Benchmade 5750BK Mini Auto Presidio II Knife Review

The history of Benchmade dates back over thirty years. The Benchmade that we all love and know is the product of many dedicated employees, a never-quit demand for excellence and the de Asis family’s vision and total commitment to culture, service, and innovation.

The story all began in 1979 when Les de Assis wanted a knife that reflected the latest in materials and manufacturing technology to replace the cheap butterfly knives he played with as a kid. Using his high-school shop skills, he blueprinted his dream knife before eventually meeting Victor Anselmo, who helped to grind the first ever pre-Benchmade Bali-Song prototype. He finished his new knife in his own garage before taking it to a local gun store where the owner asked if Les could build 100 more.

In 1980, Les incorporated as Bali—Song, Inc. Utilizing the rudimentary technology available to him at the time, Les began building handmade custom Bali Songs, along with Jody Sampson, who ground all the blades. The success of these custom Balis spurred the creation of the first production Bali-Song: The Model 68.

Throughout the next seven years, the company expanded from just butterfly knives to fixe blades and conventional folding knives. The name even changed from Bali-song, Inc. to Pacific Cutlery Corp.

In 1987 Pacific Cutlery Corp filed for bankruptcy and was dissolved. The next year, Les reintroduced a new company and new version of the Model 68; this time with a drive to produce product in the US and an even stronger commitment to product availability, quality, and customer relationships. The new name was Benchmade, because he was building an operation that made precision parts, but with hand assembly on the finished products.

To this day Benchmade continues to focus on innovation, customer needs, responsible business ethics and operations to bring the highest quality products to the world’s elite.

Today we are going to be discussing the Benchmade 5750BK Mini Auto Presidio II.

 

The Blade:

The blade on the Mini Auto Presidio II is made out of CPM S30V. This steel is made by the United States based steel company named Crucible. This steel has excellent edge retention and resists rust effortlessly. This steel was designed in the US and is typically used for the high-end premium pocket knives and expensive kitchen cutlery. Because it was specifically designed for cutlery, you can expect all of the best qualities for a knife. Crucible has added in vanadium carbides to the steel, which brings extreme hardness into the steel alloy matrix. Dollar for dollar, this steel is generally regarded as one of the finest knife blade steels with the optimal balance of edge retention, hardness and toughness. One of the only disadvantages to this steel is that because of the hardness, it is pretty hard to sharpen. This shouldn’t be a huge deterrent, but if you are a beginner sharpener, I would not recommend trying to give this blade a fine edge by yourself.

The blade on this knife has been coated black. There are a couple of major advantages when it comes to a coated blade. The point of a coated blade is to prolong the knife of the steel. The coating prolongs the life of the blade by creating a barrier in between the steel and the environment, which increases the ability to resist rusting or corrosion. The coating also cuts down on reflections and glares, which is key if you are ever in a tactical or survival situation. The coated blade also has a very sleek look, which is purely for aesthetic.

The blade has been carved into a drop point blade shape. This is the most popular blade shape today in the cutlery industry. This blade shape is versatile and tough. The drop point blade shape is formed by having the unsharpened edge of the knife run straight form the handle to the tip of the knife in a slow curved manner, which creates a lowered point. It is this lowered point that provides more control and adds strength to the tip. While the tip on a drop point is not as sharp as the tip on a clip pint, it is much stronger. It is also because of this tip strength and the ability to hold up to heavy use that makes a drop point blade such a great option on a tactical and survival knife. Because of the lowered tip, the drop point blade is easily controllable, which makes it ideal for fine tip work or detail work. One of the reasons that this blade shape is so versatile is because of the large belly area that makes slicing a total breeze. There is one major disadvantage to the drop point blade, which is its relatively broad tip. This broad tip makes the blade less suitable for piercing than the clip point. You do have to remember that it is this broad tip that gives the blade the characteristic strength that you have grown to love in a drop point blade. When you choose this knife, you are preparing yourself for almost any situation, whether it is your everyday day duties or a self-defense situation, this knife has your back.

This knife sports a plain edge, which allows you to take on a wider variety of tasks. The plain edge is easier to sharpen and you can get a finer edge on it. Lastly, the plain edge will give you much cleaner cuts.

 

The Handle:

The handle is made out of black anodized 6061-T6 Billet aluminum.

Billet aluminum just means that the entire handle is made out of one piece of aluminum. This guarantees that there are no weaker spots where two pieces of aluminum have been welded together. Billet aluminum is more durable, stronger, and all around better when it comes to the knife world.

