SHOT Day 1: Benchmade Releases Thinnest Knife Yet

As one of the few major manufacturers to forego showing off any new for 2023 models ahead of SHOT, Benchmade’s lineup for the new year was a major question mark going into the show. Now the 2023 lineup is here, and it sees the company iterating on existing models in interesting ways, as well as expanding color choices on old favorites, tweaking a couple automatics, and turning out a knife that’s even thinner than the Bugout.

Narrows

The Narrows is the only brand new model in Benchmade’s 2023 catalog, but it’s a doozy. Aptly named, Benchmade bills the Narrows as the thinnest knife in their lineup – thinner than the Bugout by 33%, in fact. Its narrow all-titanium scales house a S30V drop point blade and an Axis Lock mechanism. The hardware has been anodized blue in traditional Benchmade style, too.

MagnaCut CLA

We knew it was only a matter of time before Benchmade started rolling out some knives with MagnaCut steel, and they’re coming later this year. Among the first out of the gate is a new version of the CLA, a single action auto design. The MagnaCut CLT wil be available in either OD green or Ivory G-10 scales, with accenting hardware; both versions are slated for an August release.

Mini Osborne 945-2

940 aficionados will recall the 940-1, a premium variant of the Benchmade classic with carbon fiber scales and an S90V super steel blade. Now the Osborne’s little brother is getting the same treatment; Benchmade has this one slated for a mid-year July release window.

Tanto Claymore and Mini Claymore

Another single action auto line, the Claymore, gets bigger this year – while also getting smaller. The standard full-size Claymore gets a tanto version, and will be releasing alongside the Mini Claymore, a scaled down version of the standard drop point model.

Grivory Shootout

The double action automatic Shootout returns for 2023 in a lightly edited form. First of all, the CF elite scales are replaced by good old Grivory, available in multiple colors including the seafoam green pictured above. The glass breaker is swapped out for a lanyard loop instead as well.

Mini Adamas in CF

The rugged Mini Adamas gets a slightly dressier version this year. Contoured carbon fiber scales are laid over flat earth colored steel frame, which change up the knife’s look but not the weight, which is still 4.6 oz. The steel choice remains the same too: M4 semi-stainless.

Freek Swapup

Before now, the full-size and Mini Freek models each had separate handle material/steel combinations; this year, the once-exclusive configurations are being made available for both sizes. You can get the Mini Freek with M4 steel and G-10 scales, and the regular Freek with carbon fiber scales and S90V steel.

Return of the Om

This one should please OTF fans: 2023 will see the return of the Om, a very tiny OTF knife that was a kind of “Blink and you miss it” release from Benchmade. Not much has changed other than the available colors on the Om, which will be the smallest OTF in the Benchmade lineup once again when it arrives.

Weekender in S90V

Benchmade’s latest multifunctional slippie, the Weekender, also gets a performance boost with this maroon-scale’d variant. The blade steel is upgraded to S90V, with a dark coating on top to make rust pretty much a non-issue.

SOCP Fixed Blade

The new 185 carries forward the traditional SOCP dagger blade shape and stiletto handle, but in the biggest format we’ve yet seen for the design, with an overall length of 11.7 inches. The SOCP is coming out in plain and partially serrated models; there will also be a trainer version available.

New Raghorn and Flyway

Last year saw the release of these two outdoors fixed blades; for 2023 they’re getting second models with different steels. The ’23 Raghorn swaps CruWear out for S30V, while the Flyway upgrades to S90V from 154CM. Both variants have the same OD green scales and uncoated, satin finish blades.

Altitude

Benchmade has given the Altitude ultralight fixed blade a 2023 revision. The carbon fiber tab scale on the original has been expanded into a full-size one, and the blade itself is just a tad longer at 3.08 inches, although still made from S90V steel.

Two New Taggedouts

The Hunt Series Taggedout folder sees two new versions this year, each with upgraded steel over the CPM-154 of the first model. There’s an OD green version with S45VN blade steel, and a carbon fiber-scale’d model with MagnaCut (which marks the first time the steel has appeared in the Hunt line, by the way).

New colors for old favorites

On top of all of these upgrades and revisions, Benchmade is also rolling out a lot of new color options for popular existing models. The Bugout, Mini Bugout, Bailout, and the Shootout all get treated to new standard line colorations, including Crater Blue and Mesa Red.

Knife in Featured Image: Benchmade Narrows

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