Benchmade

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Benchmade Knife Company is an American knife maker based in Oregon City, Oregon. It started in 1979 in California as Bali-Song, later becoming Pacific Cutlery Corporation, and finally Benchmade in 1988. In 1990 the company moved to Clackamas, Oregon, and in 1996 it moved to a 35,000-square-foot facility in Oregon City to bring production in-house. Benchmade is best known for butterfly knives (balisongs), which inspired the butterfly in its logo. The original Bali-Song design by Jody Samson won Blade Magazine’s Knife of the Year in 1979.

Founder Les deAsis died in 2020. His wife Roberta became President and CEO, and their son Jon took over in October 2020. Benchmade uses steels such as 154CM, D2, CPM S30V, CPM S90V, CPM 20CV, N690, and M390, plus high-speed M2 and CPM M4 for tools.

A large portion of sales comes from restricted knives sold to the military and law enforcement. Benchmade makes a range of knives, including automatic (switchblade) models, plus hunting, fishing, and utility knives. Balisongs remain a core product, though most have been discontinued; the 85 is the main balisong still in production.

Benchmade’s knives are grouped into three classes: Blue (Recreation), Black (Professional for military and public safety), and Gold (Collector, limited editions). The company holds a patent on the locking mechanism used in most switchblades and has an exclusive license for the McHenry/Williams AXIS Lock used in both automatic and manual models.

Designers associated with Benchmade include Jody Samson, Ernest Emerson, Allen Elishewitz, Mel Pardue, Bill McHenry, Mike Snody, Jason Williams, Warren Osborne, Ken Steigerwalt, and Bob Lum. Their models have earned awards for innovation and design.