Benchmade 2017 SHOT Show Blue Sequel Folder Knife Review

TThe Benchmade Knife Company is a knife manufacturer run by Roberta and Les de Asis in Oregon City, Oregon. Its products are geared toward many niche markets, such as outdoor sporting, cutlery, rescue, law-enforcement, martial-arts, and the military. The company has collaborated with a number of custom knife makers since its birth.

Benchmade started in California in 1979 as Bali-Song, changing its name in 1988 to the Pacific Cutlery Corporation. In 1990 the company moved to Oregon. IN 1996, the company moved to a 144,000 square foot facility in Oregon City.

Benchmade became known primarily as a manufacturer of butterfly, or balisong style knives, which it does still continue to manufacture. These knives have been so identified with the company that Benchmade has registered “Bali-Song” as a trademark and logo. Benchmade’s original Bali-Song design by Jody Samson was awarded Blade Magazine’s Knife of the Year Award in 1979.

For over thirty years, Benchmade has been designing and manufacturing world-class products for world-class customers. When Benchmade was founded, the mission was to create something better; something exceptional. Today, they continue to innovate with the goal of taking performance and reliability to the next level. To exceed what is expected.

Whether you are using their Griptilian for every day duties or taking the fight to the enemy with the Infidel, their knives are built to perform. When you choose to purchase a Benchmade, you do so because you want the bet. You demand it. They say, “We live it and breathe it, and we know what you mean when you say: It’s not a knife. It’s my Benchmade.”

Today we will be going over the Benchmade 2017 SHOT Show Blue Sequel Folder Knife.

 

The Class:

This knife falls under the Benchmade Blue Class line. When Benchmade is talking about their blue class line, they say, “Day after day. A Blue Class knife is like your best friend. It’s always with you. In fact, it’s better, because your other friends aren’t made of steel.” You know that you can rely on your blue class knife.

 

The Blade:

The blade on this knife is made out of CPM S30V steel, which is a Premium steel designed and made by Crucible. This US based company made this steel with knives in mind, which means that you are going to get all of the qualities that you want in a blade out of this steel. This steel was actually specifically designed for the high-end premium pocket knives and expensive kitchen cutlery. They decide to add vanadium carbides to bring out the extreme hardness in the steel alloy matrix. Dollar for dollar, this is generally regarded as one of the finest knife blade steels with the optimal balance of edge retention, hardness, and toughness. Really the only drawback to this steel is that it does prove hard to work with. This characteristic will increase the cost of the blade slightly while also proving to be tricky to sharpen. Usually this single attribute is not enough to veer people away from such a phenomenal steel.

The blade has been finished with a satin look, which is created by repeatedly sanding the blade in one direction with an increasing level of an abrasive. The abrasive that is used is most commonly a sandpaper. As a general rule, the finer the sandpaper and the more even the lines, the cleaner the satin finish looks. Benchmade is one of the best when it come sot their satin finish, so you can expect a very clean look form this SHOT Show knife. The satin finish lies right in the middle of the spectrum in terms of luster. And although this is not a huge advantage of the finish, it does cut down slightly on corrosion. The satin finish is the most popular blade finish on the market today and is also one of the most traditional; with this blade finish, you know that your knife will always be in style.

The blade on this Benchmade knife has been carved into a drop point style blade, which is the most common blade shape on the market. This blade shape is tough, versatile, and the perfect shape if you want to be able to accomplish a lot with it. The spine of the blade runs straight form the handle to the tip of the knife, which creates a lowered point. It is because of this lowered point that you have so much control over your blade and you can easily perform fine tip work with this knife. The lowered tip is also a broad tip, which means that it will not be prone to breaking and you will be able to take on even the toughest of tasks. One of the reasons that this is such a popular knife is because of the tip strength—you really never have to worry about what this knife can and cannot handle, because it can mostly handle anything. This blade also features a very large belly, which will make slicing a breeze for you. The only drawback to a drop point style blade is that because the tip is broad, you do lose out on your ability to pierce. However, you need to keep in mind that it is the broad tip that allows you to have the signature strength. By choosing this Benchmade knife, you will be prepared for anything that life chooses to throw at you, form the day to day tasks, to the completely unexpected. Get ready to take on life with this spectacular knife.

This satin blade does sport a plain edge, which equips you to take on a wider variety of tasks. This edge style will also give you cleaner cuts and be easier to sharpen.

 

The Handle:

The handle on this knife is made out of 6061-T6 Aluminum. Aluminum is considered to be a low-density metal that is often used in knife making. This metal is also one of the most corrosion resistant metals that you will find in knife making. The most common alloy used is the 6061-T6 alloy, which is what this knife handle has been made out of. All that means is that the type of aluminum is 6061 and it has been T6 tempered. 6061-T6 aluminum also has one of the highest yield and tensile strengths of all aluminum alloys.

