Knife Review: Benchmade Bugout Natural Jade G-10 Folding Knife

The Benchmade Bugout Natural Jade G-10 Folding Knife [New Release]

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 BladeOps’ arrival: the Benchmade Bugout with natural jade coloring.

The Blade:

The blade has been made out of CPM-20CV stainless steel. This is made by Crucible, who are known for making high end steels for high end knives. I would count this steel as a premium or even an upper-end premium steel.

This steel is considered to be Crucible’s M390 steel. This is a Powder Metallurgy tool steel, which means that it is going to give you a good combination of wear resistance as well as edge retention. Plus, the steel is also incredibly corrosion resistant because of how much chromium it has in the steel.

When Crucible describes this steel, they say, “CPM 20CV is a unique tool steel made by the Crucible Particle Metallurgy Process. It is a martensitic stainless steel with a high volume of vanadium carbides for exceptionally good wear resistance. CPM 20CV contains the highest amount of chromium of any high vanadium stainless steel currently available. The chromium rich matrix provides outstanding corrosion resistance. CPM 20CV an excellent steel for plastic injection feed screws, barrel liners, screw tips and mold cavities, especially for plastic resins which contain abrasive fillers.”

This is just explaining how high-end the steel really is. It is crazy corrosion resistant, has crazy high levels of wear resistance, and basically, gives everything that you could want from a blade steel.

They describe the CPM process by saying, “The CPM process results in a finer, more uniform carbide distribution imparting improved toughness and grindability to highly alloyed steels. The CPM process also alloys for the design of more highly alloyed grades which cannot be produced by conventional steelmaking.”

Really, what this does is enhance the rest of the blade formation. All of the good qualities are made better when the steel has gone through the CPM process.

The blade on this Benchmade has been finished satin. The stain finish is the most common blade finish that you are going to come across in the industry. It is both traditional and elegant. it elevates the blade without stealing the show of the knife.

The satin finish is created when the manufacturer repeatedly sands the blade in one direction with an ever-increasingly fine degree of an abrasive, such as a sandpaper. This process works to showcase the fine lines of the steel while also showcasing the bevels of the blade.

Other than that, the satin finish is going to increase the corrosion resistance of the blade slightly. It also falls in the middle of the reflective spectrum, so it will cut down on glares and reflections.

The blade has been carved into a drop point style blade, which is the most common blade shape that you are going to find in the cutlery industry. The popularity of the shape is no surprise when you find out how tough and versatile it really is.

For starters, the spine of the blade curves down to meet the point, creating a lowered point. This is the first advantage of the drop point shape: the lowered point is going to give you more control. The dropped point is also broad, which is where the strength of the blade comes from. The drop point blade shape is such a popular option because it is so tough and strong. It is able to take on many different tasks without the concern of it breaking.

The last reason that this is such a popular option is because the belly is large. The large the belly, the easier it is for something to slice with.

The only drawback to the drop point is that because the point is broad, it does take away some of your piercing abilities. This normally isn’t a big enough issue to really turn people away, because with the reduced piercing abilities, you do get a lot of extra strength. Most people look at this as a win and will take the reduced piercing abilities.

The Handle:

The handle on this knife is made out of a natural G10. This is a material that is made out of fiberglass. To make the material, the manufacturer takes layers of fiberglass cloth and soaks them in a resin. The next step is to compress them and bake them under pressure. This creates a very tough, hard, lightweight, and strong material. This is a very similar material to carbon fiber, but it is inferior and can be had for almost a fraction of the cost. The overall pros to this knife handle material is that it is going to be tough, light, and durable. Unfortunately, it is also brittle, and some people feel like it lacks elegance.

The natural G-10 is mostly see-through, while it sports a blue accent base. This means that the ends of the handle are blue, with the middle of the handle being a little bit greener. The natural G-10 does show off the silhouette of a butterfly within each side of the knife’s handle. This is a unique handle that you aren’t going to find in other knives. The natural G-10 is not a G-10 that is often used—it is normally colored.

The rest of the handle is basic. The spine is mostly straight, although it does start out angle toward the butt of the handle, dropping the butt slightly. The butt is rounded. The belly has a bulge in the middle, which is going to allow it to fit in your palm more comfortably. There is a slight finger guard, which is important because of how sharp the blade is. The spine of the knife does sport a row of jimping, which is going to give you a more solid hold on this knife.

The Pocket Clip:

The pocket clip on this version of the Bugout is a reversible and deep carry clip. The clip can only be attached for tip up carry, which is the more common tip carry. However, it is reversible for either left or right-handed carry. This helps to make the Bugout more ambidextrous, which also means that it is going to be slightly safer, as you are carrying it in the ways that are most comfortable to you.

The deep carry aspect is also an advantage because it does mean that the knife is going to rest lower in your pocket. This does two things: it first keeps it more secure as you go about your day. Second, it conceals it slightly better, as it is riding so low in your pocket.

The Mechanism:

This is a folding knife that has been equipped with a dual thumb stud to assist you in opening it.

The manual mechanism is going to ensure that it is legal in more states, cities, and areas than if it were a spring-assisted or an automatic knife. That being said, it is not going to be as smooth, easy, or quick to open the folding knife. There may be some fumbling because you are doing it completely by hand.

The thumb stud is the most common opening mechanism that you are going to come across int eh knife industry. It has a few key advantages. The first is that it is easy to get the hang of and easy to use. Almost everyone can do it with only a couple of practice rounds. Then, it is basically muscle memory to open it again. The second is that because this is a dual thumb stud, you can access it form either side, making this an ambidextrous friendly knife. The last is that you can easily open this knife with only one hand. This frees you up to be working with the other hand.

The Specs:

The blade on this version of Benchmade’s Bugout, the blade measures in at 3.24 inches long with a handle that measures in at 4.22 inches long. This means that the overall length of the knife, when the blade has been deployed is going to measure in at 7.46 inches long, which is a fairly standard length, although slightly small. The unique aspect of this knife though, sit hat because of the incredibly lightweight materials, it only weighs in at 2.12 ounces. The typical for an EDC is between 3-5 ounces. This range of weight is known for providing enough heft without actually weighing you down. Since this version of the Bugout isn’t actually in that range, you can expect to not have as much heft. This means that you might not be able to take on some of the tougher tasks. However, there is no chance that this knife will weigh you down. This Benchmade was proudly made in the United States of America.

Conclusion:

This folder model features natural G-10 handle scales, a drop point style blade in a satin finish and the reversible pocket clip is designed for tip up carry only.

The next iteration of the Benchmade Bugout line-up sports natural G-10 handles with a blue accent base--revealing the silhouette of a butterfly within each side of the knife's handle and a high-end blade steel which will hold an edge for quite some time.

This is a limited run with only 2000 units. While it is currently in stock at BladeOps, the supplies are going to go quickly. This knife is going to start shipping on November 29, 2019. To pre-order yours, click here.