I first saw this knife thanks to Danzo at the EMCCU Meet at Sheffield. I was more than a little impressed with several aspects of the knife. More on these in a minute. The comment at the meeting was that this knife was most suitable for Orcs. It certainly reminds you of some of the fantasy knives available. But make no mistake this knife can certainly be used and abused possibly more that many other models. Mine won't be but I have no doubt that others will.

This is a Neil Blackwood Design produced in collaboration with Benchmade Knives. I think this is the largest folder produced by Benchmade to date.

I think I must be fair and first state that I have no intention of using this knife for any practice purpose. I bought it due to the way it looks and feels. As a collector sometimes things just grab your attention and this knife certainly manages that!

This has to be the largest folding knife I have ever handled. It is HUGE! The pictures comparing it with the other folders really put this into perspective. Even the box it came in was bulging at the seems. But not only is the knife huge it is the use of materials, fit, finish and the design that really tipped me over the edge into getting one.

When you consider the price. (Especially if you import one from a US dealer) even with the VAT and fees this is an amazing knife for the money. Let's look into what you get.

First of all the version I have bought is the recently introduced Limited Edition 630BK-502 this differs from the standard model in a few ways.

First of all this version has the black BK1 coated blade finish. This is to quote Benchmade as follows :- 'BK1 BenchKote™ BLADE COATING- Our own proprietary blade coating offering excellent corrosion resistance, which exceeds the ASTM-117 specification for saltwater corrosion resistance. BK1 is a poly-ceramic coating (a blend of polymers and ceramic). It's thinner than the previous blade coating BT2, has equal to or better corrosion resistance (exceeding the ASTM salt spray standard) and unlike BT2 has much better wear resistance due to the ceramic.'

Secondly the handles are anodised blue and the milled dots are blue instead of the rainbow effect on the original Skirmish.

Thirdly the pocket clip is black in colour instead of the usual shiny steel version.

Let's go through all the main features of the knife.

Knife Blade

The blade of this knife is an impressive 4.3" or 193mm long. The design is a reverse curve with a spear point tip with a false non sharpened top edge. The blade is fat 0.160" 4.064mm thick. Some won't like this as it impedes cutting certain materials well. But it does mean you are unlikely to break or bend it in the average lifetime. It also makes it great for any really heavy duty cutting.

I don't condone the use of a cutting tool as a pry bar. But if you are stuck this blade is thick enough to get you out of trouble without too many worries.

The edge came shaving sharp. Although there was a little visible burr in the concave section of the blade. I think some light stropping should sort that out. Again I am very tempted to polish the rather toothy finish to a mirror like one. I'll wait for a rainy day for that.

I like the black finish. Not so good if you intend to use the knife. But great if you like looking at it! The laser engraved letting and logos look great and are not too in your face as on some designs.

The blade material is the wonderful CPM S30V. This is a martensitic stainless steel designed to offer the best combination of toughness, wear resistance and corrosion resistance. All the properties that we need for a good useable long lasting knife blade. Too hard and brittle would made it difficult to sharpen and fragile if the edge hit a hard object. Too soft and it would not hold an edge for very long. So this steel is a very good compromise between the conflicting aspects of steel properties.

The blade is double flat ground with a fantastic sweeping curve where it meets the full thickness of the blade. This has to be one of the most interesting blade shapes I have see to date on a folder.

The blade is drilled with series of holes. The largest enables ambidextrous opening in a same way as the spyderhole on spyderco knives. The holes have a deep chamfer to them and are not sharp in any way. They also allow you to have a good grip if you want to hold the knife blade and flip the handle.

The spine of the blade has a grooved thumb ramp. This is pretty rugged and rough on your thumb. This could be a little too rough if you used the knife a lot. Looks great on the photos though. :-)

Handle

The handle material is 6AL 4V Titanium alloy. This is a super tough and lightweight material commonly used in aerospace applications. Good choice for the handle. It is three time stronger than raw Titanium and half the density of steel. It also has excellent corrosion resistance properties.

The handle / scales have been anodised blue. The drilled spots are lighter and more polished and give some character to those large flat areas which have i think been bead blasted as the surface has a matt finish. Some accent holes have been drilled in the rear of the handles and these complement the ones drilled into the blade.

The handles are kept apart with two stainless steel spacers which are again on this version coloured black. This means that you can see right through between the scales to the folded blade inside. Nice and easy to clean but not as smooth as a fully filled knife back.

Half mood cutouts in the handles allow you access to the opening hole. They also allow you to get at the lock spring to close the knife.

The scales also double as the frame lock or mono lock as Benchmade refer to it. The lock mechanism is solid to say the least. Giving every confidence in the knife under heavy loading. There is no blade movement at all and the design is easy to operate even with one hand.

The lock engages to about half the thickness of the blade. You get a loud click, clack sound as the blade is opened. First the ball bearing skips the edge of the blade and then the lock pop into position. Just the thing for annoying anyone else in the room trying to watch the TV. :-)

The lock side of the half moon cutout is raised slightly above the one on the opposite side. This makes it easy to get a good purchase on it for releasing the lock.

There is a small ball bearing set into the end of the lock spring. This rubs along the flat of the blade during opening. The small dedent in the blade allows this to also keep the knife closed to prevent inadvertent opening when carried.

Clip

The pocket clip is designed for right handed use only. With the blade set up for tip down carry. The clip sits high up on the handle and is pretty long, so it should sit nice and safe in your pocket. I will not be carrying this knife outside (UK knife law) as I don't have a good reason to do so. But I still think that this is a little large for every day carry (EDC) :-)

The clip is set into a milled cutting in the handle and attached with two small Torx screws. It does not move or wobble from side to side.

Operation

Opening this knife is a great experience. Please be careful though as there is a LOT of very sharp metal moving about. The blade hole allows for easy single handed opening of the blade with either hand. The weight of the blade makes flipping the knife almost effortless. The blade opens with a very smooth action. This surprised me for such a large knife. I can see some shiny bronze washers in between the blade and the scales so these are obviously helping with the smooth operation.

The handle feels very comfortable in my small to medium sized hands. Almost perfect in fact. I like the way your finger sits in the half moon cutouts. The balance point is just on the front of the cutout as well so the knife never feels blade heavy. Nicely thought out.

It slices paper and the USPS packet it came in no problem. I don't really want to mar that lovely black finish on hard cutting tasks. Perhaps I need the standard version for that? Help! LOL

A monster folder for my collection. I look forward to discovering similar sized knives in the future. But will have to be selective as these larger knives are less practical than my usual choices. They are most definitely impressive and fun though. Always a great one to pass to you slightly sheepish NKP (Non Knife People) friends and say what do you think to my new pocket knife? LOL They understand. I think! LOL

Manufacturer:- www.benchmade.com

US Dealer:- www.newgraham.com

UK Sales :- www.heinnie.com

More info this and other knives here

www.britishblades.com