Knife Review: Benchmade Aller Fumee Friction Folder Multi-Tool Knife

The Benchmade Aller Fumee Friction Folder Multi-Tool Knife

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.

Benchmade says, “Whether you are using a Griptilian® for everyday 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. And programs like our LifeSharp Lifetime Service and Warranty are the foundation of our commitment to excellence. We live it and breathe it, and we know what you mean when you say: It’s not a knife. It’s my Benchmade.”

Their ideal knives start with ideal materials. 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. Benchmade says this about their materials, “We select premium blade steels and pair them with aerospace-grade handle materials to create premium-grade knives and tools that provide great value for our customers.”

The next thing that makes Benchmade knives so top notch is their mechanisms. The mechanics of opening and closing a knife are essential to its function. Benchmade asks themselves questions like Is it easy to actuate? Can it be opened with one hand? Is it ambidextrous? Will it absolutely not fail when you need it the most? They ask these questions because they are critical considerations when it comes to the mechanism.

Next is how they manufacture. 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 thing that makes Benchmade really unique is their LifeSharp service. Benchmade describes this, “Benchmade knives are all supported through a team of skilled technicians. Their only function is to ensure your Benchmade is in optimal working condition for 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 tuned 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. All at no cost to you.”

Today we will be discussing one of BladeOps’ newest arrivals, which is the Benchmade Aller Fumee Friction Folder Multi-Tool knife, with a satin blade.

The Blade:

The blade on this knife is made out of CPM S30V stainless steel. This steel was designed and manufactured by Crucible, which is an American company. They designed this steel specifically with knives in mind, so you know that you are going to get all of the best qualities from it. When Crucible is talking about this steel, they say, “CPM S30V steel is a martensitic stainless steel designed to offer the best combination of toughness, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance. Its chemistry has been specially balanced to promote the formation of vanadium carbides which are harder and more effective than chromium carbides in providing wear resistance. CPM S30V offers substantial improvement in toughness over the other high hardness steels such as 440C and D2, and its corrosion resistance is equal to or better than 440C in various environments. The CPM process produces very homogenous, high quality steel characterized by superior dimensional stability, grind ability, and toughness compared to steels produced by conventional processes.”

This steel is thought to have the perfect combination of hardness, toughness, and edge retention. One of the only drawbacks to this steel is that it is not easily worked with, meaning sharpening a knife with this steel might prove to be tricky. This is not going to be a pain though, but if you are a beginner sharpener, this might not be the most ideal steel to start with. When S30V steel first was released, it was very expensive because it offered qualities that were near impossible to find elsewhere. However, now there are super steels on the market and S30V has an older brother that has been designed with the same qualities, except easier to sharpen. While this steel is still going to cost a decent amount, it won’t take an arm and a leg like it used to.

The blade has been finished with a satin finish, which is one of the most common blade finishes. It is going to give the Aller Fumee a traditional look, which pairs well with the Richlite handle. The satin finish is created when the manufacturer repeatedly sands the blade in one direction with an increasing level of a fine abrasive. The most common abrasive that is used is a very fine sandpaper. This process is used to showcase the fine lines of the steel as well as showing off the bevels of the blade. The satin finish is also able to increase the corrosion resistance of the steel slightly, which can be important because this is probably not a tool that you are going to be doing a lot of maintenance with. It is more along the lines of the tool that you can always have with you and never really think about.

In terms of luster, the stain finish does fall in the middle of the spectrum. You can easily find a finish that is more matte than the satin finish. You can also easily find a finish that is more reflective than the satin finish. Like I said, this is a very classic finish.

The blade has been carved into a guillotine style blade. This is a unique blade style that isn’t found on many knives. The spine of the knife comes out of the handle and has a slight inward curve to it. The end of the knife actually isn’t’ a point, but a curve. This curve has a row of thicker jimping on it. The curve extends down to meet the belly to from a point. However, there actually isn’t’ really a belly on this knife, since the cutting edge is just straight across. This means that the point is more of a false point.

