The Benchmade Narrows is a knife I wanted to get in hand because I had some things to say about it. It has attracted a lot of attention, unfortunately for mostly bad reasons, and after handling this example I understand why.
There are a couple of genuinely nice things here. This is not going to be all sunshine and rainbows, though. At $522, I have serious problems with the overall package, and price is only part of the story.
This is an interesting review. Like the author, I am generally friendly to Benchmade, and I too have a modified Bugout that is the EDC against which I judge all others.
Read the whole thing. I want to fisk it a bit, because I differ in my conclusions about the knife.
Benchmade Narrows Review: A Great Blade at an Offensive Price
I am much more impressed with the Narrows than the author. Yes, there is a “Butterfly Tax”, so think more in terms of a $499 knife. Which is still quite pricey. There is a lot of milled titanium in the handles, and these manufacturing operations and raw material price is part of it.
A _ton_ of engineering when into narrowing the Axis lock to fit the space. And they were never making enough of these to recover that cost in volume.
I love the Hogue Ritter RSK2 he uses in his comparison, but it is stainless with G10. Not the ultra-premium space that the Narrows is playing in.
(disclosure: I did not pay for mine, so the psychological investment in the knife is negligible, and I might be less critical as a result)
The people buying this knife are playing in that space. I think the Gold Class Benchmades are insane, but I am not the target audience. I am assuming that the Narrows is not made in huge batches, and they are making enough, and pricing them appropriately that they are meeting their own internal goals. The knife might be a bit of a loss-leader and demonstration concept, but I don’t quite think so. I would have expected it to be removed from the catalog were this the case.
I don’t think he is off base however. I think that where we differ is more a matter of judgement.
I want to take a second to praise the format of this review. I really like the “Short Version” bullet points, and I think the GIF style video pictures are a top-notch addition to the piece.
-I have addressed most of the points above, but wanted to highlight a couple of more. I absolutely agree with regards to the picket clip. It should be milled at this price point, not recycled. I think the recycled Bugout clip is actually the most offensive thing about it.
-I did not notice the cosmetic blemishes or off-center blade on mine.
-I found it much more satisfying as a fidget object that the author, and was not as bothered by the ergonomics of the handle. My hands look slightly smaller.
All in all a really well put together review.
Benchmade Narrows Review: A Great Blade at an Offensive Price