Benchmade - Crooked River 15080 EDC Knife with Gray Aluminum & Wood Handle (15080-2)

This was my first axis lock knife, and definitely one of the highest quality folders I own. The good: It looks fantastic with the wood and aluminum, part modern part traditional. The orange ring around pivot is actually a nice touch, but if you custom order from benchmade you can change that (I think brass would look awesome). Knife came wicked sharp, shaving no problem and slicing through paper like there is nothing there. Really is the sharpest factory edge, just barely nicked my palm when flicking closed and it drew blood. Knife feels great in the hand and isn't tooo big in the pocket, feels smaller than it is loose or clipped. Very smooth open and close. (has break-in period) Nice weight. Nice blade length, fairly large but that pretty obvious, its a big 4 inch chunk of s30v. On the topic of s30v, it is fantastic. Not horrible to sharpen and holds a great edge. If you think its not a good enough steel then you should shut the f*** up because it really is a great steel. In your beloved folding knife life or death hardcore survival situation, how much better will your M390 blade perform compared to a s30v blade? The bad: I have average size hands and it is too big for me. The axis lock is hard to disengage properly because of the way I have to hold it. The axis lock also came very stiff, left deep imprint in my thumb after messing around with it. Opening and closing a bunch fixed that a little bit The orange G 10 backspacer is a little out of place, it just doesn't look quite right on the knife. It still looks great, and I suppose it could help you find the knife if you drop it, but I doubt it. It has a little bit of "jimping" that is really just some grooves that do nothing, but not a big deal. Only other problem is the infamous benchmade quality control that everyone blows out of proportion. Yes it should be damn near perfect when your spending $200 for a pocket knife, but thats clearly not the way it is. If the possibility of a minor defect that doesn't affect the way it performs or how fun it is to mess around with the axis lock, then so be it... Everything on the knife is perfect except the grind lines, they just are not even. picture doesn't show it too well, but they are pretty far off. Again, this isnt a big deal, still an awesome knife that cuts great. This really is a massive folder. There is just something about it that makes it feel even bigger than other large folders, I have a picture of it next to the CRKT fossil that shows that. I really dont know what it is, but it just feels massive, not necessarily in a bad way. Handle is just really big. If you have large hands, this is a great folder. I love it, but its just too big for me so i will probably end up selling it and buying the mini crooked river.

This is my first Benchmade. Honestly this is my first folding knife of any level of quality. I've had this now for several weeks and use it every day. Upon first arrival it was a bit tight on the deployment and every now and again the Axis lock would get a bit stuck, but once broken in it's smooth as butter. Very easy to open and close with one hand. Still absolutely no play, and still has an excellent edge after a fair amount of abuse, so it's safe to say S30V steel holds up to its reputation. The construction of the knife is superb. I was afraid the wood would deteriorate, scratch, or at least pick up on the scents of my workplace (cook here, your clothes can get pretty fragrant,) but nope, still like new after a good while. The blade is nice and long as is the handle: it's Benchmade's biggest folder after all. It's also a bit heavier than most knives but for me it's not a problem. Just keep in mind that if you're looking for something light and discreet this might not be it. I love the orange trim and the overall aesthetic of the knife. The pictures are 100% accurate. I'll state again that I recieved this blade with absolutely zero play, nothing shakes around. The factory bevel is a tiny bit off but it doesn't effect the performance at all. I couldn't be more satisfied with this blade. Highly recommended.

**UPDATED REVIEW: 7 YEAR REPORT** Amazing knife. I have had a lot of knives over the decades and am not easily impressed. This is the best quality knife I have ever owned. Solid feel, mechanism, and a grip/handle that fits perfectly in a man's hand. The knife opens and closes extremely smoothly and the blade is RIDICULOUSLY sharp (unusually sharp- be careful!).This is a big knife however. I would not descibe it as a "pocket" knife, more like a man's tool. It will fit in your pants pocket, but it is a not an inconspicous knife at all! Benchmade's warranty and service is second to none. They will clean, lubricate and re-sharpen the blade (back to its factory ridiculousness) for its life. **APRIL 2018: I've used this knife for over 2 years now and it is still the best knife I have ever owned. Also, it is still DANGEROUSLY sharp! I accidentally jabbed myself with the point this last weekend (totally my own negligence) and it cut into my palm like butter. What better endorsement could there be?! **JAN 2024: Really great knife. The action on the knife, once broken in, is smooth as butter. Knife is ready for sharpening, cleaning, and oiling- which Benchmade is doing for FREE under the lifetime warranty. I can comfortably say this knife is the best I've ever owned. This model is apparently discontinued- so buy them while they last!**

