the tactical drop-point blade, this has a distinctly aggressive look that belies how utterly useful the knife is for average duties and EDC. The holes set into the G10 handle give you a pressure grip for your fingers that feels incredible and adds to the precision of using the knife. Designed in part by an Army Ranger and equally beloved by civilian blademasters and military service-people, this is like a personalized off-road vehicle: It goes anywhere, tackles every challenge, and will stand up against the worst conditions you can find. It certainly bears a bit of bulk for an everyday knife, but that is the girth that comes with true grit and substance.

Benchmade Infidel

Best Auto Pick: Since debuting in its first iteration in 2006, the Benchmade Infidel has stood as one of the most revered automatic out-the-front knives that money can buy. Tipping the scales at around 4.5oz, this tactical OTF model is crafted around a handle that’s been precision machined from a solid block of 6061-T6 aluminum billet before being treated to an anodized finish and a ramped, CNC’d double-action thumb-slider, and a PVD-coated aluminum deep-carry pocket clip. This impressive handle setup has been paired with a 3.91” symmetrical fuller-equipped double-edge D2 dagger blade with a black Cerakote finish.

The Best Pocket Knives To Carry Daily

Benchmade knives are great, but there are certainly other trust-worthy blades out there to carry on the daily. For a closer look, dive into our guide of the best pocket knives for EDC.