The origin of Benchmade can be traced back to California in 1979, when Les de Asis, the founder, was inspired to create a better quality knife than those he had used during his childhood. Dissatisfied with the poorly made butterfly knives available at the time, Les aimed to leverage the latest materials and manufacturing techniques to revolutionize this market. The initial focus was on crafting high-quality butterfly knives, known as Bali-Songs, as reflected in the company’s logo and name at the time. Using his skills from high school shop classes, Les developed a prototype of his improved knife design. Encouraged by the positive response he received from a local gun store owner who saw the prototype, Les embarked on the journey of creating more knives. This marked the humble beginnings of the company, which initially operated under the name Bali-Song. Aside from now offering a knife for every possible adventure or EDC style, they have stepped it up and now allow you to completely customize a select few of their knives. I went through the process of creating my very own Benchmade Custom 940 Osborne for a truly one-of-a-kind knife.
I used Benchmade’s Customizer for my Bugout.