Benchmade Knives
If you've spent any time at all in the outdoors, you've doubtlessly encountered a situation where the right cutting tool makes all the difference. Anything can happen — you could be out in the middle of a national park, setting up camp hundreds of miles away from civilization, or you could be walking near a river in your neighborhood and spot some discarded fishing line tangled in a tree. There are countless reasons people have been carrying knives since humans first discovered how to bash two stones together to make a sharp edge. Sure, they can be used as weapons, but the vast majority of the time, knives are a versatile tool!
At OTM Tactical, we get out into nature for all kinds of reasons. Tactical shooting competitions and hunting are both activities likely to see you in the deep woods. The knife you carry with you is as important as your rifle, and in some cases can be more important. And just like your firearm, you need to carry the best!
That's why we stock Benchmade knives at OTM Tactical, in an assortment of types suitable for numerous applications.
What's a Benchmade Knife?
Benchmade is an American knife manufacturer that started out making balisong knives (often called butterfly knives) and then expanded into other knife types for hunting, tactical use, and everyday carry. Currently located in Oregon, Benchmade enforces extremely strict standards on every knife it produces. Both modern and ancient technology are used — the blades start out cut from a steel sheet with a laser, and late in the crafting process are stone-washed, i.e. "washed" in a container of literal stones to buff and deburr them.
Benchmade's manufacturing standards are out of this world. Tolerances are thinner than a human hair and any knife that fails any part of the testing process is rejected. To maintain these high standards, each Benchmade knife is made by hand from beginning to end, from laser cutting to final assembly. In fact, up to 35 people might handle a single Benchmade knife throughout the process. Plus, all Benchmade knives are sharpened to an exceptional edge before leaving the factory — yet another step with very precise requirements (sharpening angle is always 30 degrees inclusive, 15 degrees on each side).
This highly-developed, precision manufacturing process is what makes Benchmade knives stand out from the competition. Benchmade knives are reliable for all types of jobs, from grueling military use to hunting and survival to opening stubborn packaging at home.
What Type of Knife Do You Need?
Knife types vary greatly in every detail from the handle to the shape of the blade. One of the most important choices you can make is whether to get a knife with a serrated blade or a plain blade. Serrated knives are better for sawing through certain fibrous materials because their blades' sawtooth-style edge basically works like a row of smaller knives, and this makes it easier to apply cutting pressure to a bunch of densely-packed fibers (in everything from tough nylon rope to soft bread). But serrated knives aren't good for everything, and they're also a lot harder to sharpen properly.
Plain-bladed knives lack serrations and provide cleaner cuts when a sawing method isn't necessary. Instead, cutting is performed by pushing the edge forward into the surface. Hunting and skinning knives have plain edges and are shaped to provide the most cutting power at a place on the blade where the motion of your arm is going to naturally apply the most pressure. This ensures clean cuts with minimum fatigue.
Many all-purpose knives have a section of serrated blade along with a plain cutting blade to increase their utility. This type of knife is good for an all-purpose tool, but for specialized work you're better off getting a specialized blade. Of course, this is why every serious outdoorsman has a set of knives instead of just one, but if you just need a reliable knife to keep in your pocket for various uses, you can stick with a single mixed-blade knife.
Buying the Best Knife
OTM Tactical is pleased to offer Benchmade knives at low prices in an assortment of styles for all different types of usage. Our selection has been chosen to represent a large variety of knife types including fixed-blade and folding, manual and assisted opening, with serrated and plain blades. You're sure to find a Benchmade knife that will work for your needs.
The Saddle Mountain Skinner is great for field dressing, skinning, and butchering, while the Triage is the perfect emergency knife. The Pardue Hunter, designed by renowned hunter and knifemaker Mel Pardue, is another great hunting knife beloved by hunters everywhere. Another fantastic utility knife is the serrated Nakamura AXIS, with a handle that helps you keep a powerful grip during serious work. Check out our full selection for more.
When choosing a knife, always start by deciding what you're going to use it for: everyday carry? Skinning? Tactical purposes? This purpose will guide you through the various choices of blade size and shape, fixed-blade or folding, opening mechanisms and more. The worst thing you can do is buy a knife because you like how it looks and then try to use it for something it wasn't intended for — this can make a job much harder and could even get you injured.
If you have questions, we'd love to help you out at OTM Tactical. Please feel free to contact us.