Benchmade is an American knife manufacturer. Its most famous product is the Model 68, which has become known to people all over the world. If you are not familiar with it, it belongs to the category of butterfly knives. It is therefore not a typical folding knife, where the blade is deployed from the handle. With classic butterfly knives you have to open part of the handle, then the blade, and finally lock both halves of the handle together.
Butterfly knife on screen
This way of drawing the knife was very popular not only with customers, but also with Hollywood filmmakers. They provided the Benchmade brand with huge publicity. They were especially fascinated by the wide range of tricks their heroes and villains could perform with the knives on the silver screen. The famous Model 68 thus appeared in many box‑office hits.
The best known include Face/Off with John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. It also appeared in unforgettable scenes in The Mummy, The Jackal, Kick-Ass and Lethal Weapon 4. It was the impressive way of drawing the butterfly knife that gave the action scenes style, tension and, in some cases, even humour.
Few people know, however, that it was a close call and the already very popular “butterfly knives” were almost forgotten. The original company Bali-Song, founded back in 1980, went bankrupt after seven years. A year later, the new company Benchmade was established. It learned from the mistakes of its predecessor and began to focus much more on quality control, pricing and logistics.
A turn for the better
In 1988, production was once again in full swing under the new brand. Knives began to be manufactured in two stages. The parts were made by machines, and assembly and quality control were then carried out manually by employees.
The biggest innovation for Benchmade knives came in 1990, when the manufacturer acquired a laser cutter. This made it possible to use steel that is too hard to be normally stamped. Compared to the competition, Benchmade knives then featured significantly more durable steel, thanks to which the brand also won very valuable military contracts. That was when the real turning point for the better came.
Benchmade today
However, Benchmade knives are no longer just about the legendary butterfly knives. Thanks to military contracts, the company also produces high‑quality tactical knives and continues to expand its portfolio. Today it includes, for example, hunting knives, outdoor, survival and rescue knives. Particularly noteworthy are the large hunting knife for processing game and the multifunctional tool set with a sharpener.