Benchmade Knives HK 14850 Epidemic OTF Knife Review

Built with you in mind, the Benchmade HK Epidemic features a double action blade.  The D2 tool steel spear point blade comes out lightning fast and the lock up is fantastic.  Throw in a comfortable, high quality 6061 T-6 aircraft aluminum handle and you have an out the front knife that competes with the big boys on the market—at a price that won’t compete with your wallet.

BLADE

The spear point blade measures 3.44” which gives you a full sized blade with one sharp edge.  The spear point shape gives it an extra strong point and allows for maximum control.  The blade excels at piercing cuts and does very well with slicing cuts.  A common drawback of a spear point shaped blade is they often have a very small belly—which gives them a small cutting edge.  Benchmade has solved this issue by creating a modified shape that has an extended belly or cutting edge.  In fact, you have around 2” of cutting edge before the blade begins to curve toward the tip.

Because the blade is built of D2, you have a blade that takes a razor sharp edge and keeps it under heavy use.  It also gives you good corrosion resistance.  The blade features a fuller’s groove down the middle that gives a nice look.  The front of the blade has the HK logo and the back has D2 as well as USA on it.

One of the things I love best about this OTF knife is that it opens with relative ease.  Many OTF’s have extremely tight slide triggers that function as a blade safety because they are extra stiff.  The slide trigger on the Epidemic strikes just the right balance so that it isn’t particularly stiff to fire, but it is enough to keep you from accidently firing.  Blade speed is very fast.  Lock up is extremely tight.

You can pick this OTF knife up with either a black finish or a standard stonewash finish.

HANDLE 

The handle is built from aircraft grade 6061 T-6 aluminum.  It has a basic “tombstone” shape with a slight bend in the middle of the handle that offers some extra leverage when holding the knife in a classic forward grip.  Both face sides of the handle have large grooves in a pattern that give lots of grip points, the handle has several areas of deep grooves also that give perfect grip points where you need them most.  This is a comfortable, no nonsense handle that is plenty large enough for even the biggest of hands.  A tip down pocket clip sits on the back handle scale.  It is right/left reversible.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS

 Benchmade Knives produce HK knives.  Manufactured here in the US, these knives are built from high quality materials to the specifications and standards that you expect from any Benchmade product.  The Epidemic is no exception.  Built tough from high end materials, this OTF is ready for heavy use in tough conditions.  Perfect for the combat soldier, this handy knife is also great for our LE experts who often need a tactical knife that can easily be used with one hand.  The price tag is under $200, which means it isn’t going to destroy your wallet either.  If you demand the very best, if you work in a job where the utility and performance of your gear can be tied directly to the difference between life and death—the Epidemic from Benchmade Knives is the kind of tool you can depend on.

Find the Epidemic here on our website and let us know what you think of yours down below.