Some of the drawbacks to having an aluminum handle is that they can be cold to hold because of their conductive properties. This means that if you are planning to use this knife mostly in the winter, you need to be prepared to have gloves—it can feel like it is biting into your hands. Another drawback is that aluminum is susceptible to scratches and dings. Lastly, aluminum handles can be pretty slippery. To give you the best possible grip on this knife, Benchmade has added a diagonally textured pattern across the face of the two handle scales.

The ergonomics of this handle are very comfortable. The spine has a slight inward curve to perfectly fit in your palm. And the bottom of the handle has a shallow and elongated finger groove that gives you a comfortable grip no matter how long you are using this knife for. There is a slight finger guard to help protect your fingers when you are cutting with the is knife.

This handle has been anodized bright blue. But not only does the anodization process yield a great color, it adds durability, corrosion resistance properties, and makes this handle less prone to scratches. Anodizing is an electrolytic passivation process used to increase the thickness of the natural oxide layer on the surface of metal parts. The process is called anodizing because the part to be treated forms the anode electrode of an electrical circuit.

 

The Pocket Clip:

The pocket clip on this knife has been designed for tip up carry, but is reversible in terms of whether you carry it on the left or right hand side. This is also a deep carry pocket clip, which means that this knife will be more secure in your pocket throughout the day, no matter how much you move around. Plus, because it is a deep carry clip, you can more easily conceal this knife deep within your pocket. The clip is black, which contrasts nicely with the blue handle and matches the hardware on this knife.

 

The Mechanism:

This is a folding knife that uses a dual thumb stud to assist you in opening the knife. This knife also sports Benchmade’s AXIS lock mechanism which is a fully ambidextrous operating system.

The thumb stud is arguably the most common one-hand opening feature. It essentially replaces the nail nick found on more traditional knives and is simple to use. You hold the folded knife, place the tip of your flexed thumb on the stud and extend your thumb to swing the blade through its arc until the blade is fully opened. And because this knife features a dual thumb stud, which means that there is a thumb stud on either side of the handle, this knife is completely ambidextrous to open. There are two drawbacks to having a thumb stud as your opening mechanism: first, it does put your hand in the way of the blade when you open it. There have been plenty of cases where someone was trying to open their knife with a thumb stud and sliced their fingers. This shouldn’t happen to you if you are being careful and paying attention while you do open this Benchmade knife.

A patented Benchmade exclusive, AXIS has been turning heads and winning fans ever since its introduction. A 100 percent ambidextrous design, AXIS gets its function form a small, hardened steel bar that rides forward and back in a slot machined into both steel liners. The bar extends to both sides of the knife, spans the liners and is positioned over the rear of the blade. IT engages a ramped tang portion of the knife blade when it is opened. Two omega style springs, one on each liner, give the locking bar its inertia to engage the knife tang. As a result, the tang is wedged solidly between a sizable stop pin and the AXIS bar itself.

 

The Specs:

The blade on this knife measures in at 2.95 inches long, with a handle that measures in at 3.8 inches long. When this special edition knife is opened, it measures in at 6.75 inches long. The Blue Sequel weighs in at 2.7 ounces. This knife was made in the United States of America, so you can be proud every time you use this Benchmade knife.

 

Conclusion:

The 2017 SHOT Show Edition Sequel folder knife is one of many new knives released by Benchmade this year. The Benchmade 707 Sequel family is another McHenry & Williams designed knife and was a follow-up to the original and smaller 705 McHenry & Williams folder knife as well as the full-size 710 model. Each Sequel folder knife utilizes Benchmade’s AXIS® lock mechanism which is a fully ambidextrous operating system utilizing a dual thumb stud design and the redesigned handle boasts a diagonally textured pattern as well as an integrated spine safety. This limited Blue Class model, the 707-1701, features a blue anodized aircraft aluminum handle featuring a 3-D machined sunburst pattern, stainless steel liners, a drop point style blade in a satin finish and the deep carry pocket clip is designed for tip up carry only but is eligible for a left or right hand carry option. The S30V steel is the perfect balance between all of the characteristics that you want in a knife: edge retention, hardness, and toughness. Plus, with the satin finish, you can be sure that this knife will never go out of style. The satin finish goes perfectly with the anodized blue aluminum handles. And the aluminum handles are tough, durable, and extremely corrosion resistant, meaning maintenance will be a breeze. Pick up this knife today at BladeOps.