Benchmade Coalition Knife Review

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. They exceed what is expected.

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

Benchmade has an edge that other knives don’t. For starters, Benchmade builds knives for the most demanding customers, from special operations forces to elite backcountry hunters, and building for the best requires the best raw materials. They select premium blade steels and pair them with aerospace-grad handle materials to create premium-grade knives and tools that provide great value for their customers.

The Benchmade factory employs modern laser cutters and CNC machining centers that offer control and tolerances commonly found in the aerospace industry—often to tolerances half the width of a human hair. Their commitment to modern machining techniques and rigid quality control has allowed Benchmade to bridge the gap between custom and manufactured.

The last edge that they have is the LifeSharp. Benchmade knives are all supported through a team of skilled technicians. Their only function is to ensure your Benchmade is in optimal working condition or your entire life. This service is called LifeSharp. A name that speaks for itself. When you send your knife to the Benchmade LifeSharp team, the knife is completely disassembled and all worn parts are tune or replaced. The knife is then lubricated and reassembled, a sharpener applies a factory edge to the blade and the knife is shipped back to you.

There are many reasons why Benchmade knives are set apart from others. Today we are going to be talking about the new Benchmade Coalition.

 

The Blade:

The blade on this knife is made out of S30V steel. This steel is made by Crucible, which is a steel company that is based in the United States. This premium steel was created and designed specifically for knives, especially for the high-end premium pocket knives and expensive kitchen cutlery. Because of this, you can expect it to have all of the best qualities that people look for in their knives. This steel has amazing edge retention and resists rust effortlessly. Crucible has added vanadium carbides into the steel which brings extreme hardness into the steel alloy matrix. If you look at this steel for cost and quality, S30V steel is viewed as one of the finest knife blade steels. This steel has the optimal balance of edge retention, hardness, and toughness, which is actually a pretty complicated balance to achieve. There is one major drawback to this steel, which is because of the hardness, it proves to be tricky to sharpen. This shouldn’t veer you away from this steel, because of all the other qualities that you do get out of it. However, if you are a beginner sharpener, I wouldn’t suggest you try to sharpen this blade on your own.

The blade has been finished with a black coating. This is a powder coating, which is applied using the electrostatic principle. This means that the blade is given a negative charge and the powder coat is given a positive charge before being sprayed on. The dry coated parts are baked in an oven, where the powder melts and fuses into a hard, protective finish. Coatings prolong the life of the blade, because they do protect the steel form the harsh environments. The coating reduces rusting and corrosion while also cutting down on glares and reflections. The biggest drawback to a coated blade is that it will scratch off after heavy use or long periods of time. At this point, your blade will have to be re-coated if you wish for the benefits to remain.

The blade on the Coalition has been carved into a drop point blade shape, which is the most popular and commonly found blade shapes in the cutlery industry today. Drop point knives are tough and versatile. This blade shape is formed by having the unsharpened edge of the knife run straight from the handle to the tip of the knife in a slow curved manner, which creates a lowered point. This lowered point provides more control and adds strength to the tip. And while the tip on a drop point is not as sharp as the tip on a clip point, it is much stronger. It is because of this strength and the drop point’s ability to hold up to the heavy use that makes the drop point so capable on tactical or survival knives. Plus, because of the lowered tip, the drop point blade is easily controllable, which helps you perform fine tip or detail work. The biggest reason that this blade is so versatile is because of the large belly areas that makes slicing a breeze. If you are using this knife for an everyday knife, slicing is what you are going to be doing the most of. There is one big drawback to the drop point blade style, which is the broad tip. Because of this tip, it is not as capable for piercing or slicing as the clip point blade style. But you do get so much more strength than in the clip point knife. By choosing the Benchmade Coalition, you are preparing yourself for any task whether it is your everyday tasks or the unexpected situations that seem to pop up often.

 

The Handle:

The handle on this knife is made out of 6061-T6 billet aluminum that has been anodized grey. Plus, to add texture and security, there are grippy G10 inlays in the middle.

Aluminum is a very durable material, especially when it comes to knife handles. This material is unique because it is considered a low-density metal, but it still gives you a hefty feel without the weight. This is the ultimate combination, because when it comes to an everyday carry or a tactical knife, like this one, you don’t want to be weighed down, but you don’t want to feel like you have enough weight and heft behind you to really take on the issue.