I bought this as a Christmas gift for my husband. He lost his Benchmade pocket knife. I loved the wooden part of this one and as it turned out , he loved it too. He stated that this was a beautiful piece of craftsmanship and a perfect tool. He was very pleased, as he knows and loves the quality of Benchmade. The feel was perfect, nothing could have made him happier. You certainly get what you pay for with Benchmade. A very pleased and happy husband !

Hands down one of the best friction folding knives you will find on Amazon. Benchmade's Quality steel and Quality manufacturing are without a doubt worth the value.

This is a really nice looking knife, I'm not big on the color orange, however given the price verse custom making one on benchmades website to get rid of the orange I felt this was the way to go. After using it now for a couple weeks the blade is holding up fine, its not much of a slicer, the blade is big and the edge is pretty big so it's meant for hard use and cutting thick things. I find I need a lot of pressure behind it when I am cutting things like rubber hoses or cardboard. The tip of the knife is fantastic it is a great knife if you like to pierce and than cut. As far as quality control the knife I received was dead center, no play side to side or forward to back. There was two little blemishes which you can see in the photo, the scales on one of the handles is not flush so it has a little lip that catches my hand and pants sometimes. The second being a weird line on the scale that looks like a crack even though it's not. I read a lot of other reviews where people said the blade is too big for every day carry, and for me while it is on the bigger side this knife is actually pleasant to use for EDC as I have not hit any limits of what I could not cut. If you like to have a box opener/zip-tie cutter I think this is the wrong knife for you as it's not a fine edge that is super sharp. This is definitely more of an everyday use knife for multipurpose that you can beat up.

I ain't no professional reviewer or know a lot about knives so take this review lightly. This knife kicks ass. It does come really sharp (looks machine sharpened. But shaves hairs off my arm well. The lock is solid the metal is thick, feels good in the hand and looks beautiful. The orange spacer I thought was going to bother me but it really doesn't. It's there but I think your just so focused on the sheer sex appeal of the knife that you completely forget about it. Plus it's just not that big of a deal to me. The wood has a nice feel and look to it. I like the fact that you can feel the grain structure on the wood. Meaning, not over treated. I plan on using this as my personal pocket knife for the rest of my life and don't plan on buying other pocket knives in the future. My first benchmade and it was a winner. Would recommend to anyone.

Let’s get one thing out of the way - Benchmade makes great knives, no question. I have very big hands, and really my only bone of contention is the handle feels kind of thin. I wish it had a little more thickness to actually grip it. It’s a fantastic looking knife and feels great in the hands with a pleasing weight and a certain gravity to it; this is on account of the 4” blade, which has a very pleasing shape and backbone in spades (as most Benchmades do). It’s clearly a more showy knife than anything, with a very pleasing design, but I can’t help but feel that it would be a much better knife if the handle were thicker and didn’t taper off quite so aggressively toward the butt end. As always, the factory edge is no joke, so no problems there; for those who do not own axis lock knives, the lock mechanism can be a little stiff at first, don’t panic if it gets stuck open; just coax the lock open, sometimes it takes some wiggling. But after a couple dozen times opening and closing it, things loosen up nicely. A very pleasantly surprising amenity included with this knife is that there are screw holes pre-machined into the opposite side of the handle to relocate the clip, in case you prefer to swap the orientation; a feature mysteriously absent in the Grizzly Creek, which I consider to be a far superior knife for all intents and purposes. The overall combined length of the blade and handle is almost cumbersome, and being that it’s so thin, I have concerns that in rigorous use it would easily slip in the hand. However, I believe this knife is at its roots a “show” or “dress” knife; you’re not going to be using a knife this beautiful or shapely for anything other than opening packages and envelopes, cutting twine, and other lightwork. It’s not designed for serious abuse; this is an easy-cutting knife. If you still want a sturdy benchmade with a nice wood handle, go for the Grizzly Creek instead; the gut hook alone is worth the money. All things considered, it’d be an outstanding knife if not for the questionable grip ergonomics. That is the only reason I could advise against it.