Benchmade Foray Review

There are a lot of great folder’s out there, but the Benchmade Foray has a few things going for it that other knives in the same vein simply don’t. It is made from great materials from start to finish and is one of the few knives out there that is fully ambidextrous for both deployment and carry.

The design and materials combine together to make a folding knife that handles every day tasks easily and is sturdy enough to handle more difficult utility and outdoor tasks as well.

Because of the quality of the materials and the design and functionality of this knife, we give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Benchmade Foray Features

Blade – The blade of the Foray is a standard drop point. The CPM-20CV Steel of the blade has a good hardness rating and is very sharp.

This makes the knife a great tool for a multitude of tasks like breaking down boxes and opening mail, but also sharp enough for cutting through thicker and more dense materials like cloth, netting and other materials.

The large belly of the blade also makes it a good knife for slicing and things like food prep.

Handle – The handle of the Foray is made from black G10 scales. The flexible polymer gives the handle good durability even under pressure and the scales themselves are corrosion, rust, and moisture proof.

The scales of the handle allow it to flex under tension and slightly conform during delicate work. This helps overall grip. The handle has a good length and a reversible deep carry pocket clip for either sided carry tip up.

Deployment and Lockup – The deployment system for the Foray is a standard flipper with thumb studs on either side for ambidextrous one handed opening. This allows for quick deployment in a variety of situations.

The Benchmade patented axis lock uses a solid steel liner lock combined with the spring loaded axis system to hold the knife open. The springs raise the tension bar against the tang of the blade to hold the knife open and lower the bar to hold pressure against the knife when closed to prevent slipping.

Blade Edge, Make, and Finish

The blade of the Foray is simply impressive, the CPM-20CV stainless steel is extremely sharp and has a hardness rating of 59-61.  This makes the blade durable and the stainless steel is rust and corrosion resistant. The drop point is strong enough to allow for fine detail work, yet the blade retains a wide belly for slicing.

At 3.24 inches the blade is long enough for routine cutting such as dismantling boxes, cutting through tough tissue like animal hide and cutting rope. The tip can be used to scale fish or open letters.

The blade is just over an 1/8th of an inch thick, has plain edge and a satin finish. The only drawback to the blade is that it features no jimping and the drop point makes it less suitable for straight stabbing.

The blade has good edge retention and can be sharpened to maintain out of the box cutting quality.

Handle Design, Form, and Ergonomics

The handle is made of black G10 scales. The plastic and fiberglass polymer of G10 makes the handle light and flexible. It is also lightly texture to improve grip. The handle itself is just over 4 inches long.

The back side of the handle is straight down to the base where it curves slightly there is some slight ridging on the back side to improve grip when choking up on the knife during detail work.

The scales are also moisture resistant and won’t rust or corrode, making the entire knife require little maintenance and very serviceable in extreme conditions.

The underside of the handle is contoured to fit the hand and features slight curvature to fit the fingers and accommodate the liner lock. Each side of the handle features thumb studs making the knife ambidextrous.

There is also a lanyard hole and a deep carry right handed tip up pocket clip, though the pocket clip is reversible for left handed carry.

Deployment and Lockup

For deployment the knife uses a standard thumb stud flipper. The thumb studs are located on either side of the handle for one handed opening with either hand, the positioning of the studs allows the knife to be safely flipped open very quickly without endangering the hands of the user.

The knife is held open by Benchmade’s patented AXIS lock system. The AXIS system uses an omega spring loaded tension bar that is raised and placed against the tang of the blade when open to ensure that it stays open during use.

For lockup the knife combines the AXIS lock with the stainless steel skeletonized liner lock that runs the length of the handle. The springs in the AXIS lock lower the tension bar against the blade so that the knife is held shut when closed. This provides secure lockup with no slippage.

The stainless steel liner lock skeleton adds some thickness to the handle of the blade and improves overall stability of the knife when bearing down on the handle during heavy cutting work.

Benchmade Foray Review – Final Thoughts

There are a number of flippers out there. However, not many of them combine this many quality materials with the production quality that Benchmade is known for.

The high quality steel of the blade makes the Benchmade Foray an ideal cutting tool for use in everyday tasks, at work, or on the camping site.

The handle combines durability and flexibility to give solid grip, the addition of ergonomics to the handle improves handling during delicate tasks and the pocket clip makes the knife easy to carry.

The patented AXIS lock makes the knife fast and safe when deployed and locked up. For knife enthusiasts that want a work horse, the Foray hits the mark well.