If Benchmade never released another knife again, they’d still go down as arguably the best to ever do it. Normalizing premium materials and combining them with construction and design that beckons real-world use, the Oregon-based knifemaker has plenty of outdoor and EDC blades to choose from. And with its latest release, a hunting knife unveiled at the SHOT Show this past week, they may have outdone even themselves.
The Bi-Metal Breakthrough
The Codex87 Horizon Edge doesn’t look radically different from the proven Saddle Mountain Skinner fixed-blade platform it’s built on — and that’s intentional. Benchmade didn’t mess with the blade geometry that already excels at breaking down game. Instead, they reimagined how a cutting edge is constructed at the molecular level.
Using a laser-based fusion process, the brand applies powdered CPM Rex 121 steel directly along the edge of a Hakkapella Damasteel blade. Rex 121 is absurdly hard and wear-resistant, known for keeping a frighteningly sharp edge but too brittle to use across an entire blade. Damasteel, meanwhile, offers toughness and corrosion resistance. The result is a single, unified blade that heat-treats as one seamless piece but behaves like two tools.
A Blade That Actually Thinks
One section of the edge prioritizes hardness for precision work — think fine slicing through meat or delicate field tasks. Adjacent areas lean into toughness for the abuse that comes with prying through joints or dealing with bone. For hunters who’ve carried multiple knives on their bets for different situations, this allows you to get both capabilities in one.
You could easily view this two-in-one approach as an easy selling point but any hunter will tell you that this is a game-changer that will actually be helpful in the field. We don’t know much about the handle other than it has a laminated wood exterior with a full-tang construction and a lanyard hold at the rear.
Spec Sheet
Model: Codex87 Horizon Edge
Platform: Saddle Mountain Skinner
Blade Construction: Bi-metal, laser-fused edge
Base Blade Steel: Hakkapella Damasteel
Edge Steel: CPM Rex 121
Handle: Laminated wood
Manufacture: Made in the USA (Oregon City, Oregon)
Pricing & Availability
Benchmade hasn’t released final pricing or availability details yet, but the Codex87 Horizon Edge was officially unveiled at SHOT Show 2026 in Las Vegas.
Recap
Benchmade Codex87 Horizon Edge
Benchmade just dropped the Codex87 Horizon Edge at SHOT Show, which uses a laser to fuse two different steels into one blade — hard CPM Rex 121 along the cutting edge for sharpness, backed by tough Hakkapella Damasteel for everything else. It’s built on their proven Saddle Mountain Skinner platform and basically eliminates the need to carry multiple knives in the field.
