This is the Crooked River folding knife, it’s one of the most popular designs made by Benchmade as it uses a combination of a classic hunting knife design, built with all modern materials.
Each of these knives starts out as a blank, laser-cut from sheets of high-grade steel, which is then ground, beveled, and finished. The entire process happens from start to finished product in the USA, at the Benchmade factory in Oregon City, Oregon.
Each knife is made by hand in the United States, at the 35,000 square foot Benchmade factory in Oregon City, Oregon.
Benchmade started out back in 1979 in California as Bali-Song, a company that made its bread and butter producing high-quality butterfly knives. These knives, also called balisongs, became a huge hit in the 1980s and well into the 1990s. They featured in many films and TV shows, often being skillfully flicked open and closed in the hands of a nefarious character.
The company was founded by Les deAsis who proved highly adept at pivoting the firm to keep it both relevant and successful. The name was changed to the Pacific Cutlery Corporation in the early 1980s as proposed legislation threatened to outlaw the butterfly knife, the company then changed its name to Benchmade in 1988 – a reference to the fact that each knife is made by hand, on a bench.
In 1996 the company moved over to Oregon City, Oregon, into a 35,000 square foot factory, and they remain in this same facility today. The company logo consists of a butterfly with “Benchmade” across its back, with a small “USA” below to signify where the knives are made.
The Crooked River Folding Knife By Benchmade
The Crooked River folding knife has a blade made from CPM-S30V premium stainless steel (58-60 HRC), with a clip-point profile. It has anodized aluminum bolsters, stainless steel liners, stabilized wood handles, and hi-vis orange accents.
The knife also has a spring pocket/belt clip on the rear side, and it uses an Axis® lock mechanism to stay safely locked open when in use, the blade can then be folded with a simple thumb operable slider. The open length is 9.3” or 23.6 cm, with a closed length of 5.33” or 13.5 cm, and a blade length of 4” or 10.2 cm, with a blade width of 0.124” or 3.1 mm.
The blade is made from CPM-S30V premium stainless steel (58-60 HRC) with a clip-point profile. This steel alloy is famed for its ability to hold an edge, and for its excellent corrosion resistance.
Each knife comes with the “LifeSharp” service guarantee, this means that Benchmade will re-sharpen your knife to a factory edge for free, for the life of the knife. All Benchmade knives also come with a limited lifetime warranty that covers almost everything other than user-caused physical damage to the knife.
The Crooked River folding knife can be bought directly from Benchmade here, it retails for $320 USD, and each one can be personalized with an engraving if you wish at the time of purchase.
Images courtesy of Benchmade
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