The Benchmade Infidel Knives Reviewed

For over twenty-five 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. Whether you are using a Griptilian 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. And programs like their LifeSharp Lifetime Service and Warranty are the foundation of our commitment to excellence. They live it and breath it, and they know what you mean when you say: It’s not a knife. It’s my Benchmade.

Benchmade builds knives for the most demanding customers, form 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-grand handle materials to create premium grade knives and tools that provide great value for their customers.

The mechanics of opening and closing a knife are essential to its function. 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? These are critical considerations when it comes to the mechanism.

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. Our commitment to modern machining techniques and rigid quality control has allowed Benchmade to bridge the gap between custom and manufactured.

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, which is a name that speaks for itself. When you send your knife to the Benchmade LifeSharp team, the knife is completely disassembled and all worn part are tuned and 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. This is all at no cost to you.

Benchmade has a rich history that dates back over 30 years. Benchmade is the product of many dedicated employees, a never quite demand for excellence and the de Asis family’s vision and total commitment to culture, service and innovation. 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.

Over here at BladeOps, we are some of Benchmade’s biggest fans. So we decided to celebrate this May as Benchmade month. We are hoping that you will celebrate with us.

 

The Blade:

The Infidel family has its blades made out of D2 steel. This is a high end tool steel that is often referred to as a “semi-stainless” steel. This is because it falls just short of the required amount of chromium to qualify as full stainless yet it still provides a good amount of resistance to corrosion. On the other side, D2 steel is much harder than other steels in this category such as 154CM or ATS-34 steel and as a result holds its edge a little better. That said, this still is not as tough as many other steels and exponentially tougher to sharpen. In fact, you will really need to be a master sharpener to get a fine edge on this steel formula.

With this family of knives, you can choose between two different steel finishes. The first finish that you have the option of is a satin finish. This finish is created by repeatedly sanding the blade in one direction with an increasing level of an abrasive. This abrasive material is usually a sandpaper. The main characteristic that you get with this blade finish is that it shows the bevels of the blade very well and it also showcases the lines of the steel. The satin finish is going to give you one of the most traditional blade finishes that you are going to come across. The satin finish works to cut down on glares and reflections, but is also nowhere near matte.

The second option of a blade finish that you get with the Infidel family of knives is a coated finish. The coated finish is black and reduces the reflection and glare while reducing wear and corrosion. However, ALL coatings can be scratched off after continuous heavy use and the blade would have to be recoated at that point. With a coating finish, the harder the finish, the more resistant to wear and the more expensive to add to a knife. Coatings can prolong the life of a blade by preventing corrosion or rust. Quality coatings add cost to a knife but provide more corrosion resistance, less reflection, and require less maintenance.

The blades on this family of knives has been carved into a double edge dagger shape. The dagger blade shape is all about the point. This shape is also known as a needle point blade. It is a double edged blade whose primary purpose is piercing and stabbing. This blade shape is composed of 2 symmetrical sharpened blades that taper to a very thin sharp point which pierces easily into soft targets. The two sharp edges reduce the profile of the knife and let it cut in on both sides equally. This makes them a favorite blade design for self-defense in close combat situations. Dagger blades are popular among military and police personnel because of their ability to be easily concealed. However, there are also disadvantages to the dagger blade design. Because the geometry of the blade lacks a belly and contains quickly thickening edges, it is not good for slicing or slashing. Also, because the tip is very sharp and thin, it is weak and has a tendency to break when used on hard targets. This blade shape is the perfect option for knife owners who are looking for a blade design known for piercing.

Because it is built to be a stabbing knife, both edges of the blade have a plain edge. The plain edge provides you with cleaner cuts than if you had a serrated edge.

 

The Handle:

The handle on this family of knives is made out of 6061-T6 Aluminum. This is the most common type of aluminum that is used today and it has tremendous tensile strength. This is a very durable material for knife handles. It has a low density metal that provides for a nice, hefty feel to the knife without weighing the knife down. When an aluminum handle is properly texturized, and aluminum handle can provide a reasonably secure grip that is also comfortable and easy for extended use. On the downside, if you use your knife quite a bit during colder winter months, you might find the handle uncomfortably cold given its conductive properties. Aluminum is generally considered inferior to its stronger, yet more expensive brother Titanium which tends to be found on the premium knives. The aluminum handle has been anodized black for hardness and protection.

