Benchmade - Adamas 275 Drop Point Blade Knife, Made in The USA

First impressions of the knife are very positive. The lockup is rock solid, the knife feels like a tank in the hand, the axis lock is surprisingly smooth for such a large and heavy knife (the blade is .16 inches thick and nearly 4 inches long, it's a hefty piece of steel). Before receiving the knife I was concerned that the handle would be too thick to be comfortable, but I was wrong. The handle depth is right around .75 inches with chamfered edges, and it proves comfortable enough for extended use.The jimping for the forward thumb grip is great; neither too sharp nor too rounded, it provides the right amount of friction to keep the knife in place.The steel is D2 steel hardened to 61-62 HRC, which provides a mean cutting edge and excellent hardness. FOR THOSE WHO LIKE PRISTINE EDGES WITH NO CHIPPING, OR WHO COMPULSIVELY SHARPEN THEIR KNIVES, THIS IS NOT THE KNIFE FOR YOU!D2 is very brittle, and from moderate usage I have already noticed microchipping on the blade. This isn't a bad thing per se, but you'll notice a decrease in the smoothness of push cutting paper. The blade will still function exactly as it SHOULD for actual use, but if you think knives should have perfect, unblemished edges with immaculate apexes, no chips, you'd better look elsewhere at softer steels or carbon steels. D2 is also very difficult to sharpen with respect to most other steels. You'll need a DMT stone to change this edge; arkansas stones and india stones won't cut it (pun intended), but you'll see limited success on Japanese waterstones.DO NOT use powergrinders to change a knife edge. Without active lubricant cooling, grinding will cause a localized detempering of the steel at the apex, which will soften the steel and cause the edge to roll more easily, which in turn requires more maintenance to correct. For the case of this knife, I'd suggest leaving the blade as is for a while; D2 holds an edge exceptionally well, and only requires touch-up with a DMT stone occasionally or after hard use. Again, microchipping isn't a bad thing, it's to be expected out of such a hard steel, or supersteels such as S30V, S35VN, Elmax, S90V, S110V, M390, etc. As long as the microchipping doesn't develop into actual chipping, you won't have problems.SOME CONS:The blade grind. The relatively shallow saber grind on such a thick blade stock is honestly awful. The bevel angle is quite large, and the secondary bevel edge makes it even larger. This helps to prevent serious chipping in the D2 which is good, but this knife is NOT a good slicer. It's simply too thick for that. Don't expect perfect feathersticks, fine whittling or notches, it's simply too think behind the edge to do that. However, if you need to chop through a stick or carve up a quick tent stake, this works wonders. It falls somewhere on the spectrum between knife and sharpened prybar.The pocket clip. The clip is situated well on the frame; the knife sits quite deep in the pocket. To an observer, they wouldn't be able to tell you're carrying an M1 Abrams in your pocket. However, the clip itself is rather poor and soft. This has been a criticism of many benchmade knives for a long time; they cut corners on the pocket clip, it softens or bends too easily, the coating on the clips comes off with some wear (the paint has just slightly started shedding on mine after a couple of weeks, but I've seen the wear on others more worn than mine). This can be corrected with some aftermarket titanium anodized clips if you're willing to spend a bit more for the style.IN CONCLUSION:This is a great knife with an excellent overall performance, and a sturdy build quality that wouldn't look out of place with a smoothbore cannon and treads. It deploys fast and smooth, and comes very sharp. My primary gripes are the pocket clip and the shallow saber grind, which detracts from the cutting ability. However, for the tasks it was developed for, like hard cutting and demolishing cardboard, particle board, wood, and even soft aluminum, it excels. This knife is probably the closest a folder comes to a substitute for a fixed blade out there. When outdoors, I typically bring an axe, a fixed blade, and a folder as redundancy and insurance. This knife makes me question that. I'm looking forward to all the work I'll put it through, and I expect it'll smash through anything I throw at it.

First read about this knife in a review written in a recent magazine I receive (USCCA). The raters gave it top marks so I thought I would give it a go. Having had many knives over the years both in the military and now in civilian use, I was excited to own a "Top Flight" military style knife. It actually arrived earlier than promised and after opening the package I was amazed at just how well it is built. Sturdy and very well balanced. The pocket clip is black which conceals well in just about all color of pants. The pocket clip is also reversible if you wish to carry the knife in your other pocket. The instructions are very clear and recommend the knife be carried only with the clip on the correct side for safety. This is one blade you do not want going unsupervised in your pants pocket. The blade is a D-2 flat black blade with an AMAZING edge...so sharp it actually astonished me right out of the box. With other knives I have purchased in the past, there was always some "reconditioning" of the blade required before it was really ready to carry, but not this one. I actually showed it to my son who is a surgeon and he was very impressed with its quality and especially the edge. The screws are also black and contrast very cleanly with the handle. I cleaned the mechanism (manufacturing and shipping particles) and very lightly lubricated it IAW the manufactures suggestions, now the blade swings very easily and quickly locks precisely into place. The handle contrasts the large and beefy blade with its Dark Earth color...very striking. The holes in the handle fit my fingers as if it were custom made just for me, three holes on each side. Serrations at the top and bottom of the inside of the handle on both sides also aid in control. The blade locking mechanism is stout and very positive. No doubt when your blade is locked with releases on both sides of the upper handle. When the blade is extended, it locks with out so much as a wiggle in place, very positive locking, no hang-ups that might spell disaster if the un-locked blade were to retract towards a miss-placed finger. All things considered, I love my Benchmade Adamas Sibert knife! Can't live without it. Won't go anywhere without it. If you are looking for a stout, extremely well built locking blade, that will handle just about whatever you can throw its way (Never throw this knife or any knife)...then this is the knife for you. It is worth every penny spent and expect years of service from this artisan crafted beauty. You whip this out of your pocket and people know you carry the BEST!