Benchmade Torrent Spring Assist Knife Review

Benchmade has a rich history that dates back over 30 years, Benchmade 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. Benchmade really began when Les de Asis wanted a knife that reflected the latest in materials and manufacturing technology to replace the cheap butterfly knives. He used his high school shop skills and blueprinted his dream knife. He assembled and finished his first Bali-Song in his own garage. When it came time to pick a name for the company he recognized that there was “handmade” and “factory made”, it was “Benchmade” that described the quality of Les’ product. He was building an operation that made precision parts, but with had assembly on the finished products. This was a “bench” operation and Les wanted the name to reflect the marriage of manufactured and custom. In short, it describes Benchmade’s positon in the market—even to this day. 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.

For over 25 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, we continue to innovate with the goal of taking performance and reliability to the next level. To exceed what is expected. Whether you are using a Griptilian for every day duties or taking the flight 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 best. You demand it. And programs like their LlifeSharp Lifetime Service Warranty are the foundation of their commitment to excellence. They live it and breathe it, and they know what you mean when you say: It’s not a knife. It’s my Benchmade.

Their knives are made of many things: steel, aluminum, and titanium, to name a few. But perhaps the most important part of a Benchmade knife is expertise. They carefully measure every part at every step in the process. They sue the bets materials and equipment. They make world class knives for world class users through an eight step process. The process starts at laser cutting, then moves to surface grinding and blade and handle milling, the next step is beveling, then on to back sanding and finishing. To finish the whole process off the knives they move to assembly and sharpening.

May is Benchmade month at BladeOps. To celebrate, we care going over different knives every day and today is the Benchmade Torrent Family of knives. With this family of knives, you have a wide variety of options to choose from with the different characteristics of the knives.

 

The Blade:

The blade has been carved out of 154CM steel. This is a high end steel that is relatively hard. This steel formula is considered an upgraded version of 440C through the addition of Molybdenum. This addition achieves superior edge holding compared to 440C while retaining similar excellent levels of corrosion resistance despite having less Chromium. This steel has decent toughness that is good enough for most uses and holds an edge well. 154CM steel is not too difficult to sharpen when you have the right equipment. You will find a lot of quality pocket knives that use this type of steel.

There are two different finishes that you can choose form in this family of knives. The first is the satin finish and the second is the coated finish. The satin finish is created by sanding the blade in one direction with increasing degrees of a fine abrasive, which is normally a sandpaper. The satin finish really shows the bevels of the blade, showcase the lines of the knife, while also reducing its reflective glare. The finer the abrasive and the more even the lines; the cleaner the satin finish blade looks. This is one of the more traditional blade finishes that you are going to find.

The second option of a finish is the coated finish. This is a black finish that reduces the reflection and glare while reducing wear and corrosion. However, all coating finish can and will be scratched off after continuous heavy use. At that point, the blade has to be refinished. A quality coating can add cost to the knife but provide more corrosion resistance, less reflection, and require less maintenance. The coating finish can also prolong the life of a blade by preventing corrosion or rust.

The blade shape on this family of knives is a drop point blade shape. This is a great all-purpose knife that can stand up to anything. A drop point blade shape is one of the most popular blade shapes in use today and the most recognizable knife that features a drop point is the hunting knife, although it is used on many other types of knives as well. To form the blade shape, the back, or unsharpened, edge of the knife runs straight from the handle to the tip of the knife in a slow curved manner, creating a lowered point. This lowered point provides roe control and adds strength to the tip. While the tip on a drop point is not as sharp as the tip on a clip point, it is much stronger. Because of this tip strength and the ability to hold up to heavy use, drop point blades are popular on tactical and survival knives. And because the point on a drop point blade is easily controllable, they are a popular choice on hunting knives. The lowered, controllable point makes it easier to avoid accidently nicking internal organs and ruining the meat. One of the reason that a drop point blade shape is so versatile is because they feature a large belly area that is perfect for slicing. Drop point blades really only have one disadvantage and it is that the drop point blade is its relatively broad tip, which makes it less suitable for piercing than the clip point. When you choose a knife like the Torrent that sports a drop point, you will be choosing great all-purpose blade that can be used in man situations, whether they are expected or unexpected.

