Friday, November 28, 2008

Classy Killer from Benchmade, and auto knives are silly



I had the opportunity to play with the Benchmade Infidel Out-The-Front [OTF] auto knife back in April when Jon and I drove down to the Benchmade Factory. It's a robust weapon possessing the quality inherent in Benchmade's US made knives. Enter this Gold Class limited run from Benchmade. Functionally, I believe it's the same as the original Infidel, but this one is dressed up.

Fifty Piece Production Run
Acid Etched Damasteel Stainless Damascus w/ Spear-Point
Dual Action OTF Mechanism
Black Coated 6061-T6 Aluminum Handles
Custom Finished Heat Colored Liners
Heat Colored Button, Hardware & Clip
Custom Presentation Box

Wow, all this can be yours for only $850.00 USD!
It's no secret that I'm partial to Benchmade knives in many ways, but I'll be damned if I'll ever spend more than $200, okay maybe $250 on a factory-made knife! I've also always felt that autos of any kind are silly, be they the OTF type like the Infidel, or any of Microtech's overpriced tactical toys. I'm of the opinion that the only reason civilians want automatic knives is because they're not supposed to have them. Why would I want to carry something with a relatively delicate spring mechanism when I know that Benchmade's Axis-locking knives will not fail even in the dirtiest of conditions. Autos are fun, but give me a $150 Benchmade or $200 Emerson over any automatic knife. Today's high end production knives open just as fast, and have less parts to potentially break than an automatic knife. By that token, I'm not a big fan of assisted opening knives either. I think they're gimmicky and I saw far too many break and had to deal with far too many jerkoffs when Kershaw's shoddy Whirlwind series was the trendy knife of the hour.
Yep, make mine a liner lock when it comes to folders, or an Axis-type mechanism.
Anyway, I'm not saying I wouldn't dig the Gold Class Infidel if someone gave it to me as a gift, or if I found it on the street. I think for now though, I'm just content to look at the pretty picture. It's currently available at knifecenter.

2 comments:

san antonio movers said...

Silly is an understatement. What's next?!?!

Aaron said...

yeah, sorta takes the "tactical" out when there's gold (color) and damascus. I dunno. I love Benchmade's stuff, they have been one of my favorites over the years, but my old friend @ the knife shop I worked at years ago was right, he always said "Watch, in 10 years' time, there will be a ton more knife companies competing with Benchmade, while their prices go up and they try to be more "exclusive"..." He was right on the money, they still make some great classic Benchmades in the $150-$200 range, but I generally avoid paying over $200 for any knife, with slim exceptions...
thanks 4 reading San Antone!
-A