The biggest benefit to a false point is that you cannot stab with it. This means that you can do up-close work without worrying about piercing whatever it may be that you are working with. However, this does mean that even if you really do need to pierce into something, you are not going to have the capability.

The straight cutting edge does mean that this is not going to make the perfect utility blade. However, it will be able to cut and slice enough to get the job done. Especially since the Aller Fumee is more of a multi-tool than a knife, the fantastic blade is almost like a bonus to a multi-tool.

The Handle:

The handle on this knife is made out of the material Richlite. This is a newer material. However, it is a sustainable 

material that is created from the mixture of recycled paper and phenolic resin. This is a dense material that looks like wood. The material is strong enough and durable enough that this knife will be able to take a beating. You won’t have to worry about banging this thing around, because it can handle it.

Often times, Richlite is actually used to replace wood. The handle on the Aller Fumee does look like wood. The pattern is made up of brown, tan, and a cherry red. This material creates a beautiful appearance that as of right now, you aren’t going to find on many different knives.

The handle is pretty standard. The spien of it is mostly straight, although it does flare toward the butt. The belly begins with an elongated finger groove and then curves outward, expanding at the same rate that the spien does. The butt of the handle has a slight outward curve to it. Overall, the shape of the handle, mixed with the material used, create a beautiful, elegant, and super simple handle.

The Pocket Clip and Extras:

The pocket clip on this knife doubles as a money clip, because of how wide it is. This is not only perfect for holding your money, but if you choose to use it like a pocket clip, the broadness of it is going to ensure that it stays securely inside of your pocket without slipping out. The clip is skeletonized, which cuts down on weight and gives the knife more character. The clip is silver, although the hardware on this knife does vary with finish. You are going to find some silver hardware, some black hardware, and even some gold hardware.

This is a multi-tool, so you can’t forget everything else that it can do. In the middle of the handle, there is a 56-ring gauge cut-out window designed for cigar cutting. Also, coming out of the butt of the knife, there is a screwdriver and pry tip. The Benchmade Aller Fumee also sports a micro bit slot, a bottle opener, and a lanyard and key-ring hole. This Benchmade really has it all, which means that it is going to be able to do it all. It will be hard to find something that this knife and multi-tool won’t be able to help you with.

The Mechanism:

This is a folding multi-tool, which mean that it is going to be legal in more states and cities than if it were an automatic multi-tool.

To assist you in opening this, there is a small flipper for you to pull against. The flipper is much thinner than you would typically see, and also isn’t fin shaped whatsoever. The flipper works so well, because this portion of the blade extends out of the handle when the blade is closed. To open the knife, you are going to pull back on the flipper, which will swing the blade open, where it will lock into place ready for use. The flipper is easy to use, but it does take a few tries to get the hang of it.

The Specs:

The blade on this multi-tool measures in at 1.6 inches, with a handle portion that measures in at 2.88 inches long. This means that when the blade has been opened, the overall length of the knife is going to measure in at a tiny 4.48 inches long. This is a tiny multi-tool, but that is part of the brilliance. It is able to easily fit on your key ring or on a lanyard, somewhere where it is out of the way, but that you still have access to it throughout your day, exactly when you need it.

The Aller Fumee weighs in at 1.6 ounces, due to the miniscule size of it. However, this weight is perfect, because it is going to allow you to clip it onto your key ring, for use whenever you need it.

Like all Benchmade knives and tools, this one was proudly made in the United States of America.

Conclusion:

This folder model features chocolate, brown and red Richlite handles, a guillotine style blade in a satin finish and the pocket clip is designed for tip up carry only.

The Benchmade Aller Fumee enhances the features of the traditional Benchmade Aller by incorporating a 56-ring gauge cut-out window for cigar cutting. Classified as a friction folder, each knife uses no lock or springs in its function but uses the handle's friction against the tang to stay open. If that's not enough to wet your whistle, the laundry list of features packed into this folder include a screwdriver/pry tip, micro bit slot, a custom pocket/money clip, bottle opener and a lanyard/key-ring hole. Get it here.