With the Torrent Family, you are also presented with two different blade edges. You can choose from a plain edge and a serrated edge. The plain edge is going to excel at push cuts, slicing, skinning and peeling. The plain edge is going to be the easiest to sharpen out of the two options. The serrated edge is going to be ideal if you are going to be working with thicker materials. The teeth of the serrated edge is going to be ideal for sawing through those thicker and tougher materials. But, the teeth make for a much more uneven cut. The cuts of a serrated edge tend to be a jagged cut.

The Handle:

The handle on this family of knives has been made out of G10. G10 is a grade of Garolite that is a laminate composite made of fiberglass. It has very similar properties, although slightly inferior, to carbon fiber yet can be had for almost a fraction of the cost. The manufacturer takes layers of fiberglass cloth and soaks tem in resin, then compresses them, and bakes them under pressure. The material that results is extremely tough, hard, very lightweight, and strong. In fact, G10 is considered the toughest of all the fiberglass resin laminates and stronger, although more brittle, than Micarta. Checkering and other patterns add a texture to the handle, which makes for a solid, comfortable grip. The production process can utilize many layers of the same color, or varying different colors, to achieve a unique cosmetic look on the G10 handle. Tactical folders and fixed blade knives benefit from the qualities of G10, because it is durable and lightweight, non-porous, and available in a variety of colors. And while it is cheaper to produce than carbon fiber, it still has to be cut and machined into shape, which is not as economical as the injection molding process used in FRN handles.

The G10 is designed to look like wood, but it is black. There has been enough grip added that you will have a secure hold on it in most circumstances. On the bottom of the handle, there is a lanyard hole. This lanyard hole is very useful to tie on a piece of rope, leather, or some other line through to form a retention method. This also comes in handy for taking your knife out of your pocket. Since the Torrent family of knives is designed to be an everyday carry type of knife, the lanyard will really only come in handy to keep your knife close, have an easy withdrawal, and to add a little bit of personal style to your blade.

 

The Pocket Clip:

The pocket clip is a deep carry pocket clip that has been designed to attach tip down.

 

The Mechanism:

This family of knives is a manual opening knife that uses a thumb stud to assist in your opening. The thumb stud is arguably one of the most common one handed opening feature. A thumb stud essentially replaces the nail nick found on more traditional knives. The principle is pretty straightforward—you grasp 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.

This knife also features a liner locking mechanism.

This knife features a liner locking mechanism. Liner locks are one of the more common mechanisms seen on folding knives. This mechanism’s characteristic component is a side spring bar located on the same side as sharp edge of the blade, “lining” the inside of the handle. When the knife is closed, the spring bar is held under tension. When fully opened, that tension slips the bar inward to make contact with the butt of the blade, keeping it firmly in place and preventing it from closing. To disengage a liner lock, you have to use your thumb to push the spring bar down towards the pocket clip so that it clears contact form the butt of the blade. This lets you sue your index finger to push the blade just enough so that it keeps the bar pushed down so you can remove your thumb form the blade path, then continue to safely close the knife. Liner locks are beneficial in that they allow a knife to have two true handle side, unlike a frame lock. You can close the knife with one hand without switching grip, ideal for when you need both hands on the job. You’ll find liner lock in both entry level and high end knives. It’s a lock type that appeals to both knife newbies and enthusiast alike. If you’ll be using your knife for heavy duty tasks, you should know that liner locks typically aren’t as robust as other locking systems. They’re still plenty strong, but because they’re typically made form a thinner piece of metal, they’re more prone to wearing out compared to a beefy frame lock.

 

The Specs:

The blade on this knife is 3.60 inches long with a blade thickness of 0.100 inches. The overall length of this knife is 8.2 inches long with a closed length of 4.60 inches long. The handle on this knife is 0.60 inches. The Torrent family weighs in at 3.5 ounces.

 

Conclusion:

The Steigerwalt design knife has a 154CM stainless steel drop point blade with a plain edge or combo edge and a satin or coated finish. The blade locks open with the modified locking liner. The modified drop point blade is simple to open, just push the thumb stud opener to get the blade started and the spring takes over and snaps the blade open nice and fast. The black G10 handles are comfortable to hold and look fantastic. The Torrent comes with a tip down pocket clip. It has a lanyard hole at the base of the handle. This family of knives will make you rethink what you want from your everyday carry knife. Celebrate Benchmade month and come pick up your Torrent today.