Aluminum is a very low-density metal that is often used in knife making because of how corrosion resistant it is. Aluminum is a softer metal, so it is primarily used for knife handles instead of other pieces of the knife. The most common aluminum alloy used is the 6061-T6, which means the type of aluminum is 6061 and it has been T6 tempered. This type of aluminum has one of the highest yield and tensile strengths of all aluminum alloys. Often times, aluminum is considered to be inferior to titanium aside from its lightness. This is because aluminum is cheaper to machine and produce than Titanium, and is lighter, weaker, and less resistant to wear. However, when producing complex knives that require a large amount of CNC machining, such as the case with this brand new Benchmade tactical knife, aluminum is much cheaper to produce and the material costs less, which puts it in the bracket above titanium.

The aluminum has been anodized black. By definition, anodizing is “a process to electrolytically coat a metallic surface with a protective or decorative oxide.” The anodic coating consists of hydrated aluminum oxide and is considered resistant to corrosion and abrasion. Unlike most other finishes, anodizing preserves the natural luster, texture, and beauty of the metal itself. The anodized coating is hard, durable, will never peel, and under normal conditions, will never wear though.

The handle is a pretty typical handle. The spine is curved slightly to fit into your hand better. The bottom of the handle is also curved inwards to give you the most comfortable grip that it can provide. Because of this inward curve, the handle does sport a slight finger guard, which is there to protect your fingers from getting cut in case of slipping when you are using this knife. The butt of the handle is mostly rounded, but does have a slight point to it. Benchmade knows how important grip can be when it comes to a tactical knife, so they have manufactured a series of diagonal grooves across the face of the handle. These grooves create enough texture that you won’t have to worry about the handle slipping out of your hand during use.

A bonus about this knife is that there is a small lanyard hole coved into the top of the butt of the knife. This allows you to keep the knife close by without it getting in the way, gives you a quicker way to pull this knife out of your pocket, and gives you a medium to add a touch of your own style to this sleek knife.

 

The Pocket Clip:

The pocket clip on this knife is a deep carry pocket that is designed for tip up carry only. However, it is reversible for either right or left hand carry, which helps to make this knife more ambidextrous. Because it is a deep carry knife, you are going to be able to more effectively conceal this knife in your pocket. The Mini Auto Presidio II has been designed as a tactical knife, so concealing it is a big advantage. Plus, the deep carry clip will keep the knife snug in your pocket throughout your day as you move around.

All of the hardware on this knife is black, which creates a very sleek, all-black knife. From the blade, to the handle, to the hardware.

 

The Mechanism:

This is an automatic knife, or a switchblade. Automatic knives have a strict set of laws surrounding them in the United States, which make them illegal in many states, cities, and areas. It is your responsibility, as the user, to know your local knife laws before buying, owning, or carrying this knife. BladeOps is not responsible for what happens if you do not obey your local laws. Some of the advantages to an automatic knife is that this knife is going to open quickly and efficiently. Plus, because it is a fully automatic knife, you can easily deploy the blade with only one hand. These are all major advantages when it comes to this brand new tactical knife. You are going to be able to bring it into play and open it up quick enough that you will be able to defend yourself quickly. However, there are a few disadvantages to an automatic knife. For starters, they are harder to clean. Because much of the mechanism is internal, to really get everything clean, you have to take apart the knife. Secondly, because the function is fully automatic, if a piece of the mechanism breaks, you are out of luck for the knife to keep working properly.

The locking mechanism on this automatic knife is the Automatic AXIS. 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 from 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 postponed 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. When talking about the Automatic AXIS lock, Benchmade says, “Auto AXIS—Strong, reliable, fast, and AXIS lock through and through, this locking mechanism fires the blade open 100% mechanically when the AXIS bar is pulled downwards. Auto AXIS also features integrated safety mechanism and the added safety of ‘suck-back.’”

 

The Specs:

The blade on this knife measures in at 3.2 inches long, with a thickness that measures in at 0.114 inches. The handle measures in at 4.34 inches long, with a thickness of 0.56 inches. When this knife is opened, it measures in at 7.48 inches long. This Benchmade knife weighs in at 4.133 ounces.  This knife was made in the United States of America.

 

Conclusion:

This is a combat legend that received significant ergonomic and performance upgrades. The mini version of the Auto Presidio is faster, better, stronger, and lighter. Come pick up this brand new tactical knife today at BladeOps.