The most common type of aluminum that is used today is the 6061-T6 alloy, which has the highest tensile strength. Overall, aluminum is strong, light, durable, and very resistant to corrosion. However, it is also cold to hold because of its conductive properties, it can be a little slippery, and it is susceptible to scratches and dings.

A billet aluminum is a solid block of aluminum, which means that the entire handle has been carved out of a solid piece of the aluminum. This means that there are not going to be any weaker spots where two pieces have been welded together.

The aluminum portions of the handle have been anodized a sleek gun-metal grey. Anodizing is an electrochemical process that converts the metal surface into a decorative, durable, corrosion resistant surface. The process is done by immersing the aluminum into an acid electrolyte bath and passing an electric current though the medium. A cathode is mounted to the inside of the anodizing tank; the aluminum acts as an anode, so that oxygen ions are released from the electrolyte to combine with the aluminum atoms at the surface of the part being anodized. According to anodziign.org, “Anodizing is, therefore, a matter of highly controlled oxidation—the enhancement of a naturally occurring phenomenon.” Aluminum was already a great material for your knife handle, but with the anodized finished, it enters the next level.

The G-10 inlays work to give you the most secure grip on the Coalition that you can possibly have. G-10 is made out of fiberglass and has very similar properties to carbon fiber. However, out of the two materials, G-10 is inferior which mean that you can get it for much less. To create G-10 the manufacturer takes layers of fiberglass cloth and soaks them in a resin before compressing them and baking them under pressure. G-10 is very hard, tough, lightweight, and still strong. However, it is a brittle material and it does lack elegance and character.

This knife has a very large finger guard as well as jimping on the spine and the belly of the handle. This knife looks more like a tactical knife than an everyday knife, because of all the sharp edges, but it can be used well for either. The jimping and the G-10 are going to give you a very solid grip so that no matter what environment you are in; you will feel that you have a secure grip on this knife. While the spine and the belly of the handle are very straight, this is still a comfortable knife to hold, even if you are using it for long periods of time.

 

The Pocket Clip:

The pocket clip on the Benchmade Coalition is a deep carry clip, which means that you can keep it snugly in your pocket if you are using this knife for your everyday carry knife. Or, you can conceal your knife deeper in your pocket if you are choosing to use this new Benchmade knife for your go-to tactical knife. The Coalition is going to excel at either of these options. The clip is reversible, which does help to make this knife ambidextrous. However, it is only designed to be attached tip-up.

All of the hardware on this knife is black, except for the trigger to release the blade.

 

The Mechanism:

This is an automatic knife, which does mean that it is not going to be legal in all states, cities, or areas of the United States. 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 consequences if you choose to ignore the local knife laws.

The Coalition is a push button automatic that features an integrated safety mechanism. Because it is an automatic knife, it is going to be easier to bring into play in a tactical situation. And because it is a push button automatic knife, you can easily open it with just one hand. The knife is going to open quickly and efficiently. However, there are a few drawbacks to an automatic knife as well. Because there are so many inner mechanisms, you do have to be very careful when getting this knife near water. If any of the insides begin to rust or corrode, it could compromise the entire opening mechanism. Automatic knives are harder to maintain because they are such a complex knife.

 

The Specs:

The blade on this knife measures in at 2.87 inches long with a blade thickness of 0.100 inches. The handle measures in at 3.91 inches long with a thickness of 0.53 inches. When the knife is opened, it measures in at an overall length of 6.78 inches long. This knife measures in at 2.63 ounces.

 

Conclusion:

This knife combines the strength of aluminum handles and S30V blade steel, with the style and traction of G10 inlays, this push button automatic is a big deal in a small package. The S30V blade is easy to maintain because it resists rust with ease. The drop point blade is tough which allows you to take on any tactical situation, while also providing you a large belly that will come in handy throughout your day-to-day tasks. The aluminum handle is tough and durable while the G-10 inlays give you plenty of texture to have a secure grip on the Coalition. The deep carry pocket clip allows you to more easily conceal your knife. Pick up the Coalition today at BladeOps.