The handle has a wide flare and the top and butt of the handle. This helps with grip and to protect your hand from slipping. In the palm of the hand there are tight grooves going across the width of the knife.

 

The Pocket Clip:

The pocket clip that is attached to the Infidel family of knives is dark sliver, deep carry pocket clip. It has “the Infidel” stamped across the length of the clip. This is a MALICE CLIP, which means that it is MOLLE compatible. This knife has been designed to attach the pocket clip tip down only.

 

The Mechanism:

The Infidel is an Automatic opening Out the Front knife. This style of knife is also known as an OTF, sliding, or telescoping knife. This is a style of pocket knife with a blade that opens and closes through a hole in one end of the handle. Contrast this with the majority of knives, which are either standard folding knives or are fixed blade sheath knives. OTF only refers to the basic portion of the knife’s mechanical operation where the blade slides parallel with the handle to deploy. An automatic OTF knife blade travels within an internal track or channel in the same manner as a manual slider or gravity knife but the automatic main spring drive and button mechanism enclosed within requires a switchblade handle to be thicker or longer than a similar size gravity or sliding knife. The Infidel is a double action out the front knife. Double action OTF knives deploy and retract with a multifunction button and spring design. Although movie magic often shows double action OTF automatic knives being powerful enough to open when pressed against an opponent and then pushing the butt, in reality, they are not strong enough to do that. You can chalk that idea up to movie magic. Double action sliding autos are only spring powered 10 to 12 millimeters; afterwards, kinetic impetus slides the blade to full open.

The firing button sits toward the top handle. It is slightly oversized for easy access. When you push the button, the blade snaps out quickly like you would expect forma Benchmade. When you slide the button back down, the blade closes tight and quick. This double action OTF knife is built tough and ready for action.

 

The Purpose:

The family of Infidels has been designed as a series of tactical knives. This is also considered a fighting knife which is a knife with a blade designed to inflict injury in a physical confrontation or between two or more individuals at very short range. Fighting knives were traditionally designed as special purpose weapons, intended primarily if not solely for use in personal or hand to hand combat. This singularity of purpose originally distinguished the fighting knife form the field knife, fighting utility knife, or in modern usage, the tactical knife. The tactical knife is a knife with one or more military features designed for use in extreme situations, which may or may not include a design capability as a fighting or combat weapon.

 

The Specs:

The blade on this knife measures in at 3.91 inches long with a blade thickness of 0.118 inches. The open length of this family of knives is 8.91 inches long and it has a closed length of 5 inches long. The handle thickness on this knife is 0.59 inches. The Infidels weigh in at 4.9 ounces. These knife has been made in the United States of America and is MOLLE compatible. The sheath type of this knife is Cordura.

 

Conclusion:

When Benchmade describes this knife they say, “In addition to the incredibly stable, fast action and the rugged, pure tactical nature of the knife, the Infidel has a cool factor that is hard to describe without physically experiencing it.” The Benchmade Infidel double action out the front automatic knife, designed by McHenry & Williams, is a favorite amongst law enforcement and military professionals around the globe and is praised for its rugged construction, solid durability, and an X factor of pure awesomeness that one can only experience when owning one.  The design of the black anodized 6061-T6 aircraft grade aluminum handle boasts a milled “step” design that transitions seamlessly into the design of the slide trigger. On the black dagger style blade, you will find a blood groove that runs the length of the almost 4″ blade on both sides that further enhances the already aggressive nature of this black class model. Furthermore, the enlarged slide trigger is housed on the broad side of the handle scale allowing for better accessibility, even while wearing gloves. This model features a black aluminum chassis, a dual-edged dagger style blade in a black finish and the deep carry pocket clip is statically designed for tip down carry only. Due to the size, this knife comes with a MOLLE compatible nylon sheath and malice clip for multiple carry options.
Come celebrate Benchmade month today at BladeOps and pick up your favorite Infidel today.